Walk-In Fridge. Come in and see what's good to eat
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Hat trick - Somafm.com
Sometimes you want to have some background music playing - nothing that requires you to actually listen. If you haven't heard of somafm.com, take a peak. The have several steams going (my favorite is Secret Agent). It's a nice break from talk radio, pop radio or our CD collection.
Study Pics
Some of you have asked where the photos of the new study are. This morning we put the finishing touches on the furniture placement and this evening I took some snapshots. It looks a lot different with artificial light than with natural night, so I'm going to wait until the sun shines and snap another set.
We are really happy with how the colour turned out. We are still not sure if we like the doors (a pigment called 'lemongrass'), but that can be easily changed if need be.
We still have our cheap Ikea book case in here - we'd like to get something a little more classy. But with Tara in school again we'll have to wait until we find something classy and on sale. Or I could get off my butt and make one.
On second thought - let's wait for a sale.
We are really happy with how the colour turned out. We are still not sure if we like the doors (a pigment called 'lemongrass'), but that can be easily changed if need be.
We still have our cheap Ikea book case in here - we'd like to get something a little more classy. But with Tara in school again we'll have to wait until we find something classy and on sale. Or I could get off my butt and make one.
On second thought - let's wait for a sale.
Trip to the barn
Tara and I spent the better part of the afternoon today at the barn. It's been a while since I have been there.
Tara rode around the arena on King while I talked to Sydney's mom on the side lines. I snapped a bunch of pictures, but the lighting in the arena on rainy days isn't handled too well by my subcompact Canon, especially with the halogen bulbs. Pictures with Tara moving come out blurry and noisy. You'll have to ignore both of those factors in the next couple of pits
The camera does ok without a lot of movement, but there is still a lot of noise in the photos. I'd like to borrow a nicer camera (perhaps even a DSLR) to see if the issue goes away.
Tara rode around the arena on King while I talked to Sydney's mom on the side lines. I snapped a bunch of pictures, but the lighting in the arena on rainy days isn't handled too well by my subcompact Canon, especially with the halogen bulbs. Pictures with Tara moving come out blurry and noisy. You'll have to ignore both of those factors in the next couple of pits
The camera does ok without a lot of movement, but there is still a lot of noise in the photos. I'd like to borrow a nicer camera (perhaps even a DSLR) to see if the issue goes away.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Places I'm going
There isn't much new going on these days with us. We just finished painting the Study/Office/Computer room; it's a nice shade of olive green called "Grasslands". I'll post some pictures when we have the room setup.
Offtopic 1: If you are looking for house paint, you can't go wrong with Benjamin Moore paint. We have been getting ours at Expressions on King (sadly no web presence). We highly recommend them. The staff has always been helpful and the paint has gone on like a dream.
Offtopic 2: Who comes up with the names for paints? Do you need a degree to do such a job or just a dictionary?
To pass the time, I thought I'd pass along a few websites that I visit daily or semi-daily (this is a hyperlink document after all)
egullet: This isn't your ordinary culinary site. This is the place where professionals go to talk and learn. There have online courses on all sorts of things, thoughtful articles, and very very interesting forums. They take food seriously; if you want to become a member you have to write an essay on food. If you have a passion for cooking or baking or eating, this is one spot you don't want to miss.
Creating Passionate Users: If you write software, create a product, or provide a service that people use, this is a must read. It is all about getting people to love what you produce. Reading this blog makes me wish I was involved in software that was marketed to a wider audience.
Coding horror: This a blog about software - coding, methods and philosophy. It is geared towards the windows crowd, but a lot of his stuff is useful all over. I don't agree with 100% of what he says, but his points come across well and always make you think.
PopURLs: This site amalgamates the top links from a number of sites (digg, del.ico.us, reddit, flicker, metafilter...) into one handy site. When I want to see what is interesting on the web, or at least, what is popular, this is where I go.
Hmmm - that's all. My daily surfing routine includes several other sites (dilbert, foxtrot, xkcd, boingboing, slashdot, making light, joel on software, braidy tester, make, plus others), but I don't have time to go into each of those here...
Offtopic 1: If you are looking for house paint, you can't go wrong with Benjamin Moore paint. We have been getting ours at Expressions on King (sadly no web presence). We highly recommend them. The staff has always been helpful and the paint has gone on like a dream.
