Missing my Reaper

So I was sitting at my computer playing with the pictures I took when we went to Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens when my Lana comes in telling me I dropped a piece of the Reaper when I put it away. I didn't know what to say at first since I didn't put it away. She lays down one of my foam trim pieces on the table and tells me she thought I did since the reaper isn't in our front yard. Yup, some ass stole my homemade reaper from my very front yard.
It really sucks that I can't have something nice in my yard because some people are such inconsiderate asses. I'm really at a loss. I mean, do I not put my headstones out anymore? Should I even bother finishing my other reaper in the garage? I had plans for more headstones, a cemetery fence, but now I'm just in a funk over it all. This isn't the first time something has been stolen from my yard but last time it was mysteriously returned. I doubt I'll be that lucky this time. I'm tempted to post fliers and offer a fifty dollar reward for information that will lead to it's return. Whoever took it, took it today while I was in my house. They must have thought I wasn't home since our car wasn't parked out front like it usually is (Lana was out with her sister), so my first suspension is someone in the neighborhood. The officer was nice about it though and was surprised that it didn't get stolen sooner. Apparently the neighborhood kids aren't as well behaved as I would like to think. He complimented me on it and thought I had bought it. He said he remembered it well and would keep an eye out for it since this neighborhood was his area. I hope he finds it, but I'm pretty resolved to the fact I'll probably not get it back. It really just sucks. The frame I built from scrap wood with Marcel. He had his first power tools lesson helping me put the frame together. He helped me make the skull molds and cast them, and Lana helped with applying the Monster Mud to give it that stony texture. It was a family effort and someone came into my yard and just took it. I'm trying to shake it off but it just makes me so mad on so many levels. I'm trying to shake it off, really I am...
Anyway, we had a really nice weekend. We decided to head out to Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens. It was really pretty amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I took plenty of photos but I do wish I had a nice telephoto lens or even a decent macro lens but I'm making due with my kit lens so far. Hopefully we'll be going back soon when the lighting is better (it was really cloudy) and armed with some mosquito repellent. The place is just huge and we're planing a full day trip down the road soon. Well, I should go for now. We got tamales on the stove!

Out and About

So we spent this last weekend doing a lot of running around. It's always nice to get away, just the four of us. It really started I think with Lana wanting to get out and do something. I suggested Galaxy Drive-In so it was off we went on Friday. We ended up seeing Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. It was followed by that damn talking chihuahua movie so we bugged out pretty early in the movie. Just a suggestion to anyone who chooses to go to a drive-in: eat before you get there. I think we all had a stomach ache from the food. Next time we'll definitely leave early and eat at Bubba's Bar-B-Q Steakhouse again, we were just running a bit late after having stopping to visit Big Sam. We ended up staying in the car for the movie since I didn't look up how to turn off the running lights on the truck. Next time we'll do it right. The rear hatch open with the back seats laid back, some blankets and pillows tossed in the back, and everyone curled up under the stars watching the movie. The drive home was really nice with the stars out. It reminded me of the many long drives on the road when I was a kid watching the stars from the back seat while my dad chewed away on sunflower seeds. Lana and me talked most of the time until she fell prey to the sleepies. So I jammed to Johnny Cash the rest of way back. I hummed along quietly, cause you know, I don't sing to the radio. ;)
We didn't get much sleep since Saturday was our annual neighborhood garage sale day. We made some damn good scores too. I got a dovetail jig for two dollars and over a dozen table saw blades, including a few dados, for five. Lana found an awesome gliding chair for the soon-to-be reading room, Marcel found some Beyblades, an arena thing for them, and an awesome keyboard still in the box. I think I've played with it more than he has so far. It's very cool and I've already queued up some library books on learning to play it. I didn't score the BMX I was looking for, but it was still fun.
To say the least, laundry, dishes, office work, all got a back burner last weekend. It was really really nice. All weekends should be more like that. :)
Well, I'm off to finish up the laundry. Later!

Into Focus

So it's been a pretty busy month. The past month I've pretty much put everything on halt to work on Marcel's Halloween costume. I made really good progress on it and I can only thank Lana for being so tolerant of me neglecting everything else. I'm weeks behind on laundry, the kitchen is a constant mess and I was constantly in the garage. It's always a thrill to finish a project especially when it comes out as well as it did. I learned how to sew four way fabric (spandex), I put in my first zipper, and I learned some really great things to know about doing automotive body work.

Fresh body filler makes a huge difference.

Basic sanding skills are everything.

When in doubt add more body filler and sand with a finer grit.

Fiberglass Resin is really hard to get out of your hair.

Mask everything you don't want to paint even if you think the spray won't hit that area.

The time you spend on sanding and prep work will always show... for better or worse.

All in all, it came out amazing. I finally got a good technique down for working with body filler and fiberglass. Next time I'll just order a gallon or latex for making my molds and save some sanding time. Honestly I think I enjoy doing the work as much as I love seeing Marcel's face on the finished product. It's always very rewarding on different levels. Everything was fabricated by me except the flashlight and blaster lens. Something about being able to say, "It didn't exist until I created it."
To top it all off, I got my new camera in time for all the Halloween pictures. I had to sell every piece of old VW bug stuff I had stored away but I managed to scrape up enough money for it. What I didn't have covered, my baby picked up after a doing a Passion Party. I sometimes take for granted what a great job Lana has, and how good she is at it. She came home from a party and asked how much I was short and just handed me a couple hundred. You want to talk hot??
I was initially just going to get the Stylus 1030sw that I've been wanting but Lana talked some sense into me. I'm so glad she did too becuase I abso-tively love this camera. So now that I've got time on my hands again, I've been reading up a lot on photography from library books, watching lots of tutorials on Youtube, and just shooting tons of pictures. I can't wait to get a new lens now. Prolly a IF 70-200mm to start off. Then there's always a good macro lens of course. But then there's a the need for a solid flash, maybe a battery grip and you can't discount the need for a wireless shutter control.
I wander how much giving plasma pays out these days...

