there's hope
for a planet with no Bush...from CNN:
In search of Earth, new class of planets foundcool stuff.
"It appears that most if not the majority of the remaining 100 billion stars [in the Milky Way galaxy] have some sort of planets orbiting around them," said Butler. "We are edging closer and closer to planet systems that are like our own solar system."
pretty damn scary
election? what election?read it and weep:
Diebold security 'hole'here's a brief quote:
Issue: Manipulation technique found in the Diebold central tabulator -- 1,000 of these systems are in place, and they count up to two million votes at a time.makes me feel real comfortable with the tabulation come November. how about you? grrr....By entering a 2-digit code in a hidden location, a second set of votes is created. This set of votes can be changed, so that it no longer matches the correct votes. The voting system will then read the totals from the bogus vote set. It takes only seconds to change the votes, and to date not a single location in the U.S. has implemented security measures to fully mitigate the risks.
This program is not "stupidity" or sloppiness. It was designed and tested over a series of a dozen version adjustments.
okay, okay...
been a mite busy...I've had a couple of people wonder why I haven't had a new blog for a few days, but for some reason I just haven't felt like writing... school is going well, and the weather has finally been summer-like, and I've found some interesting sites in the evenings surfing, but nothing has struck me enough to blog. oh well. so it goes...
Chellis had a soccer "jamboree" today. four games(plus a bye) from 9:30 to 12:40. quite hot sitting in the sun, so I can only imagine how hot it was running around for a half an hour at a time! his team did pretty well, and he even got in some substantial playing time in the last game. most of the schools were at least one division larger than Twinfield, and I think the team did very well against that level of competition. should be a good season.
I mentioned the weather; it's been nearly the hottest week of the year this past week, of course, now that I'm back in school. the boys start on Wednesday, and hopefully it will be a bit cooler for them. I think this probably happens every year...
okay, I'll see if I can find something more interesting to blog about tonight, and maybe you'll get two in one day... whee...
overdue
and the first day...been awhile, and yet, not that much to say. perhaps I'm just tired... today went well, everyone seems pretty excited about being back at it, and I think it's going to be a good year. time will tell.
Chellis played in a soccer scrimmage this evening. pretty neat to see him playing against juniors and seniors! he did well. they played a school which is at least one division above us, so it was a good experience. I'm impressed by our team, and their work ethic. they play as a team, with lots of talk, and passing, and good use of the field. it will be fun to watch Chellis develop. though I do have a lot to learn about the game! soccer is still pretty foreign to me, having grown up on "football".
ok, I'm going to keep this short, and see if I can't catch a couple of extra winks tonight. have a good one.
weekend update
thought I'd better...just a quick update on a rainy Saturday. Marnie and the boys returned early from a playground building day at school. I was supposed to go help, too, experienced carpenter that I am..., but I wasn't going to stand out in the rain and cold(only about 55° here), and then have any hope of singing tonight or tomorrow. so, I didn't go. sounds like they had a good-sized crew anyway, so I feel less guilty.
the concert last night went very well. a good crowd, and not too disappointing, number-wise, since this is a new venue for us. we'll go back next March, and I'm sure we'll have more then. it is a wonderful acoustic, so that's a plus. tonight is also a new venue, so we'll see how that goes. I don't expect we're going to make a lot of money this weekend... oh well.
other than that, I've spent some time working on my latest arrangement, and it's getting there. I'm getting better at working amidst video games(and the glorious, impromptu singing that often accompanies most things that the boys do!), and dogs and cats, and whatever else may be going on in the house at any given moment. anyway, I'm pleased with the new piece, and I should be finished in a couple of weeks.
supposed to be sunny tomorrow, let's hope so!
just find this
interesting...not sure why, but I guess it's the age of these skeletons that impresses me.
Skeletons unearthedand that middle picture: whoa. 500-700 years old... (via boingboing)
more deck
pictures...Deck Gallery
enjoy! we certainly are. if the rain will ever stop...
a day...
just right...though I got up earlier than (summer) normal, it was a good day. the radio interview went very well(I think), and we managed to get quite a few projects done or going around the house. I trimmed out a living room window(except for behind the piano, no one ever looks there anyway...), and put the railing on the deck stairs, while Marnie spent the day doing sheet rock upstairs. she now hates sheetrock as much as I do. but, it's looking good. I expect she'll tape and putty tomorrow, since I can't get her to take any time off... I'll probably work on the last part of the deck, since the weather is supposed to be great. I can work on my tan...
