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GRAFFITI -- April 23, 2007 thru April 29, 2007 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Search this site : 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   
April 23, 2007

0922 - Good morning. So here's what I've been working on...

I started with clearing all the grass encroachment into all of the beds, on Saturday morning. One of those is shown above at left, with some of the mulch raked up and the grasses weeded/scraped out. Saturday wound up with giving the back yard it's first mowing of the year. It was quite tall, and it needs another cut before the next two days are out, down another inch or so.

Yesterday, the edging project started in ernest. I hared off down to the home center, leaving even before Marcia and Linda headed out on their week-long road trip to Paducah for the Quilt Show. I picked up all of the edging blocks that they had - about 2/3 of the quantity that I calculated. Still, probably just as well for the suspension on the truck. Back home I cut in the trench and laid in all of the edging bricks on the largest bed in the front yard. I also did the little tree on that side of the yard. I backfilled with shoveled out soil, and front-filled with leaf compost and topsoil (preparing for a little light seeding). Finally, I raked back down the mulch, and topped off the mulch with a couple of inches fresh shredded red cedar. I think it looks nice. Three more beds to do in the next two days, and before that, more bricks to buy.

Lucy's new place of missing Mommy worship is outside the closed door of Marcia's office. Molly has picked up the habit of eating paper products, but ONLY out of Marcia's office. I have a theory or two, but it's moot... We're just trying to keep the office closed when Marcia's not in it, to remove temptation. But Lucy believes that Marcia must be in there, so at bed time, I have to let the dogs into her office, to see that she's not there, before they'll come to bed.

Plenty to do, I'd best get to it. Happy Monday.

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April 24, 2007

0805 - Good morning. Plenty on tap for today: Day Four of the Big Gardening Weekend. The sunburn (yeah, I'm using SPF 45, when I remembered to start, yesterday, sigh, and later in the day, when I rubbed it into my scalp) is taking it's toll. The labor itself isn't as painful as I expected, to be honest. So, yesterday I made it out and picked up the balance of 50 more edging bricks. Once home I edged, backfilled, and mulched the left front bed (shown finished, clickable thumbnail as usual). Then I knew how much more mulch I needed, so I went over to Patuxent Nursery, and picked up 12 more bags. Back home, I did the second cut on the back lawn, knocking back another 4.5 bags of trimmings. What's left in edging are the two thin beds against the fence behind that bed. Then I have to mulch the trees and small postbox bed next to the road. Then I'll go ahead and do the overseed, spring fertilize, and anti-grub treatment on the front lawn. Time permitting, I'll get to the back, too. Oh, and the house cleaners are coming today.

I'd hoped to get to the raised beds in back, preparing those for spring planting, but that'll have to wait until the coming weekend. Now, to (yard)work with me.

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Mon    Tues    WEDNESDAY    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
April 25, 2007

1508 - Good afternoon. Up at the asscrack of dawn, I was out the door by 0635 and in the dental hygenists poetry appreciation chair shortly after 0700. Since then it's been drive, drive, work, work, work. It's tempting to just go slower, since I'm winding up this gig, but I really haven't got that in me. So I'll get as much of the house-in-order stuff done as I can before the clock ticks down to zero next Thursday.

Since several people figured out it was my birthday yesterday, there's no more point in keeping the cat in the bag (unless that's fun for you) ... {Long interruption} ... Two meetings later, I'm actually going to start winding my day down to bail out at 1600. The puppies are having a long day keeping their legs crossed. See y'all later.

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Mon    Tues    Wed    THURSDAY    Fri    Sat    Sun   
April 26, 2007

1902 - Good evening. Are you about to recycle your cell phone? Or just give it back to your nearly-former corporate masters? You'll want to make sure you've erased all the data on there, to the best of your ability. Of course, if the phone is yours, you can always use destructive forces to make sure the data doesn't fall into evil hands. And there's always the option to not keep sensitive data on your cell phone. But even call lists can be used against you if you're rich and famous, or simply want to be. Giving the phone back to the company pretty much precludes assorted "Ooops, I smashed it multiple times with a sledgehammer, and left it in the firepit all yesterday evening." Well, you can do that, but it is often accompanied by a bill from Accounting. So instead, do the best you can to clear or wipe the data from your cell phone by going to the Cell Phone Data Eraser page at Wireless Recycling. I found it to have much useful information.

