Personal Made Public

All good things come to an end -- and I *think* this is it for this version of my blog. I've never been satisfied with its integration in my main website, so it's high time I fix that.

So last night and this morning I spent a couple of hours and hammered out a very basic bit of blogging software using HTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL. It doesn't do comments (yet) and doesn't do searches, but it suits my needs as a way to get fresh content out to my friends, family, and internet stumblers that happen across it.

So, off you go now: KBlog 0.1 awaits!

Posted by Kevin at 12:37 PM | Permalink

When we picked out paint colors for our house we were worn out from our renovation, so we generally went we "safe" colors. Well, "safe" can mean "drab". I've never felt that we managed to get enough color in our new bedroom to give it life, so I suggested we repaint. I was thinking about a tuscan red of some sort. Elizabeth was game, so we grabbed some swatches and stuck them on the wall for a week.

None of the earthy colors worked at all, but Elizabeth had thrown in a few others that caught her eye. Among them was the color we chose: lupin. Easy choice (you can always paint over a bad selection!), so we bought two gallons and a couple of fresh rollers and brushes, and I set to work bright and early Saturday morning with a little help from my daughter.

It took most of yesterday, and much of today, but here are the results. With our furniture and prints it gives the room a Caribbean feel (perfect!), but the color of lupin blooms with our spruce-colored winter down comforter should make it feel like a cozy bit of Maine in the winter months. It's exactly what I was hoping it would be. In fact, I think by repainting it with a bit more personality, I finally feel a real sense of belonging in our room. I'll sleep well tonight -- but that might just be due to all the work!

Posted by Kevin at 08:31 PM | Permalink

No, not a belated anniversary, just belated blogging on the subject!

We took off Thursday and Friday of last week as a prolonged anniversary celebration. What did we do? EVERYTHING WE COULD THINK TO DO!

Wednesday evening we had dinner with our friend, Katie (who is of Irish descent) over at WB Yeats Irish Pub. Tasty! If you get lucky, the bartender there will be the one that draws shamrocks in the head on your Guinness. From there we decided to try East End Martini Bar on Franklin Street. Good drinks, hip styling and hip staff, but the music is more dance hall volume than martini bar. I'm not saying loud music is bad (I'm guilty enough of that!): I'm just saying you have to hit the right volume for the venue. In a martini bar it should provide background without masking the snatches of conversation around you (much less your own!). LOUD music is for dance clubs where it makes people move in very close to one another. In any case, though, we had fun there!

Thursday was a day trip to the beach (Wrightsville). It's the beach: of COURSE we had fun. Stopped by a Smithfield's on the way back for tasty and cheap BBQ. Yum...

Friday we started with an adventurous, hot, sweaty Geocaching hike (what did you THINK I was going to say?). Yeesh. It's not that kind of blog! Found the cache, found some chiggers. Such lovely little creatures!

Friday afternoon we drove to Greensboro to an indoor shooting range and shot fancy handguns. I'd never fired a handgun before, and Elizabeth had only shot her dad's revolver years ago, so it was a cool experience. We brought back our bullet-ridden target as a memento, named him "Steve the Stiff", and put him up temporarily on the wall. I figure if anyone tries to rob our house they'll see Steve and decide there MUST be a better place to hit down the street!

After burning through 150 rounds of ammo, we drove over to Grove Winery, sampled their offerings, discussed the merits of various oaks for barrels, and toured their facility. A bit of a varied day, no?

Saturday was a putter-around-the-house day until that evening when we went to our favorite French restaurant (Provence). I can't believe we have such a great place so close to home! We're just luckly that way!

Sunday was the day after our anniversary, so we went back to a bit more normal middle-class American lifestyle and went grocery shopping and steam-cleaned the carpet in our daughter's room. Anti-climactic? Perhaps, but after all we'd done, we were just about celebrated out!

Then again, July 4th is just around the corner... is that a second wind I feel coming on???

Posted by Kevin at 08:30 PM | Permalink

Elizabeth and I are working slowly but surely towards the launch of our web consulting business, Silicon Scenery. Mostly we will be working on some template-driven technologies for particular niche markets so that people can get a professional-looking website without having to pay for a web designer. They'll enter the data and images specific to their needs and then select a look for the site from an online catalog. A couple of clicks later they'll have a fully functional site for a fraction of a custom-design.

We'll also be doing some individual site design, though. This morning we finally finished the first such site: an 11 page layout for Elizabeth's dad's vacation rentals. You can check out the site and the cabins over at Winkler's Creek Cabins.

Step by step! Starting a business takes a long time to get it off the ground.

Posted by Kevin at 11:35 AM | Permalink

When this lady makes an entrance she really makes an entrance:

This is up at Open Eye Cafe. She arrived a couple of minutes before I did, and I arrived a few minutes before the police arrived and told the staff to close shop until things got cleaned up. I got the last mocha they made this morning... :-)

Posted by Kevin at 05:35 PM | Permalink

I'm continuing to study guitar and to do so quite seriously. With my first longevity bonus from UNC (10 years!) in my pocket, I decided to upgrade from my cheapie starter amp to a real amp. My lovely Strat deserves so much better, but the $80 amp I had was all I could afford after getting the Strat. Thanks to my friend, Bill (who is a professional musician and guitarist for The Kingsbury Manx), I selected the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: 40 Watts of tube-driven Fender goodness.