I also spent some time working on another arrangement for Counterpoint, for our Israeli music album we're recording next spring. it's starting to take shape, and I'm liking the way it's headed. hope everyone else does, too...
oh, and I took a few pictures of the new deck, and I'll try to get those posted tonight. I'll let you know.
have a great tomorrow.
done!
well, pretty nearly...well, I was able to finish the decking on the east side, and get the corner connecting piece done as well. yeah! all that is left is the stair railing, and a small 6' x 6' section to tie the east side to the south. the weather was great, no rain, and not too hot. Chellis was a big help, doing a lot of the nailing. I would tack the decking into place with a nail at each end, and he would do all the rest. made it go much more quickly. he and I have matching blisters on our hammer hands... we'll take some pictures, and maybe I can get those up tomorrow.
speaking of tomorrow, I have a brief radio interview with a local station about the upcoming Counterpoint concerts tomorrow morning, and then I can continue working on the deck, and trimming some windows inside. Marnie taped and puttied around the living room windows today, so we'll get some paint, and finish up that job. busy, busy...
we discovered that Emerson has a mild case of mono, so that explains his on-going fever. nice to know what he's dealing with, but it does put a damper on any birthday festivities this week. He and Lincoln turn TEN on Tuesday! growing up fast...
ok, I need to call my Dad, it's his 83rd birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! send him a note at rdgrow (at ) aol.com
east side
cool, cool, crazy cool...a lovely day, and plenty of sunshine to work. I got the east side deck framed, joists hung, and it's ready for decking. going to be terrific. not sure what the weather's going to do over the next few days; the hurricane was supposed to dump lots of rain up here, but apparently, it's not quite following the expected path. better for us! so, maybe I'll get this finished before the week is up. it's a busy week though, with Counterpoint appearing live on VPR on Thursday morning, and three concerts this weekend. and after that... school... so, we'd better hope the weather is good this week!
I still haven't figured out what's going on with the calendar, but perhaps I can spend some time on that tonight. have a good one...
calendar page
is broken...not sure what the deal is, but I'm looking into it. suffice to say I'm fairly busy. hehe. if the weather keeps doing what it's been doing, then I'll probably be able to figure it out this weekend. if it finally turns sunny, it could be several days while I finish the deck! actually, the whole site seems a bit slow today. who knows...
Counterpoint tonight, in preparation for our concerts next weekend. have a great day!
looking to the east
ledgers...well, weather cooperated with me, though a few sprinkles this morning gave me a late start. I was able to get the ledger up on the east side, so tomorrow(again, with the weather...) I should be able to make good progress. there are only three posts on this side, all short ones, so that should go fairly quickly. after that, it's getting the frame in place, and laying in the joists. then the decking! so, a couple more days, and things should be close. I'll still need to work out the corner connection, but that's only a couple of hours work. knock on wood.
Marnie worked upstairs on some book shelves, and that looks great. oh, and Emerson is feeling much better. his fever has broken, and he was out playing today, and even helped me ratchet in a few lag screws. so that's good news.
tomorrow evening is Counterpoint, and then we head into the weekend... have a great day.
words
of wisdom...via Jon Anderson:
Words of WisdomOne evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 wolves.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
a test
lost...?for some reason, my latest entry, and the latest comments block, just disappeared... I'm working on it.
in the meantime, here's the link to the deck pics again... http://www.rogergrow.com/gallery/
smorgasbord
a little bit of this...well, the weather prevented me from completing the decking, but I got about two-thirds of the way there. enough done so that we can use the stairs! I also was having battery problems again with the drill driver, and I ended up nailing most of what I did today. I'm going to have to take the batteries and the charger in to get checked... but, while I was waiting for the rain, I helped Marnie with her project, trimming out the kitchen windows, finally after ten years... getting that counter was the kick in the pants that we needed. we also worked on trimming and putting doors on the space below the sink. we'll get the doors hung tomorrow, but it's all set to go. I have a school scheduling meeting at 8am, but the weather is supposed to be good, so as soon as I get home, I can finish the north deck. going to be great.
that's pretty much been the day, though Emerson came down with a fever last evening, and has been pretty much going through the video collection... hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow. the boys have been big help during all this work, and I missed not having Emerson help today. Lincoln, though, was terrific. and I think Chellis will need to mow the lawn tomorrow... have a great day!
a special day!
for my parents...56 years today! amazing and wonderful. congratulations. and much love. hope it's been a great day!
send them an anniversary wish: rdgrow at aol.com
successes
two today!well, I started the day with the intention of putting on the decking and instead tackled the stairs. and I finished them! well, almost, I still have the railing to do... but they came out wonderfully. they are wider than I planned(?) but that's great. nearly five feet, which will make carrying groceries and whatever much easier. tomorrow, the decking.