Fun With Fiberglass

There hasn't really been a lot going on around here other than the usual but that isn't to say we've not been busy. With Halloween just a few weeks away I can honestly say that I really doubt I'll have a costume in time this year. I really wanted to work on mine and Lana's. I was going to be Frank the Bunny and Lana was going to be Gene Simmons. Ah well. I should have known better than to wait so long but the good news is that I'm pretty sure Marcel's will be done.
I've been really happy with how well it's coming out so far. It's taken a few years of hands on working with fiberglass but I think I finally got the hang of it. Now if I could just get my hands on a DA sander and a planer I'd be in good shape for making super smooth surfaces.

• The backpack is done and just needs straps added.
  
• The blaster body is done with a working light at the barrel and just needs paint.
  
• The chest emblem is done and needs paint.
  
• The shoulder armor needs final sanding and then paint.
  
• The helmet just needs the side emblems added and paint.

It's gone pretty good. I do wish I had the time and money to make my molds in RTV silicone or even latex. They would have come out incredible but my plaster molds did the trick even if they needed more finishing work. I honestly see this costume as being the best so far. So long as I manage to not fuck up the sewing part. I'm nervous, to say the least, about sewing four way fabric. Keep your fingers crossed, I'll probably start sewing sometime next week...
Well, I'm off to lose some more money on Full Tilt while I listen to the new Metallica Death Magnetic. I might put out the Reaper tonight if I'm not too tired when Lana gets home from her party. Later!

That Time of Year Again

So we're officially in Halloween mode around here. I always say I'm going to get started early but I never do. It really sucks too because things are coming together really wonderfully. After a few weeks of telling Marcel I need a costume idea I finally gave him an ultimatum. Four costume ideas in twenty four hours or he gets a store bought costume. He was a little horrified, trust me. He came up with Batman (gray suit), Batman Beyond, Megaman, and a Zombie. Batman would require lots of latex, a new head bust, more vinyl, plus all all the molds (mask and glove spikes). Just too much work and not enough time despite how much I would love to do another Batman costume. The Batman Beyond would be a lot easier but would still require a headbust and lots of latex for the mask so it too was a no-go. The Zombie idea was great but without liquid foam latex and a small oven to cook it in it just wasn't feasible. So Megaman won by default really.
So I usually take Olivia to the garage with me, open up the garage doors, turn the radio on and put her in baby jail (otherwise known as the Pack and Play). She absolutely loves it. She loves watching the tree rats (squirrels for you rodent lovers) play, the cars pass by and dances to the music when not playing with her toys. I was really surprised how much she likes being in there with me which allows me to get a lot of work done.
So far, it's coming out awesome. In just three days of work I got the backpack and chest emblem forms made), molded and cast. The helmet base is made and ready for great stuff foam to sculpt and the shoulder armor bases are done. Today's mission is to cast the big part of the backpack, shoot foam on the helmet base, start sculpting the shoulder armor, and assemble the backpack. Sound like a lot? It does to me too but really it's not that time consuming considering most of it will be spent waiting for fiberglass and milkshake to cook. What's milkshake you ask? Just the most badass, super-awesomeo stuff for making smooth casting!
And here's the recipe!

Milkshake Mix Ingredients 1 part Fiberglass Resin 1 part Body Filler (Bondo, Gold Rage, etc.) proper MEKP value for Fiberglass Resin (Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide) proper hardener cream volume for Body Filler volume Things You'll Need a scale that measures ounces disposable plastic cups disposable brushes petroleum jelly or another mold release mixing stick Set up your work area before starting! This stuff cooks pretty fast. You have roughly around five minutes before it gets too hard to work. First thing to do is prepare your mold with a mold release. Petroleum jelly works great with resin and body filler and is super cheap. Just take a brush and cover well with a thin layer. If you want to get rid of the brush strokes take a heat gun and lightly go over the petroleum jelly. Now you're ready for the first cast. Pour the proper amount of resin into a cup and weigh it on your scale. (It takes fourteen drops of MEKP per ounce of resin but remember not mix too big of a batch since it cooks pretty fast). Then add an equal part Body Filler by weight to the cup. Now add your proper amount of MEKP and hardener cream and mix thoroughly. Mix quickly, but completely, then take another brush and begin painting your Milkshake into the mold! I suggest doing at least two layers to allow for final sanding on the finished product and then adding a layer or two of standard fiberglass for added strength. This recipe will give you a smooth casting with the strength of fiberglass resin and the smoothness of body filler. Enjoy!

In case I have time, I'm going to be Frank the Bunny from Donnie Darko and Lana wants to be Gene Simmons. I really would love to do the Kiss costume so even if we don't get done in time, I'm doing this one. :)
Marcel's costume takes priority over everyone though so it's off to work for me!

