Friday
I stopped at my boss's house after work and picked up his dog. We are watching him for a week while they are out of town.
I brought him home and we spent a little bit of time getting him acclimated to the house (he has been here before) and then we went to the fish fry at the local VFW. It was good, but not as good as the ones that Mom and Dad go to. The fish was good, but probably came into the building already battered and frozen. It also would have been better if it was cooked in smaller batches and continually brought out to the buffet fresh and hot. Over all it was good, though, and it was fun to see all of the old veterans. It was $9 for all you could eat of:
Perch
Cod
Chicken nuggets
Fried chicken (very good. better than the fish)
Eggs and peppers (This is a Chicago thing. Some restaurants you can get it as a sandwich on a bratwurst bun)
Green beans
Romaine lettuce salad
Hard rolls
Soda pop
Coffee
Cookies and brownies
We came home and watched I Heart Huckabees. I wanted to like it, and it seemed just quirky enough for me to like, but I just couldn't get into it, and fell asleep. I can't recommend it.
Saturday
We had a couple of minor tune-up type problems with our bikes, so we took them back to the dealer Saturday morning. On my bike I couldn't shift the chain onto the smallest front sprocket, and on Sheri's bike the chain fell off on her maiden voyage. (I was able to put it back on with just my hands.) Both were simple and just took him a couple minutes each.
We brought the bikes home and then went to our coffee place for a couple of hours to hang out. My new favorite drink is called a shot in the dark. Some places also call it a depth charge, a redeye, or a hammerhead. At first it sounds like a novelty drink or a college dare, but it is really good. It is very simply a shot of espresso stirred into a cup of regular drip coffee. I like mine with a good amount of skim milk. The reason I like it is that it lasts longer than a cappuccino, not as strong as a straight shot of espresso, and has more body than just a cup of coffee. Usually too much of a cappuccino is foam. If I order it wet there is too much milk. With the shot in the dark I order it "with room" and then can control exactly how much milk I want.
We then went to Trader Joes for guacamole ingredients and then Bobak's because I had a craving for their fresh pickles.
Saturday night we ate some guacamole and watched The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. I also wanted to like it, but I guess I just don't find SpongeBob all the funny. I think I fell asleep.
Sunday
We decided to go for a little road trip to Plano, IL for something different. They have a Super Wal-Mart there, so we knocked out a couple of errands with one stop. We had a little snack in their in-store snack bar. We bought a couple of locks for our bikes. On the way back we got a car wash in Yorkville and gas in Oswego.
We watched King Arthur that evening and really liked it. If I understand correctly, the movie tries to show the real Arthur behind the legend of King Arthur. Some things I didn’t know: Arthur fought for the Roman's. The Saxons (who were Germanic) kicked the Roman's out of Briton as they moved south. The Angels were the Saxon's neighbors. They joined up and, voila, the Anglo-Saxons. The movie is set around 300 CE, whereas the King Arthur of legend is usually depicted around 450 CE. We both enjoyed it. Some good fight scenes too. Give it a try.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Day Off
I didn't sleep very much last night, and I didn't have anything going on at work today, so I decided to stay home. I have been pretty productive too.
I did the final review of our taxes and then submitted them on-line.
On our home network we have been having problems with the shared printer that is hanging off of our Windows 98 machine. Our other machine runs Windows XP Professional and XP handles shared network resources better, so I thought hanging it off of the XP machine might clear up some problems. It seems to be working better and I learned some neat things.
At a professionally administered network you can browse all of the shared printers on the network, double click on the one you want to use and the drivers will automatically be installed to your PC and the printer will be ready to use.
After I installed the printer on the XP machine I went to the sharing tab and noticed a button called "Additional Drivers". I clicked it and what it lets you do is specify where the printer drivers are for different operating systems that might want to use the shared printer, just like on a professionally administered network. So I went out to the HP website and found the Windows 98 printer driver for our printer, downloaded it to our XP machine, and then pointed to it using the button I just mentioned. Then I went to the Windows 98 machine, pointed to the printer on the XP machine, and lo and behold, the printer drivers installed all by themselves!
