|
|
HomeGraffitiAboutSitemapVisualDevWork
Email BrianGPG Key |
GRAFFITI -- August 09, 2004 thru August 15, 2004>> Link to the Current Week <<Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable. About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message. |
 
|
MONDAY
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
August 9, 2004
0734 - Good morning. There at the left is the net result of nearly 14 hours of yardwork: a flat, off-greenish piece of ground. Doesn't look like much, does it? Using a hunk of 6x8 and some rope, I skimmed and flattened the space a bit, then decided another round of tilling to break up the slightly drier ground more would be a good thing. So I did that, then dragged it out again, then raked and tamped, lightly watered and seeded. Then I mowed the back yard and used trimmings to mulch the freshly seeded ground. As long as I stay on the ball about watering, it should come up just fine over the next three to four weeks.
In the evening, I worked on the Mailbox project. I've nothing to show for it yet, as I haven't reached the point of success upon which to end the penultimate article. And that was about it for the weekend. Nope, I didn't play Doom3 at all. Now I've got to get to work. Have a great day!
Mon
TUESDAY
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
August 10, 2004
0735 - Good morning. A pretty sunrise before me this morning. Last night, I gave to Doom3. It was fun, I got into Level 4 of the Alpha Sector. Now I'm tired and must drive. Have a great day!
Mon
Tues
WEDNESDAY
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
August 11, 2004
0646 - Good morning. Still wiped out from the weekend's exertions, although I managed to cut and edge the grass in front last night, then walk the mutts. Then it was all straight downhill from there. I don't even remember what I did for the rest of the evening, I think I watched some TV. Perhaps that's why none of it stuck...
On the good news front, after what seems a rather long quiet spell, interest in that book proposal I wrote has flared up. I have some responses to write to initial feedback on the proposal and sample topic, then we'll see what happens. Wish me luck, and hope they don't offer a ridiculously small advance, or I'll have to walk.
Now to work with me, on a three-stop day that'll take me around the horn into Virginia and back again. Have a great day!
Mon
Tues
Wed
THURSDAY
Fri
Sat
Sun
August 12, 2004
0646 - Good morning. A fairly successful day yesterday, ending on a high note: A happy new customer. That's always a good thing. Then I get to come home during an uproarious storm that has me running the wipers on full, and seeing just a few meters in front of the car, in places. Yeah, it was a slow ride.
Last night I wrote my commentary to the Development Editor's response to my proposal. Then I revised the book outline to reflect the input, attached both documents and sent them back to my agent at Studio B for submission. I'm fairly pleased, myself. We'll see how it goes.
Today I've got to help reimage a system that blew chunks when the client tried to install Kodak's picture management software. Bad juju, man. Then I'll be up in Gaithersburg for a few hours. So I'd best fly... have a great day!
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
FRIDAY
Sat
Sun
August 13, 2004
No post today.
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
SATURDAY
Sun
August 14, 2004
1010 - Good morning. Most of us know that Marcia is going away. Lucy's been terribly mopey for the last 24 to 48 hours, watching the suitcases fill up. Molly doesn't know our routine yet, and isn't fully bonded to us, soshe isn't too concerned. However, we'll all be happy when Marcia gets back from her trip to Brasil, in 12 days...
After yesterday's work, we came home and watched Hurricane Charley and it's effects on Florida - horrendous for the Fort Myers area, but not as hairy as if it had made landfall in Tampa as a Category 4, as originally tracked. I called Greg and asked how he felt to have dodged a bullet -- the original path of the storm probably would have meant that he didn't have an apartment to return to. As it was, there was virtually nothing more than a bit of rain and a breeze up his way (Clearwater).
Late in the evening, I played Doom3 for a little while, then we crashed. I apologize for the brevity of this week's posts, but there's been so much going on, life is full. And nope, no further news on the book proposal. Have a great day!
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
SUNDAY
August 15, 2004
0841 - Good morning. The first load of laundry is in, I'm having a cup of coffee and a brownie for breakfast, and it's about time to get to work on the big project, but more about that in a minute. Yesterday started calmly enough, with the dogs standing/sitting at my feet in Marcia's office as she collected her last few things before her trip to Brasil. Lucy and Molly apparently wanted me to intercede on their behalf in favor of non-travel. But needs must, and we got Marcia to the airport on time.
 |
 |
Marcia was anxious to get started, enough so that she wanted me to take her to the airport at 10 . . . for a 2:45 flight. I declined and got started on the project - Marcia's office. You can see from the snaps above that there's an awful lot of stuff going on in a pretty small space, and Marcia also really, really hates the colors and the chair rails. So the snaps you see above are the official before pictures in the redo of Marcia's office. I spent a couple of hours boxing things and disconnecting, labeling cables, etc. Then and only then did we go to the airport, getting her there 2 hours before her flight. Then I went shopping. I picked up the filing cabinet for her new setup at Staples. Then I got some new lighting fixtures (those will be a surprise, perhaps), and finally I went camera shopping. Marcia and I have talked about this for a long time, but there's never been a really good reason to upgrade, as our Olympus D450Z just keeps trucking along. We've had that for about 5 years now, and it's solid. I don't really mind the low pixel count: ~3M. But the limit of a 3X optical zoom in conjunction with the low resolution meant that I couldn't get a lot of pictures that I really wanted. Finally we decided that it was time. I have been thinking hard about a digital SLR, but I can't justify the $1500 - $2000 that I'd spend getting into a rig like that, with lenses, etc. So after a bunch of comparison shopping, I ended up with the Kodak DX6490. 4 megapixel and 10X optical zoom, I added the camera dock and a 256M SD card and came away for under $600. The rest of the pictures in today's post are shot with the new Kodak.
A little after 3 PM, I was back home and got the camera squared away. Then I boxed up the last of the stuff from Marcia's office, took the furnishings out or apart as plans dictated, and demo'd out the room. Out came the little desk built into the nook. Off came the hockey curtains and mini-blinds. Down came the chair rail. Then I sanded all the walls, creating a bit of tooth for the primer to come. Finally I spackled ... and spackled ... and spackled! I finished at around 9 PM. with the results you can see, right and left.
 |
 |
 |
And there are the dogs at the end of the day, craving a bit of attention. I love Lucy's tongue out in concentration as she tries to navigate the back of the couch! Now it's time for me to swap loads in the laundry, finish my breakfast, slap a bit more coating on the walls to let it start drying, and head out to do the shopping. Have a great day!
Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week
Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.
All Content Copyright © 1999-2011 Brian P. Bilbrey.
Except where otherwise noted, this site is licensed under the
Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
License.