Back Online After Ike

It's been a little more than two weeks since Hurricane Ike. We were without power for a little over a week and we just got our internet service restored today. When I called Comcast to find out if we had service yet and the tech said it must have been horrible because couldn't live without by the second sports scores. He then proceeded to rattle off current scores of a few games going on at the moment. I honestly have no idea what sport he was even talking about. I'm not sure my, "Wow, really?" every after every score update was convincing.
We decided to ride out the storm this time although I think next time we will be leaving town. We managed to get all the windows boarded up and the girls even painted a few with stuff like "Tina Ain't Here!". Completely Lana and Helen's idea. It got pretty intense towards the back end of the storm and we spent a bit of time in the closet under the stairs. Afterward was a blur of days spent reading, cooking on the patio by tiki torches on Helen's little grill, and playing Munchkin with Marcel by candles while everyone slept. We were hot, probably pretty stinky from taking quick cold showers, but really not that bad off. We had plenty of MRE's, the stores started opening up pretty fast, and the house was relatively unscathed. Other than a bunch of large limbs in the yard and a few broken roof tiles we came out of the storm prett good. Marlana's bird house, the one her grandfather built for her as a housewarming gift, was busted up pretty good and is now on the project list of things to fix.
Now that we have power and a internet connection, things are nearly back to normal. We still need to tear down the huge tree that fell in my yard, there's the top part of a tree sitting in the yard by the side of the house that needs removing, and we're still waiting to hear back from our insurance about the broken roof tiles but other than that were good.
Good Stuff That Happened While We Were Offline

Olivia has decided that walking everywhere is much faster.

Marcel discovered there are games that don't require a keyboard and mouse.

I finished reading Footprints of Thunder and American Gods, and The Cartoonist.

Turns out everyone likes MRE's.

I fixed the roof leak in the kitchen before the storm.

The huge dead tree in our backyard missed the garage, fences and our neighbors house and hit smack in the middle of the yard.

We now have a beautiful Red Eye Tree Frog!

And Now the Bad...

The birdhouse Lana's late grandfather built as a housewarming gift broke into a few pieces when the big tree fell.

Our roof now has three small holes in it where limbs broke some tiles.

My Stylus 810, that I always carry in my pocket, broke.

One of my Green Tree Frogs died due to the cricket shortage in our area after the storm.

So with that all that said, I'm off to check my email on something other than a phone screen! Whoo hoo, we have that internet again!!

Fly By

So the kids are now officially a year old, Marcel's back in school, and Olivia has decided she wants to walk now. Now we've known she's been capable of walking for sometime now but she's just decided to knee walk up until just a few days ago. This was only after a weird period of her camping on the couch. She's been able to get on and off of the couch for a while now but for a few days she dicided she didn't want off. It was really sort of funny - for a little while. She'd point, throw a sign (drink being the most common), and expect whoever was close, to get it for her. It was really pretty funny until it became more of a demand. Nothing like having a one year old make demands. I don't really remember Marcel being all that demanding but then I guess it has been a while since we had a toddler in the house. The time goes too damn fast.
I still can't believe Marcel is ten. He's started to notice girls. I think I should be scared. I remember how sneaky I got around his age but I'm still having a hard time imagining my kiddo being sneaky. Now I'm not one of those "not my kid" parents but I know that, generally speaking, he's one of the best behaved kids I know. I'd like to think that Marlana and I had a lot to do with that but I honestly think Marcel is just one of those naturally kind and easygoing souls. We'll see once the hormones kick in...
We keep putting off sitting him down for the talk but I think it's imminent now. Sometime very soon in the near future we'll have to openly discuss sex with our son. I'm still a little weirded out by it. So much so, I think I'll change the subject.
I've been reading a lot of roleplaying books lately. GURPS 4th edition, D&D 4th edition as well as an oldie that's close to my gaming heart - Palladium Fantasy. Back when I first met Oscar and John I ran a game for them and my brother using this system for nearly two years. This was, of course, before I nearly twisted their arms into switching to GURPS third edition. We had a lot of really great moments sitting at my dad's dining room table tossing dice playing that system. It was only in second edition at the time so that's what I decided to run again. This time there's no John and I don't think I'll ever convince my brother to game again so we wrangled up Anthony. I managed to grab up eight of the world books for twenty three dollars. Gotta love eBay. I forgot just how simple a system it really is. There's a lot to be wanted for a system as simple and downright clunky at times as this but it is fun. Honestly, I'm not sure I would enjoy it as much if it wasn't for the fuzzy nostalgic feeling that comes with it. I've become quite the gaming snob when it comes to gaming and almost always prefer GURPS. Now that I've been gaming more regularly, I've really got the itch to GM more often. I might actually finish some of those demos I started to sketch out.
Well, I'm off to read some comics for now. Oscar and Anthony gave me a crap ton to read last time they were here and I'm tired of them bitching at me for not reading them. Later!

It's Electric!

