Life According to Jim

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2009-06-02T21:55:10Z

Sunday Project

2009-04-06T07:14:36Z

Here's how I spent my Sunday afternoon. I took the car apart and then took like 2 hours to figure out how to get the intercooler out. It's the silver thing with the 2 black pipes in front of everything on the ground. I finally broke a piece off to get it out. Hopefully I'll be able to put it all back together. :) The car is out of action until the intercooler is completely dry. I washed it with soapy water and rigged a hair dryer to speed up the drying process.

Not Yer Average Programming Project

2006-11-04T06:54:59Z

OK, so there's no actual programming apparent in this, but that's how it started. The idea is to have 6 large screens on a Register conference room wall to display in-progress page designs, compare them with previous designs and be able to quickly view different images. I'm putting together the software to do this but we also needed to get the 37" TV displays working with a good quality image.

After a couple of weeks of trial and error with different video adapters, extenders, amplifiers, etcetera, we decided to keep the PC close to the monitor to get the best image quality without spending a bunch more money. By pure luck the Dell utlra-small PC we bought for one of the tests fit snugly in the back of the TV. Jimbo and I fashioned some aluminum brackets for the PCs to rest on and I attached some straps to keep the PC from going anywhere. The PC's external power supply fits neatly in the cable compartment, so I just drilled a few ventilation holes and presto!

I love these simple engineering projects where everything clicks into place! (Even when it's not planned that way.)

Here's the parts Jimbo and I made and modified.

Here's where the parts are used on the TV.

TV mounted on the wall with attached PC.

All 6 TVs on the wall.

The conference room from outside.

3 Days at the Races

2005-09-05T22:56:47Z

I spent the past 3 days at the California Speedway in Fontana working as a volunteer at the Skybox check-in booth. This weekend was the fall NASCAR races � West Series, Busch Series and the Nextel Cup. This is a fundraising activity for the Centennial Band Boosters that I've participated in for the last 5 years. We'll make about $1400 for this weekend thanks to 18 volunteers!

Here's where we work:

Our job is to check-in the Skybox ticket holders. This is for the best and most expensive seats in the place, so we deal with the more sophisticated part of the crowd. It's quite a juxtaposition to see some of the executive types mixed in with the no-shirt, beer in each hand NASCAR fans. After a couple of hours of watching people come in, it's really easy to spot the Skybox holders.

Here's some other things I saw.
Lamest Sponsorship: The Relocate Here 200 sponsored by the County of San Bernardino.
I'm not sure which is funnier - San Bernardino for having to start a marketing campaign to get people to move there or the speedway for having to sink so low to find a sponsor for the race. This was for the Friday night West Series race.

Worst "Please Help Me!" Moment: The guy trying to find a ride for his wife/girlfriend because the blisters from her cool new heels were so bad she couldn't walk anymore.

Best Hope for the Future sighting: The enthusiastic kids from Cal-Poly Pomona running the burger stand next door. Polite, talented and entertaining!

Best Celebrity Sighting: OK, pretty lame, but I saw Tom McKernan, president of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Cutest Baby Sighting: A young mom and her baby were taking a break at a picnic table nearby. The toddler was probably around 1 year old. The mom had to hold her up while she was sitting at the table so she wouldn't fall backward. She needed her hand free to eat, so she laid her leg across the toddler's lap to hold her on the bench while she had a snack. Later, grandma was walking the little one around and proudly smiling at the admiring passers-by.

Best "You Gotta Wonder" moment: While I was chilling � literally � in the lobby of the administration building, I listened to an operator discussing with someone whether she should bring her 6-week old baby to the track to enjoy the 95+ degree heat, 120 decibel roar of the cars, etc. I hope she convinced the caller to stay home with the "every human has to have a ticket" line.

From the new insight into human physiology department: I can now report that baking in 95 degree heat for 3 days is nothing compared to baking in 100 degree heat. I think you're OK until your brain starts to go beyond 98.6 degrees. I was surprised how OK I felt after this weekend.

Layin' It Down, Day 2

2005-05-30T06:09:22Z

Another long day of putting down the flooring. I was at it from 9am to almost 9pm. What amazes me is that it was still shifting around for most of the day. It probably weighs 500-600 pounds by now and it's all in one piece. At the end of the day it finally seemed like it had stopped moving. It's definitely looking good. The more I install, the more I'm lovin' it!

