I had some time off during the holidays, and so I managed to complete a couple home projects. The big one was replacing an old, ugly, and broken tracklight in my family room with some new, sexy, and bright tracklights.
I added a little games shelf as well, with Link guarding it.
new site. huzzah.
Maybe it’s ironic, or funny, or obvious.. I don’t know. But it turns out that the more you do, the less time you have to sit around writing about it (or, I suppose in my case back in the day, sit around and complain about it). So I’ve been busy…
Here’s where I post a few pictures showing some of the fun things I’ve been up to:
Sven and I again decided to run the Riverbank 25k this year. I started running in November, and he and I ran together throughout the winter. We each had our issues during training, but by race day we were both in good shape. The race was a bit of an adventure, but I was pleased with my final time.
After a decade or so, Josh and I finally got to take our trip to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. The cave system is huge, impressive, and kinda chilly. The tour was a 4+ hour hike through various sections of the cave, ending in the famed “Frozen Niagra” section. It was pretty awesome. All those photos can be seen here: 2011 Mammoth Cave
In keeping with my habit of taking long summer road trips in ridiculously tight time-frames, I decided to join some of my co-workers (Paul, Joel, and Rachel) down in Atlanta. I left late Tuesday night (mid-nightish) and arrived in downtown Atlanta around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. After a quick shower and a nap, we enjoyed a meal together, then Joel, Paul, and I attended a bizarre Atlanta Braves game that featured sweltering heat, freak storms, hail, and an almost complete absence of Atlanta offense. But we did get Jason Heyward bobbleheads! Those pictures are here: 2011 Atlanta Braves Game
Vance Refrigeration Softball Rules! We finally managed to win it all, taking both the regular season championship, and winning the tournament. Go Vance!
Sven and I decided (or I decided, and somehow tricked Sven into agreeing) to run the Chicago Marathon. Training began the instant after the Riverbank was over [or, I guess, more accurately, a couple weeks after that]. The marathon is October 9th. I can not wait for the running to be over, and the sitting on the couch to really kick into high gear. Sven and I also got fancy shirts to wear for the marathon:
Sven and I just returned from our yearly Baseball road trip. This year: a Phillies game in Philadelphia, and a Nationals game in Washington D.C. We took an extra day off so we could get back at an hour that wasn’t crazy. We made good time on the drive, and got to spend some time in both cities and see some sites, which was fantastic. Washington D.C. is a fascinating city. We also got to play the new license plate game I made up while traveling with Josh to Mammoth Cave… Washington D.C. is a great place to see license plates as well. Baseball! Those photos should be here sometime soon: 2011 Philadelphia Phillies Game and 2011 Washington Nationals Game
It has finally happened. I have collected a picture of license plates from all 50 states, and plates for Washington D.C., U.S. Government, and Diplomats. I’ve got a bunch of Canadian ones too. No more tailgating cars at 75MPH while zooming in with a giant camera lens. Road trips will never be the same.
That’s it for now.
It was a pretty good Spring/Summer/Fall, but with the Thanksgiving celebrations all done, and the snow beginning to cover everything again, it was time to start up work on the ship again. When I last worked on it, I was midway through the center section of construction. The first section was building the hull, the center section involves building up the deck and everything that goes on the deck, and the final section will be the rigging and the sails. I’m looking forward to another winter of practicing patience and cursing the ridiculously weak structural integrity of strips of wood with holes drilled in them. All the pictures have been updated at my gallery site.
Also, the next step is making cannons!
It was pointed out to me [again] while out in Ireland that my pictures of myself seem to contain an almost identical smirk/smile. I decided to put this theory to the test:
I’m out in Colorado, and spent the day in Rocky Mountain National Park. I saw some animals, and many mountains!
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In celebration of New Futurama Episodes!!!!!111one airing tonight, I give to you my list of favorite original Futurama episodes (seasons 1-4). If you’ve not seen them, you should go watch them all. Right now. Then watch them again. It’s a funny show, and you like to laugh.
10. Future Stock
9. Time Keeps on Slippin’
8. Where No Fan Has Gone Before
7. Jurassic Bark
6. Spanish Fry
5. The Sting
4. 300 Big Boys
3. The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings
2. Roswell That Ends Well
1. The Farnsworth Parabox
So.. despite some rather welcome distractions, work on the model ship has continued. Having completed the group of steps related to the framing of the ship and construction of the hull and deck, I’ve moved on to some more intricate work creating items for the deck, and spots for the riggings to be secured. This has meant a lot of shaping small pieces, tiny (and I mean tiny) hole drilling, and plenty of sanding and filing. The drilling required some creative tool making (a small super-ball proved most helpful), and a healthy dose of patience (drilling 11 holes in a small strip of wood only to have the 12th hole split the entire piece was not fun). She’s shaping up to be a fine ship.