Wow! I had no idea how much my old amp was now holding me back. My Deluxe picks up the tiniest vibrations in the strings where my old combo needed lots of vibration and still lost the bass end. Notes died quickly on the combo, but on the Fender they ring out with unbelievable sustain (the final note can die off over close to 45 seconds!) Bass notes are deep and round, the high end is crisp and clear. Nothing "tinny". It's the difference between a $10 transistor radio and a $1000 sound system. My guitar sounds like a completely different instrument.

I'm glad I lived with the $80 amp for the last year. I wouldn't have been able to appreciate just what a difference a really good tube amp makes had I not developed enough as a guitarist to be held back by the limits of my combo amp. Instead, I know enough to be completely blown away by the Fender Deluxe.

Oh, the volume goes to 12. Good luck finding a reviewer that's tested it over six. At TWO I terrified my dog. I think anything above six would cause structural damage to the house.

Posted by Kevin at 06:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'd been meaning to upgrade to Movable Type 3.2 for some time. Well, a few days ago my MT 3.15 codebase suffered a meltdown. The database was intact, but I couldn't get anything to display: the pages were all zero bytes in size.

I just built everything back up using 3.2, but I don't have my original style on the site anymore (I'm not certain whether or not I just import the old one without breaking things). All the entries and comments have returned, though, so that's something.

Now the question in my mind i s whether I want to customize to suit my tastes or just write my own blogging software from scratch. It would be a lot of fun to hack away at my own code rather than just modding someone else's. First up, though, I think I'll finish the post that I was making during the meltdown.

Posted by Kevin at 08:45 PM | Permalink

...and so is the Powerbook!

After walking away from the problem for a while I went online to research AC adapters and discovered that the AC adapter for the iBook and Powerbook (except for the newest iBooks) is the same model. I also remembered a neighbor that I've helped in the past with questions related to her iBook. We're getting together over the holidays, so when I called she immediately asked if I was calling about that:

"No, actually I'm calling you because I have a problem with my computer."

"You're kidding..."

Anyway, her adapter powered it up immediately, so the culprit was found at last. A quick trip to the Apple Store for a new one fixed the problem. I'm just glad to have this done.

Posted by Kevin at 06:58 AM | Permalink

The part I ordered last THURSDAY MORNING to be delivered by Fedex 2nd Day arrived today, but it didn't fix our Powerbook's power problem!!!

AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

I could wiggle the power connection and get the system (occasionally) to boot, so I was 90% certain that I the problem was the power board. You gamble and go with the 90% probability, but sometimes you still lose.

So what could it be??? Backup battery (i.e.: CMOS battery)? Main Logic Board? (please, NO!) AC adapter (then WHY does it light up at the connection?!?!)?

AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

Now what? Maybe a glass of wine or two or three will help...

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Kevin at 07:15 PM | Permalink

As I mentioned previously, I upgraded the hard drive in our Powerbook after the old one seized up. Well the connection for the power adapter failed this week. It's been flaky for a long time now, but this time I couldn't wiggle it just the right way to get it to connect. Once again it was time to tear down our trusty Powerbook.

Well ALL PRAISE APPLE ENGINEERS! The connection is not on the main logic board ($1000.00), but on it's own little board that I could order via the Mac Support Store in NYC for $9. WOOT! (Sorry, a little geek showing through there...) A little intelligence in the design pays off in the long haul. It should take me about 20 minutes to fix once I get the part.

Anyway the part is shipping and should be here by Tuesday, so we'll be back up and running soon enough (well, maybe not "soon enough" for my girls).

Posted by Kevin at 02:13 PM | Permalink

Good grief! It's been over two weeks since I last put pen to paper, er... pixel to page, perhaps?

It's just been really busy. The big time suck was caused by a grinding noise from our Powerbook's hard drive. Fortunately, I had upgraded us to Tiger less than one month earlier, so we had a recent backup of everything.

This was my first experience rebuilding a modern Powerbook.

Piece. Of. Cake.

I should have upgraded the drive sooner! The new one is a 5400 rpm Seagate 100GB notebook drive. It replaces the original 4200 rpm 60GB drive. It's extremely quiet and the extra speed makes the Powerbook feel like a new machine. Definitely worth the $200.

Meanwhile, my big project at work that has been the bane of my existence for months finally rewarded me with the big breakthrough I needed. If it hadn't cracked I think I would have...

Anyway, I think I'm back now, so hopefully there will be more in the way of content again in the near future.

Posted by Kevin at 07:57 PM | Permalink

From left to right:

Kevin as Charlie (sporting a DriveShaft concert shirt).
Elizabeth as Claire (holding "Turnip Head")
Bill as Desmond (whose been down the hatch too long), and
Jan as Danielle (trying to snatch Claire's baby).

Someone did manage to snatch the baby for an hour or two. He reappeared, but Claire's jar of peanut butter vanished at that point...

Is it really a "work" day if it's Halloween?

Posted by Kevin at 06:57 PM | Permalink

We went to the NC State Fair today: now nationally known for Deep-Fried Everything thanks to boingboing.

While we were there the National Guard was recruiting heavily. If you are between 17 and 39 and can give them fifty push-ups they will give you a very nice basketball. Well, we'd been wanting a basketball, so forty seconds later I'd earned us one.

I usually do very deep, very slow push-ups, so fifty regular ones was a piece of cake. It was great fun seeing the high school/college guys after me collapse halfway through! I think I've had my macho moment for the year. :-)

If they can read my handwriting the recruiters will be sending me stuff pretty soon, but you know how shaky your hand can be after all that exertion, right? Good thing they don't know that I'm also a computer geek: they might still be recruiting me when I'm 50.