The last two planting beds that I edged are in the background of that shot at left. They are strips about 2' wide along the fence, flanking the double gate into the back yard. There was plenty of grass encroachment in to the bed at left, and some scraggly left-over miniature shrubs on the right. Both of those ... features ... are gone now. If I get really ambitious and have one more cooler day in a few weeks, I may extend the edging along the property line at the right side of the house. But that's in shade much of the time, and really, over the line. But then, two neighbors have already said that the rest is so nice, why stop before I'm done. I say, "Because I'm tired, dammit!"

Well, that and the raised beds in back need some prompt attention, in order to have them ready for planting really quickly. If I am both motivated and fortunate, I'll get those beds in shape and amended on Saturday, and do some planting on Sunday. If I do, there will be a freeze, and I'll lose most of it. But if I don't, well then, the best growing weather of the season will come while I procrastinate. And either way, the beds need clearing. I do need to keep an eye on overnight temps, though — the strawberries are due to come into flower soon, and vulnerable to a late frost. As long as I protect them, we'll have fresh strawberries by the second week of June, through into July. Then we'll have to decide whether to strip those beds out and replant next spring.

On with my evening. Ciao!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    FRIDAY    Sat    Sun   
April 27, 2007

2233 - Good evening. Briefly, since it's late... I'm getting organized. At least I hope I am. I want to develop some habits that will carry me through the inevitable memory and functional loss that will be my fate in 50 years or so. Better to start habits early, so I'm learning about David Allen's Getting Things Done. I just ordered that book in paperback, and another one (The Visible Ops Handbook: Implementing ITIL in 4 Practical and Auditable Steps) from Amazon. Those go under the Personal and Professional reading topics, which I just setup in a freshly-installed ThinkingRock. ThinkingRock is a Java app that is one of the best GTD utilities out there, according to the research I've been doing. I've gotten away without organizing tools because I'm reasonably bright, and tend to remember lots of stuff. But my brain is also stuffed with shed-loads of useless crap. One day I'm going to forget my name and to put on my pants, but still sing (croak) all the lyrics to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. So it'll be good for me to have a tool for writing stuff down when I think of it, then be able to act on it, then or later. So it'll be both an organization and documentation tool.

In the background, I'm listening to Traffic. Yum. Now it's time to sleep, as I have myself scheduled to weed out the back raised bed, prep those for planting on Sunday, and do a little more lawn maintenance.

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    SATURDAY    Sun   
April 28, 2007

2031 - Good evening. I made my morning errand run, got the raised beds weeded, amended, and forked, and finished up the laundry ... err, almost finished up the laundry. The last load is sitting in the dryer. I spent perhaps an hour putting current and upcoming projects into ThinkingRock last night. At this point I'm pretty comfortable with the interface. So what does the email bring me? My friend McC sends me a link to 43 Folders, a source of (as Matt puts it) "Lots o' productivity pr0n..." Grrrrrr. Grrrrrrrrrr. Did anyone ever stop to consider that I don't need more time management? I need more time! Okay, both would be useful, but I'm only likely to get the former. And there's no accounting for lost sleep, like last night well past midnight, when the thunder and lightning made Molly decide that it was time to be very, very close to me. Then stand up, circle twice, and slam back into me again. So I slept in past 8 by way of compensation.