I'm no electrician, by any stretch of the imagination, but I really don't think a plug is supposed to look like this.
As a temperary solution to our broken AC, we decided to put a few window units in the house. The only trouble was, when they were both plugged in and running, something happened. I say something because I really didn't know what it was I just know that the power to the bathroom, my living room TV wall, and the window wall just stopped working. Normally I would say a breaker flipped but when I went to check it out, it hadn't moved. I double checked it and triple checked it to no avail. Then I realized I had installed GFI in the bathroom and that was the problem. The trouble was the GFI wouldn't reset. I was thoroughly stumped. As I said, I'm no electrician. But... I do know how to read and follow directions so I hit the web and brushed up on some basic electricity knowledge.
After a few days of reading online and tinkering with the wires in the wall, I finally found out that the newer GFI's won't reset if their not receiving a full 120 volts which meant that somewhere I had a short. Reading more, I found that multimeters were a great way to track down a short. Turns out it's a pretty handy thing to have around besides just checking batteries. So I went to every plug and switch in the circuit to find that my ground was completing the circuit, not my neutral. So I went to every plug receptical testing and disconnecting until I found the culprit: my outside receptacle. To say the least I was rather proud of myself. And to top it off, I only managed to shock my self once. ;)
I treated myself to the last of the rice atole. Man, I love that stuff. I don't know what brought it up but I had a major craving for it and decided to find out how to make it. I remember being treated to this, every now and then, for breakfast when I was a kid. Lots of fond memories sitting at the breakfast table with a warm bowl of rice atole and some buttered toast in front of me. So I got the recipe from my Dad! Turns out me and Olivia are the only ones in the house who like it. Oh well, more for us! Here's the recipe my Dad and Bertha sent me...

Dad & Bertha's Rice Atole Ingredients 4 Cups of water 9 Cups of milk 2 Cups of long grain rice 1 Cup of sugar 3 Cinnamon sticks 1. Wash and rinse rice. 2. In a large pot place 4 cups of water with 2 cups of rice and cook at medium heat for about 10 minutes or until water evaporates. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and burning. 3. In a separate large pot place 9 cups of milk, 1 cup of sugar and cooked rice; cook for approximately 30 minutes at medium heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and burning. Lower heat if the pot begins to over boil. You may need to add more milk if evaporation occurs too quickly. Sugar and milk can be added to your own taste. Plate is topped with ground cinnamon and raisins. I like to add butter and let it melt in the center of the plate. I also enjoy eating with bread and butter or biscuits. This recipe is for a large quantity so you may think about cutting it in half. Bertha worked on this recipe which is easier and quicker to make and wastes less milk because you are cooking the rice before adding it to the milk. I used to cook the rice in the milk and it would waste a lot of milk due to evaporation. Bertha also found this video which may help a little but it is in Spanish: http://sclipo.com/video/como-hacer-arroz-con-leche

For those of you who are fans of Matthew Stover, check out his next book. Caine Black Knife. Can we say bad motha fucker? I'm chomping at the bit already for this one.

Holy Fucking Shit Batman!

If you haven't already seen the new Dark Knight movie - GO NOW!! Okay, not this very moment but ya need to go see this movie. Marcel and I went to see it today on the IMAX screen today and I was completely blown away. It's a good thing I actually bought our tickets on Friday night because they had sold out all of today's shows for the IMAX screens by the time we got there, before noon. (No spoilers I promise!)
First off, let it be said that to see a mediocre movie on an IMAX screen (Predator Vs. Aliens) is visually impressive. It feels like you're about to fall into the movie especially on the long aerial pan shots. But when you make the film on the screen something as dark, moody and visually stimulating, and add an incredible cast of actors and a well told story... Fan-fucking-tastic.
I won't give anything away but this is the movie I've been waiting for as a Batman fan. I've always liked the darker, a little on the sinister side, almost on the verge of mental psychosis, Batman. I've always hated for years the way Batman was portrayed as the typical "Hero". My expectations for this movie were met and exceeded beyond what I had hoped for. The story was engrossing, the dialog felt right and flowed, the cinematography was dark and dangerous, and the acting cast filled their characters down to the last pore. Heth Ledger became this dark, menacing, and sickly twisted animal that simply ripped every scene away and took for himself. I WILL be going back to see it again. This movie makes all other comic book movies look like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
GO SEE IT.

Nothing in Particular

Oscar called me up a few weeks back in his usual fashion. Once the weird gay jokes were done he told me he wanted me to throw together a small game for him and Anthony since Anthony's moving out of state. One last adventure for the duo. Their last game ended with Anthony trying to save Oscar as a small dinosaur chewed on his face. Anthony rolled a critical failure that resulted in Oscar getting stabbed directly in the head, dieing almost instantly. It would have been instant but I was laughing too hard. If I had a weak bladder I would have peed myself. I guess you just had to be there but that shit was funny. Anyway, I was a little nervous about GMing again being that it's quite literally been well over a year now. That may not seem like that long but it seems like ages to me. I have missed it so it was really nice to run something to get me my balance back in the saddle again so to speak. Being that I procrastinated until the last minute to throw together the game, I ended up digging out a few old NPCs for the game and through together a small supers plot that had been bouncing around in my head for a while now. It worked out well and I had a blast. As a bonus nobody's character died.
That, of course, sparked the gaming bug again. I went online, reactivated my MIB status, and hit the sjgames forums. I was blown away at some of the really great GM resources and gaming stuff posted there but my heart sank when I noticed that a majority was in the new fourth edition. Yeah, it's wouldn't be hard to convert to what I'm comfortable with, good ol' third edition, but I decided it was finally time to take the plunge. I figured if I'm willing to take on D$D's Fourth edition Living Forgotten Realms I should learn the new edition of GURPS.
To make a long story short, I've decided to earn the new books by demoing other Steve Jackson Games. Stuff like Frag, Munchkin, and Strange Synergy. It was pretty neat tearing through all my old demo boxes and gaming documents. Man, why did I stop gaming???
So I've been abuzz with demo game ideas, updating my demo fliers, and even started writing a few GURPS games. I've even been updating an old version of Batman I made as an NPC. Yeah, I know, but at least I'm not a pasty heavy breather that knows not the ways of the power of soap.
Speaking of Batman, Marcel and I go to see The Dark Knight on Monday!!! We would have gone by now but the IMAX screen where we go has been sold out for weeks! Monday was the first day that hadn't sold out yet so I snatched up a few tickets online. I can't wait!!!

