Kindle / Remarkable E-book Compatibility

I was recently given a hand-me-down Remarkable 2 tablet, which is good because I would never have spent on money it - not because it's not good, but because it's $600 for essentially an e-ink sketch pad.  I wanted to mark up some e-books I own, but they're from Amazon, so I had to figure out how convert them to a format the Remarkable would support.

Here's the quick version:

Hit the read more link if you want to see more details & screenshots (Calibre has a unique interface imo).

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I Don't Care for Gnome

I had to use Gnome the other day and I did not enjoy it.  What started out as a few "hmmm, that's kinda weird" misgivings quickly grew into a more powerful "oh, oh no, this is all wrong" terror.  Everything felt familiar, but slightly off, like a bad dream.

I found that I could not do tasks that I've been doing for decades, such as moving a dialog window out of the way to see what was underneath, nor could I set my background to plain, solid color to cut down on distractions.

Looking deeper I found that Gnome was composed of so many dreadful decisions and baffling behaviors that I was going to have to write a long-winded article complaining about it all.  So read on if you'd like to hear about the many, MANY ways that Gnome is bad, and how to fix it!

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Quick Extract with Ark

While using Linux I was unhappy that, by default, extracting archives like ZIP files is a multi-step process on KDE Plasma.  But, with the help from some others, I have a fix.

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Linux is Fine Now

The phrase "will 20xx be the year of Linux on the desktop?" started as a serious question, but over the past 24 years of it never ever being the year of Linux on the desktop, the question became a punchline.  Except now, in the year 2024, it might finally be true for some people, and by some people, I mean me.  Read on to find out what I think about the experience of using Linux as my daily driver.

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Running the Race: An Inpainting Adventure

I wanted to share some of the experiences I've had with a recent AI art piece.  There's a technique called "inpainting", which I still didn't have much experience with.  This project was a good chance to learn more about it, and what sort of challenges you encounter.

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Swedish Meatballs

When I was but a callow youth, my mother used to make the most delightful Swedish meatballs.  I will now share our family recipe, and an alternate recipe that you might find tasty.

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Prime Rib Roast: The Correct Method

This is a codification of my family's prime rib recipe. It has been refined over the years and produces great results. This recipe is very expensive, but don't let that intimidate you, because it is also very simple.

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Layered Chocolate Cream Cake

This is a recipe for my favorite chocolate cake.  It comes, mostly unaltered, from the treasure trove of culinary art that is Ann Brooks.  If you dislike this cake, you are objectively a bad person.

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Cucumber Salad

This recipe is from my Mom's Aunt Gertrude & Uncle Stosh.  They would make the cucumber salad the day before a fishing trip, and eat it chilled while out in the boat.  I have had many varieties of cucumber salads over the years, and this is objectively the best.

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Converting DokuWiki Blog to Publii

While having a blog in 2023 may be anachronistic or perhaps even crazy, what's even crazier is having content that dates all the way back to 2004. I've managed this in the past by writing scripts to convert from one blog system to another, and the conversion to Publii is no different. 

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Morning in Spring: AI Inspiration & Workflow

I've been having a blast using my computer to generate random images.  A new use I've found for "AI art" is as a source of inspiration.  About a week ago I went down a rabbit hole that ended up with me learning a bunch of other tools so that I could execute an idea that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

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California, Spring 2023

Another visit to California! This time I did not go to Sequoia.  Don't worry, my friends, I still saw some redwood trees.  We had back-to-back jobs, first in San Diego, then in San Jose.  SK and I spent the weekend between jobs at a 76er's game, Point Reyes, and John Muir Woods.

