My Aching Head

OK, so I've spent parts of the last few days trying to set up a new blog hosted by myself instead of one of the free services. It's not that I don't like the free services, because I really do. I've been more than happy with the quality that I get here at Blogger. It's easy, straightforward and looks good (at least I think so). It is however limited. Ron set one up on a friends server using Word Press and it's looking good. Aaron made me the same offer so naturally, I accepted. Free hosting ain't something I tend to turn down.

This, however, is where the aching head comes into play. We set it up, it installed easily and then things started going down hill.

First off, I haven't found a template that I love. I've found several that I like, but none that I really love. Easily fixed, if'n of course you know php which unfortunately for our hero, your's truly, I don't. I have a basic understanding, but I wouldn't call myself proficient. I'm the graphics guy. Give me an image, tell me what you want done with it and chances are I can do it. When it comes to coding, style sheets, etc. I am definitely not your man. Sure I could learn it, but with a 5 year old who is always demanding your attention, finding the time to sit down and learn it is near impossible. I have been playing around with it and I think I'll manage to muddle through it ok.

Secondly, and this is really where the headaches really comes into play, is that my access to the site has been intermittent at best. Ron could access it up until last night and Steve could access it earlier today. I had access to it through AOL, but Internet Explorer wouldn't find it all, unless I logged into AOL, opened it there and then tried to open it with Internet Explorer. Weird. Now, several hours after I could access it on AOL, I can't even do that.

We've had some other minor glitches, like trying to upload everything here to there, but we figure that, plus all the other minor glitches are mainly due to the access problems that we've been having.

On a brighter note though, Annie Ann was over today and we finished off both pairs of pants for the Elf Ranger costume and have everything cut out for the Pirate Costume shirt. Plus, I managed to finally decide on colors for the vest and pants for the Pirate Costume, as well as material. We will see how well my choices work once we get everything put together. All I need now is a maroon colored piece for my head and some tooling leather for the Tricorn Hat. The Brown Tricorn hat turned out ok, but looks more like a Colonial Tricorn than a Pirate Tricorn. I did however get some leather working experience under my belt and the construction of the first Tricorn is nicely done, if I do say so myself.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the patterns for the pants cut out (I've become quite good with the basic pant) and put together. We actually now have 3 pair of pants for the Elf costume. The first pair I did on my own I thought I had done wrong because of how they felt when I sat down, but it turns out that it's the material rather than the craftsmanship. The pair Annie Ann made do the same thing when I sit as the pair I made, yet the pair made out of the crushed velvet are perfect. Hopefully the material I picked for the Pirate Pants will work was well.

Tuesday we are hoping to get the Pirate Shirt done and I should have the patterns for the vest cut out by then as well. I might actually have a full costume for next week at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Jumping The Shark

There seems to be some confusion about just what Jumping The Shark means and how it relates to television, so for those of you not familiar with the phrase here is a brief explanation of the term and a link back to their "Official" website.

The phrase Jump The Shark was coined by a guy named Sean (according to the FAQ section of the website). He used the term to describe that point at which a TV series reaches its climax, that moment when you know that the series will never be the same, when you know that from this point on its all downhill. I believe it to be the point at which you begin to loose respect for the show, where whatever it was that caused you to enjoy the show and watch it regularly has been lost. It's the point where good TV goes bad.

As you can tell from the image associated with this entry, the term comes from the infamous episode of Happy Days where Fonzie actually does Jump A Shark. Other notable moments include Cousin Oliver's addition to The Brady Bunch, when they switch actors on you as in Rosanne or Bewitched, or when they add a new baby and then said baby ages 4 years in a season (yet miraculously, nobody else does). Jumping the Shark is a very subjective term and used only to describe the moment that YOU feel a show passed that magical moment.

If you'd like more information about Jumping The Shark or would like to see what others think about your favorite shows, just click on the banner below.

The New Season Is Looking Good

So far I have to say I've been happy with what I'm seeing. I didn't really have high hopes about this season after hearing about the cancellation of Surface and Invasion as well as the Sci-fi Channel's decision to cancel Stargate next year. But with the premier of Heroes last night and last weeks premier of Jericho and the upcoming season openers for Smallville, Supernatural, Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Ghost Hunters, plus a slew of other non Sci-fi shows that I've developed a fondness for, this season looks to be shaping up just fine.

I only hope that this season they give these shows a chance. Surface was cancelled way before it's time and was probably one of the best new shows of last season. I'm guessing it's Monday night slot wasn't the best place for it, but a move to another time slot would have been a better solution than cancelling the show. Invasion was another good one that I don't feel got a fair shake. Just when it was starting to get really good, they go and pull the plug.