For those of ya that care, there's lots of new pictures posted all over my webshots, so happy hunting. And just cause Tracy's a cool mo'fo...

Looking Both Ways

We spent our Fourth of July at Miller Outdoor Theatre this year. We got there relatively early and managed to get "Rockstar Parking". We settled down and waited for the fireworks. It was a really nice day and our spot was very shady just under a large tree but still open to the night sky view of the theatre. Unfortunately, the fireworks weren't launched over the clear sky area over the theatre (go figure). So our view was just ever so slightly behind some trees. It wasn't that bad though although the fireworks didn't last long enough.
It was really nice to relax outside under a cool shade. We had a little bit of a rough time keeping Olivia from wondering off. She has no fear of strangers and will approach anyone. Especially if they have a green ball she wants.
It really brought back some memories sitting out there on the blanket waiting for fireworks. We spent our Fourth of July in 1999 (I'm almost sure it was 1999) sitting on the lawn of Fort Campbell, Kentucky waiting for fireworks. I swear, that was one of the best fireworks displays we've seen and everything since then has been measured up to that. The only time I've ever seen a display as good was Disney World but even they didn't have the Golden Knights and a real artillery gun salute. I think next year we should see about a little drive to Fort Sam. I bet they put on a good show plus it's an open training base. To add to the trip, I could finally show Marcel where I trained at and he'll get to experience a little of what I did as kid growing up on/near military posts.
It would be nice to revisit.

Project Complete!!!

It's done and I have to say I'm really pleased with how it came out. I didn't get started until the evening when we got back from dinner with friends but it really went together rather well. Lana kept me pretty entertained the whole time reading this cool little book Kelly loaned her with random facts. Did you know that M&M's were actually designed with U.S. soldiers in mind? I always wondered why just about every MRE came with them and not some off brand generic. Anyway. The installation went very smooth except for one small scare.
I say small but there was a point I thought I was going to have to tear the whole thing out and cut out some of my rock wall bottom to allow for more water flow underneath it. When I initially hooked up the waterfall it flowed faster. Too fast in fact. It quickly overflowed the water section since the small gap under the rock wall couldn't keep up with the flow. I had a reverse waterfall into my land. After a moment or two back I remembered my pump has a small flow regular switch. So I just slowed it down and bam! I gots me ah workin' waterfall. :)
The frogs seem happy in their redesigned home and the construction was pretty easy. There's lots of new hiding places for them now and the snail went right to work on munching down on my leaves. I never really knew what snails ate. I always assumed it was aphids or something. So after laughing about with Lana I looked it up. Yup, he did leave that trail of holes on my Peace Lily. Arg. Marcel really likes that snail though. I did google the damn thing and I think I can distract it with fresh vegetables like tomato slices and cabbage. A bonus will be the fruit flies for the frogs so long as they don't get out of hand and out of the tank. We'll see I guess...

And just cause I can...

Getting Dirty

The tank rebuild is coming along rather nicely. I'm not very happy with the look of the rocks but I think that'll just come with more practice. Today I'll be finishing it up and planting. I've already got plans to sculpt something out for another ten gallon to practice on before I tackle the big one.
It's been a pretty busy past few weeks. It's been very hands on with Lana very much into gardening now, and me playing with concrete. Somehow I ended up doing a lot of reading on concrete sculpting when I was reading up on building faux rocks. It's a very cool hobby and I can't wait to do a few. I've still got something like sixty pounds of cement sitting in my garage from when I did my big tank rebuild so I have plenty to experiment with. With Lana working so much in the yard it'll give me a little direction for stuff to work on. I should probably start off with small stuff but I can't help but start thinking of paving stones and retaining walls...
I'm hoping to mix up my first batch of concrete today. I think for my first piece I'm going to attempt to sculpt a bunch of forest spirits from the movie Princess Mononoke. I think those would be neat to have in they yard lost in a tangle of green. Plus it'll give me a good feel for timing. I'll probably take out my clay and practice first. ;)
I bet Marcel would love to do something like that with me. That is, if I can pull him off the damn computer long enough. He might actually realize that there's more to life than playing computer games. I think I'm going to start regulating his time online a little more. He's such an artistic kiddo. Anyway, off to eat and setup some concrete!

