You don't think of this as a "recognizable brand" but it is one of the brands with the widest recognition in the world.
Monday, May 31, 2004
Friday, May 28, 2004
Who is Rance? His blog has Hollywood abuzz because of all the inside scoops he is getting. He says he is an A-list actor writing under a pseudonym. Some speculate that he(she?) could be Owen Wilson, Ben Affleck, Jim Carrey or George Clooney.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
For those of you that are still unclear on what exactly my newly choosen GIS career entails, I think this write-up I prepared for the county engineer will give you a pretty good idea of what GIS is and how I use it.
The initial plan for scoring the 153,548 parcels in the county for a new salt storage location was to maximize the distance away from existing salt storage locations while simultaneously minimizing the cumulative distance to county roads.
The first step of the methodology of assigning a score for a given parcel was to first determine the distance from that parcel to the nearest existing salt storage location.
The second step of the process was to sum the distance from the parcel to each of the 1,278 county road segments. The idea is that the smaller this cumulative distance, the more accessible a parcel will be to county roads.
With these two pieces of information calculated for all 153,548 parcels in the county, a score was assigned to each parcel by dividing the distance to the nearest existing salt storage location by the cumulative distance from that parcel to all county road segments. The larger the numerator (distance to existing salt location) the higher the score will be, and the smaller the denominator (cumulative distance to county roads) the higher the score will also be.
Looking at the attached map of the entire county the scores seem to be arranged almost entirely by a parcel’s proximity to an existing salt storage location. This indicates that the county roads are evenly distributed across the county and that county road proximity is not a useful input as used in the above methodology.
A limiting factor in the above methodology is that the number of lanes of each road is not analyzed. If lanes were factored into the above methodology I would predict a grouping of parcels with higher scores in the southeast corner of the county near the multilane roads Randall Road, Orchard Road, Kirk Road, and Fabyan Parkway.
With this in mind I am recommending a new salt storage location in an area of southeast Kane County that scored in the highest tier from the initial analysis. The location is a triangular area along either side of Kirk Road and from Fabyan Road south about two miles. [See attached detail map]
Salt Storage Location Methodology
This document outlines the assumptions and conclusions regarding the “best” location of an additional salt storage facility in Kane County.The initial plan for scoring the 153,548 parcels in the county for a new salt storage location was to maximize the distance away from existing salt storage locations while simultaneously minimizing the cumulative distance to county roads.
The first step of the methodology of assigning a score for a given parcel was to first determine the distance from that parcel to the nearest existing salt storage location.
The second step of the process was to sum the distance from the parcel to each of the 1,278 county road segments. The idea is that the smaller this cumulative distance, the more accessible a parcel will be to county roads.
With these two pieces of information calculated for all 153,548 parcels in the county, a score was assigned to each parcel by dividing the distance to the nearest existing salt storage location by the cumulative distance from that parcel to all county road segments. The larger the numerator (distance to existing salt location) the higher the score will be, and the smaller the denominator (cumulative distance to county roads) the higher the score will also be.
Looking at the attached map of the entire county the scores seem to be arranged almost entirely by a parcel’s proximity to an existing salt storage location. This indicates that the county roads are evenly distributed across the county and that county road proximity is not a useful input as used in the above methodology.
A limiting factor in the above methodology is that the number of lanes of each road is not analyzed. If lanes were factored into the above methodology I would predict a grouping of parcels with higher scores in the southeast corner of the county near the multilane roads Randall Road, Orchard Road, Kirk Road, and Fabyan Parkway.
With this in mind I am recommending a new salt storage location in an area of southeast Kane County that scored in the highest tier from the initial analysis. The location is a triangular area along either side of Kirk Road and from Fabyan Road south about two miles. [See attached detail map]
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
I added a link on the right side of my blog to find the sunrise and sunset time for any day past, present, or future. I just used it to see how much time I have left to mow the lawn tonight. I will have light until 8:49 PM CDT.
Look at the "End civil twilight" time, not the "Sunset" time. Sunset is actually a technical term for when the upper edge of the disk of the sun is right on the horizon. Not very useful is it. Civil twilight is how late useable light is available. Much more useful.
