Merry Christmas

Where ever you are, how ever you celebrate: Merry Christmas, God Bless, and May all of you and your families have a safe and enjoyable Holiday!

:jason and Lilah

A Rose by Any Other Name...

I did a quick search on Google for the Name "Troxel". I was actually trying to see where abouts TroxelTaxidermy.com would come up. I'm on page 20 of about 506,000 results (!!!) and thus far no TroxelTaxidermy. But I expected as much seeing how Google Ranks Pages.

Anyway, to say the least, I was not prepared for the sheer number of results under the Troxel name. So, in an effort to entertain, I'm going to include links to some of the more note-worthy results, with a brief description accompanying.

Here Goes:

The Troxel Company -- Brian and Kris Troxel build houses in West Michigan.

Troxel Equistrian Helmets -- If you ride horses, you probably already knew about this. It's the number 1 Google Result for Troxel and they're scattered throughout each search page.

Troxel Steel Tubing -- Name says it all. Based out of Moscow Tennessee.

Troxel Realty -- Another dead give-away. Jack M. Troxel is an Associate Broker and their website says they've been in the business since 1958, out of Battle Creek, Michigan.

Jeff Troxel -- Jeff Troxel was the National Guitar Flat Picking Champion in 2003.

Troxel Vs. Granville -- In Troxel, the United States Supreme Court invalidated Washington State's visitation statute as an unconstitutional intrusion into a parent's fundamental liberty interest in raising a child as the parent sees fit. There's a lot of legalese here; I'm no lawyer. Read at your own pleasure.

Troxel Equipment Dealer -- Okay, maybe you don't think selling John Deere tractors is monumental, but I thought it was cool; located in Bluffton Indiana.

Karen Troxel -- Romance Novelist Extraordinaire... I wouldn't read them, but hey she's in print and I'm not!

Dr. Sarah Troxel -- Plastic Surgery in Anchorage Alaska never had it so good!

Dr. David Troxel -- A professor at UC Berkeley, no less.

Prof. Troxel -- But a proffessor at MIT!!!

Melaine Troxel -- Melanie Troxel is a NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Driver!!!! She's everywhere, just search on her name; it's crazy!

Thomas H. Troxel -- Author, Historian, etc.

Mandy Troxel -- A local singer from Orcas Island Washington. I don't know her, but her name is popping up in several places. See also Mandy Troxel's homepage.

Wendy Troxel -- Wendy has a doctorate in behavioral medicine and is published in numerous medical journals, according to her bio.


Of course, if you modify that google search to Troxel Taxidermy then Dad's site comes up as the top two hits out of about 850 results. If you still don't understand why there are 850 results, go back and look at that google article again. :j

4 Shopping Days until Christmas!

So I'm back from my last trip of the year, a one week tour on the USS Stennis, CVN 74. I picked up a sinus and ear infection as a souvenir on my trip and thus am at home popping antibiotics and narcotic cough medicine.

I think poor Calla is going stir crazy. What with me being sick I'm at home, which in her eyes means it's time for a trip to the Dog park. Our good friends the Stewarts (see photo) have a very energetic Schnauzer that Calla likes to play with. I might beg to borrow their Bode (that's his name) and wear the old girl out. Aaron has been out to sea with a different project (we work together) and Chelsea's been at work, so I bet Bode could use some crazy time, too.

Anyway, things are well. We're getting lots of rain now and I've found a new leak in our laundry room. Other than the inconvenience, this is an area that will be completely torn down and replaced, so I'm not in a panic. But I do need to check the rest of the house to make sure that nothing nasty is happening. I'll be very very glad when this project gets started and I can see all the problem areas being tended.

I'm including some pictures from my trip aboard the USS Stennis. They're mostly from just two of the 6 days, but you'll see that Jeff, my good buddy from the Nimitz project that I did down in San Diego, was aboard with me on this one. Curt and Eric, too!Take care everyone! Miss you all.