I have been itching to go for a bike ride, and I couldn't wait for warmer weather any longer, so I bundled up and went for about a 3.5 mile ride. The first half of the ride was into the wind and mostly up-hill. My ears and face were hurting a little bit at my turn-around point. Coming back I had the wind mostly to my back, but even though I had lined leather gloves on, my fingers started to hurt from the cold. Heavy breathing of the cold air also hurt a little bit, but not too bad. I needed about 5 minutes on the couch to recover, but I feel pretty good now. I went about 3.4 miles in about 25 minutes, which means I was averaging about 8 mph. I can feel it in my thighs, and it feels good. I think I will like doing this.
I did the final review of our taxes and then submitted them on-line.
On our home network we have been having problems with the shared printer that is hanging off of our Windows 98 machine. Our other machine runs Windows XP Professional and XP handles shared network resources better, so I thought hanging it off of the XP machine might clear up some problems. It seems to be working better and I learned some neat things.
At a professionally administered network you can browse all of the shared printers on the network, double click on the one you want to use and the drivers will automatically be installed to your PC and the printer will be ready to use.
After I installed the printer on the XP machine I went to the sharing tab and noticed a button called "Additional Drivers". I clicked it and what it lets you do is specify where the printer drivers are for different operating systems that might want to use the shared printer, just like on a professionally administered network. So I went out to the HP website and found the Windows 98 printer driver for our printer, downloaded it to our XP machine, and then pointed to it using the button I just mentioned. Then I went to the Windows 98 machine, pointed to the printer on the XP machine, and lo and behold, the printer drivers installed all by themselves!
I have been itching to go for a bike ride, and I couldn't wait for warmer weather any longer, so I bundled up and went for about a 3.5 mile ride. The first half of the ride was into the wind and mostly up-hill. My ears and face were hurting a little bit at my turn-around point. Coming back I had the wind mostly to my back, but even though I had lined leather gloves on, my fingers started to hurt from the cold. Heavy breathing of the cold air also hurt a little bit, but not too bad. I needed about 5 minutes on the couch to recover, but I feel pretty good now. I went about 3.4 miles in about 25 minutes, which means I was averaging about 8 mph. I can feel it in my thighs, and it feels good. I think I will like doing this.
The type face that you see on most speed limit signs, road direction signs, etc. is a font specified by Federal DOT regulations called Highway Gothic D. The software we have at work that we use to make signs of course has this font installed, but I didn't have it installed on the computer I use for mapping because it is a proprietary type face and each PC would need a license.
Last week I did some searching and found an almost exact freeware replica. It is called Blue Highway and can be found for download here.
I found the font at other sites, but they didn't have the "D" version of the font in the Zip file for some reason. This site does.
Occasionally I need to reproduce what a sign looks like on a map. In the past I have used Franklin Gothic Medium which comes installed with Windows. It is close but not exact.
Download it and make some street signs of your own!
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
I grabbed a frozen dinner by accident that had a pasta side dish instead of a vegetable, but the carb profile is still pretty good.
The meal was Salisbury steak with macaroni and cheese and it was a Weight Watchers Smart Ones.
Total calories: 260
Total fat: 6 g (9% RDA)
Net carbs: 21 g
Dietary fiber: 4 g (16% RDA!)
Protein: 22 g (44% RDA)
The high protein and fiber are from the soy in the meat patty.
The meal was Salisbury steak with macaroni and cheese and it was a Weight Watchers Smart Ones.
Total calories: 260
Total fat: 6 g (9% RDA)
Net carbs: 21 g
Dietary fiber: 4 g (16% RDA!)
Protein: 22 g (44% RDA)
The high protein and fiber are from the soy in the meat patty.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
This is the manual for the compass I ordered for work. It should be here between March 17 and March 31.
This is where I will get the declination value to enter into the compass.
A declination value is the difference between magentic north and true north for the location you are in. For my location it is about 2° 26' west. In California, Washington, etc. the declination is over 15°!
This is where I will get the declination value to enter into the compass.