Ribbit

Being without air conditioning in the house really hasn't been the worst thing to happen to us. We've been getting out of the house much more lately and been working on our hobbies a little more. Lana's discovered gardening and I've decided it was time I to rebuild my little vivarium as practice for the big one I'm envisioning. Nevermind the garage full of half finished projects. I've got a reaper ready for monster mud, unfinished headstones, and a cylinder lathe that's nearly done. Oddly enough, I seem to get more done when I've got more than two or three things going at once.
So after spending the past few weeks thinking about how I'm going to redo my little tank and tackle the 120 gallon tank I'm planning, I'm nearly ready to start. After weeks of reading at ViviariumForum it was time to start doing a little shopping. The scary thing is our hobbies seem to be intermingling these days. Lana's gardening works out well for me since I need specific plants and my tendency to research something until my eyes bleed works for her. Then add to the mix that one of our friends from the barn happens to grow and cultivate Bromieliads and Aroids!! Did I mention these are great for vivariums?
We took a trip to an absolutely incredible nursery out in Seabrook. The first time we went to MaasNursery was with Allison and we only were there for about fifteen minutes thanks to our outstanding planning and sense of direction. I blame Lana's Blackberry GPS but I have a feeling we would have ended up lost even without it.
We went back on Saturday and just had an awesome time. Even if you know near nothing about plants (like me) you'd have a thoroughly enjoyable time just walking around and taking it all in. There's sculptures everywhere, woodwork art, ponds, and even a wild pig. While we were there it decided to downpour on us but I really didn't mind so much I was having such a good time. We spotted lots of toads, listened to the tree frogs calling all around us, chased a few lizards and even managed to pick up a few plants. We left sweaty, smelling of green plants and body odor, completely soaked and in a great mood. Olivia refused to stay under her stroller canopy so even she was wet (she's a water baby in case you hadn't noticed). Lana's guess is that someone's hobby ended up taking over and became something of a business. Their home is on the property with a second story backyard balcony overlooking the whole area. It must be pretty incredible to see that view.
I managed to pick up rabbits foot fern, creeping jenny, elfin purple thyme, maidenhair fern, a peace lily and canna lily. It seems like a lot but I know once I get the new 120 gallon built it's going to look a littles sparse at first until it all grows in. Man, I can't wait to get rolling on the big tank. I'm really trying not to jump the gun too soon though. I got to get the little one rebuilt, sell my Oceanic (it can't be drilled since it has tempered glass for the bottom pane), and construct the new tank.
The overall cost for the big one shouldn't be too bad. Here's all the stuff I have laying around the garage from other projects:

• old tank my brother gave me for the sides - 48"x18" (a planted tank that never came to pass)
• plywood that I have laying around for the back and bottom pieces (sealed with epoxy paint - see below)
• Marine Epopy paint from my first background build
• Great Stuff for the background (three cans sitting on my shelf from skull molds)
• gravel and pump from my first tank
• concrete and insulation foam I have laying around for fake rocks (the foam was for headstones)
• a ten gallon tank donated by Micah and Kelly for my sump
• Mistymate Lana gave me for misting
• computer fans for ventilation (leftovers from various computer rebuilds)
• light diffuser from my little tank build
• window screen from my cricket breeding attempt

The only things I'll have to buy are:

• *two front glass doors and hinges
• *a lighting hood
• *misting pressure water pump (modified rv water pump)
• *lumber for the stand and hood
• a timer
• a digital Hydrostat and thermostat
• hydroton
• some more coco fiber bedding
• a computer power supply
• GE 100% Silicone I

(* cost over $50.00)

The selling of my current Oceanic tank should cover all of it plus I should be able to get at least what I paid for it initially being that I got an incredible deal on it!
Hopefully I'll get some photos of it in the next day or two so I can post it on Craigslist. My tree frogs will have room to roam!! I'm going to get Marcel to help me put this monster tank together (it's going to stand over 6 feet tall and be 3 feet wide) and hopefully we'll be done before he has to go back to school. Man, I love summer. It's so good to have Marcel home all day even if he's getting to that bitchy stage of being a kid.

On Track and Off Again

Sometimes it seems if it's not one thing, it's another. So I got the new cargo carrier and I'm loving it. I can't wait to break it in with a trip to the beach. I was so excited that I decided to try in on the truck and see how it attaches. Well, it was originally designed to sit directly on the roof of the car and clip onto the rain rails. Most newer cars don't have these anymore but we do have a luggage rack so I sat in on there but now it no longer clears the standard garage door since it's sitting about four inches higher than it was designed for. So I was adding the clamps onto the roof rack when Lana comes in and decides to open the garage to let some air in. It brushed the garage door but seemed okay. I was worried at first but it seemed okay since it came up with just a slight bump. Fast forward about an hour...
I take it off the truck, remove the locks (the woman I bought it from lost the keys), and head off to a local locksmith so he can make me some new keys. It closes without an issue - for now.
When I get home I open the garage door (without incident) and pull the car in. I hit the button to close it when I notice something isn't right since it won't close. I get out thinking it's just being stubborn like it does now and then when I notice one of the rolling wheels is out of the track. I don't think much of it and try to pop it back in place which only seems to make it worse when another one falls out. I disingage the automatic door opener and try to manually roll it up all the way and put the top roller back in. Thats when I notice the cable is keeping it from going that far. I disconnect that...
Somewhere around there I let the garage door slip down. Turns out a garage door is pretty damn heavy without the assistance of those spring loaded cables. It crashed down on a chair I was using to stand on, broke the chair, and tore the back windshield wiper off the truck, and one of the windows broke on the garage door.
A few hours later (with the help of an incredibly good friend to watch the kiddos) Lana and I managed to dismantle, hammer the bent panels back into place, reassemble, and reinstall our garage door.
It worked for two minutes before coming off the track again. We did have enough forethought to pull the truck out of the garage though. So for now we've got a non-operating garage door. The good news is we now now how to install a garage door. We're pretty sure it's a combination of the rails being bent out of shape and the door panels being slightly warped.

WhooooooSaaaaaaaaaaa

Summer!!