Unfortunately, if you want to catch all the good shows (well the ones I feel are worth something) you're gonna need a VCR or a DVR to record some of em. The choices of what to watch this season is for me, harder than ever. I'm sure as the season progresses we'll narrow down the field, but for right now, there is a lot that we like and it all seems to be on against one another.

Ron, I made sure I didn't spoil anything for you with Heroes, although I'm not sure how much I could have spoiled. There are so many storylines to keep up with that I'd have to type all night to tie all the threads together. Needless to say, it's a great show.

In case anyone is interested the following is a list of the shows that I consider worth watching (ordered by day but the shows themselves are in no particular order):

Mondays:
7th Heaven (glad to see they got renewed for another season. Kathy got me watching the show and now I can't stop LOL)
Heroes
The Class (so far I like it, we'll see how the season plays out)
How I Met Your Mother (one of the best sitcoms on TV)
Two and a Half Men (it may be that this show "Jumped The Shark" this seaons though)
CSI Miami (I actually prefer CSI Miami over the original CSI. CSI New York is one CSI too many)
Prison Break
Vanished

Tuesdays:
NCIS
The Unit
Smith
Eureka

Wednesdays:
Lost
Bones
Justice (I really like this one, and I'm not big on lawyer shows)
Kidnapped
Jericho (so far I love it. I hope people and the networks give it a chance)
Criminal Minds
Ghost Hunters (Sci-fi Channel - can't get enough of this one. Can't wait for this season's premier)

Thursdays:
Smallville
Supernatural
Survivor
CSI
Shark (another new lawyer show and I gotta say I like this one too)
ER (although I'm starting to get a little bored with ER, it too may have "Jumped the Shark")

Fridays:
Ghost Whisperer
Numbers
Stargate
Stargate Atlantis
Battlestar Galactica

Premium Channels:
Real Time with Bill Maher
The Wire (this season has started off so well and looks to be the best season yet)
Weeds
Deadwood
Entourage

This list is in no way complete and I'm sure I missing one or two shows that I watch but can't think of right now.

My 3 Day Weekend

Had a good few days this past weekend. I took off of work on Friday and was able to take Savanah to school which was nice. She was super excited about Daddy taking her. I was also able to pick her up from school which again, made her very excited. We then went to BJ's to pick up food for dinner (Bill, Annie Ann and Tony all came over and we grilled some chicken). Savanah loves going to our BJ's because they have the greatest play area for the kids. While there I picked up a new cell phone. Mine was getting pretty beat up and the volume wasn't all that great anymore. I think I dropped it a few too many times. It lasted over two years, which was a lot better than the phone I had before that. This time I paid a bit extra and got the Chocolate with the 2GB card for music. So far I love the phone. I'll review it later (maybe it's something Ron would want on his new site, I'll have to ask him about that).

Anyway, like I said, I cooked dinner for Bill, Annie Ann, and Tony, as well as myself, Savanah and Kathy. Not your typical Rosh Hashanah dinner, but with the parents in Spain and Lita's family down in VA. It was the best I could do on a Friday night. It was nice to host a group of close friends and family and cook dinner for them. Might not have been what I was used to on the New Year, but it was nice. After dinner, Bill took Savanah for a Pop Pop / Granddaughter weekend (Mom Mom is in Canada). Apparently they had a great time, although Savanah claims not to remember what they did (which is her typical answer to both Kathy and I when we ask her what she did in school, with Bubbie and Zadie, with Mom Mom and Pop Pop, etc). Bill even took her fishing, and while they didn't catch anything (Savanah says it's cause all the fish were up at the Nature Center) they did have a great time.

Saturday was a me day. Kathy had to work and Savanah was with Pop Pop so that left me most of the day on my own. I spent most of the day playing on the computer and organizing my photos with Photoshop Elements 4.0 (which again, if Ron would like, I'd be happy to review for him). It's a great program for organizing your digital photos. I haven't done much more with it than tag my photos (well most of em.....I'm almost back to Savanah's birth photos, so I've got almost 5 years worth of digital photos organized). I've used it to e-mail some photos, but now with Flickr, don't see much of a need for that anymore. I find it much easier to just send a link rather than zipping up 4 or 5 pictures and e-mailing off in small groups.

Annie Ann came over in the afternoon and the plan was to get to work on my Ren Fest costume, but after clearing off a work space and tidying up the house a bit, neither one of us felt like doing anything else, so we ordered pizza and watched CSI from Thursday. I did manage to build a sewing station for myself out of some cardboard boxes. Not a permanent solution, but a lot neater than how I had been keeping my stuff. I'll eventually either build something more permanent for the basement when it's cleaned up or buy something when I'm ready. I'll post a pic of my little creation on Flickr tonight when I get home.

