December [s]

Last weekend was Connie's shower. Since two thirds of the organizers were dudes, it was reasonably palatable for Ryan and the numerous male invitees.



Decorations were in abundance and we played a lightning round of baby taboo.



We bought a lot of food, but the highlight was Jes's fondant ducks that nobody wanted to destroy by eating.



Presents, yeah.



I did a quick shoot beforehand to make a 12x18 that guests could sign.



This evening the roomies and I got a tree.



Dragon Age is still quite entertaining, it's a vast game.

Auto lighting [i]

I installed directional fixtures on the high walls in the upstairs, triggered by a motion sensor in the living room. It appears the wall switch sensors require upwards of 60 watts of load to function properly. I'd prefer to use a security sensor because of their greater range and daylight sensitivity, however they have to drive an even greater load. Hopefully somebody will solve this, given the prevalence of cfls and leds.

All kinds of win [s]

Jon, Connie, and myself played a couple Settlers matches. We let White Lambda WIN both since it was his bday. He bailed from SoCal (WIN[?]) early because the prospect of being trounced at Axis and Allies cast a grim shadow over his remaining days.



The support structures for the traverse wall came out well with some impromptu assistance from E. The three on the right depict the side that will face the studs, they'll be attached flat against the interior wall because the weld nuts are embedded. They'll never need to be removed, which is good for not turning 2x4s into swiss cheese.

The board on the left is the front side, where hex bolts with fender washers will attach the 1/2" osb such that they can be easily removed and reoriented. I think feature is total WIN.



Rfq and Birdman came over to swim off the chili cookoff gluttony. We broke out the collective equipment (d70 x2, sb800 x2, sb800 hard case, a640 w/ hard case, n80 w/ soft case) and did some pool-entry shots.



The bright, reflective surface was very clutch. We just needed some glowsticks or... well I won't steal Connie's thunder. The spray looks kind of cool lit up against the dark areas, next time we'll need a just-above-water camera with a quicker shutter.



Also seen is the led pool light finally mounted and in full glory.



The turbulance created some cool effects, though it was tough to get recognizable shapes. We'll see how Jes did with the n80. When R gets his arduino flash/camera triggers up and running, we'll have some great possibilities (and warmer water).


I call this one 'Enormous underwater fart'. Chili cookoff, remember?



My citysac came today, WIN. Its four foot diameter perfectly fills the gap between the couch chaises. It is ideal for gaming and movieing, and sits at the convergence of the surround signals.




What the hell New Mexico?

Settlers II [s]

There was more Settlers tonight. I did a short time-lapse.

Said the now-older one, 'You always go for the longest road. I know your game. I have your 411 down.'

A few events [s]

Wednesday was Settlers night. There was great anticipation as we finally cracked open Cities and Knights. The expansion adds considerable complexity to the game, it's a little intimidating at the outset, but is great for playability. The development capabilities in the expansion add quite a few options up front, but they also change as progress is made. I am simultaneously excited for- and fearful of the inevitable Settlers/Seafarers/Cities stratorgy.



Connie won. I was a couple resources from a last-to-first comeback when I handed the dice to her. Jon was held at twelve of thirteen victory points for a few rounds when his dominance was (at last) recognized. Curt was not far from the finish either. On account of our newbiness to the expansion, the lack of a dominant force/quick winner, and some very 'contemplative' turns, it took five hours to resolve the victor of Catan. That meant 02:30 on a school night. It never really dragged, unlike Risk or Axis where you can finish a pint before your opponent has decided which three territories he'll invade.

I burned about a quarter of my amputated overhang that night. The wood was particularly poppy and there wasn't a shortage of embers on the wood floor. No housefires or burn marks on the highly laminated (not laminate) surface.

I stopped by Dixieline's home furnishings showroom because their kitchen and bath selection is pretty good. I was optimistic, Home Depot just doesn't have much variety and any store that specializes in such fixtures is overpriced and/or requires install. My original goal was to find a pedestal sink that would mesh well with the tight confines of the downstairs bathroom.

Unfortunately the only inspiring ones were ultra modern, and that would clash pretty badly. I took a liking to the Xylem Essence and Europa vanities because they were very slim and had no cabinets. I liked the Essence more and could even tolerate the countertop vessel, but doing a wall-mounted faucet did not appeal. I settled on the Europa with a one-piece white china top.