the second success was the finding of several very wonderful blogs, via Language Hat(a daily read), starting with this one:
the vernacular bodyfrom there, just pick a link in the Laupe Community, and enjoy a glimpse, or more, into the lives of people who think, and care, and are probably a lot like you and me. enjoy.
to boldly go
under the sea...this looks like quite an expedition:
Operation Deep Scopein a related note:
Alvin IItime to get to work on the dock, uh, I mean deck...
weather
but we're getting there...rain off and on today, but I was able to get all the joists in, and now I'm ready to start putting on the decking. it's looking great. depending on how the decking goes tomorrow, hopefully, I'll start working on the stairs. as for the footings, well, I compromised a bit. I ended up digging them about two feet deep and putting a layer of egg rock and then sand underneath the cement blocks. we'll see... we're taking pictures along the way, so when those get developed I'll put up a little gallery.
unfortunately, there's rain in the forecast for the next couple of days. hard to run a power saw in the rain. have a great weekend.
the day
from hell...well, not that bad, but at times... but it's over, and the new counter is in, and I have the ledger up on the north side, and Marnie got the Bleeding Heart and the Rutabaga(sorry, rhododendron...) moved, and the van is back from the shop, and... I'm sure there are at least five more things that happened today, but I can't remember them...
anyway. the new counter looks amazing! it's a fake blue marble. heh. sounds great doesn't it? well, it is. it really makes a difference in that corner of the kitchen. just to have counter on both sides of the sink! whee, we're living now! we took pictures.
just lots of little details about getting the deck started. eventually, I'm going to need to move the faucet, which is too low, and I had to figure out a way to get around the gas pipe, and, and... but, I finally made progress late in the day, and I hope that tomorrow will be better. it should really start to take shape now that the ledger is up. of course, now I'm worrying about the footings...(thanks, Keith!) but they'll be fine. I'm using big honking solid cement blocks; 8"x8"x16" laying longways, so we'll see... I'll take pictures.
Marnie also got a bit more shingling done on the basement wall, and, oh yeah, her folks ended up not coming over. it got late, and we still had to pick up the van, and so they'll come over another day. more to see then, anyway!
Counterpoint tomorrow night, so I'll have to quit deck building a little earlier than tonight... have a great day!
this is fun
crazy shapes and rhythms...all possible three and four dimensional regular solidsChellis and I just spent the better part of 45 minutes playing with this. very cool. don't be afraid to try all sorts of things. (via www.boingboing.net)
on the house front, we got the deck lumber, tomorrow we get our new kitchen counter(it rained today, otherwise we'd have had it today), the septic tank got pumped, and things were hopping all day long. tomorrow the van goes in for service, Marnie's parents visit, and I already mentioned the counter. the weather is supposed to be good, so I'll work on the deck while Marnie does some shingling. oh yeah, she painted more window frames today, as well as getting some shingling done by the basement door. it's looking good.
hope your tomorrow is only half as busy...
west side story...
finally...got the west side done today. whew. now all that's left is a touch up on the corner of the north side, and the upper quarter of the south side and it will all be done. but, I think that will come after the deck. I ordered all the materials today; they will be delivered tomorrow. actually, not all the stuff, I still need to find pre-cast footings. I decided that digging 10 four-foot deep holes and filling them with concrete is not my idea of a good time. so I'm going to use pre-cast concrete footings, and hope for the best. I'm sure my architect brother-in-law(hi, Keith!) will not think it a good idea, but so it goes. the area is pretty stable, and if I need to shim, or chop off a post or two over the next few years, that will be ok. other wise, this deck ain't going to happen. I'm just not digging those holes. there. with that decision made, I think the deck building should go well, since time is running out on this summer. I have some school meetings next week, and the week after that, and then we're into in-service and students. whee! whee.
well, going to finish my beer, and I should take some pictures I suppose... later.
a tangent
Why is Religion Natural?there are some interesting ideas in this article:
Why is Religion Natural?I must admit that I have only given it a cursory reading, but a couple of lines jumped out at me:
In a sense, the cognitive study of religion ends up justifying a common intuition, best expressed by Jonathan Swift's dictum that "you do not reason a man out of something he was not reasoned into." The point of studying this scientifically is to show to what extent we can expect religious notions to be stable and salient in human cultures, not just now but for a long time to come.hmm. (from Arts and Letters Daily)
nearly finished the west side shingling today, and it looks as if the weather will cooperate tomorrow. and then I need to order the materials for the new deck...
have a great day!