Meanwhile, maybe my competition should lay off the deep-fried candy bars...

Posted by Kevin at 05:29 PM | Permalink

Is it art?
Is a toy?

It seems suitable that my recent acquisition should be ambiguous since it is a 13" vinyl figure of a bandmember of Gorillaz, a virtual band. It was designed by an artist in Mexico and produced as a limited run in Hong Kong. Gorillaz "lives" in their England studio.

In any case, he now keeps me company while I play my Strat.

Posted by Kevin at 05:10 PM | Permalink

We started our last day in The City with a Central Park carriage ride. Ariel has wanted to do one for years. We had a great driver and a horse named Sylvia Cookie. We told the driver that Ariel was our horse lover and that she had experience with riding, grooming and mucking stalls. At the end of the ride he asked her if she was really a horse person. She assured him that she is, so he gave her Sylvia's treats so that she could feed her. After that, he let her have one more unusually special treat:

We stopped for coffee and biscotti (I really need to start baking that at home). After our little respite we went to FAO Schwartz. In addition to toy cars that cost about as much as the total amount that Elizabeth and I have spent on real cars through the years, Ariel and I got to play on a giant keyboard. Can't get to New York? You can order one from FAO Schwartz for yourself for only $250,000 -- or you buy a house in Carrboro.

Lunch was a little pub. I'm amazed at the wonderfully tiny old buildings here in which are hidden restaurants. The footprint of this building was small enough that the restaurant had to stretch over several floors to fit everything in -- and still had cases of beer stacked in the hallway outside the restrooms on the third floor (all of which must have been carried there since no elevator was present).

Afternoon siesta was once again my chance to hit the park for another 5 miles or so of running. I really love running there. There are so many people running, walking, strolling, rollerblading, lying out, and biking. All ages. All races. All nations. Every language and dialect you can imagine. They keep you from ever getting bored as you knock out the miles. It's going to be hard running again in Carrboro where you have to continually watch every driveway for traffic and can run three miles and may not see another runner. Campus is nice, but that requires a seven and a half mile run and has no real mix of people: it's all students. I'm really going to miss Central Park.

Since Ariel's birthday is going to be spent traveling back home, we picked up some Baby Watson's cheesecake to celebrate it a little early.

We grabbed some pizza-by-the-slice before getting ready for the grand finale: Wicked. I won't dwell on the show, but will simply say that it lives up to its reputation and that the standing ovation was well-deserved. More generally, however, I have to comment on live theater. As I left Gershwin Theater I was paying attention to the people around me. One woman was singing No One Mourns the Wicked from the show as she walked. Another man was discussing how perfect one person was for their part. A teen was excitedly explaining the piece of the plot that did not fall into place for her until near the end. Smiles were all around. Conversations were lively.

No matter how big the budget or fantastic the special effects, no movie has yet to best the sheer emotion brought out by live theater. I admire, respect, and say thanks to those brave souls that give their lives to bringing to each of us these amazing works of art. I know a life in theater means long hours, hard work, difficult working conditions and little in money for most of these artists. They make the world a richer place through their dedication.

Now we've reached the end of this time here. I always hate leaving New York City. This is my kind of place. I love the people. I love their sense of style. I love the energy of this place. If it wasn't for the fact that being close to our family is important to us I think I'd have to try it here. This city pushes you: it demands your best. You see it in the people here, and you here it in the stories they tell. I'd love to have a go at it: to see what I could become here. To grab the myriad opportunities it offers. That's not going to happen anytime soon: being close to our parents is just too important to us. Maybe, however, we can take a bit of this city back home with us. A little more drive, a little more energy, a little inspiration and a litle style. I'm keeping a list of my inspirations from this trip. Now it's time to go home and actually do something.

Posted by Kevin at 05:07 PM | Permalink

Okay, today was an NYC tourist standard: shopping, great food and sightseeing.

The day started early to hit one of NYC's big tourist attractions: the Empire State Building.

We heard the lines get LONG, so we wanted to beat the crowds. We got there a few minutes before they started allowing people in (though we were actually in the lobby), so there were only thirty or so people in front of us. However, we had purchased tickets in advance. When the observatory opened the line split into "have tickets" and "purchase tickets". That put us in front with one other couple. We took the first elevator up and enjoyed an otherwise empty observation deck for the first few minutes up there. Great views, but what really surprised me was the sound of the city. You hear the sum of all the sounds a great metropolis makes, all forced skyward by the towering walls of steel, glass and concrete. The sound is much like the ocean.

Of all the pictures I took from the 86th floor Observation Deck I chose this one looking south because of the bridge in the background. I love great bridges, and this one is one of them: the Verrazano Narrows suspension bridge. The linked article includes a picture of the Concorde flying UNDER the bridge a few years ago.

After that we hit the famed Soho shopping district where we did our fall/winter shopping. New York! Where the stores actually stock size SMALL! With North Carolina being predominantly of German stock most stores stock very few small sizes. Medium is as low as they usually go, but you can find L, XL, XXL and sometimes even XXXL on the racks.

Lunch was a little Soho pub called Fanelli's Cafe that has been in business since 1847. With the food and service there it isn't hard to understand why.

After a little more shopping it was back to the hotel for siesta. I used the time to go for a four or five mile run from our hotel, once around the reservoir in Central Park (what a GREAT place to run!) and back to the hotel. The cooler weather here is a real treat!

