Goodbye Old Friend

Many important events happened to me in 1999.  I officially moved out of my mothers apartment (if only for 6 months).  My first child was born.  I also built my first computer, with the help of the awesome guys at Edgewood Computers, based out of Ellettsville, IN; where I lived at the time.

It has some amazing specifications for the time.  A 450mhz AMD K6/2 processor, 96mb of PC133 ram, a 10gb hard drive, an ATI All-In-Wonder video card, which allowed you to record video directly from cable.  It has a 48x cd-rom drive, that’s right not even a burner.  I also installed the hard drive from my first computer, to be used as a secondary place to store my stuff, at 200mb it wasn’t large, but it was something.  In total I paid just under a cool grand for this computer, which wasn’t bad at the time.

This computer only had 2 problems.  First it had to be thoroughly cleaned with alcohol, as I used to smoke inside my home, which led to a residue buildup on the machine.  Then a few years ago, the power supply went out.  That’s it!

In 2005 I built a new computer, one that grossly outdated this one.  We ended up giving this one to my in-laws.  With 2 of their daughters a minimum of 2 hours away, we wanted to get them connected via email and able to get on the internet.

My in-laws had been complaining about it running slow, they thought it was their dial-up internet access, but in reality it was the aging computer.  Last night I booted it up to see what was going on and discovered the IDE (Hard drive) controller had went bad.  I knew then that it was time to find my in-laws a new machine.

We got them a Dell Optiplex 745 from Dell’s auction website.  I plan on acquiring them a flat panel monitor sometime soon as well.

Goodbye old friend, you’ve been the most reliable machine I’ve ever known of and you’ll be missed.

Out of Shape

Since I’ve gotten married my weight has risen to a plateau of 275 pounds.  It’s amazing how you don’t notice these things until they creep up on you.
Lately my back has been hurting when I do anything but sit.  I’m also sure one of the reasons why I’m tired all the time is primarily due to the extra weight I’m carrying around.  I know I don’t have anyone to blame but myself, but the last several months have been exhausting due to our ever growing child.

I believe my “six pack protector” is mainly to blame for my back problems.  This time I’m not going to complain, I’m going to do something about it!  Last winter we bought a Nintendo Wii and Wii Active, a workout program.  While it’s not as effective as a real workout at a gym, I believe it will get me on the right track.

I started working out last night, and from that I can tell you for sure that I’m out of shape.  I tried the “easy 30 minute” routine, and my body gave out after half of the workout.  I’m still sore this morning.

I plan on giving my body a day of rest between workouts to help facilitate getting back to a healthy weight.  I hope this can be an inspiration to my wife as well.

For the last year or so, my oldest daughter has become somewhat of a couch potato (much like her father).  I want her and Amelia to know that when you do that there are consequences.  Had I kept a normal workout routine, or a more physical lifestyle I wouldn’t be in so much pain.

I hope this shows them that it pays to be active now instead of later.

Little Sis is All Grown Up

Late Thursday night we received an anticipated visitor, my little sister.  She’s been living in Phoenix, AZ for a few years now.  Besides the occasional call, I don’t hear from her much.

She came into town with a friend for her BFF’s wedding.  Being so far away from her family, her time was precious during her stay.  Besides trying to catch up with me and her new niece she hadn’t met yet, she had to try to see her uncle and her dad (who is currently in jail).

After a busy Friday, she and I and her friend went out to have a few drinks and play some pool.  Little did I know that Bloomington in the summer would be so busy!  We went downtown and there were lines out the doors.  So we went to the east side, and it was packed there.  By the time we rolled into Ellettsville, it was 1 A.M., there we found what we were looking for; a quiet location that wasn’t busy, with pool tables.

While we were there, we played pool and caught up on life.  It was a rare thing, and I wish we could do it more often.  I found out my sister has done some modeling, which I found odd, but I think she really looked well.  She had me copy 3 CD’s of her modeling pictures.  I never thought my rural farm girl of a sister would be into fashion!

I also found out she’s been dating a man of mixed race for about 9 months now.  I have always thought of myself as an open minded person, but it took me for a spin when I saw pictures of them.  It’s not that I have a problem with it, I just need some time to adjust.  The more important fact is that she’s happy, not what I think.  If he makes her happy, then I should be as well.

She left for Louisville, KY to see our mom last night.  She’s going to spend today and part of Tuesday with her before flying back to Phoenix.  I hope they have a blast together and get to reconnect, like we did.

She’s the only sibling I have.  While I haven’t really appreciated her in the past, I really appreciate and miss her now.  I wish she didn’t live so far away, but moving has done so much for her as a person that in my opinion it outweighs all of the negatives.

Hopefully when Amelia gets more self sufficient, we can take a family vacation out there to see her.  I also have 2 cousins who live in the Phoenix area, which is awesome!

