KT Tunstall Live from YouTube

I just heard this song on the radio this evening and had to check out the artist. Once I saw her perform this live and dynamically create the background music and vocals to sing with, then play the guitar and sing along with it, ... I was amazed. So, I immediately bought her "Eye To The Telescope" CD from Amazon.

Howto: use your PC and Webcam as a motion detecting / recording system

This tutorial will take you step-by-step through setting up your PC and Webcam to act as a motion-detecting and recording security camera system. And the software required to do this is open source (free)."

That didn't turn out as expected, however...

Well, the new pool didn't perform all that well. After 3-4 weeks in the hot sun the pool slouched to one side and stretched a seam until it split and started to leak! Good news is WalMart took it back. Bad news is it happened last week when the heat wave hit and we were without a pool. We had just enough taste of having a pool that we just had to get a replacement. So, we went shopping and found that the local Doughboy pool reseller beat most prices we found on-line. We bought the pool last weekend and today August 3rd it is being installed. Actually, as I'm typing this, they are filling the new pool making sure the liner doesn't wrinkle. Kind of an interesting approach they use to accomplish this.

Julie and I cut out the grass and leveled the area last weekend. They did the final leveling with a transit to check level. There was about a 1-1/2" slope across the area so they moved about 3/4" from one side to the other then recompacted it. They also smoothed the area nicely.



They quickly assembled the pool and stretched the liner over the top and slowly lowered it as the water filled. This kept the liner from wrinkling.



They marked a point to stop filling with some tape. This allowed them to finish installing the pump and skimmer the next morning.



Here Anna is seeing the pool for the first time. That evening after work we hurried home to check on the filling progress.



Julie and Anna posing with the pool the first evening it was installed.



The skimmer and filter are installed and we are filling the pool the rest of the way.



Julie quickly started putting in the new landscaping around the pool.



The pool is full and the landscaping work has started.

New Swimming Pool!

We bought a new swimming pool this last weekend, and quickly set it up. I had suggested we buy this above ground pool I spotted at WalMart, which was on sale for $130. We ended up waiting a week or so then the heat finally got to my wife and she decided it was a good idea. So, all excited we went to the store and bought it. Anna was really excited too. Setup was easy and it just fit in the small open yard area in the back. It is only 14 feed round and 42" deep but it sure is nice after a hot drive home to go jump into the pool to cool off. Anna would stay in the pool forever if we let her. We bought a lifejacket for her and one of us is in the pool with her at all times. She has been paddling around and playing until she is exhausted. At bed time she is wiped out and falls asleep almost immediately.

We Escape the Heat

It was so hot here this weekend that we escaped to Tahoe for a day at the beach. We went to Pope's Beach and brought a ice chest of good snacks, a beach umbrella, and a new floating lounge that Anna tried out for a moment. Most of the time was spent digging in the sand, building sand castles, then a mote that turned into a big pit she played in for a while.

Then we stopped in Truckee on the way home for dinner.

Camping Out (In The Backyard)

We have been telling Anna for several months that when the weather warmed up we would go camping out in our backyard. She couldn't wait and last night we decided the weather was warm enough and nice enough so we broke out the tent and sleeping bags and had a camp out. Scary stories by the camp fire (or in this case big flashlight), fun snacks, and star gazing, listening to the sounds of the night, then finally drifting off to sleep. Anna had a blast so I'm sure we'll have to do this again before the summer weather is gone.

Hazardous Month

Seems to be the month of road hazards. It started with me hitting a dear outside of Napa, CA. Then I heard that my neighbor was riding his motorcycle out of Lake Berryessa when a Turkey Vulcher flew right into him. Luckily, he managed to stay upright. Then my best friend since high school hit a dear while driving up to Tahoe. Tonight while driving home the car in front of me kicked up a large piece of truck tread and it hit my front grill, bending the plate and breaking the plate frame and breaking part of my front grill.

What's next!?

Alienware + Superman?!

Alienware has released a special edition Area 51 painted with the Superman Logo and matching color scheme. I like their add page more than the machine. I'd probably buy one of their higher end machines first. However I'm sure this one would be fine for most (more reasonable) people. I do like the machine but I can't help looking at the top of the line Aurora m9700 then adding more to it. I haven't been able to customize a computer from Dell or Alienware for years with out pushing $3000.00 by the time I've finished.

Killed A Deer

Last night while driving to my nephews high school graduation in Napa we were on Hwy 29 North outside of Napa just before the 121 turn off when out of nowhere a baby deer buck. I had just enough time to hit the breaks before we hit him with the right front of the car. Luckily we decided to take the larger vehicle and it was a small deer so, we suffered no injuries and little visible damage to the car. However the right headlight is broken and hanging out by the wires and the corner panel is pushed back so it interferes with the passenger door. The grill is cracked and it is one of those monolithic plastic pieces bumper grill and all. So, the whole thing will have to be replaced.

We made it to the graduation and dinner in Napa later but we did have to explain to my daughter that daddy killed a deer. She seemed to take it well sofar. We used it as an example of why we tell her not to run out in the street.

Google SketchUp

In the last few weeks I came across Google SketchUp. It looks like an easy to use 3D drawing program. I have had it installed for awhile but haven't found alot of time to play with it yet. The other night I went through the tutorial and looked at the quick start page. It seems pretty simple to use yet produces great looking 3D drawings. It really is like sketching with the mouse as far as simplicity. You are quickly rewarded with nice results too. The tutorial is short and worth the few minutes to go through it.