The weekend was a rather busy one. We packed up the truck, hooked up with my brother, and headed out for Galveston for the weekend. It was Olivia's first beach trip and we discovered that she's very much a beach baby. I'm always so amazed at how different Marcel and her are at this age. I remember the first time Marcel saw the beach. He was a little overwhelmed at first and wouldn't go near the water. He took his time but was very analytical about it. It was a slow step by step process for him. He watched, he approached slowly with Lana or me and just took his time to get used to the idea of all that water. I can sympathize. Olivia saw all that water and tore a quick path to the water like a fish to water. I had to chase her up and down the beach to keep her from going too deep. To say she loves the water would be a gross understatement.
It's been a while since we've taken a trip to Galveston and I've missed it. They were doing the Sand Castle Tournament on the beaches but we never did get a chance to go take a look. I really wanted to but I'll just have to catch it next time. I really thought with us spending two days at the beach (Saturday with my brother and Xiomara and Sunday with Laura and Charlie) I thought we'd get around to it but we just didn't squeeze it in. Besides, I was really more excited to just be there and was really looking forward to getting my own hands dirty a little. It wasn't too long ago that I did a lot of reading up on building sand castles. I abso-tively (Sorry, I'm currently reading Anansi Boys) love working with my hands, especially if it's something creative. I'm hoping I can get Marcel as interested in it as I am. He's really a very creative kid and I'd love to have a partner especially if it's my kiddo. I ended up with something of a sunburn. I was a little surprised since I don't usually burn but I guess that's just one more thing I can caulk up to getting older. We got home and Lana slathered on Aloe Vera juice on all of us. We all got a little bit burned except for Olivia. We were pretty good about putting lotion on her about every hour, just not ourselves. I didn't put any on until Lana made me but I think it was already too late by then. She even made me put a shirt on. I hate swimming with a shirt on. It just feels gross to have a heavy wet shirt hanging off you. So I just played a little more in the sand until it was time to pack it up.
Now that the weekend is over, it's back to work. Lana's busy working her Passion Parties, getting our credit reports fixed, and working in the yard. For me it's back to website work, taking care of the kiddos, and the usual house stuff. On the bright side, summer is HERE!!!
Marcel gets out of school on Thursday and I can't wait. I'm heading out today to pick up a cargo carrier for the truck so this summer, when we go camping or back to the beach, we won't have a crowded truck! Man, it's going to be an awesome summer.

Fender Bender Bangup

So there I was, sitting at a light jamming to some Buckcherry. I was waiting for the traffic ahead to clear up on a green light to give me enough room to make it so I wouldn't be sitting in the intersection if the light turned red when I got slammed into by the car coming in behind me. No warning screech of breaks, just the jaring crash. Knocked my flip flops right off my feet.
I put my car in park, threw on my hazards and stepped out. I was honestly a little shocked to see the condition of the other car. The mustang was shooting steam, emblem laying in a growing puddle of radiater fluid, and broken plastic from the headlights. The hood was twisted up pretty good. My bumper had a few scratches and was bent down a little. I love my Toyota Highlander. I go to check on the driver and she's in full hysterics crying and screaming, totally ignoring her ever growing nervous kid in the passengers seat. She called her mom and I called 911 after I calmed her son down. Amazing.
Anyway, so that's how I wasted a good hour of my day on a fifteen minute trip to Wal-Mart. I should have gone to Arlins. I did manage to clean out the truck standing around waiting for the cop to finish up though.

A Monday Tromp

Its been a pretty cool day. Lana and I did a little window shopping for new furniture, ate some scrumptious big sandwiches for lunch, then Marcel and me spent the day tromping through the bushes around the ponds and creek out by the river while Lana worked on the yard.
We had set out looking for landscaping ideas for the tank and ended up finding a lot of other cool stuff. Marcel enjoyed "accidentally" slipping into the pond, I got some great photos, and Lana ended up with some nice Elephant Ears. Marcel took home a turtle shell we found. I did find it a little disturbing considering his turtle is only recently passed away but it didn't even cross his mind he was carrying a dead turtle carcass. It was a really nice day and very productive day. I even managed to putty most of the holes after putting up the trim in the living room. Tonight I'll finish the floor in the "tank room", work on Lana's site some more, and start sketching out my new frog tank design... bwahahahaha!
I'll probably start posting them as I go but until then enjoy some photos from today.

Work, Work

It's been a lot of back to work around here. Lana's working her business up a few notches, planting flowers in the yard, there's been a lot of riding at AlmostHeavenRidingStables (the website my baby built and advertised!), and I've been working on the house again, plus working on Lana's new business training website. Since the demise of our last cichlid in my tank, I decided it was time for a complete tank tear down since it had to be moved for the new flooring.
It took a few hours to completely clean it up. Draining it was pretty fast as I just took my Rio 1400 that powered the waterfall and hooked it into the gravel vacuum hose. I must admit it was a little sad to tear out something I worked hard on and curb it. Although I was never quite happy with the result I have been quietly scheming my next rebuild. The next incarnation of the tank will be a frog vivarium. The one I currently have in my bedroom has really just gotten a bit too small for the frogs I have in it. It'll be pretty cool to see the six guys in a bigger tank. Yup, I said six. While nailing up the window trim I noticed a little guy in the corner of the window so he went to the tank too. He's got a cool star-like pattern on his back that I'll have to get a photo of sooner or later.
Anyway so it's been a lot of work for all of us lately but oddly enough nice to be moving. I guess I'm never really "at rest" unless I've got something to work on. Idle hands and all that I guess.
Oh, something funny to share with ya before I go off to vivariumforum.
So I finally managed to limp my phone the the date needed for a larger rebate on my next phone. Olivia seemed to really like the sound my phone made when it hit the ground. After the forth super glue it never really shut right and upper part of the phone would pop off sometimes. Anyway, so I got a new phone. So I was sitting at my computer working on a few InDesign documents when I noticed Olivia, who was in her walker next to my computer, putting something in her mouth. I looked down in time to see her putting my still connected phone sync cable into her mouth. I took it away quickly much to her disapprovable. When I looked up to my monitor I noticed the yellow bubble on my task bar...