She told us she’s on Facebook, which is great to keep up with her life.  She doesn’t want us to look at her page until she has it like she wants it though.  Just remember Gloria, I’m only a phone call away!

This That and the Other

I haven’t had a chance to post anything for a while as my life has became quite full lately.

This week is spring break at Ivy Tech and IU.  It’s been a nice break from the organized chaos that has become my life.  So I thought I would write about the goings on lately.

Backup, Backup, Backup!

I finally got a stable backup file server going.  My original one died and I’m in the process of parting it out.  If you’re looking for some cheap computer parts you can find ’em right here.  I finally gave up on linux and went with Windows Server 2003.  It’s essentially XP with additional goodies for server functions.  I only have one step left, and that is setting up the RAID configuration.  That’s for a safety net should a hard drive fail.

ROX Update

While I haven’t had much time to concentrate on ROX, I have started recording episodes that still play on CATS.  I have many of the episodes on VHS, but capturing them straight to a digital format makes things much easier.  Given the advanced development of my daughter I might be able to start working on ROX again and finally get season one released in a few months.

Amelia

Taylor & Amelia

She is growing and developing at an alarming rate!  She is now eating solid foods every night.  She is also starting to move around on her own, she isn’t crawling yet but very close.  She has learned that she has a voice and likes to use it often.  I would say her favorite activity is getting mommy and daddy wet when she’s taking a bath.  She’s a hoot and a very happy baby.  We couldn’t ask for more.

The Semester From Hell

This semester I’m taking a class I’ve failed before (MATH-111) and a class that interests me (CINS-102).  My math class is great, as the instructor does his best to ensure everyone in class understands the concepts and can do the work.  85% of the final grade in this class is based upon test scores, something I’ve never had to deal with before.  Right now I’m earning a solid B, which makes me very happy.  I plan on thanking him at the end of the semester for being such a good instructor, all teachers should be reminded how much they’re appreciated when they do a good job!  My other class is a completely different story however.  While I’m learning some much needed skills in this class (XHTML & CSS) the instructor seems to use the class has her way to release frustrations she has.  There aren’t many people in this class, and many don’t seem to have the skills required or aren’t putting forth the effort required.  The class has opened my eyes to the world of web programming, but it’s almost impossible to swallow her totalitarian attitude.

Give Me The Fiber

If you live in Indiana, you might have heard about what Smithville Telephone is doing.  All of their customers are receiving fiber to the home.  It’s exciting to say the least.  Last year I rewired the phone lines in my house and installed a LAN in anticipation.  This week we were “pre-wired” for it.  This consisted of them installing a new network interface on the outside of my home, installing a battery backup system in my home, and installing a data jack.  My area, called the “Fullerton Remote” should be completed by the last quarter of this year.  With this upgrade broadband Internet download  speeds are rising from 1.5mbps to 20!  They are also adding television services which beat all it’s competitors, but that’s my opinion.  This upgrade is amazing to say the least.  Do  you know anyone who has access to 100mbps download speeds at home?  That will be their fastest rate, and I’ve seen it work.  It’s almost like comparing a 14.4 modem to a 56k, a world of difference.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is upon us here in Indiana.  The grass is becoming green again, and the temperatures are rising.  That means the honey do list starts back up again.  I listed what we want to get done around the house in an earlier post.  Now it’s time to get into gear and get those items checked off the list!

Amelia

Tuesday, October 13th 2009 at 8:30am.  An angel was sent to us via mommy’s tummy.  Her name:  Amelia Josephine!

After Rachel’s last OB appointment, it was decided that she was rather large and it would be best for her to come here via C-section.  Weighing 9 pounds, 9.8 ounces, she was rather large.  It seems that isn’t a bad thing as I haven’t heard anything otherwise from either the OB or her pediatrician, Dr. Laughlin.

There were minimal issues with her birth, she had some extra fluids in her lungs due to not being “squeezed” out of the birth canal.  Rachel was sutured, but a slight mishap occured with them and it created a small hole where one spot did not fuse together.  I have been treating it with Neosporin and it is healing greatly.

We spent 4 days in the hospital to ensure Rachel properly healed before venturing forth and becoming an active mom.  Then the real fun began.  The safety and security of the hospital created a fear of being on our own with this little one.

Since then we have been adjusting to fill her every need.  It’s been tiring, yet satisfying at the same time.  I wasn’t as involved in this crucial stage of my first daughter’s life, so I’ve learned a lot.

Now we spend most of our day eating, sleeping or changing diapers.

Big sister Taylor just loves her new sister to death.  She bought her a Minnie Mouse, which Amelia adores.  Minnie sits on her changing table and Amelia stares at Minnie as if she’s in deep thought about what she is exactly.

