Aikido Friday Night - 9/19/08

Aikidokas: Tim, and Trey.

Ukemi: No big falls.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey.

Techniques:

Trey and I worked on 1-10 for each of us and then 11-17 for me.

It was an ok night. Hurricane Ike had an impact on our performance. We all spent most of the previous week dealing with the aftermath, so he made his presence known on the mat.

I certainly don't feel I'll be ready for Shodan demonstration anytime soon. Maybe I'll feel better later.

Aftermath: None of note.

A. I. Day 7

Trees processed today: 2

Trees left to process: 2

State of power: off

Estimated power turn-on: unknown. I'm guessing 3-9 days.

State of the weather: fabulous, all things considered.

I cut up the last pine tree and the tallow tree that were in the creek/ditch. I did not complete it, but until I get access to a chainsaw, I'm done.

We've still got a lot of debris to haul to the curb.

My mom got power yesterday, so it's just my sister and I now left in the family without power.

A. I. Day 6

Trees processed today: 1

Trees processed previously: 4

Trees left to process: 2

State of power: off

Estimated power turn-on: unknown. I'm guessing 3-9 days.

State of the weather: fabulous, all things considered.

I cut up one of the pines that had fallen across my creek/ditch. One of
the branches was under far more tension than I thought it was. It
released the tension quickly when I made the final cut. I was not in
its path when it did so.

The next two trees are going to require getting into the muck to make
the cuts, so I've got to find my rubber boots.

No cutting tonight as the dojo is up and running and it's a night for
aikido.

Hurricane Ike: a summary of events

Thursday, Sept. 11

8:15 am: Friendswood announces voluntary evacuation

8:45 am: I decide to evacuate and head home

10:30 am: Finish packing, with K.'s help. Say a tearful goodbye and head north

1:30 pm: Arrive at the in-laws' place

Friday, Sept. 12

9:00 pm: Take Jack and Tank out for the last chance to relieve themselves before the storm

Saturday, Sept. 13

1:30 am: Call from K. giving the conditions in Friendswood

4:30 am: Hurricane Ike arrives, causing the structure to sway slightly for the next 7 hours

6:20 am: Power goes out

10:30 am: Attempt to take Jack and Tank out to do their business. Jack cooperates, Tank decides it's too windy.

1:30 pm: Storm has abated, leaving a very light rain falling. Tank decides he can go to the bathroom now.

Sunday, Sept. 14

3:00 am: Call from K. with conditions in Friendswood

10:00 am: Finish packing to go home and head out

1:00 pm: Arrive back in Friendswood

End of timeline

Surveying the damage, we got off very lightly. A total of 7 trees lost major limbs or gave their lives in the storm. The bamboo plant also lost a number of shoots. None of them damaged the house.

Trees left to process: 3

State of power: off

Estimated power turn-on: unknown. I'm guessing 4-10 days

State of the weather: fabulous, all things considered.

Pictures when I can get them off the camera

Volleyball 0-3

Another winless night. It was a set of 3 close games, so I'm not disappointed. We were outmanned 6 players to 5.

I managed to get one ace, plus a couple of good serves. Nothing like last week, when I won around 9 straight points off of my serve.

A couple of kills and a couple of blocks rounded out the evening.

Oh, plus a tweak of the ankle I sprained back in March. I'm limping today.

Hurricane Ike, still

Picked up more plywood for the protection of windows and doors, along with some more Plylox. Spent the time after volleyball sizing the plywood and the 2x4s necessary as adjuncts. So, should we decide to do it, we can board up the final windows and doors in an hour or so.

I don't expect to do it, as it looks like Ike will come in south of us. We will likely get some rain, but not the really high powered winds.

The shop has, according to K., been filled with loose stuff from the yard.

Unless things change, I'll be riding the storm out at home.

Brief political quote

A great (unattributed) quote from Lynn Flewelling's LJ:

"Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor."

Hurricane Ike

It looks like Mr. Ike might be headed my way.

