On The Road Again...

We spent some time in the car over the Christmas vacation week.  We picked-up Nana from her home in Watsonville, stayed the night there and brought her back to Sacramento the next day, to spend the week with us.  Unfortunately we saw many accidents amongst the holiday traffic along the way.

We had more family over for early Christmas gift opening, then later Christmas dinner and gift opening for the rest of the family.

The next day while the big girls went shopping I took Anna to breakfast at a restaurant of her choosing.  Then we went to feed the ducks at the park and played on the massive playground equipment / maze.  Squeezed in some quick tech support at the church for some networking problems.  Hit Starbucks on the way home and played educational games on the computer until the shoppers returned home.

Then we repeated the trip to Watsonville to return Nana home and stayed the night again before coming back home the next day.

In between this I ended up working while on vacation for about 16 - 18 hours.  Of course these were the late night early morning hours so I lost some sleep too.  Luckily for all but 6 of those hours I could remote into the office to work. Sitting on the couch with my laptop.

Better flight stats results

 

Posted by Nick Weininger, Software Engineer

The holiday season is upon us, and we know that many amongst you are traveling to be with family and friends. To make sure you spend more time celebrating and less time waiting at the airport, we're introducing a new flight status feature that we hope will make your travels easier.
For the latest information on a flight's status, simply search for an airline and flight number, and the first result will tell you whether your flight is on time or delayed as well as the estimated departure and arrival times. Here's a quick example for a specific American Airlines flight:

Hopefully this makes your travels a little smoother. Happy holidays from the Google Search team.

P.S. We're still working on building a search feature that will find your lost luggage ;-)

Better flight stats results
Karen
Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:48:00 GMT

Below Freezing

This doesn't happen very often here in Sacramento...

This morning I got up early to go for a run before work.  This time I skipped my usual routine of checking the temp & weather online, because I already knew it was going to be cold.  So, I just put on the cold weather running clothes and headed out the door expecting to get my usual 3 miles in.  Everything had a heavy coating of frost and it was pretty cold.  I headed down the street, but as I rounded the first corner heading for the 1/4 mile I was already thinking it was too cold to be out.  By the time I crossed the 1/2 mile I turned around and sprinted back home.  When I checked the official temperature it was 29-30 degrees out!  If the sun was out that probably wouldn't feel as cold, but in the early morning before sunrise it was cold!

More of Anna playing in the Surf

Watch at YouTube

Anna Playing in the Surf

Here is Anna playing in the surf at Sunset State Beach over Thanksgiving break.

Watch at YouTube

Happy Thanksgiving

View at YouTube

Shorter week than expected!

Wow, I just realized my daughter's school is off a day earlier for Thanksgiving than I am. So, I'll have to take an extra day off work, which makes this a 2-day work week.

That may sound great, but I have so much work to get done this just reduces the time I have to get it done.

Update: Looks like it will workout after all. The after school program is remaining open that first day to watch the kids!

Just a Test Post Using Windows Live Writer

I just installed Windows Live Writer, a free desktop application from Microsoft that lets me write blog posts offline and post them to any of my blog(s) later.

I used Live Writer to create and later edit this post!  The only issue I had was inserting the photo.  Though, it does allow me to select an image from my computer or the web it had a problem retrieving this image from my flickr page.  I just edited the post in Blogger to fix the image reference and then edited the post again with Live Writer.

