Main Page

As part of the ongoing improvements to the site, I've seen fit to build a system that captures current photos from my phone direct to the site. Eventually this space will have a brief bio of Becky and I and generally explain what's going on here. The posts below are [semi]periodic updates about my current doings, though as Dave is quick to point out, this is not a blog.

Dishwasher Done

Well, tonight was spent installing a new dishwasher (purchased this morning), to replace our existing Maytag that was recalled earlier this year. We opted to take advantage of not only the $150-250 Maytag "recall rebate" but also the $150 Nebraska EnergyStar rebate. As it ended up, we got a new, safe dishwasher that is quite a bit nicer than what we'd be able to buy otherwise.

What was saved in the ease of installation was paid for during purchase this morning. Based on what I'd read online, the Energy Star funds wouldn't last long, so I figured I'd spin by NFM on my way into the office this morning. It took over 90 minutes; About 45 minutes each to have my order written up, and actually be checked out. Ugh. I'm just glad it's finished.

We haven't had opportunity to do the first load yet, but this thing is supposed to be unnaturally quiet. More on that as it comes.

Home Improvement

Posted: 06 July 2010

DoubleTree Overland Park

I just finished the writeup for the DoubleTree we stayed at last weekend. Have a look at it, or any of the other Hotels we've stayed at. I'm adding reviews as I find the old photos, and have been conducting a wide search for photos the last few days. Most recently, I've found about 80 interesting photos from the last 10 years. Once I get them all reviewed and edited, I'll be posting them.

Travel Hotels

Posted: 28 June 2010

Another Long Weekend

Back again from another busy weekend. Last Friday, Becky and I headed off to Kansas City for a quick getaway. We toured a coffee roasterie, and ate at a few interesting places, as Becky will describe shortly. We stayed in a bit different area of town this time, at the DoubleTree Corporate Woods (which is clear south), as it was more convenient to some of the things we wanted to do; That, and we'd gotten kind of sick of the Hyatt Crown Center... More on that on the Hotels page, as soon as I get the photos up.

Had a bit of a malfunction with my phone again, related to DG Alert Classic draining my battery in record time. I'd had it shut off, but after the battery had died a few days ago, it'd restarted itself when the phone rebooted. I finally just uninstalled it. It was really nice, because it made SMS [vibrate] notifications easier to feel with it's patterned rings (even with the Moment's crappy vibrator), but between the battery life issues and the fact that sometimes I got no notifications, it was just time for it to go.

On an aside, Thursday Night I started working on prototype for a window sill insert that I want to use on some windows in our house. Our windows are inset, rounded and painted into the wall, and have no woodwork or trim at this point. The bottom area tends too get dirty and with the textured finish is almost impossible to clean. More on this as it develops.

Travel Phones Home Improvement

Posted: 27 June 2010

Hotels Again

It took a bit longer than I'd hoped, but I finally have the beginnings of our Hotels page online. So far, it's just a list of places we've stayed, but more information is forthcoming, so check back often. I plan to have photos of each hotel, pricing info and some rankings online shortly.

Travel

Posted: 17 June 2010

Prepare to Start your Car

I know I've been behind a bit on posting the Preparedness series, and not entirely for unproductive reasons (though we were on vacation, briefly). Last time I sat down to work on it, I found myself writing an essay about jumper cables. Jumper cables are one of those things that you should absolutely carry in your car, as they resolve a relatively common problem (dead batteries), and are (almost) the only tool for the job. Without Further Delay:

• Preparedness: 2. Jumper Cables

Preparedness

Posted: 10 June 2010

On Hotels

Last weekend, we were in South Dakota for a wedding reception, and stayed at the Ramada Convention Center in Aberdeen, SD. Let's just say that it was not one of the nicer places we've stayed. It'd supposedly been recently renovated, though the maintenance guy who was working on our AC suggested that many things (including the carpet, trim, and furnishings) were not part of the renovations. Seems that the Air wasn't either. In any case, a full review of hotels we've stayed at is forthcoming, as is the next installment in the Preparedness series.

Travel Friends

Posted: 9 June 2010

Storm Damage

Well, it's been an exciting evening. We were going to head to the gym, but ended up staying home due to some crazy thunderstorms moving through the area. Damage was minor, though we saw some downed trees and suffered the loss of our glass-top outdoor table as well as a few window screens. The table will ride again, though; Stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, enjoy a few photos snapped by Dad on his way home...

