1-31-09 (18:58)
  • realized what revolutionary road was missing: a strong, smart producer who could have strategically nudged things in the right direction. it was just one person away from being the best film of the year.
  • got the camera to work:

    • the office

    the backyard, no more ivy on the fence.

    the living room, hardwood acclimating to the house. it'll be a while before it goes in though.

    tv room. ran a new circuit to the arched alcove. it also runs to the office. has ethernet, satellite, and power outlets. sweet.

    the kitchen.

    1-31-09 (12:01)
  • nothing is working right now.
  • try to charge my phone and it says "usb charging not available." try to hook up my ipod to my truck's radio and the ipod adaptor i got isn't compatable with my radio (i called the company prior to ordering, just to make sure, turns out they were wrong). i try to sell some baseball cards on ebay and i get the biggest dickhead in my long (11 years+) ebay history. my camera doesn't communicate with my computer anymore (it did two weeks ago). this is just the tip of the iceberg. everything i've done since moving into this house seems to be cursed. i don't get it.


    • 1-29-09 (10:13)

  • been pretty busy with the house.
  • electrical inspection is probably next wednesday. hopefully the inspector doesn't raise a fuss about all the other work being done in the house and just looks at the new electrical and signs off on it.
  • going to take some hazardous materials to the alameda county disposal site today.
  • yesterday was a productive day. got the internet situation sorted out - they gave our internet service to someone who was going to get our original new number. when the number was changed to our new new number they forgot to hook up the dsl with it. it should be on by tomorrow. got power to both the bedrooms and their closets. it's on an afci circuit breaker which conforms to code. we still don't have real power to the office or the add-on (which is where all the tools are right now). the garage has temporary, illegally connected power. getting power to the garage on a more permanent basis will be a long project costing a few hundred bucks. plan on running a dedicated #6 line out there with a subpanel so it has a 220v circuit and a few more 120v circuits. it'll be a proper woodshop setup. also setup a dedicated circuit to the tv area, so now it has a new 15amp circuit all for itself instead of running off the old knob and tube wiring.
  • finances are tight and will be for a few months at least.
  • so far it seems as though obama has been doing some good things. the stimulus package didn't get any republican votes which, to me, means the bipartisan feel that everyone was reporting was basically bullshit. in this regard he doesn't seem to have changed anything and it seems as though his "mandate" (by modern standards) doesn't count for much. it mostly, though, makes the republicans look like petty children.


    • 1-22-09 (18:31)

  • john roberts is a moron.
  • i'll be glad to not have to hear about bush anymore. not having to hear about him is worth him getting off scot-free for his various war crimes and abuses of power.


    • 1-22-09 (12:37)

  • would like to get moved into the new place by sunday, but not sure that that'll happen. would also like to get some of the preliminary work for the garage done. the front door is going to be a challenge. the rough opening isn't large enough so i might need to do some creative things to make it work.
  • gotta like the steelers in the super bowl. i almost always bet on the best defense when it comes to championship situations.
  • apple sold more ipods and iphones than expected. it would reason that microsoft (as the budget computer software provider) would do better in these times than apple, but the opposite is true. that's true, i think, because apple buyers aren't normal consumers, they're members of a cult. they're like cal fans or obama lovers or people's temple members - reality isn't as important belief. apple buyers also tend to be richer in the first place so the economic downturn doesn't effect them as much.


    • 1-19-09 (23:20)

  • stressed out as usual. trying to do too much for too many people and don't have the time or resources to get it all done.
  • updated the best of the year. finally added the best singles and best albums.


    • 1-19-09 (12:50)

  • electrical service is mostly done at this point. demo on kitchen is done and we did most of the demo in the laundry room. shouldn't have started that, though, because the subpanel is in there and i'm afraid the inspector is going to make us jump through all sorts of hoops after seeing the state it's in. potentially a critical mistake that could cost hundreds of bucks (permit fees) and 1-2 months because of trips to city hall, waiting for the inspectors, and the learning curve. i thought about it at one point, but then had my blinders on when we were doing demo and continued it outside of the kitchen. stupid.
  • all sorts of little projects to do which include trips to the hardware store which slows everything down. once the garage is in good condition i think many of those trips will be cut out because i'll be able to stock the garage with the necessities (plywood, mdf, dimensional lumber, etc.).