Out again to finish up a little shopping and get some dinner at a really nice Italian trattoria called Pasta D'Oro. They treated Elizabeth's and Ariel's special not-on-the-menu order for gnocchi with marinara as a pleasure, sat us at an open air table at the front of the restaurant, and kept an close eye on our needs while not pressing the check upon us until requested so as not to rush us out the door. Another place I would heartily recommend for a dinner that feels more European than New York: a great escape from a rushed and sometimes brusk city.

After that, a stroll through Times Square with another browsing session at the Virgin Megastore, then back to the hotel for the night.

Posted by Kevin at 10:03 PM | Permalink

Up at 7:00, but up too late last night. We're going to have a hard time getting on schedule if we don't start now. That's easier said than done on vacation, but we have work and school the day after we return.

After the complimentary hot breakfast the hotel serves we headed over to American Girl Place so Ariel could do some birthday shopping courtesy of grandparents. This year it was all Native American.

After a trip back to the hotel (with an wander through Rockefeller Plaza) to drop off packages, we decided to explore Central Park. Watch your step! There's elephant poo in the park!

Our exploring covered a couple of miles worth of park: the Ramble, the Great Lawn, the Lake and Bow Bridge, Turtle Pond, and Belvedere Castle.

After all that my girls were pretty worn out (it was a very hot day here -- so hot the carraige rides stopped for the safety of the horses), so we headed back to the hotel for a break. While they rested I headed down to the hotel fitness center to knock out a quick 3.5 miles on the treadmill. :-)

Rested and rejuvenated we headed back to American Girl Place for dinner. They do a lovely job of providing a memorable dinner for girls and their dolls while providing good food and entertainment for the adults. Tonight featured a harp player that did a great job covering everything from the Harry Potter theme to American Pie.

After dinner we did a little shopping, stopped for a couple of drinks (Ariel had a pair of Shirley Temples and went through 11 cherries along the way). Elizabeth and I had Apple Martinis. My ONE cherry was the one with the pit still in it. After that we headed back to the hotel to call it a night a little on the early side. Tomorrow we hope to be up early to head to the Empire State Building.

Posted by Kevin at 08:49 PM | Permalink

This was another day with something for everyone, but I do believe Ariel got the best of the day.

We started off with a trip to 5th Avenue where we did a little shopping. A new keychain and necklace for Elizabeth along with her fall/winter perfume. I purchased workout gear across the street at Nike World. I have a terrible time finding anything in my size in NC, where the selections tends to be one or two mediums in odd colors a bunch of larges and a stacks of XL and XXL items.

After that it was a quick hot dog and off to Radio City Music Hall so Ariel could spend the next several hours studying dance under the tutelage of a Rockette. Ariel's instructor was Kara Marie Sandberg, a wonderfully talented dancer who taught enthusiastically. Clearly, she loves dance.

They stretched for close to half an hour followed by solid two hours of dance. They learned a jazz routine, a tap routine and a kickline piece. After all that they did mock auditions to demonstrate their mastery of the pieces. I am really proud of the job Ariel did.

Oh, I should also mention the tour we received of Radio City Music Hall. What a place! I think I'll have to give the tour a separate entry unto itself (it's late, I'm tired, OKAY?).

After the dance lesson we went to a Pan-Asian restaurant where the lighting changes color every few minutes: Blue Chili. Great place. All we had left in us tonight was enough energy for a trek over to Times Square, mostly just to soak it all in.

Posted by Kevin at 09:48 PM | Permalink

Today was mostly a driving day, so there isn't nearly as much to report. I got the chance to drive in Manhattan today. It's not nearly as bad as most people would suggest. Lines defining lanes are loose suggestions, but once you figure that out and roll with it everything falls into place.

I guess a non-adventure day was a good thing. Ariel was pretty tired out last night.

We stopped for lunch along the way to NYC, so we kept dinner quick and simple by visiting a hot dog / pretzel stand just down the block from the hotel. Speaking of the hotel: this one's great (Hampton Inn one block off Broadway and just up from the Gershwin Theater and Times Square). They just completed renovations and reopened at the beginning of August. Ample space and great amenities.

We wandered the area a bit, including a visit to Times Square and the Virgin Megastore.

It's a good thing I'm not a local: the Virgin Megastore is a dangerous place for me! Some of my favorite music comes out of the Britain and Ireland (The Corrs, Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Dido). The Virgin Megastore stocks imported CD's that are generally not available for sale in the U.S. Ouch. I'll probably be back there again in a day or two to do more damage to my checkbook (not that I really use checks, mind you...).

Ariel and Elizabeth decided to get watches together at the Swatch store.

We also had to walk by Radio City Music Hall since Ariel is going to be there tomorrow for a workshop with the Rockettes. Obviously, that will be a story for tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll get some rest.

Posted by Kevin at 09:37 PM | Permalink

Our last full day in the Poconos. No plans. Sounds like a day to rest up for NYC, right? Yeah, right!

We decided to head down to Delaware Water Gap. What, you might ask, is a Water Gap? "Gap" is used in the northeast the same way "pass" is in the Southeast. A "Water Gap" is a pass through which water passes -- in this case, the Delaware River. The Appalachian Trail passes through the area we chose (the town of Delaware Water Gap), so we hiked about a mile up Mt. Minsi. Great views of the river and surrounding mountains. Ariel has really become a good hiker.