Posted: 1 June 2010

Long Weekend

Well, another 3-day weekend down. We spent the weekend doing the usual Memorial Day things (cooking out, not remembering Civil War vets) and working on a few projects around the house. Did some general cleaning up and added handles to the kitchen cabinets. I was skeptical at first, but they ended up looking pretty nice. A store-bought jig made the project pretty easy. Aside from that, nothing too exciting. I am working on the next installment of my preparedness series, but it won't be ready until later this week.

Home Improvement

Posted: 31 May 2010

Preparedness Begins Now

Well, it's been another busy Monday. I did some cleaning and repair around the house, and spent some time in the garage. I also found time to get the first few bits of the Preparedness Series posted. Enjoy!

• Preparedness: Preface
• Preparedness: 1. Situation Planning

Preparedness

Posted: 24 May 2010

A Moment-ous Occasion

Pardon my pun, but this is a pretty big deal... Android 2.1 for the Samsung Moment (Sprint) is here. I'd checked for it last week, but no dice, and when Seth mentioned today that he'd read about it over at PPCGeeks I was taken by surprise. I spent the (later) evening flashing the phone, and then "moving back in". They've fixed a number of my major complaints, including adding a camera resolution adjustment, and just generally cleaning up the interface. They haven't yet fixed my beef about not having "vibrate then ring", but I'll live, for now.

Technology

Posted: 18 May 2010

Prepare to be Safe

As some of you may be aware, June is National Safety Month. Yes, I'm aware that it's not June yet, but there's no harm in preparing early. Truth is, I have on my to-do list this month to refresh and tune up the "roadside kits" in our cars, and have wanted to do a major write-up on that for some time. There's probably a National Preparedness Month (not in June) or something, but with summer travel and potentially severe weather coming soon, now seemed like the right time to get started.

In our automotive preparedness system, we have basically two groups of supplies: Those that are stored in the car itself and those stored in the "roadside kit". Stuff stored in the car tends to be car-related, like jumper cables, spare tires, spare bulbs, etc; The kit contains the first aid equipment, a more general assortment of tools, and various other supplies.

In future installments, I'll explore how my "Kit + Car" strategy compares to more conventional groupings such as EDC, BOB, INCH (It's ok if you don't know what those are yet; We'll get there...). I'll also walk through the (re)design of my kits, as I'm doing it; Since emergency supplies are a personalized thing, I can't just provide a list and say "go get it", but rather people need to be educated as to how to decide for themselves what they need to include.

Part of what is going to set this apart from other similar howtos online is that I'm trying to maintain a realistic perspective of what I (or other people) will likely encounter. Think of it as an actuary's guide to preparedness. If something is small, lightweight and cheap, it's less important that it be needed everyday, but if something is bulky, heavy, or expensive, it'd better be getting used all the time, and have absolutely no substitute.

Preparedness

Posted: 16 May 2010

Busy Saturday

Well, another weekend is almost over (it already is, for Becky...). Last night, we watched The Code with Morgan Freeman (Who is amazing) after walking Molly up to the Redbox to rent it. This morning started at 0700; We headed to Breakfast at LePeep, and then downtown to the Farmers Market, and rode rented bikes the 6 miles to Iowa (via the much-touted footbridge). The bikes were a pair of Trek Limes, and took a bit of getting used to. They were "Cruiser" style, had coaster brakes and a Shimano 3-speed "automatic" transmission. The absolute inability to pedal backward made getting on and off a bit awkward, and getting it to shift took some getting used to, but overall, it was a really amazing time.

When we got home, I headed down to the garage and started working on an indicator holder designed to hold my digital dial magnetically to a flat surface (sort of like a magnetic back, but without taking the back off, and to let it stand up a bit). I have a few adjustments to make, and am still hunting for some magnets, but I'd like to note that Delrin is totally amazing stuff. I'd never worked with the real thing before, and I came into some scraps recently... It machines nicely (cuts super easy), doesnt melt, and flexes so little that I'm not totally sure that my design is going to work. When I'm done, I'll have some photos of this project.

I rounded out the night by cleaning out the Tupperware cupboard and playing some New Super Mario Bros, which by the way, is pretty difficult. I was dying more than my fair share by the second world. I'm pretty out of practice, though... We haven't had the Wii on (for anything but Netflix) in months...