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Minecraft Server Info

Required Minecraft Version: 1.20.4 To be whitelisted visit our Discord Minecraft Rules: be nice, no garbage skybridges (have some pride!) Discord Rules: no foul language, no gross pictures  NEW for 1.19! This datapack adds awesome new biomes.  More information here. Watch this video on how…

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New Blog Time

I started my first web page in 1998, and the web has evolved a lot since then.  My first few sites were all handwritten HTML/CSS, first using Notepad, then HomeSite (which became an IDE for the ColdFusion markup language).  At Penn State I used a…

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Updated Qt5 Cross-Compilation with Ansible/Ubuntu 18.04

Cross-compiling Qt and Qt-based projects for the Raspberry Pi continues to be an error prone, complicated process.  It's even worse when doing it on CentOS because of the outdated tooling (GCC 4.8?!).  To lower the friction, I updated my cross-compilation Ansible playbooks to work with an Ubuntu 18.04 desktop instead of CentOS.

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California? Again? Really?

Yes, really.  This time I'm accompanied by my brother Scott and by JTB.  We drove around the Sierra Nevada area to visit Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.  We took many photos, why don't you look at some of them?  I also got pretty wordy, ick.

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Installing GeoDjango with PostGIS on CentOS 6.5

WARNING: All of this is severely outdated and you will have a bad time if you follow these directions

Django includes a useful geographic services system called GeoDjango. Getting it up and running on CentOS can be a chore, particularly if you need packages newer than CentOS 6 provides. In this post, I'm going to list the steps I took install GeoDjango with PostgreSQL's PostGIS system. If you're reading this, then I'm going to assume you have at least a passing familiarity with Linux and Django.

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Baling Wire and Spit: Reliable Remote Computer Control

A recent work project involved remote, unmanned computers set up to record weather data.  Every so often, we want to log in to the computers and download the data for processing.  The question is, if you are using off-the-shelf parts, can you make the remote computer reliably available?

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Support your favorite software

I have a full-time job, so this week I decided to spend a little of it on supporting the people who develop the programs I use regularly. Here's a list of the developers I donated to:

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Tapferkeit: The New Minecraft World

Updated with Chest Protection Info

Rules and Notes:

  1. Use common sense.
  2. Try your best to use speak goodly.
  3. No griefing.
  4. Problem players will be perma-banned.
  5. No skybridges. Try nether portals, subways, or wait until plugins work for teleportation.

Protecting Your Chests:

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Minecraft: My Antidrug

Earlier this week, TB bought me a gift pass for a popular indie game called Minecraft. I kind of wish he hadn't, because I can't. stop. playing. it.

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The Tastiest Brain

On November 12th, I aged a year, as I often do. I don't know what it is about November twelfths that age me so, but Jen was there to cheer me up. How did she do this? She combined two of my favorite things - zombies and cupcakes.

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Chris falls down a mountain

We had a free day in Washington, so CW and I drove east toward Lake Wenatchee State Park. We hiked up a mountain, and mostly hiked back down again. Pictures were taken and posted here for your amusement.

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New theme!

As you can see, I've got a new theme! "Not another one," I hear you say? Allow me to explain why it's great...

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Pike Place Market

Last Tuesday we were in Seattle for some work, and we took time to visit Seattle's Pike Place Market - a haven for hippies, bakers, and crab-chucking fishmongers.

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Local "Time Machine" backups of remote systems with rsync

The Problem: I need to backup remote websites that have lots of files. I want to have incremental snapshots, so that I can have multiple backups of the same site without wasting lots of disk space. In other words, I want Apple's Time Machine for websites.

The Solution: I knew that the familiar rsync program could copy files from a server to my home computer. So I Googled and came across Michael Jakl's excellent Time Machine for every Unix out there. I've expanded his script and provided my results here, so that you can use it too. Read on for more info, and to download the script.

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[Updated] Mucking about with email

After messing around with lots of fun configuration, I think my email system is working properly. I'm using a combination of Postfix, Dovecot, MySQL, RoundCube, and OpenLDAP to provide email services for johnwoltman.com. This lets me use a better webmail client than 1and1's craptastic "WebMail 2.0," and I can do do away with quotas because there's so few actual mailboxes.

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Utah

On October 4th, EB and I flew to Salt Lake City, UT. We took pictures!