Chicken Scratch

(*Edit*) Wow, my most responsive post yet! So for those of you who have emailed me directly as well as for those who have posted comments on the blog:
In reality, the pictures were only meant to convey the impact of the project on the retaining wall. In order to do that I had to show the property lines, the placement of the house on the property lines, and the modifications to the wall. Because I was trying to hurry and because I was using MS Paint instead of a real drafting program, I just copied the picture of the house and added the changes that would affect the property line: mainly the front of the house and the front access points, the sitting room on the left side of the house, and the modifications to the yard.

To answer some of your questions:

• The front door will be at the top of the stone stair case. They may not line up in this sketch, but in the engineered drawings they will.
• The upstairs door is acutually an existing door that goes out onto an existing porch.
• There will be access to the house through the garage/basement.
• The house will also undergo some significant structural changes that are not represented in this sketch. The house was more or less a place holder to outline the foundation changes.
• The 60 foot ban on building was imposed so that the city council can decide if they want to limit the height of building to 35 feet or raise it (as developers in the area desire) to 60 or 70 feet. What is at stake is the view of the water and the mountains, and depending on how that decision turns out could drastically affect our house and view, and perhaps the reconstruction of our house!
• The construction will take no more than 12 months from the time we break ground.

Thanks to everyone for so much interest and such great questions! I'll keep posting updates as they emerge. :jnl (*End Edit*)

Okay, I had to throw something together for the structural engineer to give them a conceptual idea of the changes we're making to the house. This is literally a "crude" representation. However, it does make for a pretty good draft board as to what one could expect to see when it's done. So I'm gonna share it with you.

This first picture is what the house currently looks like:


This second picture is what the house will look like when we're all said and done. Remember, this is only a concept drawing. Nothing detail about this other than the broadest of pictures.


Comments and questions are welcomed, as always! By the way, if you happened to have forgotten, if you click on the pictures, you will get a larger image to look at; makes it easy for those of us with old eyes! :jnl

In other news

So I stopped into Art Anderson Architect & Structural Engineering the other day to discuss with them the plans and drawings that I'm working on for the house. Come to find out there is currently a 60 day ban on construction in my neighborhood. In truth, that doesn't affect me so much because I don't intend to break ground until April. But, the reason they are holding the moratorium is of interest to me. I'm trying to find out more, but apparently the main reason is to establish zoning regulations on property height and such.

This could be good news, though. If they establish a regulation that promotes building in my area, then we will have developers bringing fresh money into the area. Currently there are construction plans along Washington from 1st street to 5th street and maybe as far as 6th street. If the city council decides to allow for appealing zoning, that could push the renovation belt all the way to 11th street!

I'll keep you posted as I find more out about these developments.

:j

Up In Smoke (a societal rant)

New laws, voted by the people and for the people of Washington, take affect today: no smoking in any public building (mostly already adopted so this really only affects bars and bowling alleys), no smoking with 25 feet of a door to a public building, no smoking at any workplace (auto mechanics are sure to rebel), no smoking in cigar Bars, or even in private clubs, and most notably: no smoking in a minimum of 75% of all hotel rooms.

How did this happen? Well, voters passed it by a 2 to 1 margin, to be honest. That means out of every 100 people 66 said no smoking and 33 said let ‘em smoke.

The “25-foot rule” makes Washington’s law the most restrictive in the country. And in a state whose largest population density (King County/Seattle) is made up primarily of liberals, that’s downright amazing.

I quit smoking a number of years ago and am, to be truthful, one of those very annoying ex-smokers who can no longer stand the habit. However, I’m not completely unsympathetic as I feel that cigar bars and smoke shops should be left alone. The irony here is that an establishment solely designated for the population that smokes should not be allowed to let people smoke. Sometimes people don't think things thru well enough.

That said, there is a certain amount of rejoicing from yours truly:

A great many smokers insist that they’re polite and will go out of their way to not smoke near those who don’t puff. Bogus; every morning on my way to work and inside my work perimeter I find myself behind a smoker and awash in their cloud (I work with 10 thousand people so waiting for them to pass is tantamount to just inviting another smoker to walk in front of me). There might be twenty people in front of me, but the only one I notice is the one who insists on getting that last ciggy in before work.