Yesterday afternoon, I got home and saw the projected path. It looked like he was likely to come straight up the gut. So, I went out to the shop and got down all of the storm boards.

I spent some time spray painting them with labels that are easier to see than the Sharpie I had used previously.

I also cut the plywood for the windows of the addition, and figured out how they were going to get installed.

K. came home and helped me get the last board down from the shop and we started installing them. We had to do some size adjustment along the way, along with learning some tricks of using Plylox. If you place the Plylox further away from the ends of the board, it makes it easier to install them.

It took judicious use of prop boards and cinder blocks to install the boards on the addition, but we got it done.

We got in from the installation and sat down to check the news on Ike. Now it looks like he's going to hit South Texas instead of the Upper Texas Coast. Grrr.

We need some more plywood for two doors and the big windows (107" x 52" and 107" x 72"). K. is out picking that up now, with her dad. We're going to need 'em at some point, so might as well have them ready.

I'm really glad I've got the shop now. I've got a plywood cutting methodology down after doing so much for making the cabinets for the shop. It made the cutting of the new boards, and adjustment of the old ones relatively pleasant.

One car is gassed up. It's the one that will be staying in town with Kim. She's a part of the city's emergency team.

She's using the truck to get the plywood and will fill that up during her errands. I'll use that to transport myself and the animals to our chosen destination. That might be the family place in Granger. I haven't checked to see if there are prior claims on the space there.

But, I'm now thinking I won't need to leave. And, I'll be busy unboarding the windows this weekend.

Gig 'em Aggies

Not a convincing win, but a win nonetheless.

Now onto the Hurricanes of Miami. I'm not optimistic.

In the shop

I managed to get some design work for the face frames for the cabinets done. I've got a cut list ready. Now I need to go to the Borg to see what they've got in affordable poplar and figure out what I need to buy.

Weekend update

A weekend of pleasant temperatures and decent humidity levels. Still warm, but it felt so good, comparatively.

Friday: aikido

Saturday:

aikido
picked up a load of vegetable mix for a new garden
Clear Lake Symphony concert
listened to the TAMU/New Mexico game when I could
watched some of the tu/UTEP game

Sunday

prepped for a smoking of some ribs on the grill
did a little design work for the face frames in the shop
moved the vegetable mix from the truck to the garden
dinner with the in-laws
watched a little of Colts/Chicago

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 9/6/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Brad.

Trey was leaving early, because of the Aggie game, so we had to work him out early.

Ukemi: No big falls.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey.

Techniques:

We spent a lot of time working on shomen-ate this afternoon. We're all having trouble with the new version, but we're slowly getting a handle on it. I think I've crossed the line from confused to competent.

We played a lot with the initial off-balance and the quick transition into the entry for the technique.

Before Trey left, Sensei Tim wanted Brad to see the aikinage. Trey got to be uke again, and we got the same result as the night before: air time for Trey.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon as uke for Brad on shomen-ate.

Aftermath: None of note, a good afternoon. Ibuprofen afterward.

Aikido Friday Night - 9/5/08

Aikidokas: Tim, and Trey.

We had some visitors watching the session this evening. Potential students. Mature women. So, Sensei Tim spent some time talking to them while Trey and I did the usual things, with a bit of an ear out for stuff Sensei Tim wanted us to show.

As they left, they implied they'd be back next week. We'll see.

Ukemi: No big falls.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey.

Techniques:

All I remember of the techniques for the was the aikinage Sensei wanted me to try before the ladies left the dojo. It was cool, and generated a comment from the ladies: " I want to be able to do that."

I hit the timing right so that as Trey put down his foot, he wasn't able to put it down. His other foot was already in the air, so he got some air time on the fall. Not a lot, but some.

Aftermath: None of note, a good evening. Ibuprofen afterward.

In the shop

The cabinet carcasses have been installed. Finally.

There were some alignment hassles, but not many. My in-laws, whose apartment shares a wall with the shop, thought I was messing around in the ceiling with all of my banging. I used a tool of persuasion to get some final adjustments. It ended up pretty level.