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I haz made a site

I made a very basic website that consequently sat on the backburner for close to four years. It was for the dental laboratory my mother works at, Gold Dental Lab. I'm happy to say the site is finished, all one page of it! Gold Dental Lab is in Baltimore, MD, and they work on crowns, veneers, bridges, and whatever PFMs are. Their website is a single-page site, but there really isn't any more they want or need at this point.

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Hawaii 2010

Many of you know that I travel for a living, visiting exotic cities like Baton Rouge, LA, and Tulsa, OK. Yippee. But the years of toil pay off whenever we work somewhere interesting. in 2005 I was sent to Hawaii for work (and play), and on March 15th, 2010, I returned to Oahu with Jen in tow.

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Ann's Poetry Reading at Borders

October 17th, 2009 will be remembered as a day of infamy. Ann Brooks, Poet (or the French: Puaotesseme) delighted children and children's parents with choice selections from her recently published book.

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Jen's Hair Removal

Jen's Aunt Linda recently had a brain tumor removed. Along with the tumor, the surgeons gave her a tressectomy, resulting in a field of stubble. To show love and support, Jen's had her own hair removed (by my own hand, no less!). She is donating the hair to the Locks of Love children's charity. I've posted a few pictures for those wanting to see the process of deforestation.

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Legoland

When I was a young boy (and yes, I can remember that far back) I loved to build things out of legos. I wanted to go to the Legoland Park in Denmark (home of the Lego company) but I couldn't afford the airfare on my $5.00/week allowance. As an adult my employer paid for my plane ticket to San Diego, California, and I was finally able to visit the American version of Legoland. Sort of.

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TMBG at the TLA (what, again?)

Oh yeah, another showing by my favorite band: They Might Be Giants. This was an all-ages show at the TLA on South Street in Philadelphia. We got there about a half-hour late, but it was still a really good show.

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Moving to a new computer

My wonderful wife bought me a new 21.5" iMac for my birthday. It is speedy, slick, and has all sorts of nifty features (hardware virtualization!). But all is not rosy, because while people like to think that setting up an Apple computer is a breeze, it takes awhile to get your environment configured if you're as set in your ways as I am. Here's a quick list of applications I can't live without.

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Brooks and Reed

On Sunday, October 18th, I went to Tom Brooks' and Jim Reed's underground musical lair to take photos of the duo singing and playing their guitars. Their producer, Jodee, ran the soundboard and graciously didn't object too strenouosly to being photographed (actually she objected a lot, but I am selectively deaf). I had a lot of fun during the shoot, and I think I got some nice photos.

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Lititz Chocolate Walk

Jen and I partook of the 2009 Lititz Chocolate Walk. The Walk is a fundraiser, with the proceeds going to local Lititz charities like the children's hospital and the library.

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Fat John Climbs up Old Rag Mountain

This past Sunday (Sept 6th) my Mom suggested we go to Virginia and hike up Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park. What could possibly be wrong with getting outside and seeing a little nature?

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Death Before Dishonor

Uh oh, looks like Scott just got his first tattoo. And lucky for him, I was around to take pictures of the "it doesn't feel like much" event.

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Scott's 18th Birthday

My brother Scott has turned 18, and now has all the responsibilities of a fully grown American male. Use your pointing device of choice to click the read more link and see many photographs of his birthday celebration.

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Welcome to my new site!

Hello everyone, and welcome to my completely revamped website. There's loads of new changes, so please keep reading this post and find out about everything that's changed!

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Visit to Lick Observatory

We had a large job in California, near San Jose, last week. But just because we were working long nights didn’t mean I couldn’t find some time to visit Mount Hamilton, the highest point in the county. The 254 rods tall mountain is home to the University of California’s Lick Observatory, founded by James Lick, a Pennsylvania Dutchman.

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Nixon Park, a quick tour

Went hiking yesterday at good ol’ Nixon Park, the park where I proposed to Jen so many months ago. If anyone remembers what day it was, please let me know before she reads this!