My real annoyance is that after the new law passed the state capitulated and said that they would not persecute smokers who were in transit. And, there again, someone isn't thinking. Put a smoker in a designated place and I can avoid that place, but how do I avoid walking in the cloud of the person in front of me if there is no restriction against this? In fact, the new law more or less encourages this. Well, at least we'll have cardiovascularly healthy smokers here in Washington.

Too, many smokers claim that their habit doesn’t affect anyone else. Hogwash. Secondhand smoke has a baseball field worth of studies that link it to cancer in non-smokers (and yes, there might be an opposing team but I’m going with the one I’m rooting for). More importantly though, is that a smoker inherently imposes upon everyone around them. The smell, the burning eyes, the acrid air, the “smokers” breath, the skunk affect of a smoker’s clothing that propels a horrid air behind them as they walk through a room after a smoke break.

Smokers claim non-smokers are overly intolerant and hypersensitive. Have you ever seen a smoker who can’t smoke? THERE is someone who is cranky and intolerant.

Regardless, it seems that for better or worse, there's a brand new perspective on smoking taking place. California will surely stiffen their laws so as to not be outdone by Washington. And if America can't make smoking illegal, they can definitely tax the habit to oblivion. When I smoked in the Army, a carton of Marlboro was between $8.00 and $10.00 depending on the time of year. That same carton costs a Washington Resident in EXCESS of $50.00 and $60.00! As more and more people are convinced or forced to quit, there will be a smaller and smaller population that is resistant to a nationwide contraband on Tobacco.

I predict it will happen in my lifetime. Mark your calendar.

:j

It's Begining to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Everywhere I go...

Which now includeds a return to Washington after a brief stint down in San Diego. I won't go into how frustrating this type of job can be what with all the mix ups and miss communications. Lets just say, I'm glad I'm home.

So, here it is the 3rd of December. That's only 22 more shopping days left for all you slackers out there! ha! Me, I'm sticking by my claims of shopping completion. Now it's going to be all about getting the house paid for and that kind of stuff. No more shopping sprees, that's for sure!

We're going to be assembling our Christmas card list shortly. If you didn't get a Christmas card from us last year, please email or call us so that we can get you on our list.

Other than that, it's been a pretty good lazy Sunday. I'm really ready for Christmas vacation, I'll tell you that. I know I love travelling, but it's the going back to work part that's the heart breaker.

Anyway, I'm gonna get. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm safe and sound back in Washington and that we're doing fine. Miss you all and hope that you're doing well.

:jnl

Free Advertising!

Well, I'm no expert at this web-site stuff, by any means.

But, head over to The Updated Photo Gallery page of Troxel Taxidermy.

:j

Black Friday

Wow.

Wow!

Well, we got up at 4 am to brave the crowds. And let me start by saying that I love this day of the year. It's consumerism at its best with shoppers at their worst, and the junior psychologist in me gets a kick outta watching and participating in the madness and mayhem of the day after Thanks giving. Of course, there are times when I'd like to cut through this madness and mayhem with a baseball bat, or maybe a hockey stick. Yes, shoppers at their finest.

We started out the morning at Circuit City, which was the only store that had something that I felt was really worth the trouble. It's a little gadget memory device called a Sony Pro Memory Stick Duo. It was worth the trip because it was $45 dollars cheaper than I would normally be able to buy this 512 Mega-byte do-hickey, and in this case that brought the price of this whoosey-what's-it down to a whopping twenty dollars. And since I have a Sony Camera and a Sony PSP, this memory device was worth the 20 minutes waiting outside in the drizzle, the half hour scrambling around the cattle pen of a store to find it, and the 1 HOUR standing in the checkout line to pay for said trinket.

But, just to make it more worth the while, we also picked up a Vonage phone router, which is supposed to allow us to use our phone through our Internet. The bonus here is the ability to tell the phone company to "pound sand" because we won't need them anymore or their stinking $20 worth of city, county, state, federal, planetary, universal, and cosmos taxes. Not only that, there is no charge for talking: one price gives you unlimited access to any number in the US or Canada. The box even says that we can keep our existing phone number, but the little asterisk next to that statement reveals that this is only where available--guess we'll be finding out more when we go to hook up the service. For anyone interested in looking into Vonage the only criteria is that you have a broad band connection for your Internet.

