Busy few weeks

The past week and a half has been busy. We had a little gathering for my birthday last Saturday and a lot of people from work came and Nikki and Todd came over from Atlanta in the date car. We missed having Lisa and Brian there, but we understand since Lisa's dad was being honored at the Virginia Tech football game -- can't really miss that. Having people in the house, and specifically having some old friends stay over, really made the house start to feel like a home. (It also helps motivate us to handle a few of those boxes...) The weather has been cooling down in the evening and we've been sleeping with the windows open. I really missed that when we were in the first-floor apartment. We still have plenty of projects to do around the house, but the new grill is assembled and the upstairs bathroom is painted, so that's a start. We'll post pictures of the bathroom and deck with grill soon...

More space stuff

I try to minimize the dorkiness, I really do, but this is just too interesting to not pass along. This article discusses the information that Voyager I is sending back from the outer reaches of the Solar System beyond Pluto. I've always struggled with the mental picture of the Solar System and the fact that there is an edge to it, but this article explains the anatomy of the Solar System in a very understandable (and brief) way.

Send help

We all feared this moment may come ... it's time to send help. Fortunately, we have friends coming this weekend.

It seems that when I was at work the other day, Jeni looked at our entertainment center (12 years old, survivor of five moves) and said to it, "I hate you." Apparently Jeni has been alone with a box-filled, unsettled house a little too long.

Spaceship Silhouette

I got this from the Space Weather newsletter:

"The space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station Sunday. In a moment of cosmic coincidence, an amateur astronomer in France caught the two spacecraft separating just as they passed in front of the sun. His unusual photo is entitled Spaceship Silhouettes."

The picture is really neat. You may have to click on the picture to zoom in if your web browser automatically fits the image to your screen, but it's the black "smudge" at the 9:00 position on the sun.

TMNT and Spider-Man trailers

OK, I'm a nerd, I admit it. I won't see this in the theaters, but this trailer did get my attention right away. Also, don't miss the Spider-Man 3 trailer.

OK ... it's slowed down a bit at work, so I'm exploring the Apple Movie Trailers site and found another one... Let's Go To Prison and Night at the Museum.

Be original

A patient was wearing a yellow bracelet today like the Lance Armstrong LiveStrong bracelets, but it had a jagged edge around it and printed on it was "Be Original" ... does anyone else see the irony in that?

Rogue's Gallery

Just in time for Talk Like A Pirate Day (Sept 19) is Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys featuring Bono, Sting, Lou Reed. This two-disc CD is the brainchild of Pirate's of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp. I'm sure this is the CD you've been waiting for ... at least Doug ...

First Amendment Project auction

Here's a cool auction -- win and you could have your name in a book, maybe as a rat, or on a tombstone, or the name of a law firm, or maybe a murder victim -- all to benefit the First Amendment Project, dedicated to protecting and promoting freedom of information, expression, and petition. I think this is such a cool idea and what a great gift. Even better than naming a star for someone, if you ask me.

Kitchen, after

Here's the kitchen after we repainted the walls. Jeni has always wanted a red kitchen. We're learning about painting, finding out what we need to work on and what we can do well. Edging and blue painter's tape are our weakness, and I think bold colors like red are difficult to paint well.

Kitchen, before

This is what the kitchen looked like when we moved in. There were lenolium floor tiles mounted under the cabinets to create a tile appearance. Jeni removed the tiles with a putty knife, but the adhesive destroyed the walls. I had to spackle the walls, learn that I suck at spackling and sanding, and respackle and resand. They're still not what we would like, but it's better and we will eventually put real tiles up instead.

One of our sister-in-law's favorite days

The Fresh Market is having it's Walk the Walk - JDRF Sidewalk Sale this weekend. If you have a Fresh Market in your town, run down there this weekend and have a hot dog and root beer float for a good cause. And if you're in Knoxville, I would bet you will see Cathy having a root beer float!

Top villains

Who would you rate as the top literary villain? Voldemort came in No. 1.

A must-read

You must read this post on Neil Gaiman's blog.

Space Weather

A patient sent me to Space Weather and I get an e-mail update about goings-on. I thought this one was interesting enough to share...

BIG FULL MOON: Tonight's full moon is the closest and biggest of 2006. Why? The Moon's orbit is lopsided: one side is closer to Earth than the other. When the Moon turns full on Sept 7th, it will be on the close side, making it seem a bit wider than usual. Look for the extra-wide Moon rising in the east at sunset--very pretty.

PLUTO PETITION: Got an opinion about Pluto? Sign the Pluto Petition: http://plutopetition.com

A SPOT OF FOLKLORE: September's full Moon is usually called the Harvest Moon, but not this year. By definition, the Harvest Moon is the full Moon closest to the autumnal equinox. This year's equinox falls on Sept. 23rd and the full Moon closest to that comes on October 7th. The 2006 Harvest Moon will have to wait until October.

Lessons from painting the kitchen

Without turning into This Not So Old House, here are some lessons from painting the kitchen:
1) If you leave the paint pan out, a cat will eventually put a paw in it.
2) Even if you close the air vent, air will still blow the drop cloth, and the cats will attack it.
3) A drop cloth with holes in it from being attacked by cats at some point stops serving its role as a drop cloth.
4) The key to spackling is sanding.
5) Power sanding works better than sanding with a sanding block.
6) Sanding makes lots of dust. I mean LOTS!
7) Allot time to clean up dust.
8) Know when to walk away from a spot you've just painted.
9) Don't look away when rolling or you will hit either the ceiling, the counter top or a cabinet.
That about covers it for now... until I start another project.

OK Go

Alright, the rest of the story about the guys on treadmills (and this just shows how out of touch I have become) ... I thought these were just some goofy guys on You Tube, but apparently this is the band OK Go. They're actually pretty funny and have a bunch of other dancing videos. Check out their site and their blog (and the OK Go Juggling Club). Of course, don't miss the Lego version of the treadmill video.