Joe sold it to me, he didn't mind discussing the options with me and wasn't pushy, but unsurprisingly all of his knowledge seemed to come from the catalog.

It wasn't until the invoice was printed that I was informed there was a $100 handling charge. Joe seemed to expect unpleasantness and meekly suggested that it was offset by their 25% then 20% discounts (which I intuitively know means 45% off list price!). Anyway, that bs was enough to deter me from returning but I was still okay with the bottom line and went ahead with the order. Joe told me it'd arrive within a week.

Then Thursday I (Jon) called and was informed the sink top was back ordered and they should have originally told me two or three weeks. I cancelled the order and was told there would be a restocking fee but they'd try to get it waived because my arrival date was wrong. I pointed out they couldn't well charge me a restocking fee on something not in stock and made the impression that I wasn't going to put up with any more bs. Joe called me later to confirm.

Unfortunately, for future projects this leaves me with Home Depot and the internet. The former has limited supply, the latter offers only jpgs to suggest the quality and consistency of the merchandise.



I headed over Expo to see if they were still open; the place is in the final stages of Circuit Citying. Selection was pretty limited, but they had a few vanities not unlike the Xylem one for a pretty good price. The only tops available were black glass, which I decided against based on style. I did snag an independent sink drain (rather than the one that comes with the faucet) and after the install I'm very happy with it. It's easier to install, looks better, and is of better construction.



The final pull from Expo was a sturdy shelf probably used for stocking small items. Now it's holding up Rob's big ol' crt tv and the sound system pilfered from Casa Morelos. No more bleeding clutch cables without some tunes or Futurama dvds.



Today we took Jon's xr to Plaster City way out on 8. Ty attended, so did Erik and Ian with their big Hondas. The barbecue was a challenge to secure, but very clutch for the grilling of sirloin burgers.



The terrain was a significant contrast to the previous excursion, tight trails were replaced with 360 degree mobility, packed dirt was replaced with sand.



We navigated terrain, ran a small oval course, hill climbed, and did some jumping.



A few more photos can be seen on flickr at the moment.

Reinforcements [s]

I had quite a few visitors this weekend. The main project - other than good times - was resupporting the deck.


1. Remove every other post.


2. Grind away rusted rebar previously used to align posts.


3. Drill the concrete for the new anchors, 5/8" or 3/4" or something.


4. Fill the hole with epoxy and sink the bolt, allow to set overnight.


5. Torque the u-brackets to the concrete, level the new posts and bolt them with 1/2" galvanized hardware.


6. Mime strange things.


7. Raise sagging parts of the structure as necessary.


8. Drill and bolt the tops of the posts.


9. Start over with the opposite sides.



So a moisture barrier is pretty important. The next step will be to skirt the new posts in brick to make the assembly more visually appealing.

Buying a hammer drill for the job was not exactly a feather in my cap, but it defintely made short work of the concrete - about a minute to sink the length of the bit. My newfound ability to anchor to concrete opens possibilities in the difficult pursuit of a pool enclosure. I need a means to deflect falling leaves from the southernmost few feet of the pool. The pool vac handles them just fine, but I dislike cleaning the filter every few days.

Traditional pool covers will simply dump the leaves and such into the water when they are folded or rolled up, so an above-water solution is ideal. I'd considered a canopy, though not many can accomodate the 12' width of the pool. Such a structure would have the benefit of providing shade in addition to leaf protection. Anything with a roof and walls is an asset to use of the pool heater, though I wouldn't want the area permanently enclosed.

Being able to affix something to the concrete around the pool means I could do something that resembles a pergola, but with the potential for a roof and/or walls. This would look better than a canopy and provide a platform for great things ranging from outdoor lighting to volleyball net posts.

This weekend's roll call:


Benhen.


Catherine (sp?).


Pops.


Bear.


Jes.


Kim.


Me.


Patrick Swayze Jon.


Ted.


Oops.


So that's an ostrich egg, slated for scrambling tomorrow morning.



The final presentation for photo is Wednesday, so I've printed a few more things. Here are some film shots from the March 7 autocross.