After Circuit City we made a dash for Joanne's, a craft and fabric store. Lilah got some good deals on scrap-booking stuff, yarn, and such other crafty items. I went and got coffee and some magazines. I feel this was a great compromise and effective use of time!

Uh... so anyway, after Joanne's we made the trip to Sears. Sears had two items on my Christmas list for way cheap: one was one handed 12" clamps (for those of you keeping tabs on my Christmas list, you can keep "Clamps" on your list, but do not purposefully buy 12" clamps). The other item was a multimeter, good to use when tinkering with wiring and electrical components. The clamps were half price; the multimeter was $10 off. After grabbing our goodies we went to look at Refrigerators. I could make this a long detailed story that would give you a better understanding of the one hour plus debate we held on the finer points of refrigeration and the cost of said appliances, but I won't. Needless to say, while we very much wanted a new fridge, and found one we both agreed was an amazing display of the inverted thermal cycle, we walked away from the deal. Two reasons here: one--we're just getting out from under all of our credit card debt and purchasing such a large ticket item would have involved revolving debt; and two--we felt that with a major kitchen remodel on the horizon, buying one item piecemeal might end up causing conflict with any future design and decoration efforts.

Happy in our knowledge that we made the right decision (though truthfully regretful to leave behind such a shiny and desired object), we walked out of the store and headed over to Barnes and Nobles for a quick magazine search, thus finalizing our Black Friday of 2005.

Today I'm including a couple of photos from our trip to Vancouver, BC, taken earlier this year.

:jnl

What a Turkey!

Well, I can say with certainty that this is the first year EVER that I have completed all my seasonal shopping well before the month of December. Heck, a typical year involves a mad dash the week before Christmas and shipping delays be darned. But this year I've bested my previous best by what seems like a millennium.

So, tomorrow is going to be a quiet at home reflection of those things for which we're most Thankful. Lilah is at the top of my list, my parents on both sides, crazy Aunt Patti, our dog Calla, our friends, having a house to live in, our health and the health of those we love. We're also lucky to announce that it looks like the Lummus family will be making the trek up here to the great Northwest at Christmas. Aunt Charlene will be happy to hear, I'm sure, and I'll be happy because I get to go to Oregon and visit the Tuttles whom I haven't seen in way too long.

With our house being in some state of disassemble, it looks like next year will be our year for travel. As always, it's awkward in trying to balance one trip between two families. If things are going well in construction, we'll make two trips--one trip over Thanksgiving and one over Christmas. We'd love to hear everyone's opinion on how to break this up: one family per trip, or 50-50 time split at each family over each trip (and of course all the bonus turkey we can eat!). Or maybe we can have combined family gatherings... everyone does Thanksgiving in one state and Christmas in the other. Of course there would be hotel considerations with this last alternative, but that would be an enjoyable option as well. Anyway, we all have time to figure it out, but it's probably best to start the discussion now. I can't imagine how complicated this will get once we have a brood of youngsters with us.

In other news, I do have a quick trip to San Diego again next week. Just a jaunt to look at some equipment without going to sea, and I'll be back the first week of December. These short trips are really nice because I get to come home to Lilah before I ever get homesick. Yeah! I invited her to come with me for the weekend, but then they extended my trip to a full week, so it looks like I'll be going solo.

Some other updates: JC Penney's caved and gave me the lower interest rate on my card. I forgot that I hadn't updated everyone on this important turn of events (tongue-in-cheek) until my mom and I were discussing Christmas presents. Just goes to show that you should call your credit card companies and demand better service. The worst they can tell you is no.

Also, Lilah and I will start with the 4th grade boys Sunday School in January at our church. This is very good news as when we were originally looking into this the class we wanted got snatched up before we could submit our names.