Look at the "End civil twilight" time, not the "Sunset" time. Sunset is actually a technical term for when the upper edge of the disk of the sun is right on the horizon. Not very useful is it. Civil twilight is how late useable light is available. Much more useful.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Thursday, May 20, 2004
FBI BULLETIN: LOOKOUT FOR SUICIDE BOMBERS INSIDE THE U.S.
Thu May 20 2004 19:09:51 ET
Warns Officials To Look for People Wearing Bulky Jackets on Warm Days; Smell of Chemicals; Trailing Wires from Jackets Bombers May Disguise Selves As Pregnant Women
New York - The FBI has disseminated to 18,000 law enforcement agencies an intelligence bulletin advising police officials to be on the lookout for suicide bombers attempting to strike inside the US, TIME's Elaine Shannon reports today on TIME.com. The lightly classsified bulletin, headlined "Possible suicide bomber indicators," and circulated earlier today (May 20) via the FBI's secure Law Enforcement Online (LEO) Intranet, warns local badge-carriers to look for obvious signs of trouble - people wearing heavy, bulky jackets on warm days, smelling of chemicals, trailing wires from their jackets - and, as well, more subtle ones, such as tightly clenched fists. Someone who never shows his palms could be gripping a detonator rigged to go off when a button is released. "If you shoot him, you're still not safe because his hands relax and the bomb explodes," says a counter-terrorism official, TIME reports.
The FBI bulletin also notes that suicide bombers may disguise themselves in stolen military, police or firefighter's garb or as pregnant women, TIME reports.
Developing...
Thu May 20 2004 19:09:51 ET
Warns Officials To Look for People Wearing Bulky Jackets on Warm Days; Smell of Chemicals; Trailing Wires from Jackets Bombers May Disguise Selves As Pregnant Women
New York - The FBI has disseminated to 18,000 law enforcement agencies an intelligence bulletin advising police officials to be on the lookout for suicide bombers attempting to strike inside the US, TIME's Elaine Shannon reports today on TIME.com. The lightly classsified bulletin, headlined "Possible suicide bomber indicators," and circulated earlier today (May 20) via the FBI's secure Law Enforcement Online (LEO) Intranet, warns local badge-carriers to look for obvious signs of trouble - people wearing heavy, bulky jackets on warm days, smelling of chemicals, trailing wires from their jackets - and, as well, more subtle ones, such as tightly clenched fists. Someone who never shows his palms could be gripping a detonator rigged to go off when a button is released. "If you shoot him, you're still not safe because his hands relax and the bomb explodes," says a counter-terrorism official, TIME reports.
The FBI bulletin also notes that suicide bombers may disguise themselves in stolen military, police or firefighter's garb or as pregnant women, TIME reports.
Developing...
Associated Press
May. 20, 2004 08:55 AM
CINCINNATI - Pringles has a question - would you eat printed chips? Pringles will soon be selling potato chips with trivia questions written right on the chips.
Jamie Egasti, from Pringles' parent company Procter and Gamble, says it's a great way to add fun to lunch.
The questions will be printed with red or blue food coloring. Someday there could be ads printed on the chips, too. But Egasti says no decision has been made yet on the edible advertising.
The printed Pringles will go into limited distribution next month, with a North American roll out by August.
May. 20, 2004 08:55 AM
CINCINNATI - Pringles has a question - would you eat printed chips? Pringles will soon be selling potato chips with trivia questions written right on the chips.
Jamie Egasti, from Pringles' parent company Procter and Gamble, says it's a great way to add fun to lunch.
The questions will be printed with red or blue food coloring. Someday there could be ads printed on the chips, too. But Egasti says no decision has been made yet on the edible advertising.
The printed Pringles will go into limited distribution next month, with a North American roll out by August.
Student suspended for throwing a pie in the principal's face, after winning a school-sponsored contest to throw a pie in the principal's face.
You'll never guess what we bought tonight; a dozen canning jars! First I am going to make pickled eggs. That doesn't really need canning jars, but it makes it easier. I also bought the jars because I want to experiment with pickling this summer. Pickles, chow chow, and peppers like Grandma B. used to make. I don't think I am interested in canning jams, jellies, corn, green beans, tomatoes, sauces, meats, etc. Just pickles. But who knows. It might turn out that I like doing it.
My plane was waiting for me hidden behind a bush when I got home. I tested out all of the controls and the motor and it looks like it is none the worse for spending the night in a tree.