Sunday, the plan had been to go to the Ren Fest, but unfortunately, the weather was not on our side. According to Tony most of the day down there wasn't too bad, but when he heard thunder, he hit the road. I didn't want to waste the gas and tickets to get down there and only stay for an hour and then get poured on (and had I gone, the storms of the day would have been much more severe....that's just the way it goes). Kathy decided to use the quiet morning sans Savanah to catch up on some sleep and I did a bit more photo organizing. Later that day I started in on the piles of laundry that have been haunting my dreams and managed to put a huge dent in that. Annie Ann came over a bit later and we got to work on the pants for my costume. We now have two pant patterns cut out, one of which is almost complete. We should finish them up on Tuesday. I'll post some progress pictures of that later on. After that, it's on to the shirt and then finally the Jerkin. I've been delaying the Jerkin because it's going to be leather and I'm still working on my leather crafting skills and with leather costing what it does, I don't want to mess anything up. It tends to be less forgiving than other materials. We have a base pattern for it, I just need to cut out the Muslin for it and then we can start making the adjustments needed. While Annie Ann was doing her cutting I puttered around the house doing a little cleaning here and there. All in all a pretty productive day, especially for me on a Sunday.

It's Spreading!

So just the other day I had a short conversation with Stacy about bloggin where she made the comment about being too busy and not having the time to worry about something like a blog. I had never thought I'd do one until Ron got me interested in doing one. Mike and Tony have one and Tracy just started one (all of these can be found in the side bar for those of you interested). It isn't for everyone. I've found myself enjoying working on mine. It's a great way to keep up with everyone, now that the "group" has spread across the States and we don't see each other every week like we used to and seem to be loosing more people each day (Yes Rhonda, that was for you, Joe and the kids (LOL)).

Well, strangely enough, I got an e-mail from Stacy today and you'd never guess what the content was. Yup, she has now started a blog too. Never say never Stacy. Now you are one of us! (insert evil laugh here)

Dragon*Con 2007

As you can see, I've added a countdown clock to the right. This is counting down the days until Tony and I leave for Dragon*Con 2007 in Atlanta. Tony went this year and what he's told me about it, plus my life long interest in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, plus all the pics I've seen over at Flickr, made me want to attend as well this upcoming year. If I like it well enough (which I really don't have any doubts about) then the family will come with me the next time, but this time it's just me and Tony. I know it's still some 340 some odd days away, but I am actually really psyched about the trip (as you can tell from me adding the countdown clock). For anyone who is interested you should check out the Dragon*Con Website and/or hop on over to Flickr and search for Dragoncon.

Camera Toss

rest-in-pieces-8
Originally uploaded by this_is_not_a_name.

Having been exploring Flickr and receiving comments on some of my own work, I was directed to the Camera Toss Group (which I had already come accross in my random searches for interesting groups) which I joined. I have yet to post any pictures there becuase I haven't gotten around to actually "tossing" a camera (I'm sure you can guess why based on this entry's associated picture), but some of the work over there is fantastic.

They now also have a Camera Toss Blog which has some really fantastic pictures up. Some of you out there who really enjoy photography might want to check it out.

I'm not quite ready to start tossing my cameras into the air (I just bought the damn thing), but I have taken some pictures that are similar (although not nearly as good as the really good stuff showcased on their blog or their Flickr group).

I highly recommend you pop over and check out what I'm talking about (especially those of you who are really into your photography).

Another Milestone

Savanah has reached another milestone. The tooth shown in the picture is loose and should be falling out soon. The Tooth Fairy has been notified and is awaiting word.

First she turns five, the she starts school and now she's loosing her baby teeth. Next thing you know she'll be dating. Geez they grow up fast!

My Daughter's Perspective on Q&A

So today the plan was simple. Meet with Annie Ann at Reisterstown Festival at around Noon, meet with Mom Mom and Pop Pop around 2 so they can pick her up to spend the weekend with them, then spend the rest of the day helping out at Annie's booth.

Well, we leave the house on time and get to the Reisterstown Festival with plenty of time to spare until I realize I left the damn house without her suitcase and the gift for the party she is going to later in the day, so we turn around and head back to the house.

The minute we head back to the house Savanah starts with the question of the hour. "Daddy, Mommy said I could bring Zingo Bingo to Mom Mom's house. Can we get that too?"

I respond, "If she said you could bring it then it's probably packed. We are only bringing what Mommy packed." Apparently, that wasn't the answer she was looking for so again she asks me the question and gets the same response. We go back and forth several more times until I finally ask her "Savanah, why do you keep asking me the same question over and over again?"

