12/31/2004 10:39:00 AM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Since everyone else is making Best Lists for 2004, I decided to join them. So here is a list of blog entries from my own site. I either thought they were neat or people e-mailed me about them (these are in order of appearance since January 2004):
1) Swirl - I gave Stephanie roses for Valentines and thought a bloom would make for a nice photo.
2) Grocery Store Etiquette - Lots of e-mails and searches about this one. I wrote it after my wife came home from the grocery store less than pleased with the people she encountered there!
3) Sunflowers for Stephanie - More flowers for my wife. Just thought it would make for a nice photo.
4) Graduation, Cake, and More - One of my last entries about our next door neighbors in Florida - the Tates! Their daughter, also named Stephanie, graduated from high school that day and we had a little party for her. We miss the Tates.
5) Eagle Springs Parks - The park right next to our new home in Houston. It's nice and relaxing.
6) Pine Trees - Just a silly close-up that I think is nice.
7) Bathroom Toile Update - Two reasons for posting this: (1) I like the Before & After photo and (2) I was amazed at how many people e-mailed me saying that I misspelled "toilet" (I wasn't sure if they were joking or if they just didn't realized I was really talking about "toile").
8) Dresser - The fact that STEPHANIE AND I were able to do this is reason enough to post!
9) Vote! - Because it's your civic duty.
10) How to Make Baked Brie - Yum. What more reason do I need? |W|P|110451221472612792|W|P|Top Ten List|W|P|12/28/2004 09:12:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|
I want something specific -- a phone for the study that (1) is cordless, (2) will not interfere with our wireless network (meaning I want a 5.8 Ghz phone), (3) accommodates at least two lines so that I can pick up our home line without dashing off to the kitchen, and (4) an answering system for both lines because I'm now getting more calls through my home office line.
After searching PriceGrabber, I found one at Radio Shack -- 5.8GHz Digital 2-Line Cordless Phone with Answering System!
One Problem: I went up to our local Radio Shack to buy the phone. They had it in stock... but it wouldn't register when they scanned it. Why? Because it had been recalled! Apparently, it's somehow defective!
I had mixed emotions about this: (1) Pleased because Radio Shack took steps to make sure that I didn't purchase a defective product and (2) Annoyed because it was defective in the first place. The salesperson thought it would be about three weeks before a "corrected model" was released. I'll choose Pleased and wait patiently for the new model (unless I find something better on PriceGrabber in the meantime).|W|P|110429184769717315|W|P|Pleased or Annoyed?|W|P|12/25/2004 11:03:00 AM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Christmas was good this year! ;-)
|W|P|110399428692804030|W|P|Books!|W|P|12/25/2004 10:45:00 AM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Just a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
|W|P|110399329839417371|W|P|Merry Christmas!|W|P|12/24/2004 06:16:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|It's snowing in Houston! And I have photos to prove it! Understand though that I saw more snow on the ground in Laramie in September, but that's not really the point. The point is that (1) it's snowing in Houston of all places (when's the last time it did that?) and (2) We are going to have a White Christmas!
Those white flecks in the first photo are the snow flakes. Well, maybe not technically snow flakes. If you look at the second photo, you'll see what I'm talking about. It isn't quite the big fluffy snow flake quality that I saw in Laramie. I'm just happy it didn't instantly melt when it hit the ground (or the fence in this specific case).
|W|P|110393483457060516|W|P|Snow!|W|P|12/23/2004 01:23:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Remember last year's Baked Brie that Stephanie made for Christmas in Florida? Well, this year we hosted Christmas at our house for the first time and it turned out to be a blast. But that's not what this posting is about -- it's all about the brie! Here's how a baked brie gets made (and, unfortunately, there's no final photo because by the time we remembered to take a picture of it... it was gone! Yeah, it's that good!)
|W|P|110383059669735741|W|P|How to Make Baked Brie|W|P|12/23/2004 01:20:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Remember those bees? The cold took care of them, so I was able to finish the job I started. The hedges are now trimmed!
|W|P|110382970343769180|W|P|Hedges|W|P|12/23/2004 01:07:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Remember the trees we planted recently? They are doing well and survived the first month! In fact, our magnolia tree has a bloom!
|W|P|110382903224881557|W|P|First Bloom|W|P|12/17/2004 01:01:00 AM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Stephanie placed poinsettias outside the front door as part of her Christmas decorating. After she was stung by a wasp (long story that one... maybe she'll discuss it on her blog...), she set the poinsettias on the front walk. That exposed them to the elements and it rained today. After it stopped raining and before I went on my daily walk, I took a quick photo of the water beading on the leaves. Very cool, huh?
|W|P|110326355069918873|W|P|Poinsettias|W|P|12/15/2004 02:51:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|
My new 250GB external hard drive is causing me to rethink my storage needs -- specifically what I need in terms of an MP3 player. While the 40GB iPod is clearly too expensive, I was planning on "holding off" until a 40GB Dell Jukebox was released.
However, I've ripped nearly all of our CDs at 192kbps and have only filled a little over 10GB. Given that, I'm not sure a 40GB iPod or Dell is required. In fact, I'm leaning toward the 5GB Dell Pocket DJ instead. It's less expensive and smaller. In addition, I figure the Pareto Principle meaning I'll only listed to about 20% of my songs 80% of the time anyway. So even if we doubled our collection of CDs, that would still be only 4GB of space needed. And that's a lot of songs!
Time to think about this one...|W|P|110314864539909892|W|P|Storage space|W|P|12/13/2004 05:26:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Today a gift arrived at our door with no name attached. It is a great set of dipping oils, vinegar, and grapeseed oil from The Olive Oil Factory purchased through GreatOil.com. Excellent gift... but no name! Who could have sent us such a gift? Let us know!
|W|P|110298072874957479|W|P|Mystery Gift|W|P|12/12/2004 01:07:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|Stephanie and I were shopping at Kroger yesterday preparing for the family Christmas Gathering on the 18th. In the produce section, I noticed a new item (or one that I hadn't seen before) -- beverages by Bolthouse Farms. There were about 6 different types from which to choose and I was leaning toward the Berry Boost, but decided to go with Green Goodness (given that I'm fairly risk averse, that's pretty much the extent of my risk taking).
A friend of mine back in Florida (hi Eric!) started me on products like this. Despite the ingredients (broccoli juice, blue-green algae, spinach juice), it's pretty good stuff. The pineapple and apple juice makes it pretty tasty. My wife, who isn't as adventurous as I am, wouldn't have any of it, but I've come to enjoy it. Maybe I'll try the Berry Boost next time.
Ultimately, it beats having a pop tart for breakfast! ;-)|W|P|110288878064241717|W|P|Green Goodness|W|P|12/05/2004 03:28:00 PM|W|P|Donald|W|P|The Yard Art Project is now complete. Back in September, we went to a craft fair at at the Atascocita Methodist Church and bought a Christmas tree and gingerbread house from one of the local vendors. We ran into some issues with delivery (she was a week late), but the final product is great! Her husband dropped off the house and tree last night along with the extras.
|W|P|110228234359362575|W|P|Christmas Yard Art|W|P|