The house plans are coming along. Not fast enough and there is always a dozen chores around the house that need attention instead of working on the computer. But things are coming along and I think we're looking very good for an April ground breaking.

And finally, for those of you keeping track, Lilah and I were just discussing yesterday the baby plans. April or May of 07 should have our bundle(s) of joy in hand. --The "(s)" is because I'm still hoping for twins or triplets. No, it doesn't run in either of our families, and yes everyone tells us I'm carzy, but that won't keep me from hoping!

Well, that's about all for now. I'm back to working on my house design. :j

A few good Pics

Here's some pictures from my recent trip aboard the USS Germantown.















The mast is pictured first. And boy is it tall! The deck I'm standing on to take this photo is about 100 feet off the water and the top of that mast tower is about another 100 feet above me! You can see a couple of pictures of my buddy Eric climbing the very top portion of this mast in the next two pictures.

During the 5 days and 6 nights we were aboard, no less than 5 diffferent types of Helicopters landed on the flight deck of this ship. The pictures show a Huey and an Appache; others will be posted next time.

A couple other items about the ship that I found neat were the really mean Machine gun and the refueling process underway, pictured in the next three pictures.

A real nice sunset to wrap it all up and we'll call that a day! Oh, and some katsup. If you ask why I'll tell you it's because I was being creative...

:jnl

Been like Forever!

So, I'm back to work at my desk here in Washington, but I'm pulling backshift for the rest of the week.

The trip to San Diego and the short stint aboard the USS Germantown was a great experience. Lots of pictures to share, too, but not tonight-forgot the disc at home.

That's it, nothing special to write about tonight; just a quick hello to let you all know that I'm home and doing well. I'll try to get some more written tomorrow to fill you in on everything new and what-not.

Nite all!

:jnl

Yo! Ho! Ho! A Pirate's life for me!

It's been pouring rain here all day. In fact, for about a week, but today was especially grim. Which, is why it is such terrible news that I will be heading to San Diego for the next week or two. It won't necessarily be fun and games, but it will be... oh who am I kidding, this will be fun. Still, it will be work, so don't hate me.

Lilah will be in last-minute "crunch mode" for her test on Wednesday the 9th, and probably won't even notice that I'm not home until about Wednesday night. Hopefully, if things go right I might be heading home shortly there after, but if not that will give her some time to unwind and have some dedicated "Lilah" time.

Anyway, no updates on the house plans--things are changing in design but not in scope. I almost feel edgy putting down my design plans to go to sea, but it has to be done and I have some good deal of time off during the Thanksgiving week to rededicate myself to the engineering drawings. If you would like to read some of the trials and tribulations of someone who has done this type of remodel himself in an area very close to mine, I recommend heading over to Geekazon where a gentleman by the name of Doug has a very detailed and informative website about his house lifting experience and the subsequent remodel. Thanks again Doug for the permission to link to your site!

Today's photos include a friend of ours named Jenna. She has a blog, but I haven't gotten permission to link to it (haven't asked) so I'm not going to do that yet. Then the every beautiful Lilah amongst tulips in bloom. Followed by some pics of me and Lilah and even one with Charity thrown in for good measure (and she's smiling!).

Take care everyone and I'll post from So-Cal if I get the chance!

:j

I'm how old?

Well the rheumatism hasn’t exactly set in and no Social Security checks, yet. But, I’m another year older.

When exactly do you begin to feel “adult”? I started college five years later than most because of the Army. Even so, when I was a freshman in college I felt like little more than a senior in Highschool. When I was in the Army I felt like a kid in summer camp. I got lucky… no bullets were flying at me when I was in the service, so mostly it was a four year paid expedition to the “man” scouts.

Needless to say, here I am at 34 and I’m wondering what the qualifications are to feel adult.

I guess I don’t watch cartoons anymore. That’s going to be a surprise to some out there who knew me well to be glued to the Saturday morning cartoon extravaganza every week for hours on end. But now I see a cartoon on TV and I wonder how fast I can make it over to the Discovery Science channel or baring that, a quick jump to Law and Order.