"Well Daddy, sometimes you give the wrong answer."

Reisterstown Festival

Today was the first of the Reisterstown Festival (a weekend long event held every year in, you guessed it, Reisterstown). This year, I have to say, I wasn't that impressed. They've been doing this thing for 20 years and this year has to be the slowest I've seen. Back several years ago, it was a weekend you could look forward to with a ton of vendors, lots of good food, and good music, capped off by a Sunday concert from a famous, albeit not A-List, country performer.

This year, there were only a handful of vendors, limited food, although what was there was good, and, with the exception of Great Train Robbery, the music was adequate (and I'm being generous with that and that is also taking into consideration that I'm not a Jazz fan). What they seemed to have in abundance this year, however, were politicians and religious groups. It seemed like every other booth was a politician and every forth booth was some church or religious organization. Used to be great place to go to find homemade crafts, knickknacks, etc and spend a fun two days. This year was a great disappointment. Even last year's event had more to offer.

In their defense this year, I do have to add that they are up against a similar event in Catonsville and "Maryland's Biggest Yard Sale" Event which was heavily advertised and sponsored by the Baltimore Sun. Oh yeah, they are also up against a Rascal Flats concert and the Renaissance Festival. So there is a lot going on this weekend in addition to the Reisterstown Festival. I just hope they work it out before next year or it isn’t' going to be worth getting a booth.

I spent the day with Annie Ann helping out at her booth (For those of you who don't know, she makes jewelry). Wasn't a bad day, and I do so love people watching.

Just A Neat Little Map

I came across this cool little mapping program the other day while surfing on Flickr so I figured I'd post it here as well as on Flickr.

EDIT: Well I posted it and the damn thing is too large and pushes all my sidebar information to the bottom of the page (which I really don't like) so I've moved it to my Flickr Profile. If you'd like to look at it, just follow the link.

The Maryland State Fair (a week later)

Thankfully the remnants of Ernesto have come and gone and we woke up to a pretty good day today (Not too hot, not too cool, no rain) so we decided to bring Savanah back to the fair (although a lot of that choice had to do with Kathy's desire for a State Fair Corn Dog and Funnel Cake). She managed to win a pink duck this time to add to the pink bear and pink dog she won last time. Kathy and her did a few rides and me and Savanah did a few more (Kathy doesn't like the ones that go in a circle so Zero G was left up to me). Savanah also got to meet some more cows and actually got to milk one as well (pictures up over at Flickr). She also got to meet Homer the Mule who is a regular every year at the State Fair.

I gotta say I was impressed with the behavior of the crowd this week over that of last week (see my rant about that here). The few kids I saw cut in line were quickly put back in line, where they should have been, by their parents. One argument almost broke out over by the pedal tractors, but once it was explained that the little boy cut in line, his mother grabbed him up out of there and "schooled" him about cutting in line. I was really impressed to see parents own up to their child's behavior (which didn't happen at all last week). While visiting with the Chason's and their livestock, I witnessed people actually asking permission before approaching the cows. Amazing. Every problem that I had with the crowd last week was non-existent this week. Hmmmm, do you think they all read my Blog?

Minnie Me . . .Sort of

A post or so ago, I told you all about Dummy Buddy. Well, tonight was Savnah's turn to make one. Considering she's 5, she did pretty well, with only some minor issues due to the unfortunate mixing of hair and duct tape! Dummy Buddy Jr. turned out pretty well too.

The plan for today was to get at least the newspaper cutouts for the Jerkin done, but alas, time got away from us and after running all over Northern Baltimore County, we were all tired. We did manage to get Dummy Buddy Jr. completed though and I found leather for my Satchel and Tricorn Hat as well as finding out that the woman who runs Tandy Leather in MD also offers free classes every saturday from 10AM to 1PM. I think I know where I'm going to be in the near future!

Hopefully I'll get the newspaper cutouts and muslin mock up for my outfit done this week and can order the needed leather before next weekend.

Yes, I'm Still A Geek....(continued)

Last night marked the end of the first season of "Who Wants To Be A Superhero" and thank goodness Stan Lee picked right! Feedback was declared the winner and never on any reality show have I seen somebody more deserving of the victory. It's not that I have anything against Fat Momma, but as superhero's go, I just couldn't see it. I also don't believe the victory should go to somebody who at one time wanted revenge against the other players when a favorite of hers was eliminated and then who later wanted to quit the show.

Feedback on the other hand, showed all of the qualities that we have come to expect from our superheroes. Congratulations to him for his well deserved win.

I think I may actually purchase the comic when it's released which is something I haven't done in 20 years.