Posted by fabricpile Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:30:00 GMT
It seems that when Joe was a kid, he watched too much Underdog and not enough Rocky & Bullwinkle.
He didn’t know what the WABAC Machine was. And I married him thinking he was a geek. Sheesh!
Check it out: Mr. Peabody and Sherman are coming to the big screen!
Posted by fabricpile Tue, 03 Oct 2006 00:04:00 GMT
Joe and I recently determined to make changes to improve our health and productivity. Rather than get hung up on numbers and calendars, we based the time frame on the alphabet: Day A through Day Z.
In the past, we’ve been successful following the wisdom of Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Dean Ornish. In addition to following their advice, we wanted to focus ourselves more intensely on the tastes of what we were eating, so we chose to drink only water. As always, the food we prepared was phenomenal. In fact, whenever we are watching our diet closely we eat better than any other time.
Of course, none of this would have worked without exercise. With the support and cooperation of the kids, we walked at least three miles together every day—A through Z. I also continued with our normal Taekwondo schedule and Joe rode a total of 146 miles on his bike. By day Z (yesterday) Joe had lost 15 pounds and I was down 17.
Today is our day off. We still walked and Joe rode, but we are celebrating our success with treats like our favorite olive tapenade and yummy Scharffen Berger chocolate.
Tomorow begins our second trip through the alphabet and Kira and Mark have added their own agendas for self-improvement. We’ll let you know how our new ABC program is working for us.
Posted by joek Sat, 12 Aug 2006 23:46:00 GMT
Anastasia is a soup-making genius. She invents her recipes on the spot and never misses. I’ve been known to make a decent soup every once in awhile, but I seldom approach her outstanding creations.
At the top of the best-of-the-best is this evening’s tomato soup, made with tomatoes, onions, and basil right out of our garden. Add a freshly baked loaf of bread for perfection. Our dinner conversation consisted of little but gasps of delight.
All of the work in the garden, including battling the bog-weeds that thrive in our fluffy peat soil and dodging the giant bog-bugs, is worthwhile just to get our annual pot of tomato soup.
Posted by fabricpile Sun, 04 Jun 2006 14:44:00 GMT
So what do you do when your kids catch a few fish that you can’t identify?
Why, you clean them, cook them over an open fire and eat them, that’s what you do—but only after tucking away a couple of Boddington’s Pub Ales.
After a little research and rechecking the pictures of the charred remains, they appear to be Freshwater Drums.
Posted by joek Tue, 23 May 2006 21:06:00 GMT
Irises are Anastasia’s favorite flower. We were married in November and just had to have Irises in the wedding. Live irises were so expensive at that time of the year, we’d no choice but to settle for the best quality silk substitutes we could find. Anastasia has spent 18 years of married life determined to compensate for it in the garden.
Each time we move she immediately starts new beds, and it takes a few years to really establish them. Now in our fourth spring here, we’re nearly at the peak of the iris season, and we have several hundred blooms. Next year we’ll have well over a thousand.
Posted by joek Wed, 17 May 2006 13:30:00 GMT
If you visit us and don’t find yourself listening to and reciting poetry, you might end up doing Lego Math or possibly even discussing Lego Metaphysics.
Aside from being one of the best props for teaching fundamental mathematical concepts, Legos are fantastic fun. All those people who are worried about the global baby bust should quit speculating about government subsidies for having children and start advertising that children are the perfect excuse to play with Legos!
A big part of the reason Legos are so enthralling is that the Lego Group really gets it:
Though we make toys, we are not just a toy company. Though we are famous for our product, we are defined by our philosophy. Our name comes from the combination of the Danish “leg godt”, which means to “play well.” It is both our name and our nature. We believe that play is the essential ingredient in a child’s growth and development. It grows the human spirit. It encourages imagination, conceptual thinking and creation.
I do believe that this is the best corporate “mission statement” I’ve ever come across. I think all companies would benefit from deciding where fun and happiness fit into their own raisons d’etre.
Posted by joek Sat, 29 Apr 2006 20:28:00 GMT
Our Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera has served us well for several years. Up until a few days ago, that is. The camera has one serious design flaw: the mechanism to secure the battery compartment door is awful, and the springs that hold the batteries in place are over-tensioned, compounding the problem with the door.
Earlier in the week, the inevitable happened: the plastic tabs securing the door finally broke completely off the frame. After a few moments of agony, Max and I set about trying to fix it. There were several accounts of broken Coolpix battery doors on the net, and we eventually found the part we’d need to replace. But much disassembly was required… It wasn’t difficult, but it was traumatic not knowing whether we’d be able to get all the pieces back together. And we were kept in suspense waiting for the part to ship.
We’d been interested in using the Nikon for some macro photography when it failed. Rather than wait and worry, we decided to see what we could accomplish with Max’s Vivicam 3750 and a little added cleverness. We certainly surprised ourselves. Here are two shots taken with our home-made macro lens:
Our technique? Position a Bausch & Lomb 10x Hastings Triplet, the magnifying lens prized by field geologists, in front of the Vivicam’s objective lens:
We’re happy to report that this picture of the Vivicam/Triplet was taken with our now resurrected Coolpix.
Posted by joek Sun, 09 Apr 2006 13:14:00 GMT
This
Site,
It is
Quite clever.
Now I’ll make a plea
To try your own fibs out on me.
I’ll
Bet
A Buck
You’ll get stuck,
That I’ll never see
How much your feeble fibs will suck.
If you find yourself compelled to write them, it’s all Uncle Jay’s fault for sending the link.
Posted by joek Fri, 23 Dec 2005 20:31:00 GMT
Last Christmas I received a gift that has become one of my most treasured possessions. Master Craftsman Pop-Pop Krutulis built for me a reproduction of Thomas Jefferson’s bookstand:
The beautifully finished solid oak stand rotates effortlessly on a ball bearing spindle. Each of the five panels adjusts independently to the optimal work angle and folds down completely to conserve space.
Here’s a picture from the Library of Congress of the original stand designed and used by Jefferson at Monticello.
In our cabin on the bog, space is precious. My office consists of a quiet corner of our tiny bedroom. The stand sits immediately to my right and is the control center for all physical reading materials. It’s the perfect way to organize the books and notes I’m currently using. With it my small space is far more efficient and comfortable than any of the corporate cubes and offices I’ve haunted.
Posted by joek Fri, 16 Dec 2005 21:15:00 GMT
Today I met an important personal goal for 2005: This year I’ve covered 2000 miles outdoors with my own legs as power, including 1100 miles walking and 900 miles riding my bike.
I started the project in January, intending to recover my health after a long illness and determined to spend more time outside.
Long, thoughtful walks have always been important to me, but this year I think I’ve started an obsession. I crave my time outdoors in sub-zero temperatures, in wind and rain and snow storms, in morning fog, under scorching sun, and under the midnight stars. 2000 miles is far, but it has proven to be a quick way to clearer thinking and simple joy.
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