Father and Daughter Day

Anna and I had the day off together today.  After seeing Julie off to work, I let Anna play with her dolls for little bit in the morning.  Then I had planned on checking into the price of having a full color 36"x60" poster printed, and Anna wanted to check out the California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts downtown, which has had 3-4 uniquely painted 5 ft tall figures of Mickey Mouse on display.  We headed out and after our first stop at Kinkos we headed off to my second choice of printers, Brownies.  Along the way we passed by Blue Diamond Almonds.  I thought, hey we should check it out.  Anna liked the models in the lobby and we tried a few flavors of almonds before leaving with 3 small cans.  Then we headed over the the California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts, which turned out to be closed.  However we were able to see the Mickey Mouse's through the windows.  We headed off to lunch after stopping at the second print shop.  After lunch at Chipotle. I remembered hearing about a place at the mall called Build-A-Bear.  So, I asked Anna if she would like to go check that place out.  We had never been there so, I didn't know what to expect.  The place was packed and there was no guidance as what we were supposed to do.  I eventually figured out where we were supposed to start.  Anna picked a Poodle from the wall of bodies and we advanced through the stations to "build" the Poodle.  First we added a magic sound box, then went to the stuffing station where Anna also adds a  small heart that she puts some of her own love into, next is the fluffing station, then Anna picks out some clothes, we continue to the station where we create the birth certificate.  The grand finale is when I step to the register and find that this stuffed animal is going to cost me $55 out the door...

Well it was worth it.  We had fun and Anna loves her Poodle.  She sleeps with it every night, and it rides in the car to school with her in the mornings.

Home Depot Monthly Free Kids Project

This was back in August.

View at YouTube

Here is a funny one.

See it at: YouTube

Grandpa this one is just for you

Anna wanted to show you how she can hold her breath and put her face underwater. I have a longer video but YouTube said it was too long for their free account.



Watch it on YouTube

Recent Visit to Nanas

On a recent visit to Nana's we spent part of a morning hiking through the Forest of Nisene Marks in Aptos. We usually do a morning run in the forest but this time we just walked. Anna enjoyed the walk and collected things she found along the way. One side trail took us down to a stream just below the trail.

see it at YouTube

One of the hotter weekends

We had another fun weekend. The weather was hotter than it has been recently, we've had a pretty mild summer this year. Anna played in our pool and we also took her to the pool at the park around the corner from our house. Julie received a pool chair for her birthday from her co-workers.

Here is a video of Anna sitting in the same pool chair.


Watch it at YouTube

Another fun weekend

Today we went to breakfast then came home and washed my car. Then the Thunderbirds were putting on a show at Mather A.F.B. and we could see it from our driveway. When they circle around for some of the maneuvers they fly right over our house a fairly low altitude. Last year it was the Blue Angels. I get a thrill out of watching these two teams fly.

I shot this in between watching the plains fly overhead

Then we jumped in the pool too cool off and later headed off for the start of the "Pops in the Park" summer music series.

The only photos I took were of friends and their families. I'll post crowd or band photos from the next concert.
Here is the bands website

New Kitten, Calpernia

A few weeks ago, while we were out of town for a long weekend, our former new cat decided to see what was across the street late one night and didn't make it to the other side. I found out from our neighbors while unpacking the car. We had to break the news to Anna and we were worried she would be very upset, but she took it well knowing he was in heaven. So, Friday I had the opportunity to bring home another new family member.

This one, it tuns out, has a very different personality. I was told she was one of the friendly ones from the litter but sofar she is very scared and tries to run and hide at every opportunity. The first day she hid behind and underneath a large piece of furniture. She stayed there for 24+ hours then we pulled everything off and moved this piece. Now the way behind it is blocked on both sides and little Calpernia is in a carrier while we try to calm her and get her to eat and drink.
The slightest move from anyone in the room and she jumps and tries to run for cover. I guess this is the epitome of a scardie cat. A little disappointing but we'll stick with the kitten and see if we can make it a fun pet.

Samurai Gardner

We had been talking about pruning a big cypress that hangs over our patio trellis for a couple of weeks. This weekend I decided to go for it. I climbed up in the tree and started hacking away. It turned out better than expected. There is now more light on the patio and the tree doesn't look bad. I only received a minor scrape on my shin from a large branch. From the pile in the street you would have thought I cut down a tree. Now there wont be as much stuff falling in the pool either.

Graduation Celebration

June 1st Laura graduated from her Dental Assistant program with honors!