I don’t “play” anymore, either. Friends and I will shop together, hunt together, or even hang out with one another. But we don’t play. I do play with my dog, but any dog owner will understand that the human mostly stands there and throws objects while it is the DOG who does all the playing. Sleepovers are out, too; I haven’t had a sleep over in years.

I own a house; ownership should convey adulthood, right? If you think it through, however, in reality this is just a scam by the banking industry to be the world’s largest rental agent. I pay my “rent” every month to the bank and if I miss my rent payments they evict me and I get nothing in return. After 30 years, and completely out of the generosity of their hearts (and a dollar value triple the asking price) the bank stops charging me rent. The government, however, does not.

I work every day. That’s pretty adult in nature, too. But in reality it’s only a couple more hours a day than going to school was. I don’t get summers off from work but I do get vacation. What with the paycheck, that’s a pretty fair trade off.

I have noticed as I get older that I start to sound more and more like Andy Rooney. If you don’t believe me go back and read this again with his trademark inflections. Scary, isn’t it? I can almost hear him reading my blog back to me now.

I guess the last hurdle, the last bastion of pre-adulthood to crumble, will be children. Maybe that’s what I’m missing to truly feel my age. In the mean time, if anyone asks, I’m only 26.

:j

Feel Free 2 Comment

So, it's been awhile since the old family has left us any messages on the blog... am I that boring? It's nice to know that people are reading this blog... I appreciate your comments during our phone calls. But spare a click or two and tell the world you were here; how's about it, eh?

Well, as previously mentioned, we've been preapproved for our home remodel project. And it's a big project. In order to recieve the funds from the bank, we have to have a complete set of engineered drawings and all our city and county permits. I'm currently working on the engineered drawings. It's a pretty good program that I got to work with and I also bought a reference book to look at floor plans (but the book was VERY limited in details) and found a curb appeal that I like a lot. Lilah likes it to, so that about finalizes the decision, barring an exorbanant expense that would prevent persuing the design.

So, in case you're wondering, yes: this is incredibly intimidating. I keep wondering if we shouldn't just sell and run instead of putting so much money on the line and risking so much. I mean, worse case scenario we'll have a really nice home to live in with a mortgage about twice what we're paying now. So this isn't necessarily feast or famine... but it will be the largest project that I've been the sole management on. So yeah, I fear messing it up. Of course, I think if i were adamantly confident then someone should step in and put me in a padded jacket. There IS a lot to be concerned about. Sub contractors, time lines, city and country restrictions... and I'm not even experienced enough to recognize all the potential road blocks. But I think I understand the thrill and the excitement of launching your own business!

In nowhere near as important news, Comcast Cable won me again. I called up to cancel the cable service cause I was going to go to Dish network who was offering 3 rooms of service with a High Def Digital Video Recorder (HD DVR) and a normal Digital Video Recorder (DVR) for a pretty good introductory offer that went up in price in 6 months but was still less than Comcast was charging me for just the one regular TV connection with no DVR, on top of which we pay about 12 bucks a month for TIVO to get the DVR services. Well, upon calling Comcast they couldn't beat the 3 TV's, but they did offer an HD DVR, a normal Digital Cable box, HBO, and all the channels we currently have for less than they were currently charging me. Throwing in the HBO won't do a whole lot for us because we're not watching TV so much anymore, but there are a couple of series that I do like on HBO... so, what the hey!

I'm thinking tomorrow I'm going to call up JC Penney to see about this outrageous interest rate they're charging me to own their platinum card. It's a good time because it's at a zero balance and I wouldn't be broken hearted if I needed to cancel the card because they won't deal. Well, we'll see. When I called to cancel my Capital One card the other day (paid that one off, too) they offered me 9% interest to keep the card! (that's down from 21% interest) I kinda regret telling them no thank you. I mean, how many 9% cards do you own? Anyway, that's just a reminder to everyone that if you're unhappy with your current deal, it's worth calling the company and horse trading.

Hope to hear from all you guys. Remember, the comments are our friends!

:j

What this picture has to do with this post... I have no idea. But, it's a good picture!