The kitties are still getting adjusted to the change.  They have both noticed the lack of attention they are receiving, and sometimes force their way into receiving some by jumping on us while we’re sitting.  I’d like to think they love her, but I’ll let time be the judge on that one.

My time thus far  has been taken up significantly by her care and needs.  Mommy does need a break!  Today I started back at work full-time.  I hope Rachel is doing fine today, I really do.

Half a Decade

Five years ago tomorrow, I became a husband.  While I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into back then, I actually appreciate it now.  Five years really doesn’t sound like much, but it’s an accomplishment in today’s world.

Throughout these years, Rachel and I have accomplished many things together.  We bought a house, she got her master’s degree, I lost my job and now our newest adventure, our first child.

Our lives before each other were as different as night and day, but our beliefs have kept us close in many ways.  I think it’s the core reason why our bond has lasted.  It’s a case of opposites attracting.  Our bond has done nothing but grow closer over time, something I hope doesn’t end anytime soon.

We will be celebrating our 5th anniversary with a trip down to French Lick.  We’re going to spend a night at the French Lick Springs Hotel and perhaps do a little gambling.  The traditional gift of the 5 year anniversary is wood.  While the trip is our gift to each other, I have to break the rules and buy a present.  While I can’t say what it is yet, I know she will be pleasantly surprised.

I hope to get a chance to relax, as I haven’t had much time to do that in a while.  School starts back up in 11 days, and I’m back to work at TS full time right now, but that will be scaled back to 24 hours a week at the end of the month.

Today is my father’s 58th birthday as well, I called and left him a message this morning.  I hope he got it.  I love you dad.

August is a very busy month for us.  My father’s birthday on the 13th, our anniversary on the 14th and Taylor’s birthday on the 26th.

Winding Down

My summer is quickly drawing to a close.  My last class for the summer semester is tomorrow, I start working at TS again on August 10th and the birth of my second child is becoming more imminent as each day passes.

I’ve been pre-ocupied with class and remodeling the nursery.  I don’t feel like the progress is coming along like I wanted it to with the nursery.

This is the first room that will be “complete” in the house.  While we have painted, installed doors, ect.  One thing we haven’t done is change our trim from stained to painted.  This room will be.  Once little one is born, we will take a remodeling break and then change the trim, each room at a time.

I’m very happy that I was able to take a break from work this summer and focus on my studies.  While I only have one grade posted thus far, I believe I’ll have 3 A’s and a C.  The C is due to some weird quizzes that had wrong answers!  The professor would sometimes throw a few points our way, but nothing that made up for the loss.  I now have a greater appreciation of what it’s like to be a college student.  If our finances could support it, I’d like to continue going full time until I complete my degree.

My computer’s power supply died again, at least it’s still under warranty.  I took it into PC Max, but it will probably be a couple of weeks before its return due to Antec’s slow warranty claim process.

We bought a new car, well new to us.  With the impending arrival of a new member of the family, we needed a more family friendly vehicle.  I didn’t want to trade in my truck, but I did due to it’s much higher trade-in value than the Kia.  We bought a 2007 Chevrolet HHR 1LT.  We’ve rented them on two occasions and love them!  It looks small, but has a lot more room than you would think it does.

Once I get some time to coordinate my thoughts, I’ll write something with more focus.  In the meantime, if you’re my friend on twitter or facebook – I’ll keep you updated.

A New and Improved Space

We officially finished the remodeling portion of our basement area over the weekend.  Rachel, Taylor and I applied the epoxy basement floor coating on Friday night.  It required 24 hours to fully cure, so by the time her family arrived on Sunday we were able to give the first full tour of our proud accomplishment.

Here is what the space looked like when we purchased this place.  It was dark, dingy and uninviting.



Until now, we mainly used the space as a place to “put stuff.”  We didn’t use or utilize it for any meaningful purpose.  We knew the time would come when we would have to use it, and that time came quickly.

One issue that we weren’t sure about was if we had any structural issues.  The downstairs would get water when it rained heavily.  The first step was to take out all the old paneling and carpet and get the space down to its bones.  To our luck, there were no visible issues.  We corrected a majority of the water issues with a repair to the gutters.

We had many decisions to make, all of which were extremely difficult.  We needed to decide what to cover the walls and floor with, whether or not to install new cable and phone lines.  Many of these decisions  brought on major arguments-in which we were able to bring to the surface any issues we had with each option. 

In the end we decided to go with new paneling, an epoxy basement floor coating, and to add some electrical outlets and completely rewire our homes phone and cable lines.  We decided to add a wired LAN as well.

The only step left is to connect all the new phone, cable and LAN wires, which I plan on doing this week.  I will then officially move my office to a space we have dedicated for that purpose.

The other area, which I am calling the “Den” we have purchased and placed 2 futons and added an area rug.  We needed a space for guests to stay, and this space is perfect.