"Windows has detected new hardware! There were errors during your installation however and your hardware may not opperate properly."

I really should have gotten a screenshot.

Something about Nothing

So it's been pretty crazy around here. Lana's preparing to launch a new team training website so I, of course, decided to make it look cool as well as a little more complicated than it needed to be. I really do enjoy playing around in Photoshop but I figured I'd give Dreamweaver a shot since I have it and all. Last time I tried using Dreamweaver I still was wearing Army fatigues so I thought I'd break out of the box and try something other than notepad or Ultraedit for my coding. MY GAWD, why did I ever do webpages without it?? I managed to knock out Lana's new Passion Parties training website in just over a week. It would have been faster but I had to learn Dreamweaver. It's really got me eager to overhaul this site. When I do get around to it, I'm transferring it to the new domain I bought (usplus2.com). I'm pretty hyped about it. I really want to do to something a little brighter than my current website look. Plus I'd like to show off a little more photoshop work too. The website's been really needing a complete overhaul but it always ends up on the backburner. I almost hate to kill the domain name since I've been using it for so long but, as Lana put it, I think I wanna go for something a little more "grown up". I have a feeling we're going to be spending a little more time up in the office anyway with our central air conditioning on the fritz in the house so maybe I'll do that overhaul sooner than later.
Olivia is growing like a weed. Wow, she's already pulling herself up on everything and even cruising around furniture. I suspect she had something to do with my HD receiver going out. Thankfully it was covered by Directv and they shipped me a new one. She really loves all the buttons and bright blue lights on it. I haven't really posted any pictures lately but that's only because I get so overwhelmed with the stuff I have to do when I sit down at the computer the thought of uploading is far in the back of my mind. I did finally catch up though so there are a few new photos in the albums. Oh for those of you who don't know how to save from webshots; when looking at a photo go to the top right area and click "Full Size".
I think for now I've decided to take the whole school thing a little slower. There's just so much going on that I really should just take it one small step at a time. I really enjoy taking photographs and that won't change so it won't hurt to ease into it. I tallied up the cost of the camera I want, a few basic lens, tuition, school supplies, and just about shit my pants. My G.I. Bill would barely cover the first year of school. So I'm going to get the camera I want, keep studying, maybe join a local photography club, and take a few Community College classes.
Anyway, I'm going to go back to some pointless killing in Unreal Tournament and listen to some more Pink Floyd. Later!

Back to School?

I was sitting around the other day thinking I should go really look into using my G.I. Bill to take some photography courses. It's something I've always wanted to do since I was a kid carrying around my dad's 35mm SLR. I'd take it on school field trips, out in the summer to the zoo and around town on the bus. It still baffles me to this day he'd let a kid run around with a piece of equipment as expensive as that. Lucky for me I never so much as dropped it (I swear to the best of my recollection). Anyway, my love of photographs goes way back. Bad pictures with closed eyes, funny photos, and even a few good photos too. I got familiar with how it worked but never truly understood all the dials, knobs, and numbers. I knew how to change out the lens, how to focus, knew what ISO to use where, load and unload it, but that was about it. Man, I really loved that camera.
So now that I'm all grown up *shiver* and taking pictures of my own kids I thought it would be pretty neat if I actually figured out what all the rest of those knobs and numbers on that camera mean. So I looked up some local schools to take some courses and found that Art Institute of Houston offers a full course. I figured I should use my G.I. Bill money before Uncle Sam decides to take it. I filled out their online info page and got a call the next day. Before I knew it, I had an interview set for Monday with the Assistant Director of Admissions. I honestly was just hoping for a pamphlet with a course schedule but got more than that. I'm pretty damn excited about tomorrow and more than a little nervous. If admission is based purely on past school performance than I'm just screwed. I was the kid who "never seems to apply himself and daydreams too much in class". I'm hoping for the best though because the more I think about it the more this feels right. Worse case scenario though, I take some community college classes and try again when I got some grades to prove I can do the work.
So tomorrow is a big day for me so I'm trying to relax a little listening to music and pouring through my photos. Lana's been awesome about the whole thing considering I really kinda sprang the whole thing on her. It's another complication in our life and she saw only good things to come of it while I worried over clashing schedules and babysitters. She simply said we'd find a way and she's right of course. She was happy I finally got around to doing more than talk about taking a few courses and helped me dig out a few good photos to print up and take with me tomorrow. In fact, one of them is now hanging up at our local Walmart. When I went to pick up my 8x10's the clerk asked if I would sign a release form for them so they could display my tree frog photo. Yeah, it's just the local Walmart but I was pretty happy.
So keep your fingers crossed, knock on some wood, turn in a circle three times counter-clockwise and wish me luck!