A declination value is the difference between magentic north and true north for the location you are in. For my location it is about 2° 26' west. In California, Washington, etc. the declination is over 15°!
Monday, March 14, 2005
Sunday, March 13, 2005
These are on sale at Meijer this week for $1.67 each. We look at the inserts in the Sunday paper for what healthy frozen meals are on sale and then stock up for our lunches. They usually rotate between Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, and Meijer's own brand (which are actually VERY good). Sometimes they will skip a week or two and sometimes they are back to back. When we stock up we get about 20 meals. I will take five at a time or so into work and just keep them in the freezer there. Sheri takes in one at a time. We both eat better than if we were to go out for lunch, and we also save a good deal of money, especially Sheri because lunch in the City is easily $5 to $8 if you are being careful, and $10 to $15 is nothing unusual.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
We bought our bikes today! Yeah! We also bought:
- a water bottle and cage for both
- a cargo rack over the rear wheels for each
- a kickstand for Sheri's bike
- a car rack
The car rack can attach in just a couple minutes to either the van or the sedan.
They make these neat bags for the cargo racks that have Velcro straps on the bottom that are designed to attach to the racks. The ones they had at the bike shop today had an insulated and water proof main compartment that you could put an ice pack and some sandwiches and sodas for lunch. It also had a few side pockets for keys, wallet, garage door opener, emergency tools, Chapstick, bandages, bandannas, sunglasses, etc. That was $50 and we will probably get one or two, we just want to look around and see what else is out there first.
We still need to buy a couple of locks, and flashing safety lights for dusk and nighttime riding. I am not sure about bike helmets. I will wait and see what percentage of other riders are wearing them on the trails. I think that they are more common and acceptable now than they were 10 years ago.
I also need to buy a tool with an Allen wrench for field adjustments. I found that my handle bar wasn't tightened all the way at the shop and need to stop back tomorrow and pick up a wrench.
We have miles and miles of bike trails in this area, but the maps of them available on the web are of very poor quality. I am thinking about strapping the GPS from work on the back when we ride certain trails for the first time and then making a map and posting it on the web in .pdf format.
There are a number of "Rails to Trails" paths around where they take abandoned railroad rights-of-way and convert them into bike paths. I want to give those a ride.
- a water bottle and cage for both
- a cargo rack over the rear wheels for each
- a kickstand for Sheri's bike
- a car rack
The car rack can attach in just a couple minutes to either the van or the sedan.
They make these neat bags for the cargo racks that have Velcro straps on the bottom that are designed to attach to the racks. The ones they had at the bike shop today had an insulated and water proof main compartment that you could put an ice pack and some sandwiches and sodas for lunch. It also had a few side pockets for keys, wallet, garage door opener, emergency tools, Chapstick, bandages, bandannas, sunglasses, etc. That was $50 and we will probably get one or two, we just want to look around and see what else is out there first.
We still need to buy a couple of locks, and flashing safety lights for dusk and nighttime riding. I am not sure about bike helmets. I will wait and see what percentage of other riders are wearing them on the trails. I think that they are more common and acceptable now than they were 10 years ago.
I also need to buy a tool with an Allen wrench for field adjustments. I found that my handle bar wasn't tightened all the way at the shop and need to stop back tomorrow and pick up a wrench.
We have miles and miles of bike trails in this area, but the maps of them available on the web are of very poor quality. I am thinking about strapping the GPS from work on the back when we ride certain trails for the first time and then making a map and posting it on the web in .pdf format.
There are a number of "Rails to Trails" paths around where they take abandoned railroad rights-of-way and convert them into bike paths. I want to give those a ride.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
The Peugeot brothers created their famous pepper mills long before they made cars. Their first mills date back to 1840.
We go through about 10,000 tons of road salt per winter.
Our annual cost for salt is about $400,000.
We have 30 trucks that each hold about 10 tons. We can load them up to 14 tons, but 10 tons is the usual amount, plus it makes it easier to make quick calculations.
We pay $40 per ton for salt, so a full truck costs about $400. Every truck dumping its load once costs about $12,000.
