It has certainly taken longer than I had planned, and it is still a ways from being complete, but I wanted to offer an update on the basement bar project. A big thank you to my wonderful wife who has allowed me the time to work on it. You can […]
Year: 2011
Eee PC Reboot
I’ve had an Asus Eee PC netbook for a few years. I was initially impressed with its speed and the Xandros linux load that came pre-installed. After about a year, however, I concluded that a 7″ screen is just a bit too small for me, and I discovered that the […]
Stone Soup Cottage
Having made reservations a full five months in advance, I had a long time to anticipate my wife’s birthday dinner at Stone Soup Cottage in Cottleville, Missouri. Prior to attending the Chef’s Tasting Dinner last Friday, I had read that St. Louis Magazine had given them the Best New Restaurant […]
IOGEAR Wireless Keyboard
Last year, I wrote about the Lenovo Keyboard I bought, and that I wasn’t a fan. It has its good points, but overall the lack of backlighting is a deal breaker. But I’ve found a keyboard that I can definitely recommend for the Home Theater PC enthusiast. This IOGEAR wireless […]
That Time Of The Month
Thank goodness that’s over. The thirtieth day couldn’t come quickly enough for me. I think I say this every year, but this was by far the hardest month so far. We had so much stuff going on this month, just finding the time to write was enough of a challenge, […]
Projects Aplenty
Summer is always busy, but this month has seemed especially crazy with plenty of projects keeping me busy. Today we had our friend and concrete expert finish the patio we started two years ago by adding some steps to the face. Between that, adding the finishing touches to my daughter’s […]
Reading and Writing
I envy people who view reading a book as a way to kill an afternoon. It usually takes me months to read a book. Part of it is I just don’t read that fast, but mostly it’s a matter of finding the time to sit down and read. The time […]
I Bought A Cow
I challenge anyone to watch the documentary Food, Inc. and not be influenced to make at least a few changes in the way you eat. More than likely, you’ll change a lot. You’ll look at that half-pound chicken breast and wonder if the chicken was still able to walk, supporting […]
How Is AT&T Still In Business?
I just had another horrible experience with AT&T customer support, and I know I’m not alone. They have to be one of the most hated companies on earth for this reason. I just tried logging into their website to make changes to an account and since I do this so […]
Mmmm… Beer
Rule #1 in home improvement projects: everything takes longer than you think it will. This past winter, I started building a bar in the basement. When the cold outside prevented me from doing anything else, progress was swift, and I was actually thinking I would be done with the whole […]
I Speak For The Trees
[continued from Part 1] After meeting with the contractor that Ameren dispatched to walk my property line and mark trees, he invited me to walk the line with him. I was glad I did. Not only did this give me an opportunity to recalibrate his understanding of easements, but it […]
I Am The Lorax
I am not a fan of Ameren. Ever since I spent seven days without electricity in the throes of a St. Louis summer, there is very little that company can do to find favor with me. I’m sure I’m not alone. That incident in July 2006, where a half million […]
Stop Draggin’ My Car Around
Last year I wrote about the state of the electric car market, so I wanted to revisit the topic and provide an update. I’m still planning to buy an electric car one day, so this is something I have been following pretty closely for years now. I previously wrote about […]
President for a Day
I came across an interesting bit of trivia this week that I’m almost embarrassed to admit I had not heard before, but my guess is that residents of the western side of Missouri are more prone to have heard of Senator David Atchison than us easterners. Historians dispute the claim, […]
Ready, Set, Blog!
It is time once again for the Running of the Blogs! This is my fourth year participating, and it seems to get harder every year. The idea is to post something every day for 30 days. It’s harder than it sounds. Although it’s a lot easier than writing a novel […]
Garden 2.0
Last year’s garden was a big success, but it didn’t take us long to realize that it wasn’t big enough to produce all of the food we wanted. So we started this season by expanding it to twice the size. Our success with the garden last year has also led […]
More Sketchup
Last year I wrote about how I was learning to use Google Sketchup and that I was planning to use it for some home improvement projects. The first project is a basement bar that I have been planning ever since we moved into our house. I have found Sketchup to […]
Handy Storage For Christmas Lights
Looking for a good way to store your Christmas lights and don’t want to spend a lot of money? If you have any of the cardboard boxes that they use to ship Florida citrus, they are an excellent storage solution. Each box has three removable cardboard trays that will keep […]