My plane was waiting for me hidden behind a bush when I got home. I tested out all of the controls and the motor and it looks like it is none the worse for spending the night in a tree.
A city crew found my plane and will drop it off at our house tomorrow! I thought I would need to be there to show them where it was because it was really high and in thick leaves. I really expected them to tell me tough luck or that they would have to charge me $75 per hour for their time or something, but I figured I had nothing to lose by calling. What a great city!
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
I just got my answer from the Goolge News Alert I set up:
WASHINGTON, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Communications Workers of America announced that a 4-day strike involving 100,000 union employees of SBC in 13 states will begin at 12:01 a.m. local time in each time zone on Friday, May 21. Workers will return to their jobs at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, May 25.
WASHINGTON, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Communications Workers of America announced that a 4-day strike involving 100,000 union employees of SBC in 13 states will begin at 12:01 a.m. local time in each time zone on Friday, May 21. Workers will return to their jobs at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, May 25.
Google News has a really neat new feature. After you search for something, the results page has a little envelope icon on the left side and is labeled "News Alerts". Click on this and enter your e-mail address. Any time Google finds a new story about what you searched on, it will send you an e-mail. You can specify whether it should send you a notice once a day or every time it finds a story.
I am interested in whether or not SBC is going to go on strike in Illinois today because we have some things at the county they are supposed to do this week. If they strike today that will impact what we will do. The alert will search on the terms "sbc Illinois strike". Pretty cool, huh?
I am interested in whether or not SBC is going to go on strike in Illinois today because we have some things at the county they are supposed to do this week. If they strike today that will impact what we will do. The alert will search on the terms "sbc Illinois strike". Pretty cool, huh?
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Mom made this great strawberry pie when we were home. No added sugar, but it tastes amazing! The pudding gives it a neat creamy texture. Try it. You'll be hooked.
Strawberry Pie
1 pound fresh sliced strawberries
1 small box (0.8 ounces) Cook & Serve Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding (NOT INSTANT)
2 cups water
1 small box (0.3 ounces) Sugar Free Strawberry Gelatin
Mix water and pudding mix. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens; about two minutes.
Remove from heat and add the box of strawberry gelatin. Stir well and set aside to cool down.
Place sliced strawberries in a 9" pie plate.
After glaze has cooled somewhat, pour over the strawberries and refrigerate until firm; about two hours.
You can serve it with whipped cream, but I don't think it needs it.
Strawberry Pie
1 pound fresh sliced strawberries
1 small box (0.8 ounces) Cook & Serve Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding (NOT INSTANT)
2 cups water
1 small box (0.3 ounces) Sugar Free Strawberry Gelatin
Mix water and pudding mix. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens; about two minutes.
Remove from heat and add the box of strawberry gelatin. Stir well and set aside to cool down.
Place sliced strawberries in a 9" pie plate.
After glaze has cooled somewhat, pour over the strawberries and refrigerate until firm; about two hours.
You can serve it with whipped cream, but I don't think it needs it.
We took four days off work and drove to Ohio for a little visiting. This is a day-by-day synopsis:
Wednesday
We left Chicago at about 10:00 AM Chicago time. Sheri started the drive and drove until about halfway between Chicago and Indianapolis. We stopped at a McDonalds. She had half of a cheeseburger without the top bun and I had a double hamburger. I got a Diet Coke for the road.
Traffic was light to medium for the entire trip except for the outer belt of Indianapolis. There was some construction that closed the right lane at one point. About ¼ mile before that closer a truck stalled in the middle lane. This combination of events added about 45 minutes to the drive. I literally could have got out of the van and gotten to the other side of the construction faster than we did driving through it.
We were estimating our ETA at 6:30 PM Columbus time. We coordinated with Sunny and Greta that we would go directly to Sunny’s for dinner. Greta brought barbequed pork and beef brisket, and corn pudding from City Barbeque. She also brought a bunch of good salads from the Kroger deli. Great dinner!
We played with the kids for a while and then went to Greta’s for the night.
Thursday
Thursday morning Sheri and I got up early and went to Tim Horton’s for breakfast. We don’t have any in Chicago, and we really enjoyed going there when we were in Columbus. We sat for a little bit, sipped coffee, talked, and worked the crossword. It sounds silly, but we had a great time.