I got to the tricky part where I had to add on the entry-way. It was like starting over but I managed to keep it together. Looks like it'll be a 2-weekend project since I still have the kitchen and hallway to do.

Layin' It Down, Part 1

2005-05-29T06:15:06Z

Here's a picture of how far I got on the first day of laying the laminate flooring. I'm flabbergasted by how slow this is going, but I'm excited about how great it looks. Big kudos to Tom for helping me get started AND finding a wall to line things up with AND loaning me his tools! Thanks Tom!

Hopefully, I'll get the family and kitchen done tomorrow.

Hoops, There It Is!

2005-04-11T07:33:17Z

While Jimbo was here on spring break, he was nice enough to take some pictures at one of my basketball games. He always gets amazing shots. Thanks Jimbo!

I've been playing with this group of guys for a few years. My buddy Dan and I have played together off and on for the last 15 years since I worked at Hughes Aircraft. I think we're both retiring after this league season. We'll keep playing pickup games at the park where things aren't so serious. Dan's going to take ukulele lessons and I'm planning on giving the trumpet a try.

Here I am puttin' up a shot from distance.

Here I am getting mugged on a rebound.

Here's a team mugging by Freddy and me. The guy we're fouling banged me twice in the jaw. It's the thing that finally made me decide to quit playing league games. After all, we're only playing for a t-shirt!

New Floors, Step 1

2005-04-04T02:09:17Z

Here's some shots after I removed some carpet this weekend. Next step is to remove the kitchen floor, then lay ceramic tile. Guess it's time to pick something!

Easter Sunday

2005-04-02T16:57:58Z

Here's some shots from our Sunday brunch.

Here's the super6 plus 1.

Tom's new ride - everyone took a turn drving the new toy!

Mary enjoys the spring breeze.

Cool, I still look as tall as Jimbo in this one! He's 6'5" now!

Home Again

2004-07-27T07:13:53Z

After a 380 mile drive in tempuratures as high as 109 degrees, we're finally home. It was a great trip and we really miss the cool weather. The only picture from today was taken as we cruised down the freeway in Corona. The kids were losin' it from being in the car for too long. I had to stop talking because anything I said caused Jimbo to break into a jingle, movie line, TV commercial or something related to what I said.

Here's what Jimbo unglued looks like.

In, Out, Up, Down, Around Again

2004-07-26T07:25:51Z

Whew! Today we made our epic journey down the Pacific Coast Highway - it's actually called Shoreline Highway north of San Francisco. We drove 182 miles of winding, curvy, foggy, sunny, tree-covered, diving, swooping road. I actually had sore spots on my hands from steering and using the manual shifter, but what a blast to drive!

As usual, we just made it out before check-out time at 11 under gray skies. We had an ocean view from our room and enjoyed breakfast to the surf and highway sounds just under our window. We eventually hit some sun and lucked out by stopping at a beautiful beach with chocolate-brown sand - Manchester State Beach. It was one of the few totally sunny spots we had along the coast.

After a few hours, the switchbacks, hairpins and various other-size corners start to blend together. We'll need to go through our pictures and video to remember everything we saw. We came off the coast highway just before the Golden Gate bridge which was really fogged in this time. We stopped at Mel's Drive-In in downtown San Francisco for meatloaf, burgers, floats and malts. We're currently camped in San Jose directly under the airport flight path getting ready to run home.

This was the view from our hotel window. Probably a great place when at sunset when it's clear.

Here's Mary modeling her recently-knitted hat. She almost had blisters from furious back-seat knitting a few days ago.

This is the chocolate-colored beach. Because of the color, the sand was toasty warm by the water and burning hot farther back. Jimbo said the wet sand looked like coffee grounds.

Here's a self-portrait we took at a cove I can't remember the name of.

Just a small sample of the roads we took. This is a Jimbo-shooting-from-above-the-car special.

Mel's in downtown SF. We played the oldies jukebox while chowing on ground beef at the counter.