Offtopic 2: Who comes up with the names for paints? Do you need a degree to do such a job or just a dictionary?
To pass the time, I thought I'd pass along a few websites that I visit daily or semi-daily (this is a hyperlink document after all)
egullet: This isn't your ordinary culinary site. This is the place where professionals go to talk and learn. There have online courses on all sorts of things, thoughtful articles, and very very interesting forums. They take food seriously; if you want to become a member you have to write an essay on food. If you have a passion for cooking or baking or eating, this is one spot you don't want to miss.
Creating Passionate Users: If you write software, create a product, or provide a service that people use, this is a must read. It is all about getting people to love what you produce. Reading this blog makes me wish I was involved in software that was marketed to a wider audience.
Coding horror: This a blog about software - coding, methods and philosophy. It is geared towards the windows crowd, but a lot of his stuff is useful all over. I don't agree with 100% of what he says, but his points come across well and always make you think.
PopURLs: This site amalgamates the top links from a number of sites (digg, del.ico.us, reddit, flicker, metafilter...) into one handy site. When I want to see what is interesting on the web, or at least, what is popular, this is where I go.
Hmmm - that's all. My daily surfing routine includes several other sites (dilbert, foxtrot, xkcd, boingboing, slashdot, making light, joel on software, braidy tester, make, plus others), but I don't have time to go into each of those here...
Monday, October 16, 2006
Well, it has taken me a bit longer than anticipated, but I finished my summer reading trifecta. I started a bit late (August) so finishing 3 weeks after summer is understandable.
I chose three classic science fiction novels for my reading material. Or so I thought. It turns out that the last book I read was less of a sf novel and more of a regular suspense/intrigue novel. Oh well - two out three ain't bad.
So here they are:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Having a summer reading list is a great idea. It forces you to do something better than watching TV or surfing the net during the summer and, for me at least, it doesn't prevent you from getting some good fresh air. This is the first summer that I gave myself a reading list, but I think I'll do it from now on.
Here are three quick reviews of the books. Synopses can be found following the links
1. Dune. You must read this. Even if you don't like science fiction. It's not a super easy read and there are a lot of things to keep in your head, but the plot lines and character development are well thought out. Again - if you are looking for a book to read, read this one.
2. Stranger in a Strange Land. This was good. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. It has some very hippie undertones (free love and all) and I wouldn't let my 12 year old son or daughter read it, but it was good. It presents humanity in a light that I hadn't considered.
3. Cryptonomicon. Great story - just 700 pages too many (it was a slog just to finish it). Way too much sex - I don't need to read that. It is quite technical at times, in a very mathie sort of way. They cryptography ideas presented were interesting and the tie in to WWII was entertaining, but you had to endure many pages of unneeded narrative to get to the good parts. Every day I read this book, I considered stopping. But I got through it.
Now I'm bookless. Any suggestions on what to read next?
I chose three classic science fiction novels for my reading material. Or so I thought. It turns out that the last book I read was less of a sf novel and more of a regular suspense/intrigue novel. Oh well - two out three ain't bad.
So here they are:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Having a summer reading list is a great idea. It forces you to do something better than watching TV or surfing the net during the summer and, for me at least, it doesn't prevent you from getting some good fresh air. This is the first summer that I gave myself a reading list, but I think I'll do it from now on.
Here are three quick reviews of the books. Synopses can be found following the links
1. Dune. You must read this. Even if you don't like science fiction. It's not a super easy read and there are a lot of things to keep in your head, but the plot lines and character development are well thought out. Again - if you are looking for a book to read, read this one.
2. Stranger in a Strange Land. This was good. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. It has some very hippie undertones (free love and all) and I wouldn't let my 12 year old son or daughter read it, but it was good. It presents humanity in a light that I hadn't considered.
3. Cryptonomicon. Great story - just 700 pages too many (it was a slog just to finish it). Way too much sex - I don't need to read that. It is quite technical at times, in a very mathie sort of way. They cryptography ideas presented were interesting and the tie in to WWII was entertaining, but you had to endure many pages of unneeded narrative to get to the good parts. Every day I read this book, I considered stopping. But I got through it.
Now I'm bookless. Any suggestions on what to read next?
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