Off to Germany
test entry - as David is off to Germany as of July 2, 2009
07/14/09 @ 03:57 PM CST [link]

test for normal - again
here's another normal testing
posted by david - Tuesday, July 14, 2009
07/14/09 @ 04:09 PM CST [link]

test normal
just a normal entry
posted by phil - Tuesday, July 14, 2009
07/14/09 @ 04:08 PM CST [link]

test from phil
tester to see how this is posted - main text -
posted on Tue, 07/14/09 @ 04:05 PM CST [more..]

School starts
Well - school started today for Gayle & David - we'll see how they are after the end of the day.


posted by phil - Wednesday, August 27, 2003
08/27/03 @ 12:05 PM CST [link]

Testing the MORE page
Here is the main entry page - and it is used for the overall jist of the topic.
Now, we'll go enter some other text, and maybe a picture on the more page -

posted on Tue, 05/06/03 @ 12:36 PM CST [more..]

Soccer, Rain, & Hurling
Wow - it's been a fast week, and we didn't even have a log entry. Hard to remember what has happened all week, must be those senior moments starting to add up. Well, David finally had his chance to use his hurling machine at KJHS - the Trebuchet. He had fractured the bottom framework while hurling jellybeans at home, so we had glued it back together, and wrapped most joints with twine to give it that medieval look. I suggested a little less weight, so as to not torque it so much - and that worked out better.
It worked at school, and they had fun hurling jelly beans just like in the old days of attacking castles.
Heavy rain was with us for one evening, and when it rains, it seeps - into our basement crack.
We have a bucket on the floor, along the wall with the crack, and have taped a plastic bag as a "detour" to draw off the water, and use it as a funnel into the bucket. When we get a very heavy downpour, the bucket fills in about an hour. So, I stayed up watching CNN and emptied the bucket 3 or 4 times - We really have to get that crack taken care of soon.
And lastly, the weekend - and our soccer game. David was playing offense this game,
and amazingly kicked a goal just over the head of the goalie. He was pretty excited. Currently we are in first place, with our final game coming up - and then the playoffs based on standings.
Gayle is plodding along, what with the end of school coming - both as a student and other - She has all her reports to finish writing before meeting with the parents. She also has to finish her project for a class she is taking. David & I have helped her with her Powerpoint presentation. Her only problem seems to be be remembering what she names the file, and where she saves it :)

posted by phil - Sunday, May 4, 2003
05/04/03 @ 05:37 PM CST [link]

Scouting weekend, Cancer walk, & CSSG
Another busy weekend. It was a Boy Scout camping trip for David & me, along with a Soccer game. He needed to get some things done at Scouts, so we went on the camping trip and passed on the Soccer game. Gayle had a nice peaceful time at home to read, watch a movie, catch up on things at home, and in general enjoy the quiet. For David, what with Spring Break and Scout camping trips, he'll miss 1/2 of his Soccer games. Last week, he filled in as Goalie...it had been years since he last played goalie. Back to camping... it was a good time camping at the Rainbow Scout Reservation down near Morris, IL. We did some cooking over fires & stoves. Had pancakes, sausages, juice for breakfast, with hamburgers for lunch, and your choice of hotdogs, porkchops or chicken for dinner. A long 5 mile hike around the reservation and up and down the hills was done on Saturday afternoon. Later, we had a campfire, and then much later we had a chance to look thru a 8" tracking/reflector telescope that the Scoutmaster had brought out. We could see Jupiter and it's many moons...

Also, this weekend, Sarah, our niece that attends Benedictine Univ (across the street) had gathered a team to participate in the Cancer walk - held all night long at BU. It was a little chilly, so we brought over a small tent and some sleeping bags. We also made a food run to Jewel for some chicken and hot coffee from Dunkin donuts - in a 10cup box :)

CSSG - Consumer Systems Services Group - our first consulting firm a long time ago. A few weeks back there was an impromptu gathering of some of the old-timers from that company. It was amazing to see everyone that showed up, and how they have changed... well, I guess we all have lost a little on top, and gained it in the middle:) One of the folks took some digital pictures, and I offered to put them up on my website. He sent the digital pictures, which needed to be totally resized and edited. I put them up here for the rest of the CSSG group to see.

posted by phil - Tuesday, April 29, 2003
04/29/03 @ 09:30 AM CST [link]

eBay & Medieval launchers
It has been interesting over on eBay. After my neighbor asked me to post their robotic lawnmower for sale, I started grabbing a few other things from around the house :) so far, we have sold some of David's un-used things - Nokia phone, Lego Mindstorms. Hey, this might be a better way of cleaning up. Pick it up and put it away, or else you'll find it selling on eBay.... a cleanup poem It's also interesting comparing the shipping charges from the US postal service, the UPS folks, and FedEx. For example, a 2lbs package was estimated : USPS=$4.90, Fedex=$7.20, and UPS=$8.88 another sample 5lbs package was USPS=$7.75, Fedex=$8.02, and UPS=$10.05

David needed a project for his social sciences medieval class. Several suggestions were listed on the takehome sheet, like posters, pictures, etc... but of course he needed something "unique". Well, he picked a "working medieval weapon". Not sure what the teachers had in mind, but David has built a "trebuchet". I had never heard of this, or really seen one. It is a combination of a catapult and a rotational slingshot. It is about 12" x 15" x 4" with a 20" throwing arm. Last night, we were launching jelly beans over the roof of our 2-story house :) Here is the Trebuchet site we used as a construction guide. We are only using 4lbs of pennies in a pouch as a counterweight, we can't imagine the launch using the author's 10lbs of lead weight.
posted by phil - Tuesday, April 22, 2003
04/22/03 @ 03:13 PM CST [link]

eBay, Printers, & Pancakes
We have now added a few things out on eBay for sale.
A neighbor has a robotic lawn mower and didn't have any luck selling it in the local paper. They asked if I would put it up on eBay - so I did. I then starting looking around the house for some of David's things that he has not touched for a long time - karate pads, lego robotics set, radio shack electronics lab, etc. I put those out on eBay also - here they are. I might go thru some of my computer books and put them out there also.

I've been looking at some disk upgrades for the laptops. I also am looking at replacing the Canon 4400 color inkjet printer with the extra scanner catridge. David only uses it for color picture printing, as we have a HP laser for real printing :) I was looking at the low end HP 3820 color inkjet....but now am thinking of the brand new HP1210 printer/scanner/copier. It is a VERY small box, and footprint. Take a look - HP1210 printer

Well tonight is scouts - and the pancake breakfast kickoff. We'll get our stuff and then hit the road visiting local businesses to accept their sponsorship of a placemat business card ad. Here is the Troop website for information - Troop 507
posted by phil - Wednesday, April 16, 2003
04/16/03 @ 10:04 AM CST [link]