The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey October 26, 2013

Pi tricks

But first, 0630 EDT on Saturday the 26th day of October, 2013, was brought to you by the word "Fahrenheit" and the number '28'. Brrrrrr! * * * I got home from work yesterday evening, and found Marcia watching something that probably first appeared on an obtangular Philco Predicta television in the late 1940's. I threw an ENOTINTERESTED exception, then I came upstairs and started mucking about with the Raspberry Pi. The little credit-card sized computer, named Dortmunder (for REASONS), has languished in a corner for quite a while. I first discovered that my phone life-extension battery (acquired at VMworld,…

Brian Bilbrey October 20, 2013

Fencing, continued.

Yesterday, I got all of the left side front fencing replaced. Today, I executed the decorative arches on those sections: I set a horizontal string line across the sections, and measured down, sinking a screw at each bottom end of each arch. I then used a quarter-inch thick, 7' long cutoff from a piece of cherry, braced against the screws and pressed upwards in the middle to describe each parabolic arch. A quick swipe with a pencil marked each arch. I cut them with the circular saw, first plunging in the middle, then working along the curve to each end.

Brian Bilbrey October 19, 2013

Fencing

At 1100 this morning: The gates are staying. The four fence sections, two to each side, they're toast. I cut them off the posts. The posts are in fine shape on this side of the house. So I measured and cut and clamped and screwed new horizontal 2x4 PT lumber onto the posts, then nailed PT fence boards up. Fortunately, I'm using a nail gun, instead of a hammer. Otherwise I might still be out there now. Instead, at 1530 EDT: I might have kept working, but it was starting to rain, so I hauled all the tools inside the…

Brian Bilbrey October 13, 2013

Downs and Ups

In one sense, it was a really bad week. Hours after I posted last Sunday, I became violently ill, almost certainly due to something I ate. After about 24 hours, I was able to start re-hydrating, and taking in such challenging foods as soda crackers (in small quantities - I had ten crackers, all of Tuesday). Wednesday was slightly better, and that night I slept through the night. So I went to my one day of work on Thursday, and got enough done. The upside of the week was Capclave, which I attended on Friday and Saturday. It was going…

Brian Bilbrey October 6, 2013

Fall II = Summer?

Hmmm. Six plus hours working in the yard yesterday, and nearly broken as a result. Why? It was nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit out. I was slamming the H2O and got through it. The garden beds are cleared, turned and mulched with leaves harvested from the front yard: After that was done, I mowed both front and back. Today I got the shopping done, then roasted coffee and cut my hair, and wrapped the day's chores by washing the car. That'll bring rain. I should probably wash the car more often if it does, since we've had only about 3/4" or…