Tomorrow morning early (do you hear me, Molly?), while the lawns are still covered with dew, I'm going to apply a weed and fertilizer product. In a few weeks, I'll let you know how that went (and how well I might recommend the product). Then it's off to the nursery for some vegetable seedlings to plant, and the weekly shopping. Once the raised beds are raked out and the plants in, I'll take a pass at getting the watering system running for the year. If not, I can hand water for a while, until I get that all working. I definitely need to have the strawberries on a regular schedule - the flower buds look almost ready to start blooming.

Okay, I guess I'll go look at some productivity pr0n. I'll tell you, Saturday nights around me are nothing but excitement and frivolity!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    SUNDAY  
April 29, 2007

0910 - Good morning. I was out on the lawns by 0715, and done with both the lawn treatment and cleaning pollen off the cars that are here by 0830. Then I could have coffee and breakfast. Now that's done, and I've got a bit of spare time before I head over to the nursery — my first stop on the morning shopping foray.

The news from the Middle East has been schizophrenic, as usual. There's plenty of good progress according to some reports, but we keep losing our young men and women to IEDs and suicide bombers. I continue to not understand why, if they want us gone, they don't just go to ground and wait for us to declare peace then go home. Then the bad guys will have a clear field. But no, and our brave folks are dying...

• Sgt. Alexander Van Aalten, 21, of Monterey, Tenn., died Apr. 20 in Sangin, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when a land mine detonated near his unit during combat operations.
• Lance Cpl. Jeffery A. Bishop, 23, of Dickson, Tenn., died April 20 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Chief Warrant Officer Dwayne L. Moore, 31, of Williamsburg, Va., died Apr. 19 in Mahmudiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he came in contact with enemy forces using indirect fire.
• Cpl. Wade J. Oglesby, 27, of Grand Junction, Colo., died Apr. 18 in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Cpl. Michael M. Rojas, 21, of Fresno, Calif., died Apr. 18 in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
• Pfc. Michael J. Slater, 19, of Scott Depot, W. Va., died Apr. 21 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle rolled over during combat operations.
• Pfc. Christopher M. North, 21, of Sarasota, Fla., died Apr. 21, in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire during combat operations.
• Sgt. William W. Bushnell, 24, of Jasper, Ark., died Apr. 21 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade during combat operations.
• Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper, 34, of Baltimore, Md.,died Apr. 21 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he came in contact with enemy forces using a rocket propelled grenade and small arms fire during combat operations.
• Cpl. Ray M. Bevel, 22, of Andrews, Texas, died Apr. 21 in Yusifiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat patrol operations.
• Pfc. Jeffrey A. Avery, 19, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died April 23 in Muqudadiyah, Iraq, from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated during checkpoint operations.
• Staff Sgt. Steven R. Tudor, 36, of Dunmore, Pa., died Apr. 21 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using indirect fire during combat operations.
• Lance Cpl. Dale G. Peterson, 20, of Redmond, Ore., died April 23 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• 1st Lt. Kevin J. Gaspers, 26, of Hastings, Neb., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Staff Sgt. Kenneth E. Locker Jr., 28, of Wakefield, Neb., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Staff Sgt. William C. Moore, 27, of Benson, N.C., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Sgt. Randell T. Marshall, 22, of Fitzgerald, Ga., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Sgt. Brice A. Pearson, 32, of Phoenix, Az., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Sgt. Michael L. Vaughan, 20, of Otis, Ore., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Spc. Jerry R. King, 19, of Browersville, Ga., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Spc. Michael J. Rodriguez, 20, of Sanford, N.C., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Pfc. Garrett C. Knoll, 23, of Bad Axe, Mich., died Apr. 23 in As Sadah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his location.
• Spc. Jeremy E. Maresh, 24, of Jim Thorpe, Pa., died Apr. 24 in Baghdad, Iraq, from a non-combat related incident.
• Cpl. Willie P. Celestine Jr., 21, of Lafayette, La., died April 26 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Lance Cpl. Adam E. Loggins, 27, of Athens, Ala., died April 26 from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Remember their sacrifices as you go through your upcoming week. I will.

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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.

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