Once we got back down the mountain we grabbed a bite of lunch alongside a scenic lake just up from the trailhead. After lunch we took a trolley tour of the area. It was worth it simply for the information we received about sites to visit nearby.

First among these is the Cold Air Cave. This cave sits just off the road and apparently penentrates pretty deeply into Mt. Minsi. A stream of cold air (publicized as 38 degrees year round, but I'm thinking more like 55) rushes from the cave -- fast enough that leaves 50 feet down the ravine from the cave continuously rustle from the flow. Once upon a time a restaurant existed on the site which used the cave as a refrigerator.

While there, we spotted a bag lying on a rock near the cave with a notepad and a few odds and ends in it. Elizabeth and I both thought the same thing: an exposed geocache! Sure enough, the notepad was the log book. We logged our "find" and searched for the cache container (no luck). I re-hid the cache and we've sent an email to the cache owner to let them know about the problem. Our first completely accidental find of a real geocache.

From the cave we headed to a pedestrian bridge across the Delaware which lets you walk from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Ariel ran ahead. Her first time out of state all by herself! :-)

We finished up the outing with some ice cream (and a chocolate MALT for me).

After that it was back to the hotel to get a little rest in order to be ready for the pool later.

Posted by Kevin at 04:04 PM | Permalink

Ariel has been eager to go horseback riding ever since the beginning of our trip, so today we went to Mountain Creek Riding Stable. Here is Ariel on Patch, Elizabeth on Banjo, and me riding Barnaby.

Somehow I ended up with a galoot of of horse. He was as gentle as could be, but acted as though he hadn't had his morning coffee. Trot? He'd rather not. Grass? Why, of course! He knew he wasn't supposed to eat along the way, but he'd grab for it if I wasn't watching him closely. Barnaby would slow down and tilt his head to better check out an upcoming patch of greenery. Ever so slowly he'd begin to drift to the side of the trail with the intention of a quick grab for a snack. After I realized how he operated I'd be ready with a "course correction" before he could get too close to his target. Barnaby wasn't an old horse but he sure acted like it! Oh, did I mention he was also the BIGGEST horse out there? He was as tall at the shoulder as my full height. We made quite the odd couple, but I can't complain about a lack of personality in my horse. The staff are great and the ride was fun -- we even spotted a deer along the way.

After riding we played a little miniature golf up the road from our hotel.

A peanut butter sandwich picnic lunch followed. We'd then planned a trip to a nearby winery, but the winery turned out to be a store for the actual winery which is nowhere near here. We stopped in American Candle instead -- a large shop full of holiday knick-knacks, candles, and a candy room. Ariel bought an assorted bag of sweets while Elizabeth and I opted for a few wasabi-covered peanuts. Ariel also paused for a few spell-casting tips from a local witch she met.

After a little siesta and a swim for Ariel back at the hotel, we went to Stroudsburg to find Siamsa, an Irish Pub in a bank building which was originally in Ireland before being disassembled, shipped to the U.S., and returning to life as a lovely restaurant.

We were lucky enough to arrive in time for (a) the table in the old vault door,

and (b) the $3 Guinness Stout special.

That's my first one I'm holding -- the goofy look is just normal for me when I'm happy!

After we stuffed ourselves senseless on Irish Breakfast (Ariel), Guinness Beef Stew (Elizabeth), and Dublin Fish and Chips (me) as well as dessert, we walked around downtown. Along the way we stumbled across a geodetic survey marker. Elizabeth spotted it and remembered that you can log those as Geocache finds, so we photographed it, verified it and logged it. Ariel was more interested in the cannon nearby.

After all THAT, it was time for one more trip to the pool for the girls.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Posted by Kevin at 02:51 PM | Permalink

About an hour from our hotel lies Lake Ariel: an opportunity we couldn't pass up. Lake Ariel is a private lake, so there is no public access to it (though you do get to see it from the roads surrounding it). It seems to be a "weekend house" kind of lake. The little town (I guess it would be more appropriate to say "village") of Lake Ariel has a main street about one block long. We pulled over to get bearings and make plans in the Lake Ariel Diner / Countryside Cafe parking lot -- the name seemed to depend on which wall of the building you faced. Well, the aromas emanating from the old building were too wonderful to pass up, even though the condition of the building made it a place we would normally never even consider.

I'm going to have to sing the praises of this restaurant. It is a true village gem. It appears to be a small family restaurant with a long history. It's not in great shape: the wallpaper in the bathroom is peeling aside such that you can see the older paper behind it and the tiles of the floor are cracked. Someone hadn't shown up for work today, so the owner (at least I think she was the owner) apologized for tardy service since she was trying to wait tables and cook at the same time. Her son (probably about 14 or 15 years old) had been pressed into service as makeshift help. He didn't seem to know which way to turn, but there he was.

The food! Okay, the building is showing its age. The tea was cloudy. We were short some silverware. The food made up for it all! Elizabeth and I both ordered the "Monte Crisco" sandwiches (which we normally know as "Monte Cristo" sandwiches, but it fits with the restaurant) and Ariel opted for the L(ake) A(riel) Slam, a breakfast combo of eggs, sausage, bacon and pancakes. The food was amazing! The sandwiches were huge and delicious. Good fries to go with them -- and a generous helping to boot. More than enough to satisfy the hungriest patron, but it didn't stop me from poking at the huge, fluffy pancakes Ariel hadn't finished -- how could she? They violated the old rule:

Never eat anything bigger than your head.

Ariel has requested that I replace my pancake recipe (gleaned from the esteemed Alton Brown, geek god of the kitchen) with their recipe.