Morton colors their salt blue (I think it is actually a trademark) so the drivers can see it better against the white snow. We use salt from Cargill that is brown in color from the molasses that are added to it.
Our annual cost for salt is about $400,000.
We have 30 trucks that each hold about 10 tons. We can load them up to 14 tons, but 10 tons is the usual amount, plus it makes it easier to make quick calculations.
We pay $40 per ton for salt, so a full truck costs about $400. Every truck dumping its load once costs about $12,000.
Morton colors their salt blue (I think it is actually a trademark) so the drivers can see it better against the white snow. We use salt from Cargill that is brown in color from the molasses that are added to it.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Where to begin…
The first year or two in Chicago we would always get an invoice from our dentist a month or two after a visit for the amount insurance wouldn't pay. We thought this was a little strange since back in Columbus we just paid our $25 co-pay and that was it. The invoices from the Chicago dentist were usually around $50 - $75 if I recall correctly.
When I had some preventative work done which cost more it finally surfaced that our dentist was out-of-network. Crap! That's why we kept getting the invoices.
So off to find another in-network dentist. Six months later Sheri made an appointment for us with a new dentist. We pay our co-pay, get a cleaning, and then the next day get a phone call from the dentist saying that they are not in the same program that we have. Same insurance company, but a different plan. We have to pay the full amount of the visit. Crap!
So six months later Sheri finds another dentist for us. The next day we get a phone call. Same deal. Pay the full amount. Crap!
At this point Sheri is extremely frustrated. The next dentist appointment will be covered with an in-network dentist.
Fast forward six months to tonight. I get to the dentist's office first and begin filling out the paperwork. The office manager calls me up to the desk and informs me that the insurance company says our insurance was terminated as of the first of the year!
I call the customer service number of the insurance company and they say that Sheri's company did not send them the renewal information for the new year.
I call Sheri and tell her what happened and to just go home when she gets to the train station rather than to the dentist's office.
She is pissed and gets on the cell phone with the insurance company and her company's benefits department. She ends up going to the dentist's office hoping she can salvage the appointment and work things out in time. Long story short, there were multiple emotional breakdowns because of frustration.
I'm not sure which side she heard this from, but we should have been on the list, and we will be on the list, but the list is only published once a month so we can not see a dentist until April 1 now! And it was their screw up.
So fortunately I still had some of my homemade onion soup from the weekend. I warmed that up for Sheri to try and sooth her. I then talked her into spending some time in the garage throwing some things out, rearranging, talking a few things to the basement. The reason? To make room for a couple of new bikes. Maybe we will go tomorrow night buy them. I don't know if they will have them ready to take home or not though. The activity seemed to help change her state of mind. We spent about 20 – 30 minutes out there (it looks good!) and then she came upstairs to take a bath (another one of her stress defenses). We are going to go back downstairs now to get a little more food in her and admire the additional garage work I did after she went upstairs.
The first year or two in Chicago we would always get an invoice from our dentist a month or two after a visit for the amount insurance wouldn't pay. We thought this was a little strange since back in Columbus we just paid our $25 co-pay and that was it. The invoices from the Chicago dentist were usually around $50 - $75 if I recall correctly.
When I had some preventative work done which cost more it finally surfaced that our dentist was out-of-network. Crap! That's why we kept getting the invoices.
So off to find another in-network dentist. Six months later Sheri made an appointment for us with a new dentist. We pay our co-pay, get a cleaning, and then the next day get a phone call from the dentist saying that they are not in the same program that we have. Same insurance company, but a different plan. We have to pay the full amount of the visit. Crap!
So six months later Sheri finds another dentist for us. The next day we get a phone call. Same deal. Pay the full amount. Crap!
At this point Sheri is extremely frustrated. The next dentist appointment will be covered with an in-network dentist.
Fast forward six months to tonight. I get to the dentist's office first and begin filling out the paperwork. The office manager calls me up to the desk and informs me that the insurance company says our insurance was terminated as of the first of the year!
I call the customer service number of the insurance company and they say that Sheri's company did not send them the renewal information for the new year.
