Dirty Dancing

It's not all DIY around here, I still game, I just haven't been finishing them as fast as usual I guess.I just got done with Grim Fandango. This was originally released in 1998 and hailed as one of, it not the best of the adventure game genre. Somehow I never got around to playing it back then, but last year they remastered it (updated the graphics and sound, added a comment track from the people who made it), and I picked up recently. It lived up to it's reputation even after all this time, the puzzles were extremely hard and I don't know people figured some out them out (I cheated and used Google when I got frustrated), but the story was great.

Kitchen Makeover, Part 2

Today, all the old appliances went out and stainless ones went in. This included a counter depth fridge, which in our small kitchen made a big difference in space.

Tipped Top

Here's the faucet all put together.

Shiny Pearl

A better shot of the many colors in the granite under some morning sun.

Sink In

And finally the new composite sink in white, bigger than the old one and only one section. The new faucet will have a pull out sprayer as well, but you can't install anything for 24 hours with an under-mounted sink so the epoxy has time to bond. Looks so, so good!

Shabby Stove

I never really had a problem with the stove before, but now it really looks old.

Great Granite

And in with the new Black Pearl granite countertops. It's so shiny close up pictures were no good, but there are ripples and flecks of subtle colors in the black that are really pretty. Once it was in and all polished up this was one of those great results, where it turned out even better that hoped.

Naked Cabinets

Out with the old.

KMO, Yet More Before

And here's the sink, all of it original to the house so seventeen years old now.

KMO, More Before

Here's the other part of the counter that splits for the stove.

Kitchen Makeover, Part 1

Today we finally got to start the first bit of redoing our kitchen (we bought this stuff weeks ago, but had to wait for installation.) Here's the old counter.

Morning Migration

I have to finish a project migrating all of our CIFS file shares, and it has to be done before our users get in. So this is what my office view looks like at 4:30am. Not a view I want to see often.

Three Amigos

My birthday rolls around again, and as always I took it off to spend time with my two friends Ben and Jerry. Once a year, so, so good. Of course even better was getting to have lunch with my parents, having my pups around, and my wife coming home from work to have dinner with.

Hello Pluto

Today the first of many new pictures of Pluto from the New Horizon mission hit the internet. I've been really happy with all the media attention this is getting, anything that gets space back in people's minds is a great thing. For the first time (and how many times these days can you truly say it was the first time ever something happened) we'll see Pluto close up. Exciting stuff.

Here's a quick blurb on the New Horizons mission:

New Horizons launched on Jan. 19, 2006; it swung past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February 2007, and will conduct a five-month-long reconnaissance flyby study of Pluto and its moons in summer 2015. Pluto closest approach is scheduled for July 14, 2015. As part of an extended mission, the spacecraft is expected to head farther into the Kuiper Belt to examine one or two of the ancient, icy mini-worlds in that vast region, at least a billion miles beyond Neptune’s orbit.

All Ages

With Mari, my mom, and myself all having birthdays very close to each other, Dad took us all out to Maggiano's for a group celebration.

No Man

With a special mention to the sword Mari picked out, which was Eowyn's Rohirrim blade.

Rohirrim

Rohirrim

Rohirrim

Heavy Metal

Orcrist is of course, the sister sword to Glamdring which has been hanging for some time.

Matched Set

In a full family birthday effort Amanda procured, then Lonnie and Mari went in together to get me Orcrist, the sword I have been wanting to complete the library.

Cool Running

It's hot out there, so Mad now keeps an eye out for squirrels in the coolness of the air conditioning. Probably not great of our power bill, but what can you do?

WOTM

Birthday bonanza.

Fizzle Pop

Unfortunately it was very rainy and the streamed coverage of the fireworks was terrible. I'm pretty sure this wasn't a part of the downtown fireworks because it was too close and in the wrong location, but it was the best shot I got. Oh well, maybe next year the weather will cooperate.

Technical Independence

Dinner at the parent's house up on the hill with a distant view of downtown. The show wasn't on TV but they were streaming it, so we got the laptop, streamed it on there then HDMI'd to the TV. How's that for my techie family?

Flyin' Fifty

Started the day by putting up a new flag for the 4th.

Stupasaurus Rex

Mari and I went to see Jurassic World today. This was a stupid movie, saved by solid acting and great dino-effects which turned it into a decent popcorn flick. Go for the fun, try to ignore the plot, or how wildly the dinosaurs' intelligence change from animals to brilliant and back again.

Gozilla

This is how Godzilla hails a cab. This is also a very cool early birthday gift from my wife.

Laser Tag

He put these markers around for the laser to align off of.

Laser Counter

We're getting new counters and they come out to make sure your measurements were right before they cut the slab. I expected a dude with a tape measure, and he did measure everything by hand. But then he set up this laser scanner that swept the counter, creating a CAD drawing right there on the spot. It was pretty cool to watch him set it up and he showed me how it all worked. Each leg of the tripod has a built in level and he had to nudge them into exact alignment. I love this kind of stuff.