We had to get to Sunny’s by 9:00 AM because we were going to watch Ben and Ensley while Sunny ran errands.
I did a little maintenance work on their PC, and then we loaded the kids into a double stroller and put a leash on Bear and went for a nice walk around the neighborhood.
I had lunch plans with Jen and Marianne from Bank One. I picked them up and went to Sky Line chili. Again, we don’t have Sky Line in Chicago and I was really craving a cheese coney. I wasn’t disappointed. Delicious! We ended up sitting and catching up for about two hours! A perfect lunch.
Went back to Sunny’s and picked up Sheri and headed back to Greta’s for a nap. We didn’t sleep to well the night before, so we were both a little groggy.
Sunny dropped Dylan off while we were still napping and before Greta got home from work. Sheri spent some time with Dylan while I was still hard asleep. She didn’t want to wake me because I was sleeping so soundly. The four of us were supposed to go swimming that night, but I ended up staying at home.
Greta, Sheri, and Dylan picked up a Donato’s pizza (another item on our food list!) after swimming and brought it back for dinner. We ate that and then went to Sunny’s to help here with the kids. Martin was out late playing broomball.
Friday
Sheri and I took our time getting up Friday morning. We also slept a little better too. We drove to Greta’s office around 10:30 AM and visited with some friends we have through Greta’s work. We then drove to a restaurant called Marshall’s with Greta to meet Fred for lunch. Good food and conversation.
After that Sheri and I were on our own again. We first went to Krema Nuts and stocked up. They have the best nuts around.
We drove past my old apartment in the Short North. The neighborhood looks like it has deteriated a little.
Then we went to Wasserstrom’s; a commercial kitchen supply store. We bought a bag of stuff. The funest thing I can remember is a canvas piping bag and a tip. I want that for filling deviled eggs.
This next part will seem odd to most people; we loved Super Wal-Mart when we were living in Columbus. They don’t have them in Chicago. So we went to the Super Wal-Mart on route 23 to just walk around. We bought a few things, but nothing major.
We went home and waited for Dylan and Greta to get there, and went swimming. I think we spent about two hours at the pool. Fun time. We all played hard and got good and tired out.
We stopped at Kroger’s afterwards so Greta could pick up some dinner fixings. We went to Sunny and Martin’s and Greta put together a lasagna and salad dinner. It really hit the spot. I was starving.
We couldn’t stay too late because Dylan had a soccer game early next morning. I brought the camcorder to get some good action shots.
Saturday
Woke up Saturday morning to rain. The game was cancelled. I woke up a little sniffly and with a sore throat.
Instead we took Greta to Tim Horton’s for breakfast, conversation, and to read the morning paper. I love doing that!
We wanted to see all of the development that has happened since we left, so we drove around the Polaris area for a little bit, and then went inside the Polaris mall. What a great mall! We spent maybe an hour or so just strolling around and stopping in stores that looked interesting. Greta and Sheri both bought cute little hair extensions. We stopped at the food court for a little snack. There was a middle eastern place that looked good. We sampled a stuffed grape leaf, two falafels, and had some iced tea.
We then drove to the Easton area. It was still raining, and Easton is an outdoor mall, so we just drove through a couple of the areas.
Then we went to a little Italian grocery store that we miss called Carfagna’s. We picked up some Italian sausage and hard rolls for dinner.
Sunny, Martin, and the three kids all came over for dinner. I grilled the sausage (to perfection ;-) and had some left over lasagna. Another great dinner.
Harry Potter was on TV, so we all gathered around and watched that. Dylan had not seen it before and he was mesmerized. It was cute to watch him get into it.
Sunday
We got up early Sunday and packed up to leave for Toledo. Got to Toledo a little bit after noon. Dad was working until 5:00 PM, so we took Mom to Rudy’s Hot Dogs. Another craving we had that we can’t fill in Chicago. I had three coney’s and iced tea. As good as I remembered.
We then went to the Toledo Zoo. It was the best visit to a zoo that I have ever had in my entire life! The temperature was cool enough that ALL of the animals were very active. The only thing I didn’t see that I wanted to was the wildebeest and the petting zoo.
Went home and had some meaty ribs, coleslaw, and steamed broccoli for dinner, followed by an unbelievably good sugar free strawberry pie. (The recipe and more details about the pie in a later post.)