Bottom line: If you are ever near Lake Ariel, PA (you won't be, but IF) make sure you stop in at the diner for a good meal.

After lunch we headed to a nearby geocache to launch a Travel Bug. We picked up a keychain at Bushkill Falls that seemed appropriate, and we really wanted to launch one near Lake Ariel in honor of Ariel. It's called Bushkill Hiker:

We dropped it off about 4 miles (as the crow flies) west of Lake Ariel. You have to follow a trail about 2/3 mile into some state-owned game lands to get to the cache. We checked the signs and AS FAR AS WE COULD TELL it is not open season on anything at the moment. That did not stop us from keeping up a rather loud, inane chatter all the way to the cache and back: the nomination of John Roberts, the bugs, the old wall we saw in the woods, and Elizabeth's rendition of the Dukes of Hazzard Theme Song -- which devolved into a discussion of the politics of the Confederate Battle Flag with Ariel (but I digress...).

We found the cache about a quickly as the nasty, biting insects along the trail found us: really fast. Easy find for 3TombRaiders.

Once our Travel Bug was placed in the cache, we beat a hasty (and noisy and bug-ridden and wet-due-to-the-recent-rain) retreat. We exited the game lands without incident or any sign of any other person, but this particular cache had the edge to it that only the threat of live ammo can give.

Back to the hotel! And laundry! Sometimes even the hardiest adventurers need a time out to get clean socks and undies.

Posted by Kevin at 07:41 PM | Permalink

No camp Jeep today, but the spirit stays with you. Today was not a day to sit, but to adventure.

Not far from our hotel (probably fifteen or twenty miles) lies Bushkill Falls: "The Niagara of Pennsylvania". Okay, Niagara Falls it isn't, no matter what the pamphlet claims, but it is a fantastic series of ten or so waterfalls. To view all the falls requires a two mile hike through some rough trails and major changes in elevation (they claim 1267 stair steps along the route). The gift shop sells pins which read "I Survived the Red Trail". They do have shorter trails which reach only the vicinity of the main falls.

Speaking of the Main Falls, here they are!

The Main Falls drop approximately 100 feet. They're gorgeous, but the real treat is reserved for those that take the Red Trail. As it abandons the easy trails a large sign warns all comers that the trail is for hikers only and is NOT an easy walk. In some places there are stairs, but in many the path is nothing more than the footsteps of those that have gone before. The other falls are up another creek which is much smaller. The falls are much smaller -- much more human in scale. The drop into lovely little canyons which you can reach directly from the trail. The pools at the bottoms provide a good supply of stones for skimming.

We chose to do the trail clockwise. This involved a quick descent and a long uphill climb back. However, this meant that the many beautiful smaller falls were approached from below -- definitely the way to go.

The farthest falls out on the trail are a lovely set of cascades.

The rest of the is flatter until a large set of steps near the end. It's a lovely walk with ample opportunity to catch your breath.

After the hike we avoided the grill (from which wafted the wonderful aroma of all sorts of unhealthful foods!) and made peanut butter sandwiches instead. Ariel really wanted to rent a paddle boat for the little lake, so we did. No pics since we were all in the boat, but it was lots of fun. Not the most low-energy activity since those boats don't exactly have the most efficient propulsion system ever invented.

Oh, Ariel DID get that "I Survived the Red Trail" pin.

Posted by Kevin at 07:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The official title for Camp Jeep this year:

Camp Jeep No. 11: Back to Basics

This was the last day for Camp Jeep this year. It ran one day less than last year but had more to do than last year. The lines were therefore much shorter, so you had time to do a lot more.

This was the tamest day for us. No trail ride, and Camp would close at one in order to get everyone over to the closing concert. Ariel and Elizabeth made themselves some seashell-encrusted flower pots at the Coastal Living tent while I spent about half an hour over at the Fender tent playing guitar. I wanted to figure out if the enormous difference I had seen in the quality of my sound there was really due to the amp or if it was the humbuckers on the guitar: definitely the amp. I noticed a Camp Jeep photographer grabbing some pics while I played. Fender had a bunch of picks available, but only a few Camp Jeep/Fender pics. I got two of those last year (Camp Jeep symbol on one side and Fender on the other) and used one of them until the tip wore off completely. I mentioned that to one of the guys at Fender, so he dug under the table and pulled out about eight of them for me.

We then went over to watch the skate and bike demo. Tony Hawk was on hand with several other world-class skaters and a biker. It's amazing what those guys can do! Ariel was really eager to see Tony Hawk ride. I'm not sure where she learned about him, but she definitely had. Here's a random collection of pictures from the demo:

No, that last picture wasn't a crash. That guy managed EIGHT flips one after another.

After that we picked up some free sno-cones and did another off-road test drive. I haven't said much about those, but they were huge fun. I drove a Wrangler, a Liberty, a Commander (coming out in September) and a Wrangler Rubicon. Elizabeth drove a Rubicon, a Grand Cherokee, a Liberty and the Commander. The commander is a three-row seven passenger vehicle. I was really surprised by how well it handled off-road conditions. Elizabeth took great pride in the fact that she made it through the tight tree-filled course without ever having to back up during a turn -- a rare accomplishment on the Camp Jeep trails. My favorite vehicle was the Rubicon, though I would love to have any Wrangler. Last year the waits for the off-road courses were too long to get more than one shot at them. This year we just kept coming back to try different vehicles.