We did not remodel our fireplace, as all aspects of fireplaces are very expensive.  The things I want to do are not major, but are expensive.  I hope to have that complete within a couple of years.  There’s nothing more comfortable and calming to me than laying by a fire listening to music or reading.

I now have a bedroom to remodel for our growing arrival, baby girl Lawmaster!

Continue reading “A New and Improved Space”

I Can See the Finish Line

Much time and effort has been spent recently on finishing the basement.  My dad came over 2 days this week and helped me, and Rachel has helped me when possible.

I finished installing the new paneling on Friday and we starting installing trim today.  To help save money, we have went with a “rustic” look.  Instead of using “regular” trim, we are using 1×4 standard boards for baseboards and ceiling trim.  We are going to leave them unfinished to help with the effect.  We are then using pre-finished trim for inside and outside corners and filler strips.  These pre-finished pieces are interesting, as the finish isn’t a stain or wax, but like a sticker.

My plans for tomorrow are to work on the trim some more, and get as far as I can.  I start summer classes on Monday, so I will need to rest up as my first class is at 8am.  We are also going to look at 3 futons for possible purchase.

Our plans were pushed way up due to an unforeseen email I received from my aunt Beth.  She’s coming out!  They should be here July 3rd.  We always stay with her when we go to see them in Oklahoma, so we need to return the favor and show her some Hoosier hospitality.  We have currently planned taking a tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as they’re big racing fans, fireworks at Memorial Stadium and a tour of Monroe Reservoir.

We’ve decided to purchase 2 futons for our sitting area downstairs, to make it cozy and a good sleeping area.  We are also bumping up our plans to install a shower downstairs for my aunts arrival.  This way any guests we have will have their own full bathroom.

We will soon get to finally utilitize all of the space in our home, and not just half of it!

Catching Up

I’ve been too busy lately with all of my on-going projects to post any lately.  Since I’ve got some free time, let me update you about the ongoings happening in my life.

It’s a Girl:  We found out last Wednesday that we’re expecting a baby girl.  While Rachel is happy she’s having her first child, I’m a bit indifferent.  I’m not saying that I’m disappointed, I was just hoping for a boy – merely because I already have a daughter.  She was acting up during the ultrasound and wouldn’t let the technician get a good look at her heart, so Rachel is going to have another ultrasound during her next appointment, just to make sure she’s developing normally.  We have had a boy’s name picked out for over a year now, but have been having trouble with a girl one.  We’ve finally decided on 2 – which we are keeping secret until she’s born.

Remodeling Blues:  I’ve been over-occupied lately with remodeling.  While I have made a lot of progress, there is still much to do.  Last week I finished the next to last set of wires I need to pull.  It was a complete nightmare, but this will give us some flexibility in the layout of our living room in the future.  My next job is to cover up our duct run and post downstairs.  We have decided to use some decorator panels downstairs instead of paneling or drywall.  These panels are relatively inexpensive and will eliminate the majority of painting we would need to do with our original plan.  I hope to get the downstairs almost complete by the time I go back to school in June.

No Flash:  Friday while in the midst of “wire pulling hell” I wanted to take some pictures.  I discovered our camera, a Nikon Coolpix 7600 has a problem.  The flash isn’t cooperating, you can’t turn it on in most of it’s modes – and even in the modes it does “function” it doesn’t work.  We’re working on finding a solution and have found a nice one with the Nikon Coolpix S210.  Now it’s just a matter of purchasing it.

Demon’s Are Gone:  The spring semester has officially ended.  The last few weeks were quite the nail biter, as I did horrible on 2 chapter tests in my Math-050 course.  I’m pleased to say that after 10 years of taking this course off and on, I have passed it with an 86%.  This summer I am taking 5 courses, this will enable me to finish my degree in 7 semesters.  With a baby coming, the sooner the better.  The next course I am dreading is Math-111, I took it once and failed.  I hope with 050 off my back, and a little help from Rachel I can conquer this as well.  I’ve decided to change my degree and concentration.  I originally was seeking an Associates of Science in Computer Information Technology with a  PC Support & Administration concentration, after reviewing the coursework I know a little about everything.  I don’t feel like I’ll be challenged or forced to use my brain to it’s full extent for that matter.  I’ve decided to get an Associates of Applied Science in Computer Information Systems with a Programmer / Analyst concentration.

Free Tix:  Being a smoker, I get mailings from time to time with coupons, offers, etc. from tobacco companies.  I was pleasantly surprised when I received a voucher for free tickets to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.  My mother has received this same offer, but for Kentucky Speedway (as she lives in Louisville).  I’ve decided to bring my mother, as I don’t think Rachel will be comfortable in the heat all day.  We get free parking and free rental of headset radios to listen in on the teams.  I’ve never been to the 500 before, and being free makes it that much better.