After that we piled into the car and went to see the progress on the huge I-280 bridge project. Drove past the original Tony Packo’s restaurant, and drove over the high level suspension bridge. Took the scenic route through some nice neighborhoods along the river, and ended up at the Penguin Palace for an ice cream cone.
I had a lot of maintenance to do on Mom and Dad’s PC and was up most of the night babysitting that. I think I downloaded almost 20 megabytes of patches over a dial-up connection! I got the important updates that I wanted to get installed done though. When I was able to get a few hours of sleep between starting downloads I was coughing and blowing my nose, so not much sleep.
Monday
Even with no sleep I was able to get up by 9:00 AM to go out for breakfast! The place that I wanted to go to doesn’t server breakfast anymore, so we went an old standby; Nicks! Sheri and I split the vegetarian and feta cheese omelet. I gave Dad probably about 1/5 of the cheese and vegetables that were on my plate, and I was still stuffed. I love Nick’s. Tim (my brother-in-law) and I need to coordinate a visit to Toledo so we can split the $10 Nick’s Omelet.
Went back home and walked around the yard looking at Dad’s specimen garden. They are going to help us re-landscape our yard.
Dad and I went to the county engineer’s office to pick up the 2004-2005 county atlas for my map collection. Very nicely done atlas.
We left around 2:00 pm, but Sheri had to drive because I would have been unsafe on the road because I was so sleepy.
The grass was very long when we got home, and it was forecast to rain during the week, so I took two Benadryl’s (which turn me into a sleeping blob) and cut the grass. I showered up, had a light dinner, and crashed by about 8:30 PM.
Tuesday (today)
I am home from work today because I woke up coughing, sneezing, and constantly blowing my nose. I took a Claritin and I think it is doing a good job.
Wednesday
We left Chicago at about 10:00 AM Chicago time. Sheri started the drive and drove until about halfway between Chicago and Indianapolis. We stopped at a McDonalds. She had half of a cheeseburger without the top bun and I had a double hamburger. I got a Diet Coke for the road.
Traffic was light to medium for the entire trip except for the outer belt of Indianapolis. There was some construction that closed the right lane at one point. About ¼ mile before that closer a truck stalled in the middle lane. This combination of events added about 45 minutes to the drive. I literally could have got out of the van and gotten to the other side of the construction faster than we did driving through it.
We were estimating our ETA at 6:30 PM Columbus time. We coordinated with Sunny and Greta that we would go directly to Sunny’s for dinner. Greta brought barbequed pork and beef brisket, and corn pudding from City Barbeque. She also brought a bunch of good salads from the Kroger deli. Great dinner!
We played with the kids for a while and then went to Greta’s for the night.
Thursday
Thursday morning Sheri and I got up early and went to Tim Horton’s for breakfast. We don’t have any in Chicago, and we really enjoyed going there when we were in Columbus. We sat for a little bit, sipped coffee, talked, and worked the crossword. It sounds silly, but we had a great time.
We had to get to Sunny’s by 9:00 AM because we were going to watch Ben and Ensley while Sunny ran errands.
I did a little maintenance work on their PC, and then we loaded the kids into a double stroller and put a leash on Bear and went for a nice walk around the neighborhood.
I had lunch plans with Jen and Marianne from Bank One. I picked them up and went to Sky Line chili. Again, we don’t have Sky Line in Chicago and I was really craving a cheese coney. I wasn’t disappointed. Delicious! We ended up sitting and catching up for about two hours! A perfect lunch.
Went back to Sunny’s and picked up Sheri and headed back to Greta’s for a nap. We didn’t sleep to well the night before, so we were both a little groggy.
Sunny dropped Dylan off while we were still napping and before Greta got home from work. Sheri spent some time with Dylan while I was still hard asleep. She didn’t want to wake me because I was sleeping so soundly. The four of us were supposed to go swimming that night, but I ended up staying at home.
Greta, Sheri, and Dylan picked up a Donato’s pizza (another item on our food list!) after swimming and brought it back for dinner. We ate that and then went to Sunny’s to help here with the kids. Martin was out late playing broomball.
Friday
Sheri and I took our time getting up Friday morning. We also slept a little better too. We drove to Greta’s office around 10:30 AM and visited with some friends we have through Greta’s work. We then drove to a restaurant called Marshall’s with Greta to meet Fred for lunch. Good food and conversation.