Becky Shop Projects

Posted: 15 May 2010

My Homely Tool

My submission for the "Homely Tool" contest is my 3 pound Estwing drilling hammer.I was first introduced to this tool at a friend's shop, where he used it as his "go-to hammer", or as he alternatingly described it "BFH" or "Tapperanis". I eventually had to have my own, purchased at the local hardware store, for between $25 and 30, which seems like a lot for a glorified hand sledge. In reality, though, this hammer embodies all that is right about a beating implement. First off, the head and handle are integral, so there's no risk of the head ever coming off. It has two symmetrical faces so it's not picky about which way you pick it up, and a comfortable, rubberized grip, which is a bit smaller and easier to hold than most wood-handled "sledge" style hammers.

Perhaps the most important feature of this particular hammer is it's balance. I first used it on a project to bend some rebar. We literally pounded on iron with it all day without so much as a scuff. More importantly, the shorter length and even balance is such that you can make a "circular" motion with the hammering face, greatly reducing the work needed to continue swinging it. I find that I can control it easily for precise work, but that it also packs quite a punch for driving chisels and such.

Shop Projects

Posted: 10 May 2010

Birthday Breakfast, Bakery Blunder

Saturday was Becky's birthday, and I'd planned to take her downtown to breakfast, the Farmers Market, and then walk the pedestrian bridge to Iowa. Why would we go to Iowa? Because that's where the other end of the bridge is... AAAnyhow, It came out on Friday night that the place we were going to go for breakfast (Bickford Bakery) was [allegedly] closed on Saturdays, per their information in Google indicated that they were closed. At the time, their Facebook page didn't have enough pagerank to be obvious above the "review" sites (the hours are a bit hidden, anyhow). Their twitter page doesn't list hours. Needless to say, I didn't manage to come up with an alternative (we were looking for good pancakes), so the day was scrapped.

We made a second attempt on Sunday, running some errands, getting coffee beverages at Crane, and walking the keystone trail to finish some more errands and get lunch at Panara Bread. We finished up with a major grocery run, where Becky saved over $90 in coupons, discounts and her Target 10% Day. I'm told that it made for a pretty good after-birthday.

To finish up the suspension saga, lowering the subframe worked, and I got my car aligned on Saturday, down at the local Firestone. I paid the (somewhat extortionate) $148 (total) for a "lifetime alignment", which means that the labor for future alignments is free, but you still pay for parts if required. I figured that it cost less than twice what a "single" alignment did, and that I'd theoretically have the front end apart in the future.

Now that it's done, it's pretty impressive how much more stiff the handling is. They claim that this suspension setup is much more like the European stock suspension, in that it rides a bit stiffer. I'm just glad I'm done with it, for now.

Becky Automotive

Posted: 10 May 2010

Car Projects of Various Size

This has been a crazy busy week. On Monday, Seth was over, and we worked on parts for his remote control car. The Mill-press seems to have a bit too much slop, and can't hold tolerances better than about 3 thou, which isn't adequate for the press fit we're trying to build. I think there's a better way to to the setup so as to minimize that error, but we ran out of time after things started breaking (like my indicator holder)...

On Tuesday/Wednesday night, I finally attacked the suspension on my car. The rear shocks were super easy to do; The second one took about 15 minutes, and the first a bit longer, just because I was figuring everything out. In the front, I unwittingly started with the terribly hard passenger side one. It looks like (based on the book and personal experience) that I'm going to have to remove the half-axle to get enough travel out of the suspension to remove the strut. The guys online say it's possible to "lower the subframe" enough to clear the strut, but I think it's just going to be easier in the long run to tear it all down... I also wonder if those bolts they're loosening should be replaced, if you have them loosened... I can't tell from the photo, but there's LOTS of stretch-bolts down there...

Two big lessons learned: One: PB Blaster is your friend. Two: while some people online talk about using crowbars or whatever to disassemble the strut from the lower unit (don't remember what that's called, it holds the wheel bearing and brake rotor), and there's an official VW tool (number to follow), a 1/4" square-drive-bit adapter works perfectly. Slip it into the slot on the back side (where the two halves meet, after removing the bolt), and twist it with a crescent wrench about 45 degrees. That spreads the clamp enough to easily move the strut in and out, and holds itself in place... I'd initially tried to modify a wonder bar clone, but I found that I couldn't hold the clamp open and move the strut at the same time.

Photos of the mill setup for the smaller car follow:

Automotive Shop Projects

Posted: 6 May 2010

The Run is Done

Today, Becky ran the Lincoln Half-Marathon. Her "unofficial" (Garmin) time was 3:07. Photos are uploaded: Check it out. Becky says this was her first time to Memorial Stadium, which is sorta funny. She also reports that she'd never been to Lincoln until we started dating (which will be 5 years ago on Tuesday, as we mark occasion as the First Tuesday in May).

Running

Posted: 2 May 2010