I call Sheri and tell her what happened and to just go home when she gets to the train station rather than to the dentist's office.
She is pissed and gets on the cell phone with the insurance company and her company's benefits department. She ends up going to the dentist's office hoping she can salvage the appointment and work things out in time. Long story short, there were multiple emotional breakdowns because of frustration.
I'm not sure which side she heard this from, but we should have been on the list, and we will be on the list, but the list is only published once a month so we can not see a dentist until April 1 now! And it was their screw up.
So fortunately I still had some of my homemade onion soup from the weekend. I warmed that up for Sheri to try and sooth her. I then talked her into spending some time in the garage throwing some things out, rearranging, talking a few things to the basement. The reason? To make room for a couple of new bikes. Maybe we will go tomorrow night buy them. I don't know if they will have them ready to take home or not though. The activity seemed to help change her state of mind. We spent about 20 – 30 minutes out there (it looks good!) and then she came upstairs to take a bath (another one of her stress defenses). We are going to go back downstairs now to get a little more food in her and admire the additional garage work I did after she went upstairs.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
I think one of the most amazing things ever invented is RAID technology.
We had the backplane fail on our array and two drives were corrupted. It is rebuilding the bad drives right now, but I can still access my data. How is that any different than pure magic?
We had the backplane fail on our array and two drives were corrupted. It is rebuilding the bad drives right now, but I can still access my data. How is that any different than pure magic?
Monday, March 07, 2005
A Dog's Diary
7am - Oh Boy! Breakfast! My favorite!
9am - Oh Boy! A car ride! My favorite!
10am - Oh Boy! A walk! My favorite!
11am - Oh Boy! A car ride! My favorite!
Noon - Oh Boy! A nap! My favorite!
1pm - Oh Boy! The yard! My favorite!
3pm - Oh Boy! Animal Planet! My favorite!
4pm - Oh Boy! Dinner! My favorite!
5pm - Oh Boy! Grandma! My favorite!
7pm - Oh Boy! Playing with my "baby"! My favorite!
9pm - Oh Boy! Sleeping in my owner's bed! My favorite!
A Cat's Diary
Day 183 of my captivity....
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture.
Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant. Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded; must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair; must try this on their bed.
Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in an attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and commented about what a good little kitty I was. Hmmm, not working according to plan.
There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary confinement throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the food. More importantly I overheard that my confinement was because of my power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.
I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously an idiot. The bird, on the other hand, has got to be an informant and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room, his safety is assured.
But I can wait; it is only a matter of time...
7am - Oh Boy! Breakfast! My favorite!
9am - Oh Boy! A car ride! My favorite!
10am - Oh Boy! A walk! My favorite!
11am - Oh Boy! A car ride! My favorite!
Noon - Oh Boy! A nap! My favorite!
1pm - Oh Boy! The yard! My favorite!
3pm - Oh Boy! Animal Planet! My favorite!
4pm - Oh Boy! Dinner! My favorite!
5pm - Oh Boy! Grandma! My favorite!
7pm - Oh Boy! Playing with my "baby"! My favorite!
9pm - Oh Boy! Sleeping in my owner's bed! My favorite!
A Cat's Diary
Day 183 of my captivity....
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture.
Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant. Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded; must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair; must try this on their bed.
Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in an attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and commented about what a good little kitty I was. Hmmm, not working according to plan.
There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary confinement throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the food. More importantly I overheard that my confinement was because of my power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.
I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously an idiot. The bird, on the other hand, has got to be an informant and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room, his safety is assured.
But I can wait; it is only a matter of time...
It's funny how a person's idea of what they think is a useful web site changes as they progress in life.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Saturday, March 05, 2005
We were looking at bikes for Sheri today and we really liked this one. The brand is Del Sol, but it is really a Haro. Haro is world famous for their BMX bikes and they didn't want to turn off that hard-core market by putting the Haro name on something not intended for competition, so the Del Sol brand was born. Now I am thinking about getting a Del Sol too. We started out this morning with the idea of looking at Trek or Giant.