After that Sheri and I were on our own again. We first went to Krema Nuts and stocked up. They have the best nuts around.
We drove past my old apartment in the Short North. The neighborhood looks like it has deteriated a little.
Then we went to Wasserstrom’s; a commercial kitchen supply store. We bought a bag of stuff. The funest thing I can remember is a canvas piping bag and a tip. I want that for filling deviled eggs.
This next part will seem odd to most people; we loved Super Wal-Mart when we were living in Columbus. They don’t have them in Chicago. So we went to the Super Wal-Mart on route 23 to just walk around. We bought a few things, but nothing major.
We went home and waited for Dylan and Greta to get there, and went swimming. I think we spent about two hours at the pool. Fun time. We all played hard and got good and tired out.
We stopped at Kroger’s afterwards so Greta could pick up some dinner fixings. We went to Sunny and Martin’s and Greta put together a lasagna and salad dinner. It really hit the spot. I was starving.
We couldn’t stay too late because Dylan had a soccer game early next morning. I brought the camcorder to get some good action shots.
Saturday
Woke up Saturday morning to rain. The game was cancelled. I woke up a little sniffly and with a sore throat.
Instead we took Greta to Tim Horton’s for breakfast, conversation, and to read the morning paper. I love doing that!
We wanted to see all of the development that has happened since we left, so we drove around the Polaris area for a little bit, and then went inside the Polaris mall. What a great mall! We spent maybe an hour or so just strolling around and stopping in stores that looked interesting. Greta and Sheri both bought cute little hair extensions. We stopped at the food court for a little snack. There was a middle eastern place that looked good. We sampled a stuffed grape leaf, two falafels, and had some iced tea.
We then drove to the Easton area. It was still raining, and Easton is an outdoor mall, so we just drove through a couple of the areas.
Then we went to a little Italian grocery store that we miss called Carfagna’s. We picked up some Italian sausage and hard rolls for dinner.
Sunny, Martin, and the three kids all came over for dinner. I grilled the sausage (to perfection ;-) and had some left over lasagna. Another great dinner.
Harry Potter was on TV, so we all gathered around and watched that. Dylan had not seen it before and he was mesmerized. It was cute to watch him get into it.
Sunday
We got up early Sunday and packed up to leave for Toledo. Got to Toledo a little bit after noon. Dad was working until 5:00 PM, so we took Mom to Rudy’s Hot Dogs. Another craving we had that we can’t fill in Chicago. I had three coney’s and iced tea. As good as I remembered.
We then went to the Toledo Zoo. It was the best visit to a zoo that I have ever had in my entire life! The temperature was cool enough that ALL of the animals were very active. The only thing I didn’t see that I wanted to was the wildebeest and the petting zoo.
Went home and had some meaty ribs, coleslaw, and steamed broccoli for dinner, followed by an unbelievably good sugar free strawberry pie. (The recipe and more details about the pie in a later post.)
After that we piled into the car and went to see the progress on the huge I-280 bridge project. Drove past the original Tony Packo’s restaurant, and drove over the high level suspension bridge. Took the scenic route through some nice neighborhoods along the river, and ended up at the Penguin Palace for an ice cream cone.
I had a lot of maintenance to do on Mom and Dad’s PC and was up most of the night babysitting that. I think I downloaded almost 20 megabytes of patches over a dial-up connection! I got the important updates that I wanted to get installed done though. When I was able to get a few hours of sleep between starting downloads I was coughing and blowing my nose, so not much sleep.
Monday
Even with no sleep I was able to get up by 9:00 AM to go out for breakfast! The place that I wanted to go to doesn’t server breakfast anymore, so we went an old standby; Nicks! Sheri and I split the vegetarian and feta cheese omelet. I gave Dad probably about 1/5 of the cheese and vegetables that were on my plate, and I was still stuffed. I love Nick’s. Tim (my brother-in-law) and I need to coordinate a visit to Toledo so we can split the $10 Nick’s Omelet.
Went back home and walked around the yard looking at Dad’s specimen garden. They are going to help us re-landscape our yard.
Dad and I went to the county engineer’s office to pick up the 2004-2005 county atlas for my map collection. Very nicely done atlas.