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Idling away at airports

So right now I’m killing time, waiting to board my plane destined for Tulsa. The weather here in Chicago is poor, and my original departure of 7:55 is long since a memory. I brought but a single book (oops), and I’m nearly finished with it. On the bright side, I’m posting this from my iPhone. I don’t think I could go back to a phone that can’t surf the web. Plus the new website backend makes posting from the phone a lot easier and quicker than it was before. American Airlines even has a mobile version of their site so that you can get flight status quickly on an iPhone or Blackberry.

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Visiting the clink

I've always been a fan of Sean Connery, but it pains me to tell you that he is not part of the Alcatraz United States Penitentiary tour. This came as quite a blow, but I was able to recover. CW & I got tickets in advance of our latest San Francisco trip. I made us miss our designated boat (I thought the walk would be nice & short; turns out it was nice & long). We were still able to catch the next boat, and finally check out what is probably the most famous prison in U.S. history.

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Decemberists at Messiah College

Finally got around to posting the pictures from the Decemberists a few weeks ago. This band is definitely one of my favorites, I'd say top 5. They have a specific sound & feel that is a bit folky, yet still very modern. Sea chanties abound, and tales of chimney sweeps and Spanish Princesses. The show was terrific, and they played almost everything I wanted to hear; alas, no "Mariner's Revenge." Enjoy the pictures, I will post the videos when I have some more time.

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Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia

All in one day - that must mean a trip to Harpers Ferry! The historic town sits on the intersection of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. I have written about the place before, so I will not go into its history. Needless to say, we hiked maybe 4 miles, up to the top of cliffs across from the town. Good times were had by all, and I even took some pictures I'm not ashamed of.

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Grandma B's 70th Birthday

This past Saturday the family got together and celebrated Grandma's 70th birthday at the Phoenixville Country Club. I saw people that I have missed, both those living far away, and those living near (I was on the receiving end of numerous chastisements). The food and drink were good (brie oh yeah!) and the company pleasing. Happy Birthday Grandma!

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Petroglyph National Monument

We spent some time in Albuquerque, New Mexico this week. I was able to go on a short (yet bitterly cold) hike through the Petroglyph National Monument. The area is home to thousands of petroglyphs carved by the Pueblo Indians.

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Christmas & New Year's 2006

Ah, the holidays. The mad bustle of shopping, the screaming and yelling of cooking, and the mad cacophony of a dozen simultaneous conversations 'round the tree. Such is Christmas at the Woltman house.

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JT's Belt Test

This past Sunday, JT took his level #1 black belt test at Winterpast Dojo in North Carolina. His dedication to the martial arts is truly amazing. I have never seen him so intense, so driven as when he was being tested on his forms, on his moves, and when he was sparring. JT is one scary dude.

Quote from Scott: "He looks like pure evil...he's so focused and pissed looking"

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Downtown Denver in November

Work seems to have taken us back out west, this time to the capital of Colorado. I still had a Travel Bug that I needed to take to Coors Field and drop off. JL and I drove to the downtown area of Denver, Coors Field and the 16th Street Mall.

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Driving through Utah, Hiking in Colorado

After I was finished working in Bakersfield, I had to drive our big beastie van 1000+ miles to Denver, Colorado. I traveled through some amazing scenery, especially in Utah. But overloaded, aging Dodge vans aren't really made for driving up and down mountains. I eventually arrived in Denver, where I met up with Kristen. She suggested hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, so we did a 6 mile hike, and drove around the Ridge Road.

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Sequoia Day Trip

I had a free day out in California, so I drove up to Sequoia National Park. I was in the park before dawn, and came across a lone bear walking the road.

After I climbed up Moro Rock, I met a couple from Thibodeaux, LA of all places. It was a good trip, and I was able to get some good hiking in.

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Harvey Danger at the First Unitarian Church

I saw Harvey Danger this weekend, and chances are you that didn't, so I guess that makes me the winner. The show rocked; the openers were decent. The first act was US Funk Team, a local Philly band. They were spastic and fun. The second opener was So Many Dynamos. They were merely okay, but sound better in the studio. They had all their levels up way too high - more distortion than music.