Next step is the face frame. Then the 2x4 frame for the countertops, plywood on top of that and then hardboard on top of that.

I had to do a bunch of rearrangement of the shop to create space to move everything in position. I've reached the point where the mobile light table/ stained glass workbench is taking up too much room.

I've got to get rid of it. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and head into town to put up a flyer at stained glass studios. craigslist has not worked yet.

50 Things

Stealing from surricatus, autojim, and liz williams:

1. Do you like blue cheese? I suppose
2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? No. Puffed a cigar once. One puff.
3. Do you own a gun? No. Dad committed suicide with a gun, prefer to not have them around.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? None
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? With chili, cheese and onions, please.
7. Favorite Christmas Song? Most of them.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Milk, then tea.
9. Can you do push ups? Yes
10. What's your favorite meal? Creamed chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes,
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I've got 3 of 'em: Aggie Ring, Wedding Ring and Opal Ring.
12. Favorite hobby? Aikido.
13. Do you work with people who idolize you? No way.
14. Do you have A.D.D? No.
15. What's one trait that you dislike about yourself? Laziness.
16. Middle name? Scott.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this moment. Friday! Why won't the disk mount?
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. Only 2: Dr. Pepper, 3 Musketeers.
20. Current worry right now? Car.
21. Current hate right now? Politics.
22. Favorite place to be? Home.
23. How did you bring in New Years? By sleeping.
24. Where would you like to go? Port Douglas, Australia.
25. Name three people who will complete this? I don't know 3 people who read this blog.
26. Whose answer do you want to read the most? See 25.
27. What color shirt are you wearing? Orange.
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never tried 'em.
29. Can you whistle? Yes.
30. Favorite color(s)? Grey and maroon.
31. Would you be a pirate? I'd be a pirate's bookkeeper.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? None.
33. Favorite girl's name? Otille.
34. Favorite boy's name? Rhys.
35. What's in your pocket right now? Keys.
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Orange County Chopper.
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Unknown.
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Sprained ankle or separated shoulder.
39. Do you love where you live? Somewhat.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? One.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Kimm.
42. How many dogs do you have? Two.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? I doubt it.
44. What's your favourite beer? It's slipped my mind at the moment.
45. What is your favorite book? "Nine Princes in Amber".
46. What is your favorite candy? Malted Milk Balls.
47. What is your favorite sports team? Texas Aggies.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? "Amazing Grace", sung by a duet of Aaron Neville and Laura Love.
49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Sleeping.
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? Turn off alarm.

Aggie football

We got outscored in the first game of the season. Unfortunately, I did not manage to listen to the game. I though it was on 950AM, but when I went to that station, it had the Texas Tech game.

We'll get 'em this week.

beat the hell outta the Lobos!

At the movies: Death Race

Death Race: 3

Jason Statham, Joan Allen in an update of "Death Race 2000". Inmates of commercial, for-profit penitentiaries compete in a race to the death for the right to walk out of jail a free man.

A fun, big screen version of Car Wars. There are a number of plot holes, but it was decent time in the theatre.

Not to be purchased for the home collection.

In the shop

Back in the shop over the holiday weekend, working on the last set of cabinets for the shop. The only big thing I'll have left is the assembly/table saw outfeed table, and I really need to work on that soon. It's a pain working with sheets of plywood without it.

Sunday, I made the big cuts and glued-up the middle divider. Left that to sit overnight. Assembly needed that to be ready, so I was done for the day.

Monday, I came in and started making dadoes. I was too rambunctious and did think properly think through the measurements I made. Result: a worthless middle divider.

So, I had to re-cut the components and glue the thing up again. I waited a few hours and then worked on the dadoes, hoping the joint had dried enough. The dadoes came out where they needed to be this time, so I was able to glue up one half of the cabinet.

It's now sitting in the shop, waiting for me to get home tonight to glue up the other half.

Tomorrow I should be able to put all of the units in their places and contemplate face frames.