    • 1-11-09 (19:34)

  • demolished the kitchen this weekend. meryl's dad came yesterday to help for a few hours. the kitchen is almost completely down to the bare bones. there are a couple square feet of flooring left to do, but we got too tired tonight to finish. pretty sure they have asbestos, too.
  • jon, monique, johnny, leigh, and ryan all came over today. arrived at more or less the same time, too, which wasn't at all planned.
  • took two runs to the dump, tore apart the ceiling, got most of the floor done, sold a mirror, got some cheap window coverings, and found a place (urban ore) for the cabinets and sink.
  • sore, got a blister and my hands and arms have little nicks all over them from the lath nails. overall a good weekend.
  • yesterday's playoffs were decent. haven't seen today's yet.
  • movie watching the first couple months of this year is going to be pathetic.
  • updated the top ten of the year. didn't finish the music portion, will try to do that soon.


    • 1-9-09 (23:46)

  • finally got around to finishing the top ten films of the year. will work on top music of the year this weekend.


    • 1-9-09 (11:14)

  • apparently i needed to include pictures of the fireplaces. here they are, along with the lamp my dad had made for me which is an homage to "a christmas story."



    • 1-8-09 (19:20)
  • wrote to bill plaschke of the la times (and pardon the interruption on espn) yesterday and pointed out that usc has been within one play of winning every game they have played since 2002. why no one has brought this up is beyond me. he wrote back and said it was a great point.


    • 1-8-09 (15:15)

  • working on the house most of the day. still cleaning and moving, haven't torn into it at all yet. cleaned out the attic, rest of the house is pretty good now. will do some landscaping this weekend to make it more presentable.
  • front door, new electrical service, gut kitchen, fix garage. those are the first four.










    • 1-6-09 (20:50)
  • i don't like it when teams go for 2 point conversions with more than 4-5 minutes left in the game. osu went for a 2 pointer with over 7 minutes left when they were down by two. obviously they wanted to tie the game with a single play and the announcers supported the decision. they didn't convert. afterwards they held texas to no points and ended up getting a touchdown. osu was now down by 4 points. had they taken the free point they would be down 5 and be in a position where a 2 pointer could land them up by 7. they went for 2 again and failed again. my point is that you don't know what is going to happen later in the game so you should take the points when you can get them. only go for 2 when it's necessary or you have some sort of trick up your sleeve. we'll see what happens.
  • well, i was right. osu lost by 3 points, 24-21. had they gotten the extra point the first time then they could have either gone for 2 to be up by 7 or gone for 1 and been up 1. when texas scored later they would have either been tied or down by one. either way they would have been a field goal away from winning. as it was they were a field goal away from tying, big difference if you ask me. in sum, taking the extra points gives you options, going for 2 point conversions is risky and takes options off the table; they should be reserved for desperate times.
  • osu found a way to lose another big game. osu stinks in the post season (probably in part because of the 6 week lay off). big ten also proved that they are the worst of the big conferences. they're on par with the acc or big east at this point. where was chris wells by the way? what a chump.
  • rose bowl was pretty good. game was over after the first half. usc actually played their worst second half of the year. they just didn't seem to take it real seriously in the second half, they were coasting. of course the worst half of the year was the first half of the oregon state game. that was the half that ruined their season.
  • 2008 was a bad year for updates. updated less than any year since 1999. need to work on that.
  • currently working on a best movies of 2008 list. also on best music of the year. getting the house, though, has slowed everything else in life. haven't seen a movie yet this year, for example.


    • 1-4-09 (20:21)

  • hectic last week or so. been working on cleaning out the house and moving stuff in one car load at a time. cleaned out the crawl space today. picked out a front door yesterday. bought a new dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer yesterday. we've got two leaks that i'll have to take care of this week. progress on the house is really going to slow down once school starts. top priorities are getting a new electrical service, getting the front door installed, getting the kitchen gutted and back up and running. that last one is a big project. the garage repair will probably coincide with the kitchen renovation since there will be time when we're waiting on cabinets or countertops to be fabricated/delivered. the garage has fallen off the slab foundation, the roof rafters are broken or have fallen off the top plate and the foundation is cracked and completely out of level. should be fun.