After a few more stops around camp we headed over to the stage area to wait for the start of the closing concert. We could have watched some championship mountain biking first, but we wanted to find a good seat. Unfortunately, a pretty intense thunderstorm blew up, so our attempt was in vain. It was still time well-spent talking to other Jeep People and each other. As you can see, we were all pretty relaxed by this point.

Ariel wanted a picture with the Sirius satellite radio dog. We bought one of the receivers while we were here (they were running abnormally large discounts for attendees). Elizabeth says that the Jeep always gets a present for or at Camp. Now I know where Ariel gets her belief that one time makes something a tradition! Now Elizabeth can get Radio Margaritaville in her car -- the channel that sold her on Sirius.

With the start of storm we bid farewell to Camp Jeep for another year. As we headed back through the rain, Elizabeth made the kind of comment that only a true Jeep lover could seriously make:

They need to make tarps for Jeeps so the rain can't wash the mud off.

See you next year, Camp Jeep!

Posted by Kevin at 08:11 AM | Permalink

Jason Mraz:

Like the geek in Jeep.

I can't even begin to cover this day in half the detail it deserves, so I won't try. The day started with our second trail ride: my turn! Wake up was at 5:15 to get to the staging area by 6:30. Luckily for me it RAINED the night before. I don't have any decent pictures of all the rocks, mud, and dips we went through (because rocks, mud, and dips make it difficult to hold a camera steady). Instead, you'll have to take a wild guess at what it was like based on the expression on my face while in the thick of it.

After the ride we headed back to the camp. Ariel and Elizabeth hooked themselves into a giant slingshot made of bungee cords for some elevated fun. I guess I didn't bounce them enough on the trail ride!

Okay, enough adventure! How about a nice safe break in the Kid's Tent (which is air conditioned)? Ariel made a leather wristband with her name stamped into it. Careful with that mallet!

Hmmmm... maybe Ariel could find something safer than wielding a mallet. Oh, I know! How about a portable Tesla Coil? Here she is using high voltage arcs to light up an unplugged flourescent bulb:

This coming February I'll finally start receiving longevity bonuses for having been with UNC for 10 years. I've been wondering what I might spend it on. I made the mistake of stopping by Fender's tent and playing an American Strat with double humbucker pick-ups on a really good amp. Looks like I'll be buying a better amp...

Ariel got some practice in on a course for remote-controlled Jeeps. These are used in RC racing and cost several hundred dollars each, so I'm reluctant to refer to them as "toy Jeeps".

Time to eat! How do you entertain a hungry crowd waiting in line for dinner? How about a surprise second airshow overhead?

After dinner was the Jason Mraz concert. He has a new CD out (of which we are quite fond), and is best known for his hit single "The Remedy". Jason Mraz gave a great casual, laid-back performance that was a perfect fit for Camp Jeep. We had a good view.

After the concert was the fireworks show. As was the case last year, the show was spectacular. Camp Jeep puts on the best light show I've ever seen in person -- and the only one I've seen on TV to rival it was the Bicentennial fireworks in NYC. These shots are NOT from the finale! The fireworks went on just like this for at least 15 minutes. We were too busy watching the finale to take pictures. We also got to see one misfire that came too close for comfort.

After the show we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. The day lasted 17 hours from wake-up to bedtime. No wonder I didn't get anything blogged last night! The formatting on this entry is a little rough, but at least you're up-to-date. Next up: Day Three!

Posted by Kevin at 07:11 PM | Permalink

Camp Jeep:

It's a Jeep Thing, you wouldn't understand.

First off: a shot from the parking lot. Our Cherokee is the little Jeep in the middle.

Camp Jeep opened, as usual, with the National Anthem. This year the Oak Ridge Boys did the honors.

Once inside we headed over to the Rubicon Challenge first thing. A much rockier, tougher and more interesting run than last year -- and last year was great! We were too busy driving to get pics of the course -- maybe I'll try to snap a pic or two of others running the challenge tomorrow.

After the Rubicon Challenge Ariel opted for a little virtual kayaking.

In the same area there is mountainboarding, a skydive simulator, the Adventure Tower of Certain Painful Death (okay, I'm embellishing), mountain biking (Jeep now has a two-wheel drive mountain bike!), bungee bouncing, and I-don't-even-remember-the-rest! Ariel also got a chance to run some wicked cool RC Jeeps around a very challenging track filled with obstacles.

That's about all the time we had before grabbing lunch and heading to Elizabeth's trail ride. We were slated for "E" but it turns out that the trail ratings are substantially different here than they were in Virginia last year. The "scenics" here are about as challenging as the "intermediate" last year. The "intermediate" trails here were eating stock vehicles. We moved to a "scenic". It was a rough trail -- and rougher still thanks to our trail guide taking a wrong turn! It was IMPERATIVE THAT YOU KEEP YOUR HEAD AND HANDS INSIDE THE VEHICLE AT ALL TIMES. Elizabeth -- I think this meant YOU!

The rocks and hills left you feeling pretty beat up. Elizabeth did snack on a rock somewhere along the way.

If you look closely you'll see that the bar across the front is supposed to go all the way across as a straight piece. It now takes a substantial detour near the front wheel.

Back at Camp Jeep we had just enough time to change my Intermediate trail to a "scenic" at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, hit the Jeep Store for a few minutes browsing, and to let Ariel make a "rain stick" in the Kid's Tent. Then it was time to head to the airfield for the airshow.

