Saturday morning Blogging from my BB. I just got off work. Beth and the Boys are with Scouts heading to Louisville to see some bats. I have some free time but must remember to empty the dish washer. I am going to get some hot wings for lunch and watch some football.

E's Lost Tooth

Well as most people have seen E lost one of his front teeth at the B&G club yesterday.  He was so happy the at it had came out while playing football and not from any of us pulling it.  The other one on top is still very loose and Beth says she is going to pull it this weekend if it does not come out on its own.

Gman and E are playing basketball at the B&G club this winter instead of at Upwards.  I am not sure I am going to like this but I know the boys love Coach Larmont.  Gman is on a team with older kids.  He is either the youngest or next to youngest on his team.  E is either the oldest or next to the oldest on his team.  Gman is still the most athletic member of the family.  E is just as rough as can be.

E seems to be very much out of control.  He has his father's temper.  It takes a lot to get him mad but when he gets there get out of his way.  No one scares him when he is mad.  I saw him standing toe to toe to a kid at least a head taller than him.  The issue was who's turn it was to throw the football.  The bigger kid went to push him back and E got the look in his eyes like he was not going to take it. The other kid either knew the look or something because he backed down very fast.  I called E over to me and made him count to 10 to calm down.  The counting worked  so well with Gman but not so much with E. It took him 3 times to actually count slow enough to understand him.   I want to teach him the self control I never had.  I hope find better ways to do this.

Well when the other tooth makes its exit I will let everyone know.

Morning Joe and Questions

I usually catch about 15 mins of Morning Joe after the boys go to school and before I head to work. I usually do enjoy the show because it makes me think about what ever the topic is (usually politics but sometimes not). This weeks show have not been very good but have still got me thinking. So here are some questions I would like to ask Joe or his many guests/cohosts.

First - Isn't a little early to start revisionist history on the last Bush White House or are you doing it just because Bush's book came out?

Second - If the last election was about the Tea Party wanting change in DC from how things were done in the past, why are you saying President Obama needs a "grown up" to deal with the way Congress works?

Third - If Mitch Mcconnell had wanted to be invited for a one on one with the President do you not think he would have asked for one?

Fourth - Why would Mitch Mcconnell, an obstructionist to be sure, ever want to look like he was talking or compromising with this White House?

Fifth - If you want us the stay calm and carry on, Why are you yelling on the show?

I may add to these when I edit this tonight. I know it is unlikely anyone from the show will read these but it still some things I would like to ask.
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Thursday night and sitting at home

I hope everyone has been having a good week.  It has been a fairly long week but it is almost over.

We have been having water pressure issues in the house.  The water has suddenly gotten much higher in pressure.  Beth got a gauge from a friend at work that shows it is about 90 psi which is about 10 to high.  It is not real bad but it makes the shower feel like one of those message shower heads instead of just a regular one.  Nothing else seems to be changed but it has taken a couple weeks to get use to the new pressure.  Hopefully it is not a bigger issue.

I also replaced the parts of the toilet in our bath room this week.  It was not the first time I had done this but the first with this toilet.  I had more issues with it that I ever thought about.  I could not remove the valve part by itself.  I had to disconnect the tank from the bowl to get to the gasket holding the valve to the tank.  When I was taking it off I cracked a portion of the sand for the tank.  The valve was attached to the tank not just with the threads but with some sort of adhesive as well.  I am not sure if it was a rubber cement or a silicon base but I could not get it to unscrew.  I tried so hard the plunger part of the valve broke off.  I now had a toilet in 3 more pieces than it should have been in.  I ended up at Home Depot with the tank and the newly bought parts attempting to get the bottom valve off of the tank. Judy from plumbing and a young man from the paint department helped me to get the seal off. They both went above and beyond to help out.  So something that should have been a hour job took about 2 days to finish.  With much fussing and extra work we no have both bathrooms fully functional again.  

Gman made the Honor Roll for the first 9 weeks  and E got all pluses or better on his report card.   I was so proud of both of them.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Bear Trap

Its time to have a little geek update.  I have been playing with my netbook and the home network set up.  We now have 4 computers, the Wii, and the Blue Ray player all hooked into the home network.  I think I have reached the end of my knowledge on how it all should work together.  I can think see how I want it to work together but I am not sure how it will turn out because I have no master plan to make it happen.  I think it has become my bear trap.