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

Here's a picture of my buddy Tristan doing his thing up in Alaska.


Miss you Tristan!

More Pictures

Oh Happy Day!

This just in!

Hi Jason,

The Director of Real Estate has reviewed your application and pre-approved you for an owner-builder loan to remodel your home.

The next step will be to provide complete plans and specs as well as a detailed cost breakdown and description of materials for the improvements you're planning to make.

Sincerely,

Your Banker

I'd tell you more, but I have to run over to the administrative office to put in my work passport (a just-in-case... no particular reason). I'll fill you in more soon!

A Brief History in Kodachrome

These aren't in any particular order and out of context they may not make much sense, but here ya'll go!

Birthday and Christmas Wishlists for Jason

I've been told that I should be posting some of these things... well, here's my Amazon Wish list. I encourage you all to learn to love Amazon as they have a huge selection and they offer free shipping on most things over $25 and they deliver right to the person you want to send it to (namely me!).

My Amazon Wish List is available for viewing by clicking on that link. You don't necessarily have to get these particular books... in fact there's a good number of books on trees that I've seen at Barnes and Noble that I can't find at the moment on Amazon. I'd also like some books on Cabinetry and tiling. Books on Decks. Books on Windows and lighting.

If you don't want to buy books, I can use gift cards for Home Depot or Lowes, or tools (hand tools for wood working or construction tools for remodeling) and clamps... you can never have too many or a wide enough selection of clamps.

But the Amazon wish list is a good place to start. Now if all of you would be so kind as to send me a list of what it is you would like for Christmas and/or Birthdays.

Pictures next post, I promise!

Early is as Early does.

And getting up at 4:30 on a Saturday and a Sunday, just doesn't seem right.

Well, nothing new or exciting to report yet. I'm in early today waiting on the production side of the house to give us a call and tell us that we're cleared to start working. Sure, we might not start working until 8 am, but that's not the point... we were here at 5:45 am, just in case.

At least I have Skippy the iPod. Actually, the iPod has been giving me a head scratcher of a math problem based on it's shuffle mode play. This, come to find out, isn't a "Jason-specific" quandary. I did a Google search on "iPod probability question" and came up with quite the list. None-the-less, the quest is not complete without an answer, so here is the question:

Subject:
Odd's; a.k.a. Probability.

Knowns:
I have (currently) 5,558 songs on my iPod.
I tend to listen to this grand sum of music in Shuffle mode.
Every time I plug in my iPod to the computer, Shuffle mode is reset.
The average number of songs listened to in shuffle mode before reset is: 200 (of 5558).

Assumptions:
Perfect randomization (no need to fret over the actual algorithm, and Apple would--and does--deny any tinkering with the mathematics).
In quantity, I have listened to 200 shuffled songs, i.e. one "shuffle cycle", 15 times.

Solve:
On the 16th shuffle cycle, what is the probability that I will hear a song that I've already heard in a previous shuffle cycle?
What is the probability I'll hear a song a third time I've already heard twice over the past 15 shuffle cycles?
... the probability I'll hear a song the fourth time?

I have not heard a song five times yet. But if you're feeling froggy, you can calculate that out for me, too. Or at least tell me how to set up the problem.

Don't you wish you had such exciting thoughts at the crack of morn'in? Yeah, me too.

Okay, I got the call, I'm off to work!

Why not just build new?

Yeah, and this isn't even 100% finalized yet.

Well, all in all I'm pretty excited about the prospect of getting a major project like this completed. It's kind of been the goal since we first walked into this house 2-1/2 years ago and now it's all up to the banks. Do we have the credit-worthiness? Do we have the dicipline and fortitude to run such a large project in such a short timeframe (9-12 months)? Do we have the technical ability and enough elbow grease to tackle as much of this project as I've planned on us doing? Gaaa! It keeps me from sleeping at night!

But on the other hand, it's very exciting, and in the end will be a great experience. Well, it oculd be a great experience... we'll see!

:j

Peek-a-Blah

No, we ain't dead.