Even More Trees

2004-07-25T07:15:01Z

Today we moved from Eureka down to Fort Bragg, right on the coast. We took a long drive through Humboldt Redwoods State Park and were again amazed at how big these trees are. It's hard to capture the experience in a picture, so we tried some video, too. Stayed tuned for a DVD! The tallest tree we saw was 363 feet tall. After a while the mind starts to boggle as you walk among a grove full of 250+ foot trees.

We started back down Pacific Coast Highway around 7pm and zoomed through 20 miles of curvy hill-hugging road. My turbo-mobile loved it but Mary didn't as much. We made it to the coast around sunset but were shrouded in clouds and fog. We managed to spot some pelicans, black sand beaches and cool campgrounds before it got dark.

Along the Avenue of the Giants in the redwood park we spotted berry bushes along the road for hundreds of feet. A guide on our boat tour said they are Himalaya berries - like blackberries.

We picked a whole basket and had to keep Mary from eating them.

Here's Jimbo parked in a cool, quiet spot.

Here's a shot of a really big tree - over 300 feet tall. We just can't remember which one it is.

This is the only picture we could get on the coast before it got dark.

Big Trees, Fast Boat

2004-07-24T06:59:24Z

Today we drove north from Eureka to Klamath to take a boat tour up the Klamath River. On the way we stopped at the Lady Bird Johnson grove in the Redwood National park. It's always amazing to see the giant trees. There were redwoods and douglas fir that seemed to be trying to keep up and were over 200 feet tall and straight as an arrow. We're staying in Eureka an extra day so we can take more hikes in the forest.

The boat tour took us upriver about 20 miles past where the road ends. We actually went as far as where the road ends coming down from farther up the river. We saw golden eagles and osprey in flight, a bald eagle perched in a tree and a few locals seeking fish in the river. The boat we were in carried 23 people and had two 350+ horsepower V8 motors so we could cruise up the river at 30-40 miles per hour. It's a jet boat so it can keep moving even when the water is only a foot deep. We did a bunch of 360-degree spins and got a good rinsing. We started out in 65-degree weather down by the ocean and ended up in 90-degree heat at the lodge where we enjoyed a steak dinner before heading back down. What a blast!

We ended the day under a fog canopy at a dark-sanded beach with new sand - it's still the size of sesame seeds so you get sesame-crusted feet.

That's Jimbo and Mary standing in front of a REALLY big tree!

Here we are loaded into the jet boat.

Here we are mid-spin on the way back down.

The other boat at cruising speed. Woo hoo!

This beach was almost black and we had it to ourselves - in 60 degree weather, of course. A seal swimming by checked us out while we were playing frisbee.

Long Road to Eureka

2004-07-23T07:03:40Z

We covered 382 miles today from Monterey to Eureka. The original plan was to continue our Pacific Coast highway journey from a few years ago which ended in Monterey. After taking over 2 hours to get from Monterey to San Francisco, we abandoned that since we still had a couple of hundred miles to go to Eureka. We went up the 101 and were pleasantly suprised by mile after mile of smooth, rolling highway between hundred foot forests. Well, okay, it was fun for the driver. Mary was singing the back seat blues after being in the car for 7+ hours.

We started out in the 60 degree coastal weather, drove inland for a while in 90-100 degree sun and then wound up back in the cool coastal fog. A local said this is the way it works. When it's really hot inland, it fogs up at the coast. Cool! :)

Here's the Pigeon Point lighthouse south of San Francisco.

Jimbo and Mary on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Zooming through the redwood forest.

Finally, back into the cool fog.

On to Monterey

2004-07-22T07:15:40Z

Today we moved 150 miles north to Monterey. We spent the afternoon under grey skies down around Cannery Row and the bay. We had some fish and chips, took a 2+ hour bike ride around much of the bay and then had a pretty nice dinner right on the water. We also went to an arcade where Mary demonstrated her secret rock-climbing skills.

Here's Mary posing on the way to the tip of Monterey Peninsula.

On the way to the other side of the bay, Mary made a new friend.

Mary was inspired to act like a monkey herself and scaled this wall 3 times!

The funniest thing we saw was these harbor seals trying to keep their heads and feet out of the water to keep warm. They were staking out rocks just below the surface and waiting for the tide to go out.