Weekend update

Friday: Aikido

Saturday: Delayed prepping further for Gustav as it looked like it was going elsewhere. Slept late. Aikido. Dinner and a movie out with K.

Also, went by Office Depot to pick up a custom order for next year's Armadillocon. They'd messed up the order by not noting the font and color when transcribing from paper to computer. So, I'll be getting it for 1/2 price, sometime this week.

Sunday: Made the final determination to not do further prep for Gustav. Mowed the lawn in case we got a bunch of rain, just in case. In the shop working on the final set of cabinets. Dinner at Joe's, with K.

Monday: In the shop screwing up and recovering from the screwup. Entertained the neighbor's dogs. Also looked through our neighbor's house, trying to find her most current will and power of attorney, just in case.

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 8/30/08

Aikidokas: Tim, and Richard.

Ukemi: No big falls.

The Walk: Not today.

Releases: Not today.

Techniques:

Richard and I worked together. We worked through 1-13 of Ju Nana, alternating role as tori.

I had my usual issue on Ushiro-ate, not enough initial off-balance.

We spent some time on Kote-hineri. I had to work on timing issues for the second off-balance. I was seeing a step and it was the wrong step, a late step. So, I attempted to correct that.

We spent a lot of time on Kote-gaeshi, trying to get Richard more familiar and comfortable with the new version.

We spent a fair amount of time with me on Tenkai Kote Hineri. I was not getting a strong lock and was also pulling Richard toward me instead of down his fourth toe.

Aftermath: None of note. A very good workout.

Friday Night at the Dojo 8/29/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Greg, and Trey.

Ukemi: No big falls.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Greg.

Techniques:

Blum line with thre three of us switching as tori through all of 1-7 of Ju Nana.

Not a bad evening. I had issues with Shomen-ate. I have yet to "get" our new verion on a consistent basis. I have occasional issue with Ushiro-ate, generating enough of an initial off-balance.

Aftermath: None of note, a good evening.

Gustav preparation

I've got the feeling that Gustav is going to head right toward Galveston early next week.

My mom and aunt have made reservations at a hotel in San Antonio for next week. I bought 4 more sheets of plywood for the windows on the apartment last night. I don't know if I'll get down the already prepped boards tonight or this weekend.

Landfall looks to be around 11pm Monday night. 72 hours ahead of that is 11pm Friday night. I want to had out 72 hours ahead of time. 55 hours lead time is what I had for Rita, and that was too little time.

55 hours in front of Monday 11pm is 4pm Saturday. It could be an exciting weekend.

Volleyball 1-2

Played against a team with only 5 players. We actually had 6!

We were down 8-16 in the first game but made it close in the end: 19-21.

Second game was a disaster.

Third was fairly close, but I don't remember the score.

Aikido weekend in Killeen 8/22/08

Sensei Tim arranged with Jeff in Killeen to come out and hold a seminar this past weekend. He wanted me along, with an ulterior motive, so I arranged my schedule and was his passenger on the trip to and from.

He picked me up at 10am Friday and we made it into Killeen by around 3pm, I think. We recuperated at the hotel until around 5 and then joined Jeff and Gail for dinner at a nice little Mexican joint near their house.

Adjourning from dinner, we went back to their place and got ready for the first session on the mat for the weekend.

There were aikidoka there from Austin, Houston, Killeen, and the DFW area. I think we had around 12 or 14 folks there Friday night.

It turned out the weekend's topic was to be the Koryu Dai Yon No Kata. We started out with the first 11 on Friday night. Saturday morning, when we reconvened, we started with the weapon sections. We made it through the knife and bokken techniques, but did not get to the jo techniques before everyone's brain was sufficiently fried.

Sensei's secret plan in getting me up there was to get me some time working on Owaza Ju Pon. I got about 45 minutes of work on the first technique. At least it felt like it. It may have been much less.

I did ok. One guy, Andy, proved to be impossible for me to complete the technique on. I have no idea why.