We left around 2:00 pm, but Sheri had to drive because I would have been unsafe on the road because I was so sleepy.
The grass was very long when we got home, and it was forecast to rain during the week, so I took two Benadryl’s (which turn me into a sleeping blob) and cut the grass. I showered up, had a light dinner, and crashed by about 8:30 PM.
Tuesday (today)
I am home from work today because I woke up coughing, sneezing, and constantly blowing my nose. I took a Claritin and I think it is doing a good job.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Monday, May 10, 2004
The three new entrée salads that Arby's has introduced sound good:
Martha’s Vineyard™ Salad: fresh-cut apples, dried cranberries, toasted almonds and diced grilled chicken
Santa Fe™ Salad: grape tomatoes, tortilla chips, cucumbers, red onions and chopped Arby’s chicken fingers
Asian Sesame™ Salad: mandarin oranges, Asian noodles and diced grilled chicken
Martha’s Vineyard™ Salad: fresh-cut apples, dried cranberries, toasted almonds and diced grilled chicken
Santa Fe™ Salad: grape tomatoes, tortilla chips, cucumbers, red onions and chopped Arby’s chicken fingers
Asian Sesame™ Salad: mandarin oranges, Asian noodles and diced grilled chicken
Sunday, May 09, 2004
They are going to open a Fatburger in Chicago!
One of the best hamburgers I have ever had. Tried them in Las Vegas.
One of the best hamburgers I have ever had. Tried them in Las Vegas.
Friday, May 07, 2004
This is SO cool! I have to have one now. A guy strapped a video camera to his plane (same kind as mine).
Thursday, May 06, 2004
This is some video I found of the model that is just a little big bigger than my plane, but I wouldn't know that by looking at it. It looks exactly like mine. Right click the link and select "Save target as...". Their server is a little slow, and if you try to view it directly from the server it will be very jerky.
I found a place on-line that sells replacement main-wings for only $7.00 each rather than $15.00, so I ordered two of them. I will probably end up ordering an extra battery too so when one dies I can just swap in the fresh one in the field rather than calling it quits.
Just like in my sailing and boating days, as a "pilot" I am now very interested in wind speed and direction forecasts. Tonight, between 6 pm – 8 pm doesn't look too bad as far is wind is concerned (9 mph from the SW with 15 mph gusts) but it is supposed to rain, so I guess I am grounded. (I love this pilot talk!)
Just like in my sailing and boating days, as a "pilot" I am now very interested in wind speed and direction forecasts. Tonight, between 6 pm – 8 pm doesn't look too bad as far is wind is concerned (9 mph from the SW with 15 mph gusts) but it is supposed to rain, so I guess I am grounded. (I love this pilot talk!)
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
I had a GREAT time flying the remote controlled airplane that Sheri gave me for our 8 year wedding anniversary! I was a natural. I think a big part of my initial success was my experience with MS Flight Simulator on the computer.
My first attempt to fly ended in a crash about 20 feet away. The second time, though, I was up for a good two or three minutes.
I got caught about seven feet up in a pine tree. I crashed at full speed nose first into the ground a couple of times. No problem though. I just picked it up and tossed it back in the air.
When I landed I liked to cut power and glide in. Just as I am about to touch down I pull back on the stick so that I flare up. That gives me a beautiful landing. Sheri saw me do one and can vouch for that.
Near the end of the evening I caught a funny gust of wind and I crashed on my starboard wing which snapped it off. The instructions say just use some clear packing tape to fix any damage. I just got done taping it back together and it looks like it is ready to go again.
When the wing gets too beat up to use anymore, replacement wings are only $15.
It was SO much fun. All in all I got about 25 minutes of air time. Pretty good for my first time. It was also windier than it should have been for my first time out, but I was even able to handle that pretty well.
The propeller is behind the pod and above the rod that leads to the tail wings. This protects the propeller and motor pretty well, especially in the case of a nose dive. The main wing is held to the pod by six rubber bands. This gives the plane a little bit of flexibility to better withstand crashes.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Monday, May 03, 2004
What the USGS has to say about the science behind earthquakes in the movies. (Like NBC's recent min-series "10.5")
This new site, MediaMatters.org, will monitor conservative media (i.e. Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, etc.) and then post to the web any falsehoods, misrepresentations, and half-truths in real-time.