Jeep sponsored an airshow featuring vintage WWII aircraft. They also had a bunch of old military vehicles around. The flying was impressive,

as were the planes on the ground.

There was supposed to be a USO show as well, but thanks to the onset of a storm we decided to head back to base to rest up for our early morning wake-up (5:15) before hitting the trails for a little more redecorating of the Jeep. First, though, you have to find your Jeep in a sea of them. Ariel finally spotted it. Victory!

As you can see from Ariel's sense of accomplishment, that was no small task.

A little tanned/burned and a whole lot dirty, we're glad to be back at the hotel for a good night's sleep. We earned it.

Posted by Kevin at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Okay, so we left work a little early yesterday -- that still doesn't make it count as a vacation day! Thus, today is Day 1 of Summer Vacation 2005.

Last night fortune smiled upon us. We had feared it would be fast food time, but as hunger struck we found a Pizza Inn buffet. Pizza Inn is my favorite buffet since they make that really thin crust. I can have more types of slices that way without stuffing myself sick.

Today we reached the Poconos. It was a long drive, but fortunately a Chocolate Break was along the way in the form of Chocolate World at Hershey, Pennsylvania. Mmmmm, tasty... As you can see, Ariel had a miserable time there:

Tomorrow morning Camp Jeep opens. HURRAY!!! We're already encountering our fellow Jeep People and comparing damage from days gone by, various mods, and speculation about the coming trails. The parking lot outside our hotel (30 minutes from Camp) is a sea of Jeeps. We have GOT to get a Wrangler! And a lift! No, a winch! Or big knobby tires...

Posted by Kevin at 09:18 PM | Permalink

One of the really great things about having a really great marriage is the conversations that you can have that leave other folks wondering what just happened:

I went by Elizabeth's office today to pass along some information. Her officemate and a coworker were there, so I wanted to keep it to the point:

Me: Mañana.
Elizabeth: Merci.

I walked away, thought about what we'd said and went back:

Me: So...
Elizabeth: Yeah.

I love that: the ability to convey so much with so few words that no one else has a clue what you're saying. It only works when you know each other as well as we do. :)

Posted by Kevin at 07:38 PM | Permalink

Cheeseburger in Paradise and Uncle John's Band and Sk8ter Boi and I'm a Believer and..

Does life get any better than this?

Posted by Kevin at 09:22 PM | Permalink

We are now a THREE guitar family: one Washburn D-10 acoustic, one 3/4-size acoustic belonging to my daughter and now:

my new Candy Apple Red Satin Fender Stratocaster.

It's on the lower end of the Fender line-up, but WOW what a great instrument. Playing on it is so effortless compared to my acoustic. Now, don't get me wrong -- I love my acoustic and hope to spend a good deal of time on it.

This year's birthday ROCKED! Literally...

To Elizabeth, Ariel and my parents: THANK YOU!!!

While I'm on the subject, I want to give a shout out to Musician's Friend. They offer great service and great prices on a great website. They also entertain requests for price matches if you find something elsewhere for less. I heartily recommnend them. In addition to my Strat, I ordered my amp, cable and guitar stand there. Check 'em out...

Posted by Kevin at 05:45 PM | Permalink

Posted by Kevin at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last week we saw it all:

My neighbor gave birth via a home delivery to the newest member of our community.
A friend of the family got married with my daughter acting as flower girl.
We celebrated another neighbor's 55 birthday with champagne on her porch.
My daughter's teacher died. :-(

Ms. Judy Anders was greatly esteemed in our little town. She had been out of school for several weeks recovering from a hospital stay. She loved her students and thought about them to the very end (she had scheduled a balloon delivery for her class that was to happen the morning after she died). She taught an entire generation of our children and will be sorely missed.

Posted by Kevin at 12:29 PM | Permalink

I run SETI@Home on any idle hardware I can find -- and as a network admin I can find quite a bit! I joined the project on April 7, 1999 (shortly BEFORE the project went "live" -- mmmm Beta Testing). Sometime over the last two weeks I moved from the number three spot in my registration class to number two in terms of the amount of data crunched. My sights are now firmly fixed on the number one slot.

Overall, I've also now made it into the top 0.25% of all users. No, that's not a typo: it IS 0.25% and not 25%! That's number 13,406 out of 5.39 million.

Happy day! :-)

Posted by Kevin at 05:47 PM | Permalink

Okay, so this is the THIRD TIME I've set up my blog. Originally I built it on my Mac at work just to learn about the installation process since we were talking about using blogging software there to facilitate communications.

Well, I found out that I like having a blog. I didn't want it to be a test anymore, but didn't want to house a personal blog on a work computer, either. The best option seemed to be to move it to my personal web space provided by UNC. That actually works really well and is on an unbelievably fast server with an unbelievably big internet connection.

Then I mentioned to Elizabeth that we could buy web hosting space and get our own private domains. "How much?", she asked. When she heard that we could get our own space for only $10-$15 a month she wanted to know why we hadn't done it already.

The truth is, I thought I was just being too geeky for my own good. Fortunately, my wife's as good a geek as they come! So now we all (including my 4th grade daughter) have our own domains. Way cool...

Task one was to get my blog moved. Here it is!!! This time I hope it stays in one place for long time. I think I'm really going to enjoy having this on my own space where I don't have to think about whether or not I'm meticulously following the rules at work (i.e.: if I rave about my Powerbook, is that an ad for Apple?).

Besides, moving the darn thing is a Royal Pain!

Posted by Kevin at 06:24 PM | Permalink