After finishing up with the Yon Kata stuff, we hung around Jeff's place a bit and then went back to the hotel. We zipped over to "China Star" for dinner. It has been voted the best Chinese restaurant in Killeen for 11 years straight. Ugh.

On the plus side, I did not get sick from eating there.

We were up bright and early Sunday morning and on the road. We mad it home by a little after noon.

It was a great weekend. I got to meet some new friends, renew some old friendships and get an aikido workout. Good stuff.

My legs are sore.

Volleyball 0-3

Second week of the season and we run into the buzz saw that is Fandango. We actually stayed relatively competitive, but got beat.

We played well, with a sub for our third woman.

Armadillocon recap

Another Armadillocon under the belt, I think this is my sixth for which I was the Art Show Director. This one went much better than last year's, mainly because my house got burglarized during last year's and I had to abandon the con.

We sold about $3700 worth of art, down substantially from last year's $5500. The main difference was we sold two of Gary Lippincott's originals last year.

I think the quality of the art was well-received, and I received some compliments on the organization of the show. So, I'm happy.

I did mess up some stuff, but it magically all worked out. I've got ideas on how to correct them for next year. I've also got some ideas to generally improve my process and improve the experience for everyone, I think.

Armadillocon Monday

I didn't sleep well, waking up at 5am and unable to get back to sleep for 1/2 hour. Then, woke up later than I liked, a little before 8.

Got my act together and got all of the mail-in art loaded into the truck. Said goodbye to David Lee Anderson, who was leaving from the garage while I was loading up.

Went to the Post Office, mailed those packages.

Went to FedEx, mailed those.

Went to Office Depot and sent off the UPS boxes.

Went back to the hotel and loaded up the rest of the stuff, including the multiple coolers for the grass-fed beef I was scheduled to pick up in Burton. I then left the hotel premises for another year.

First stop was for gas. Next stop was at the Academy, right next to the gas station, for a big cooler. I had no confidence in the ability of my current complement to handle the 200lbs of beef I was scheduled to pick up.

And then onto the highway back home.

Knowing the lack of food was going to affect me, I tried to guess where I'd be around lunchtime. Chappell Hill was my guess, so I planned on hitting a little cafe on the freeway that I've been passing by for decades.

When I got there, it was a nice little diner. Good food, good prices, quick service.

From there, a stop in Burton for the beef (I would have had enough room without the new cooler), and then home.

Another Armadillocon successfully completed.

Armadillocon Sunday

Up for breakfast in the cafe. Into the Art Show by 9.

Handle the mad rush that is check out for all of the purchased art while handling the checkout of all of the artists and the unpurchased art. Laura does another fabulous job packing up all of the art for shipping.

One artist and one purchaser delay the proceedings until 2 pm.

We then proceed to dismantle the show and load all of the steel and pegborad on the carts by 4 pm. We get the carts loaded on the truck by 5. We manage to get to the storage facility and get stuff unloaded by 6:10 and then head off to dinner.

The County Line. Bar-b-q served family style. Everyone else had already arrived and been seated, so the art show dismantlers had to eat amongst ourselves. I think the seven of us managed to polish away more meat than the rest of the tables (35 people) combined.

Mmmmmmmmm. Cow.

Back to the hotel and accounting work for the art show. Do artist totals and take the control sheets to the front desk for copying. Get them back, slap them into the artist's boxes and do final prep for shipping in the morning.

Off to the Con Suite for some smof'ing and imbibing. Then off to bed.

Armadillocon Saturday

Up, again, at 7. Breakfast and then into the Art Show.

Supervise the end of silent bidding at 5pm. Organize the items going to auction, 13 in all. Organize the items that were bid upon, but not going to auction.

The auction. One piece generates enough interest that I start giving back massages to the bidders to encourage more bidding. I think pictures were taking. Negatives will be burned if I can acquire them.

Reopen the Art Show for art pick up and sales. Laura takes over to let me run get dinner at Fudd's.

Close the show down at 10 and I run off to the Con Suite for a brief visit and then to bed.

