Read more for the before (yuck!) and after pics… Continue reading “I am a Caulker”
I am a Caulker
2011-04-30 Yuki-BAR Adventure Race, King, NC
Kramden Institute volunteer day
How could I pass up a chance to build computers? What a perfect volunteering job this was for me. Progress Energy set everything up, organizing the event and giving us all t-shirts. They have a great program where they give full-time employees paid time off to volunteer a couple days a year.
The place was a kind of geek nirvana, reminded me of my brother’s storage space that I helped him organize. Bins of every possible computer component, with memory sorted by type, hard drives clearly marked if they had been properly wiped, etc.
The work is organized into four stages:
- Triage
- Cleanup
- OS load
- Final test
Triage seemed like the most fun so I jumped in there. Step 1: blast the dirty incoming PC’s! They have a compressor in the back that provides endless high-pressure blasts to eliminate dust buildup from case and cpu fans and everything else in the case. Then we stripped everything extraneous from the case – video cards, sata cables, etc. Then we stocked them with parts to bring each up to the standard configuration: 4 256-MB sticks of memory and a 40GB hard drive. Once BIOS posted, they provided an ISOLINUX variant boot CD that could run a host of tests. We ran quick memtest386 and hard drive tests, and used BIOS to set the correct date and time. After the paperwork was complete and the PC was labeled, we moved them over to the cleaning station!
Of course we ran into all the usual problems. I put in four separate pairs of DDR2 memory and they all posted bad. I was sure I had a bad motherboard or memory socket so I put the PC aside, only to get the same result from the next PC. I methodically tested each stick and found that one of each of the four pairs was bad. What are the odds! But it felt good to weed out all the rotten stuff. :> Larry, next to me, had a bad power supply that fried a CDROM drive, but he persisted until he got his BIOS post. It’s no fun if it’s not a challenge!
It was seriously so much fun that the time flew by and I was totally disappointed that we were done. They have open nights every Wednesday, I might just have to go back and give this another shot. :>
8.5 Rise Against: Endgame
I didn’t think I could ever warm up to this kind of over-produced hard rock.
Even if it is labelled punk rock. PUNK?? What the… cmon this is NOT PUNK. This is fast-paced arena rock. It has NOTHING TO DO WITH PUNK ROCK. Thin Lizzy was writing this stuff years before the Clash existed.
But something about it caught my attention. Lyrical strenth. So i wikied the band. And discovered truth. Straight-edge vegan truth. Rockin! So I opened up and listened. And the lyrics don’t get any stronger. The videos are inspiring. And once I got that far, it became most excellent running music – I ran the hardest few miles of my life on this stuff yesterday.
So I guess I have to let it be lumped in with other dispensers of truth – like my favorites, Consolidated, who have spun into outer orbit. Oh yeah! Truth comes in many strange forms. :>
Amazing Race 18 scorecard
Amazing Race returns! As do the contestants – they are all previous losers. I think that’s a great idea – I am sure they have all discussed the details for hours, and have all kinds of strategies to try out. Looks intense so far!
- Pick the team you think will win, and pick the team you think will be eliminated next.
- If your winning team is eliminated, you have to pick another. Least picks wins!
- If your losing team is eliminated, you score, and get to pick another. Most scores wins!
| Team | Symbol |
|---|---|
| Jet/Cord – Cowboys | C |
| Gary/Mallory – Father/Daughter | G |
| Margie/Luke – Mom and deaf son | L |
| Amanda/Chris – Engaged | E |
| Keisha/Jen – Sisters | S |
| Kent/Vyksin – Goth couple | V |
| Flight Time/Big Easy – Globetrotters | F |
| Jaime/Cara – NFL Cheerleaders | N |
| Ronald/Christina – Father/Daughter | R |
| Zev/Justin – Friends | H |
| Mel/Mike – Gay Dad/Son | M |
PICKS
| Viewer | Ep01 G/(C) |
Ep02 H/E |
Ep03 H/M |
Ep04 L/(V) |
Ep05 C/N |
Ep06 G/L |
Ep07 F/R |
Ep08 H/(G) |
Ep09 H/C |
Ep10 F/V |
Ep11 G/H |
Ep12 |
| Larry | F/L | F/H | F/H | F/S | ||||||||
| Jane | C/N | C/L | C/F | H/*V | H/F | G/F | ||||||
| Andrea | M/L | V/L | V/R | S*/V | S/F | |||||||
| Mike | R/G | S/G | ||||||||||
| Wren | F/N | F/R | F/V | F/S | ||||||||
| Reiley | F/N | F/R | F/V | F/S | ||||||||
| Nick | F/L | F/R | F/V | F/S | ||||||||
| Betty | G/S |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Winning choice won this leg of the race (used for tiebreaker) | |
| -1 | Winning choice lost this leg of the race (pick again) |
| +1 | Losing choice lost this leg of the race (pick again) |
| +1 | Winning choice won, and losing choice lost – PERFECT! |
| * | Selection change (-1) |
9.0 Zynga scrabble crack
I swore I would never touch Zynga again after Mafia Wars took over my facebook life (and RL). But I have a soft spot for all perversions of Scrabble on my smart device, dating back ten years to pass-off games on my Zaurus (man I loved that thing, so far ahead it was like I was from anothet planet). Gary and I have been having trans-city late night duels into the wee hours. Just what I needed, more Zynga crack… Continue reading “9.0 Zynga scrabble crack”
Tornadoes rip by our neighborhood
Yikes! We’re fine, but we are thinking of others very nearby – a “large” (weatherman’s emphasis) tornado came by at 70 mph within a couple blocks of our house. Estimates are that a couple dozen people were killed, 130 homes were destroyed, and a thousand more homes were damaged in North Carolina. Trees are down everywhere and it’s going to be a while before everything’s cleaned up. I wonder if I should get a chainsaw at the store… if they have any… Continue reading “Tornadoes rip by our neighborhood”
9.0 Cake: Showroom of Compassion
Maybe not their best, but c’mon, it’s Cake! “Sick Of You” is another tight Cake instant classic that is so good it’s fun to listen to even when you’re feeling up! ha
“He moves his words like a prizefighter…”
9.5 Fallout New Vegas
Gaming has been such a rich experience for me, and my life has been better for it. There are so many wonderful worlds in my head created by game developers and shared with my family and friends.
But just like my moral objection to vengeance-fueled thrillers that play on people’s worst desire for vigilante justice, I don’t like useless gratuitous violence in video games. It’s polluted the space that should be filled with wit and creativity. I realize this places me outside the typical gamer demographic, and reduces my street cred. Whatever. It also makes it nearly impossible to indulge in gaming without some compromise. Continue reading “9.5 Fallout New Vegas”
Some U16 soccer drills
Here are some drills I’m going to try tonight:
- Leading passes to the goal. Form two lines at midfield, one line in the center circle that starts with the ball. Center gives a leading pass to wing, wing gives a one-touch return, center performs a one-touch shot. Simple, but really helps with the timing on those critical passes!
- 1v1 2v2 3v3 with one helper. Small field with small cone goals. Have to dribble into goal. Start with 1v1 with one helper that will return the pass to the passing team. Upgrade to 2v2 etc once control is established.
- Run the gauntlet. Form two lines of players at equal intervals. Another player starts at one end, between the lines, and must pass and return to each player on each side. Once to the end, the player joins one of the rows, and the first person in the row runs the gauntlet next.
We’ll see how it goes. :>