So here are a couple of things I am thinking and tinkering with.  Productivity is somewhat of a joke right now.  The 4 computers have 3 different OS on them.  The boys desktop is a rebuild from parts I had leftover from odds and ends.  I took the HD and motherboard from my  Alienware and build it.  It is running XP pro and has a lot of life left in it. It will need more storage when the boys start using it for more school work.  So either an external HD or one of the old internal SATAs I have.  The laptop (Beth's) is a very good for her.  It is running Vista but she says it is fine for what she does with it.  It is the only computer now with Office on it (and so the lack of productivity elsewhere).  I could reload the old version Office 97 on the boys computer but they do not really need it yet.   My desktop is now running W7 (I did keep an old hard drive with XP and Ubuntu on it) and I loved it enough to upgrade the W7 starter on the netbook to W7 Home.  Firmware in the Wii and the Sony Blue Ray have them hooked to the router very well. 

My 2 current problems are  1: Sharing the printer and the 2 external HDs I have on the network  2: File and application sharing without buying new programs.   On the first problem, I put the printer and Hds on the network  through a Belken Hub when we got Beth's laptop.  They work fine for her but I have not taken the time to get them to work with the boys computer or the netbook.  I need more knowledge about how W7 workgroups are suppose to work to make it all work better.   The second problem is going to be a larger one.  Everything I read tells me what I want is a home server set up.  I know that Beth will not want another computer taking up space we do not have.  I also do not know how Windows Home Server will work across the 3 OS.  I do not believe that everyone is going to want a home server for their electronics.  So what are people going to do instead? 

My answer leads to another question -  Do I want to does this because I think it will be useful  or because it seems like fun to try to do?  The useful side includes looking into the future of the boys home work.  The wireless key they use now to get to the network (and internet) should be enough  for connectivity but it does drag when any other device is connected.  The wifi in the netbook, blue ray and laptop all have better bandwith so they show less drag.   At some point the boys will need better internet and access to the printer and HDs.   They will also want to play more games like PvsZ etc online and be able to stream music into their own room (can anyone say head phones?).   I know they are still young but it is coming.  I know the answer to the fun part is that I do enjoy it.  

So for those who know- its my bear trap.

Spring in October?

The weather today is closer to March than October.  Mid 70s for temperature.  80 percent humidity.  Winds gusting over 20 mph.   Thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches.  The day is just a very blustery day to steal a phrase from a bear.  I hope everyone in the path of this storm is Ok and is being careful.  I can't believe it is the last week in October and we are getting this weather.

I know by now most people have seen the 5 full weekends this month.  It only happens every 800 plus years we are told.  Knowing it is just simple math to figure it out, is it really that big of a deal?  Does it work for months with say 5 Monday Tuesday, and Wednesdays?  If it did, would we be more depressed because of the "extra" Monday?  Not sure of the answer but it does not change the fact that we get 52 weeks a year no matter what month they fall into.

We have started trying to plan end of the year trips.  Thanksgiving and Christmas always seemed so rushed.  I am happy to see people and enjoy time with friends and family.  I just wish everything was less hectic.  We are hoping to see Marc and Megan and Brian and Angie (and the kids) while they are in the area.  Beth is looking at the weekend before Christmas to go West.  If you read this Mom, we will talk about what everyone else plans looks like.

Beth just texted me that they have moved everyone to the basement at the library.  Everyone be safe.

Long weekend for one where we stayed home.  Beth had a headache.  The boys were driving us all crazy.    I was on edge and could not calm down.  The only good part of the weekend was that Mom got the come up. Always glad to see her.

E had a soccer game that he really did not want to be at but he did play.  Mike and Bonnie got to come watch.  I will not rail against soccer or hockey but really I do not get them as sports.  I know many friends do and I am glad for you but please I can not stand either one.  I still want a vuvuzela. Don't ask because I can't explain it I just do.

I watch today as woman was driving beside me on Nicholasville Rd.  She had a cigarette in one hand.  She was talking on her cell phone with her other hand.  A cup of coffee  was resting in her lap.  She was steering with her knees.  She was then hit by a guy pulling out of a side street.  It was an accident waiting to happen but not how I thought it was going to.  I had slowed down to get away from her.  The other car just whipped out at the light that was red to them.  Right hand turn into her rear side panel.  It was very ironic.

I hope everyone has a great week.