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Cape Hatteras 2006

A week ago, I was feeling that I could definitely use some time away from the constant tedium of work. Even the best job in the world gets to you after awhile. Thankfully I had been invited to hang out for a week at Cape…

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Fishing in Fort Lauderdale

We were down in Fort Lauderdale for work two weeks ago, and had a pretty good time. The hotel (Embassy Suites) was great, as was the sushi place a block down the street (they even had a lounge singer).

On one of our free days, DW, JL, and I chartered a boat for a three hour fishing trip.

We boarded the Lady Pamela II in the morning, and set out for adventure on the not-so-high seas. The captain took us off a few miles off shore, where we fished for bait. After catching enough bait we headed a bit further out and started the serious fishing.

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Point Reyes Hike

We had a whirlwind tour of the country this past week - Seattle, San Francisco, and Dallas. Before we flew from SF to Dallas, we stopped at Point Reyes National Seashore. There is a 4 mile trail (one way) named Bear Valley that starts at the Visitor's Center and ends at Arch Rock. It was a beautiful hike, through coastal woodlands.

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Fun-filled Festivies For the Fourth of...Fuly

I will master alliteration someday. For now though, I will be content to master the posting of images to the Internet. I have a selection of pictures taken during the 4th of July weekend at the Rock Ledge cabin. For those of you new to my site, click the "read more" link below to view the pictures. The pictures are not necessarily in chronological order, but don't worry: time is an illusion anyway.

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Hermosa and Topanga Canyon, CA

The siren call of batteries tempted us back to sunny California. We stayed in the Quality Inn on Aviation Boulevard, just five blocks from the beach. We took some time to explore the Santa Monica Mountains, particularly Topanga Canyon. Topanga. Ahaha. Anyways, "read more" for pictures.

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Congratulations, Kristen!

Congratulations Kristen, on getting your BS in Equine Science/Management. I hope you enjoy your break; you've earned it. Everyone back home will miss you. Good luck at work, and at school when you return for your doctorate.

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Partying with Junior in Philadelphia

Had a great time with the Millersville crew on Saturday, courtesy of Junior and his new apartment. We went to the Mad River, and drank a bit too much alcohol. The 2 AM cook-out helped a bit, but I was greeted by a wicked headache when Sunday morning dawned.

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You'll wind up in Centralia

Today I drove up to Centralia, PA. To summarize Wikipedia: in 1962, a trash fire caused a seam of exposed coal to begin burning. The coal is still burning away underground. All but 11 or 12 families have left the town. Most of the town was razed after the others left, and is today covered in new forest growths.

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Another chance at redemption blown

Well this past week, DW and I were sent, with protest, to the bowels of America. Back to the depressing, barren fields. Back! To the chemical plants disgorging their putrid wastes into the sky. Back, once more, to Louisiana.

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Takedown in Louisiana

DW and I were driving to a job in Thibodaux, LA. Our drive was interrupted by around a dozen police screaming down the street. We followed after them and soon encountered this scene. I managed to snap a few pictures before we drove past. The police were arresting a man who had fled from an officer after the man was pulled over for driving erratically. The police were taking no chances with this guy.

You can read more about it from the Daily Comet (PDF).

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Traveling into the Desert

RDO, JL and I were in Phoenix, Arizona this past week for work. We took the time to sample a little of everything nearby. For newcomers to this site, click the "Read More" link below to view the pictures.

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All hail 2006! You can keep it forever

For the end of 2005, KW, AB, JT, and I headed to New York City, home of the rock duo They Might Be Giants. Pictures and video are available.

We got to New York a little before noon, parked the car and took a bus to Times Square. We stopped and got drinks. JT was bullied until he ordered a scotch, so all of us were drinking (lightly). There was a neat international market with some great goodies: Irish Creme Truffles, Happy Hippos (excellent), Pirate Canonballs (YARGH), and soft licorice chews.