Armadillocon Thursday

I set the alarm for 4:45 am. I woke up at 4:43 and decided I could sleep another hour, so I reset the alarm.

Up at the appointed hour. I do the final loading of the truck. I'd done most of it the night before. The only stuff left was the art that would ride in the bed of the truck on the way to Austin, and the bag of clothes for the weekend.

With a quick stop at Shipley's, I was on my way.

Took the Beltway around, up to 290 and off in the direction of Austin. Traffic was a breeze and, when the decision point came, the timing was such that I decided make the detour to Taylor for kolaches for the weekend.

Onward to the hotel. They had my room ready, so I off-loaded everything into the room. It took me about 5 trips with my dolly.

Then on to various local errands.

Frist stop: Central Market for root beers for the weekend: Frostie, St. Arnold's, Hank's, and one other (maybe Weidman?). Not impressed with the one whose name I can't remember, but the others were quite nice. Frostie is my favorite, but I need to do a blind taste with the other two.

Next stop: Aikido of Austin. I was going to miss the sessions back home, so I thought I'd try to watch a session while in Austin. It was cool. They did jo work, which is not something we do in our classes.

Texas Store Fixtures. I bought some stuff for the slatwall in my woodworking shop: baskets and shelves and such.

Hung around the hotel a bit, calling some artists that I was trying to meet. then we started unloading the art show steel. That went quickly and by the time we were done, it was time to head off to dinner at Threadgill's.

I was blessed with the task of getting the Guest of Honor, John Scalzi, to the restaurant. I was given general directions and made it to the general area of the restaurant quickly. At that point, I knew not how to proceed. So, I asked for directions at a local tire store. The restaurant was just one block away at that point. We made it safely and drew a round of applause as we arrived.

After dinner was a trip down to see the Congress Street Bridge Bats. They decided to fly out from the bridge over the river instead of straight up into the air. Our viewing pleasure was reduced because of this decision of the plying mammals, but it was still neat.

Then on back to the convention hotel to set up the steel for the Art Show. We managed to finish around 11pm.

Off to the Con Suite for a brief break and then to bed.

Armadillocon Friday

Up at 7 am to start the day.

Off to the hotel cafe for breakfast. $18 for a buffet?!? Ouch! But, they've got a monopoly on convenient places to eat now. The local Owens restaurant closed and changed into a Chili's over the past year. Other restaurants require a drive, so it's not worth the hassle.

After breakfast, on to the Art Show to start hanging the art. That got completed around 2pm, with various artists showing up to hang their own art. Joe Haldeman showed up to hang his art, as well as John Picacio, and others.

We opened up the Art Show around 2, I think. Before the convention itself was officially open!

We stayed open until around 6 or so. Laura went out and some food from Enchiladas y Mas, I think. Good stuff.

We re-opened from 8 to 10 to be open during the "Meet the Pros" event. Alcohol is available during that event and it tends to loosen the wallets some.

At 10 pm we closed for the evening and I went off to the Con Suite for a brief visit and then to bed.

Volleyball 0-3

Pretty sad showing last week, but it was our first week as a team. Also, it's been 4 months since I last played.

Armadillocon prep

Final preparations are underway for Armadillocon. On my list of things left to do are:

Charge my phone
Load more CDs into iTunes and sync up the iPod
Organize the 3-ring binders
Email the artists whose artwork has arrived over the past few days
Put the hotel confirmation in my organizer
Put the 3-ring hole punch in the art show container
Get some more shipping tape for mailing packages back out to the artists
Locate another cooler or two for the trip back
Get a map to the butcher for on the trip back
Locate a supplier of Austex chili in Austin
Decide on go/no-go to Taylor on the way into Austin
Pack suitcase
Pack the art
Pack the camera

In the shop

Got in the shop for a few hours on Saturday.

I managed to get the backing plywood cut and attached to the cabinets. I then moved them into their assigned spots where they fit like they were supposed to.

Now, I need to finish the design, and build, the final cabinet section. Then I can attach them all together, level them, and work on face frames, doors and drawers.

