Checking In

A catch-all, catch-up post

There are 1,132 posts filed in Checking In (this is page 22 of 114).

Hot then stormy weekend

It was a swelteringly hot weekend that ended with nightly storms but we managed to have some fun, anyway.

I spent Saturday morning installing a trailer hitch on the minivan. While it could conceivably tow our boat, I got it to hold a hitch-mount bike rack. Installing it meant a few hours contorted under the rear of the van on the hard garage floor while wearing thick work coveralls. Early on in the work, it rained about 20 minutes. When the sun returned, it returned with a vengeance. Soon it was 85 degrees F with 85% humidity. Meanwhile, I was hand-tightening each stubborn bolt into rusted bolt-holes of the van’s frame. The good news is that by lunchtime it was ready for the new rack, which I love.
Continue reading →

Jupiter, the furry killer

Cute, but a killer!

Cute, but a killer!


So the porch cat we adopted, Jupiter, has a little problem … he’s a killer. An accomplished hunter, indeed. He lived by these skills for the three years before we began caring for him and he’s kept those skills sharp ever since. He’s as sweet as he can be to all of us but behind that fuzzy face is an expert hunter. We’ve found all manner of mice, moles, birds, squirrels, rabbits, and lizards who have met their master at the deadly claws of Jupiter. Our yard becomes littered with a dead body of some variety about once every three weeks, it seems.

Last night I was preparing to view the International Space Station, gathering my camera when I heard an eerie wail coming from the front yard. I knew it was a battle of some sort so I leapt up and raced out the door.
Continue reading →

Unexpected sun

On my way out the door this morning I walked into our garage and was instantly startled. It was light in there! There’s normally light coming through the windows but this morning there was a bona fide sunbeam!

The front of our home faces almost due north. It turns out this is the time of year when the rising sun actually shines on the the front of our home. I hope to leave a little time tomorrow morning for snapping a few pictures during the rare moments the front of our home is illuminated in sunlight.

Action-packed Memorial Day weekend

Saturday afternoon I went for a 21 mile bike ride on the Neuse River Greenway. Afterward the family and I went to a friend’s pool party.

Sunday the family joined me on another bike ride, this one about 12 miles, lingering in Horseshoe Farm Park. We hoped my brother’s family would meet us there but they ran out of time to join us. We had fun on our own, though.

Three separate groups of people stopped me to ask about the greenways. Something about me must have identified me as the expert! I enjoy helping folks out and am now considering joining the city’s greenway volunteer program.

Today (Memorial Day) we didn’t have solid plans. I went to the dedication of Marshall Park along the House Creek Greenway and was impressed at the ceremony (military honors and all). Afterward, I rejoined the family and hoped we could get out for another bike ride. The kids weren’t interested, however, and so we went about our own projects. Kelly and Hallie picked up vegetable plants at the farmers market and we all planted them. I also sprayed Round Up on the weeds in the garden and then mowed the yard. It all looks very good now.

My day begins at 5:20 tomorrow morning, so we’ll see what kind of week it is. At least it will be a short one!

Walled gardens winning?

I took the time today to install the Tiny Tiny RSS newsreader, a replacement for the doomed Google Reader. Switching back to my own newsreader allowed me to immediately see how many feeds that I once followed have since vanished. It seems many blogs have dropped off the Internet entirely, and many of these only very recently.

Like the word “croatoan” carved in the tree that became the last word of the Lost Colony, some of these blogs left us with a “last post” entry but no real clue where they went. Is blogging dying? Are the walled gardens winning?

I have to admit myself to not posting as often as I once did. Yes, I use Facebook but only post updates there every few days. The job I took in February has sucked up much of what was once free time. And frankly, I’m saddened to see how our state legislature is now hell-bent on destroying this state. There’s not much inspiration there.

I still have a few more observations in me, though, and will post them when they’re ready (or even when they’re not ready – that’s never stopped me before!).

Concussion

Feeling like the Bad Parent. Son Travis said he hit his head while playing after school but I failed to take it seriously. It took Kelly arriving home to get him whisked to the ER, where he was diagnosed as having a concussion. As many concussions I’ve had in my life, I should’ve known better.

They’re on their way home now where he’ll simply need some rest to return back to normal.

Neuse River Greenway to Clayton

Kelly picked up the kids in Farmville today, giving me some time to help with Gerry’s Adopt-a-Highway this morning and a bike ride in the afternoon. I left Anderson Point Park at 1:55 PM and rode south all the way to Clayton and back for a grand total of 31 miles! I didn’t bring any snacks, nor did I bring my bike shorts, both of which I could have used. Even so, I enjoyed the ride and think this may be the most beautiful portion of the Capital Area Greenway.

Sirius sets

I pulled the plug on my SiriusXM subscription yesterday, when that great six-month deal ran out and was no longer offered. I don’t know, maybe my work with Little Raleigh Radio has convinced me that radio works best if it’s local, but I never got into satellite radio. I guess being able to tune in the world on my smartphone was too easy (and free) to pass up. Also, the satellite receiver stayed in Kelly’s car (the minivan), so it wasn’t around for me during my RTP commutes.

I still admire the company though, and if it offered service the right price I might subscribe to it again.

Bosch CPSC complaint published

I got an email this afternoon from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, letting me know that the citizen report I filed on my Bosch dishwasher has now been publicly posted.

Unlike some reports I’ve seen on the site, my report does not include any comments from Bosch. At this point, anyway. I am under the impression the company had a chance to see my report before it was posted, but that’s just a guess.

On a related note, two weeks ago Bosch dispatched a local appliance technician to my home to check out the dishwasher. He scratched his head when he saw a working dishwasher and wondered aloud why he was there. He just shook his head when I held up the melted relay, saying he didn’t even need to see it because he’s seen many of these cases. I wasn’t sure if he meant Bosch issues or issues with other dishwashers.
Continue reading →

Now on new host

Well, the dreaded day did come when I had to move my website off the hosted VPS Farm server I’ve used since 2007. When I turned off my server for the last time Tuesday night I felt a twinge of sadness. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend.

The migration to my new host, Tranquil Hosting, went very smoothly, however. I had my sites down for about two hours Tuesday night as I shifted mail and websites to the new host. I was rather pleased with myself that things went so smoothly. I guess my many years of IT experience pays off!

Will I stick around with Tranquil? We’ll see. VPS was a deal that was hard to beat but there’s something to be said about working with a local firm like Tranquil. So far so good!