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
Saturday, November 26, 2005
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
Friday, November 25, 2005
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.
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
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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
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
Friday, November 18, 2005
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
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
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
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
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
Friday, November 04, 2005
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
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
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
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
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
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