Olympics

I'm impressed with NBC's coverage this year. It's much improved. Far fewer puff pieces of War-and-Peace length. A greater variety of sports shown.

The sports I've seen so far:
Boxing
Swimming
Traps
Archery
Weightlifting
Road Racing
Beach volleyball
Indoor volleyball
Diving
Rowing
Basketball
Soccer
Equestrian

Some of the improvement is because I now have access to multiple stations on which they're being broadcast. I'm able to jump around if they start a puff piece I'm not interested in. But, they seem to be doing fewer of them. Probably because they have two channels devoted to just the puff pieces.

Weekend update

Friday: aikido

Saturday: Mow the lawn. Work in the shop on the cabinets. Aikido. Dinner out with a friend. Olympics in every spare minute.

Sunday: Olympics. Lunch out with the in-laws for m-i-l's birthday. Painting the living room. Cards with the in-laws.

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 8/9/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Richard, and Trey.

Ukemi: No air falls today.

The Walk: Not today.

Releases: With Trey. Worked on Nami no Waza. We spent about an hour working through these, making tweaks, Correcting incorrect progressions. Went well.

Techniques:

We then spent the last minutes of the session working on getting initial off-balances. For that, we chose Aigamae-ate. Over and over and over.

I also had Trey work on taking me around in a circle in case the initial off-balance does not feel right. I then exaggerated my steps while being led around in the circle to give him more time to see the body rise and body fall. It seems like a good tool to help with the timing for techniques.

Aftermath: Beat. Sweaty. Optimistic that my issue with initial off-balances is reduced.

Friday Night at the Dojo 8/8/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Kim, Trey, and Brad.

Ukemi: 1 air fall each side, I think. A slight ping on the left calf. It might have to do with how I'm being led out for that fall, I'm not certain.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey.

Techniques:

Trey and I worked together. I was uke for him for 1-10 of Ju Nana Han Kata.

He was then uke for me for the same.

Pretty much a disaster this evening. I could not get initial off-balances for the life of me. Trey had similar issues. Sensei got a little annoyed.

Aftermath: Tired. Worked up a good sweat.

In the shop

Been out in the shop the past two nights, sweating in the 95 degree heat. I managed to get the carcasses for the two sections of cabinets completed, mostly.

Still need to be done:

1/4" plywood on the back
face frames
doors
drawers

I'm probably going to but the back on these two sections and then start and the last section of cabinet before doing the drawers and doors, etc. on all of the sections. It'll probably be a month or so before all of that gets done. I've got a bunch of weekend commitments coming up, so I won't have much shop time.

In the shop

I had some inspiration and some time, so I got out into the shop.

I lacked a little bit of restraint, though, and ended up making a mistake or two. I don't have to go out and buy more wood to correct those mistakes because I predicted I'd do something stupid. I bought enough wood beforehand to allow some room for mistakes.

My mistakes: thinking that I had not already cut two pieces. This caused a second mistake: cutting up a board that was already in final dimensions into sizes for the aforementioned two pieces.

So, tonight I have to cut two pieces 26 1/4" x 29 1/4". I've got a full sheet of plywood, ready and waiting.

Edouard, pt. 3

Edouard was the cause for me to work from home, for a whole day, for the first time. Not tremendously fun. K. was home, and it was always tempting to go help her do whatever she was doing.

I got started late and, therefore, finished late. But, I still had some hours to reset the yard to the way it was before the storm. I also had some time to work in the shop.

Ikkyu demonstration, part 3

Ikkyu demonstration, part 2

Ikkyu Demonstration, part 1

Edouard, pt. 2

Well, Edouard is a bit of a bust. Overnight he turned a bit north, so we did not get the dirty side. We have not received much of anything. In the 6 hours since the rain started, we've had 1.5" of rain. We've had a little wind, but not much.

I spent a couple of hours prepping the yard for the arrival and it wasn't necessary. And I'll have to spend the same amount, or more, un-prepping the yard

Still, with these things, it's better to be safe than sorry.