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What I like about different OSes

I use three different operating systems for a variety of things. At work I am required to use Windows XP. At home I use Windows 2000 for gaming. For graphics and programming I use Linux. And for surfing, and video I use Apple's OS X.

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An ancient website

I found a backup of my old old old website from 1997/1998. Back then Internet Explorer 4 was new, VRML was hip, CSS was the latest darling of webmasters everywhere, and I actually enjoyed Windows and hated Apple!

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Glassware and Gaffers

TC and I were in Corning, NY, home of Corning. Corning is famous for their glassware products, along with technical innovations such as low-loss fiber optic cable. They have a really excellent museum, which was a neat place to visit.

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That be O'Lantern, Jack O'Lantern

I returned home on Saturday to visit the family and carve pumpkins for Halloween.

Scott carved his up first. Well, carved is not the right word. "Dremeled" would be a better fit. His was carved into a skeleton. I think it turned out really good, and definitely the most creative of the three pumpkins.

Kristen created a partially inverted Jack O'Lantern like last year. Even though the eye broke and had to be glued back on, Mr. O'Lantern came out looking pretty sharp.

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Camping Cookout at the Brooks' house

I arrived around 6:30pm - The smell of blueberry pie and beef (mmmm) was in the air, and Ann was furiously scrubbing at the berry-stained kitchen table. Cody was preparing the five pounds of meat, instructing Lindsay and Theresa to chop up the spices.

The burger's were great. They had onion, chipotle sauce, grated cheese, and I think parsley and oregano. Dessert was also excellent - the girls' blueberry pie and brownie cupcakes rocked, even though I didn't get a prize. Somehow I will carry on.

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Yosemite - Day 1

The 5th day saw our drive to Yosemite National Park, and our visit to Sentinel Dome, Bridal Veil Falls, and a short excursion along the flooded Swinging Bridge trail.

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Sequoia - Day 4

Our fourth day took us to Hospital Rock to see Indian pictographs, Crescent Meadow on a frog hunt, and the High Sierra Trail for some breathtaking views of the Sierra Nevada range. A moderately early start put us at Hospital Rock, one of the first attractions along the General Highways' entrance. The trail allows you to access to the Kaweah riverbed. The swollen river rushed by us, while lizards sunned themselves on the rocks.

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Sequoia - Day 2

On the road up into the park (Generals Highway) we encountered our first herd of mule deer. Three of them were walking along the road, munching on the grass and wildflowers. We continued on to the museum. When we got out of the car we were greeted by several more deer, and were able to get fairly close to them.

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Sequoia - Day 1

After a long flight across the country, and an even longer drive to Three Rivers, CA, we finally arrive at Sequoia National Park.

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War Bird = Big Knife

DW has created another masterpiece of killing hardware - the War Bird. Thrill as he chops up a catalog with this monster blade. The War Bird is made from a paper mill's cutting blade. It is extremely sharp - it can easily slice through a thick catalog. The handle is made from an aluminum buss bar, with a brass military medallion in the middle.

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Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry sits at the junction of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. The area is a National Historic Park, and features miles of hiking trails and an old-fashioned downtown district. We checked out the town, and went on the cliff view trail. Our total hike was about 4.3 miles. It is a very beautiful region - Thomas Jefferson said "This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic."

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A Golden Shower on the Dance Floor

Once more we set out to conquer the grim dispensaries of Lancaster. After some cake for Sarah's 25th birthday, we headed to our first target: Q's. From there we went on a whirlwind tour of upper crust establishments such as Hildy's and Bubba's.... We ran into a campaigner for Luis Mendoza, one of the potential candidates for mayor. He talked to us for awhile, but probably didn't accomplish anything. Junior got his photo taken with Mr. Mendoza himself, which was a stunning success for democracy.