I spent a great weekend sick and yucky. Thursday afternoon I felt it coming on... the exhaustion from switching shifts, the sniffles I'd been fighting, the coughing that was getting worse, the headache that wouldn't go away.

None the less Friday came as a surprise when I didn't wake up until 12:30 in the afternoon. Seriously. It was my first roll over of the day and I'd not even heard the dog, the cats, my wife leaving for work... nothing. Over the next four days me and the bed were good buddies. Yeah, and the couch, too.

So yesterday, Tuesday, I finally got back to work only to find that I had a backlog so big I was ready to call a saw mill. In fact, most this week will be that busy. That time of year I guess.

As for other news, we're in the process of starting our financing portion of the house renovation. This entails a lot more work than I reckoned. The financial history part is a pea-portion of the potluck; in order to get our construction loan we're going to have to hire an architect, a General Contractor, and have all the subs (sub-contractors) submit bids for time and material in order for the bank to give us the loan. If this wasn't good info for me to have I'm not sure that I would follow through with a "Construction loan" and would take the higher interest rate on the Equity line of credit.

Another neat thing coming out of this process is that, at least on paper, we own more than we owe. That's a neat feeling. Of course, it's hypothetical because we'd have to sell our house, cash in our stocks and retirements, pawn our belongings, and hawk our truck to pay off the mortgages, the student loans, our (rapidly diminishing) revolving credit, etc. But at the end of the juggling act, we'd be a couple pennies ahead, and that's all right by me!

Peace out y'all. I promise to get a shopping list of our projects posted soon.

:jnl

Rant

You know, Lilah and I have been looking for an economic hybrid vehicle to replace our truck. We looked at the Ford Hybrid Escape and we like the way it looks, but the price was just more that we felt justified in paying since most of it is going to the dealer in markup. No bargining on the most popular vehicle on the lot...

But I don't fault Ford. If you make a good product and put it in a sexy package, well you should get a good price for it. But what I don't get is The Honda Insight or The Toyota Prius. These are two of the highest mileage vehicles by almost double what anything else is getting. But style? Design? Are they intentionally trying to limit sales? Toyota and Honda both have a very nice lineup of attractive vehicles, but these two particular hybrid powertrains (they are different powerplants and technology) are packaged in what has to be the ugliest looking vehicle since the Pacer X.
Why wouldn't a manufacture try to sell these hybrids to the mainstream market by putting them in a more conventional shell?
Well, Honda and Toyota aren't listening to my little rant, to be sure; but there will be some other dealership that hears my words as we write out a check for their vehicle. And that's just it--how many people are willing to pay more and sacrafice mileage and environmental standards just because these two manufactures have chosen to put great vehicles in butt ugly packages?

If i could stick my tongue out at Toyota and Honda in print i would... maybe: 8^P

:jnl

Top of the world

Some pics from my trip to the Big Island earlier this year. While I was there I went to the top of Mauna Kea. If you look at the photos from the bottom up, I started my day at the ranger station which isn't in the photo, but this is a photo from said location. As you can see, I'm already above the clouds. Turning around from this location you can see the side of the mountain against the incredibly blue sky. In the third picture I'm in sitting in the crater bowl between the "peak" and the observatory. 14,000 feet doesn't sound like a lot, but I started my morning at sea level and with the sudden change in elevation, at this point I have a splitting headache and am pretty short of breath. I spent 5 hours up here tooling around and taking pictures waiting for the sunset and by the end of the day I felt like I'd been in a boxing ring for the same amount of time. The next photo is one of the large telescopes. Here it's closed. There were some people milling about the inside and I think I could have gone inside one, but I didn't jump on the chance and I missed my opportunity. The next photo is three of the large telescopes. If I remember right (and I'm not sure I do) there were either 8 or 9 of these large scopes near the summit. Speaking of summits, the next photo is the geological marker at the peak. The last three photos are self explanatory. Hope everyone is doing well. Stay tuned for an update on the house remodel. We've got our budget outline and will be approaching our lender in the very near future. We'll keep you posted as info becomes available. :jnl