Here is the banner we hung from the balcony during the ceremony. The crowd was a bit loud but it was fun seeing Laura and the others cross the stage and receive their diplomas.

Fun Weekend!

The weather was great this weekend so we took advantage of it and camped out on the deck then played in the pool and relaxed on the deck. Anna had a blast camping out in the backyard. We told stories and ate chips, ice cream sandwiches, watermelon, and cherries.

Praise GOD for keeping us safe!

This morning while driving to work, with my daughter in the back seat, I was just heading out of our neighborhood when, as I approached the turn to the main street I take to the freeway, a big-rig truck came through the intersection from the opposite side turning onto the same road I was going to turn on. Apparently he was going to fast for the turn and the truck rolled onto it's side and slid to a stop across the turn lane I would have been in, in another few seconds.

My first thought, and words out of my mouth, was "Oh my GOD!". Then I quickly turned into the mini-mart lot on the corner, parked and jumped out to go see if the driver was ok. He was kicking his front window out as another guy who was standing in the lot ran over and started helping pull the front window off. The driver got out and quickly moved away from the truck. When he saw that the truck wasn't going to ignight, he started cussing and hitting the truck in disgust. He then got his stuff out of the cab.

Since the driver appeared to be ok, I got back in the car and continued off to work. I told my daughter it was lucky we weren't in the turn lane yet when that truck over-turned.

I was shaken abit as I thought how close it was. I told my daughter we should thank GOD that we were still safe.

Father Daughter Day

Anna and I spent the day together. We went to church in the morning and she helped me count the offering after church. Then we went down stairs and enjoyed the food and fellowship that the church puts out after church every Sunday.

We went to the park around the corner from the house and played when we got back home.

View at You Tube
Anna climbed a tree (with some help)

then we headed home and Anna and mom made brownies. While the brownies baked Anna and I went to a big park downtown and fed the ducks and geese

then played at the huge play area for a while. Anna played hide and seek with another girl she met there.




It was a good Father Daughter day for the two of us.

Anna Kite Flying

Here is Anna flying her new Disney Princess Kite.

View at YouTube

We moved down the street to the park to see if we could get some better wind. The power lines are not as close as they appear in this video.

View at YouTube

If these videos don't stream well you can view them directly on YouTube via the links below each video.

New Birthday Scooters

We all are enjoying Anna's new birthday scooters. Sarah bought her the pink princess 3 wheeler, and she received the Barbie razer scooter at her party.

Here is Dad...

View at YouTube

Here's Mom...

View at YouTube

Sometimes YouTube videos perform better when viewed directly at YouTube. So, I put the direct links below each video.

The new deck is done!

For the last several weeks I have been building a new deck that wraps partway around the pool and comes up along the back of the house. It will allow us to step out of our new sliding glass door off our bedroom onto the deck. The top of the deck will match the floor level in the house. It took several piers embedded in footings at 32"cc and pressure treated 2x8's at 16"cc to support the weight of a future hot tub. Since framing is less than 10" clear from the ground I had to use pressure treated wood. I used chemical resistant screws, hangers, & angles to fasten the framing together.

I bought most of the hardware from the usual spot, Home Depot, but the wood and Trex decking were much less expensive at Berco Redwood. I used screws for everything, so there are no nails in this deck. I lost a week by buying the deck late on a Saturday so it couldn't be delivered until Monday. All I could do was move the decking to the back patio Monday night after work. Then look at it all week wishing I could start getting some of it down.

The first weekend attaching the decking was a cold one so I wasn't moving as fast as I would have liked. I was getting 5 rows of deck done a day. The following Saturday I finished the decking on the front side. Once I finish the far side I'll cut and attach the trim around the outside. The trim will cover the pressure treated wood still visible around the outside of the deck.

The framing is done and all I have left to do is finish attaching the decking (and cast a step on each side). I'll have additional progress photos posted soon. I've been using the film camera for most of the shots.