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Of idiots and their doings

The dumbest thing I have ever done.We're in Wayne, NJ. After finishing at the job site we had to find our hotels. Dan is staying at a different hotel from Phil & I, so Dan leaves. Phil and I then hop in Phil's truck, fire up the laptop and GPS, and start driving towards the hotel. I punch in 334 Route 46/Service Road. So we're almost there, but the roads are confusing! Do we take this service road? Or the one on the left? Hey, there's Dan's hotel. His hotel (Holiday Inn) looks like it's next to the spot where the Fairfield Inn should be.

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Toledo and other OH-10 sites

Ohio is one of the most depressing states in the Union. Cold, bereft of joy, it plays the role of West New Jersey well. But all was not lost. I managed to half-way enjoy myself every once in awhile. While in Toledo I took a walk along the waterfront, and saw the Water Street Station, which was an old power plant. There was some boring modern art called the Propylaea, but if that's all the culture you have you might as well run with it. The baseball stadium (home of the Mud Hens) was interesting. There was a bar that look out at the stadium (good wings).

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Michigan City, IN & Traverse City, MI

We're in the American midwest again, hitting Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Took some pictures while we were in Michigan City and Traverse City. We stopped at Michigan City because we were having radiator trouble. We saw a train track in the middle of the road - I thought it must've been decommissioned. Turns out I was wrong. The train runs right down the middle of the street - a full-sized passenger train!

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Henry Ford: Brown Rice and Love

I once again find myself in the wintry wasteland of Michigan. It is a landscape bereft of hope, save for the shining edumacational beaconitude of the Henry Ford museum. This time, DW and I spent some time looking at cars, industry, and the 20th century.

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The Pixies at Tweeter Center

AB, JCT, SB and I went to the Pixies show in Camden NJ on Sunday December 5th. There were two openers, one who I don't know the name of, and Datsun. They were ok, more classic rock style I suppose. After enjoying my $7 beer, the Pixies came on.

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The Henry Ford - More Henry Ford than you can shake a stick at

JC, MG & I visited the Henry Ford, which consists of several attractions. The Henry Ford Museum showcases American Industrial history, and the beginnings of the automative age. Greenfield Village was created by Henry Ford. He moved many historical buildings to the Village to preserve them for future generations. We saw sites such as the Wright Brothers' cycle shop, and Thomas Edison's laboratory.

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They Might Be Giants & String Cheese

The Philadelphia show was at the Theatre of the Living Arts on South Street (I was with AB, and KW).

The opener was Corn Mo, who we skipped, and only saw him play two songs. The show was great, and all the songs went off perfectly, as far as I can tell. TMBG played a new children's song, "Alphabet of Nations" which was really good. Songs from "The Spine" are better live, but that's true for msot bands and albums. The live Thunderbird was everything I'd hoped for...this is one of my favorite TMBG song

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The guys at Perfect Wireless, Inc. gave us two tickets to go see the Brickyard 400 practice session on Saturday, August 7, 2004. JC bought a ticket at the front gate, and we headed to a room near the garage area. There was free food, and we were able to see the mechanics prepping the cars before practice began. After we ate we went to the track and watched some laps. One driver wrecked about 2 laps into it, which was pretty cool. Sometimes the cars would bump the outside wall when making their turns.

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Rolling Rock Town Fair 5

Last Friday (July 30, 2004) myself and AB headed up to Pittsburgh for the Rolling Rock Town Fair, an all-day, outdoor concert in Latrobe, PA. AB has a friend with an apartment in Pittsburgh: RB, so we stayed at his place. After we got settled in we went out to a bar, shot some pool, and met the members of Del Cielo, a band out of Washington, D.C.

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First Post!

This is the first post I've made! The software running the site is a combination of apache, MySQL, PHP and e107. I will be doing my own theme eventually. Maybe that's today's project. :)

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A Hopeless Romantic

Here is a CD cover that a friend of mine made for my sister a few Christmases ago. Inside the jewel case was a cheap metal bracelet and a single rusty earring he had found. I wanted to scan it so I'd have it in case anything happened to the original. I'm sure another girl would have found this very romantic, and it'll probably net him a wife one day. Keep up the good work T!

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