In the shop

Saturday, I finally got off my duff and finalized the design of two of the three remaining sets of cabinets in the shop. At least I've finalized the carcass dimensions and where the doors and drawers are going. I have not finalized the design of the drawer fronts or the doors.

Sunday, I spent 3 hours in the shop, sweating like a pig. I managed to get the major components cut to size. I got the one panel, that needed to be glued up, glued and clamped.

The next step will be to cut out the necessary notches and then the dadoes.

Edouard

This tropical storm, likely to be a hurricane, is coming right up our drainage pipe. I don't expect it to be too much trouble, but we're storing loose items away.

Creme brulee

I've wanted to make creme brulee for a while, but have lacked some of the implements to make it easy: ramekins and a torch.

I finally "splurged" and purchased those items.

And I've attempted 3 recipes. 2 of which turned out ok. One turned out better.

The two that turned out ok were the first two I tried. I've learned that they need to be watched in the oven and not left to overcook. I like mine a little soft/liquid in the center, so I have to keep an eye on them. If you let them go, they tend to turn cake-like.

One of the other issue with the recipes is they all say to chill them after cooking. I don't like chilled creme brulee. I like it warm, and soft.

I took a chance on the last batch and did not chill them. I also took a chance and altered the recipe the first time I made it, which is something I normally avoid like the Black Plague. I did not change it much, but I did change it.

Below is the recipe as I prepared it.

1/2 cup plus 6 teaspoons sugar
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg
2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup unsweetened canned coconut milk*
2/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/3 cup Rum

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place four 8-oz ramekins in large roasting pan. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks and whole egg in large bowl to blend. Combine cream, coconut milk and coconut in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Whisk into yolk mixture, slowly, a little bit at a time. Pour custard into cups, dividing equally.

Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake until custards are just set in center, about 27 minutes. Remove from water. Cool.

Arrange custard cups in a square baking pan. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar evenly over each. Tilt the pan slightly, to make reaching each ramekin easier. Using a torch, heat the sugar until it browns and start to liquify.

Overheard in the car

"I want you to check out the hookers"

Inter-species cooperation

We were outside Thursday, doing some yard work. We noticed that Jack was getting very possessive of something. I walked over and took a look. What I saw was a recently born animal, about 4 inches long, with its eyes still closed. I attempted to get Jack away from it, but he grabbed it in his mouth and took off. I attempted to get him to spit it out, but he refused. In fact, he swallowed the poor animal, still squeaking.

A few minutes later, we found another, smaller, newborn. We managed to protect this one and get it out of the yard before Jack dealt with it, but I'm sure it did not make it.

We think Vlad, one of our cats, brought the newborn in from outside of the fenced area.

Jack did not seem to suffer from his large meal of protein.

Weekend update

Friday: aikido

Saturday: design work for the shop, aikido, dinner and shopping with friends

Sunday: in the shop working on cabinets, a sister's birthday celebration (dinner and an Agatha Christie play)

I kind of guessed who did it in the mystery, but not really.

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 8/02/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Richard, Trey, and Brad.

Ukemi: No air falls today.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Brad. Went well.

Techniques:

I worked with Brad on shomen-ate. It went ok.

I also server as fill-in uke for Trey when he was working on gyakugamaeate. He was having issue with Richard as uke and we wanted to make sure that Trey could get the technique. He nailed it on the first attempt with me.

Trey then served as my uke for a couple of attempts on Tenkai Kote-hineri and Kote-gaeshi. The first couple were a little rough, but the final one was good.

Aftermath: None of note.

Friday Night at the Dojo 8/01/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Kim (yay!), and Trey.

Ukemi: 1 air fall each side, I think. A slight ping on the left calf. It might have to do with how I'm being led out for that fall, I'm not certain.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: I don't remember.

Techniques:

We ran a Blum-line tonight with Trey and Kim as tori. 1-10 of Ju Nana Hon Kata, right side. Sensei Tim joined in as uke for the first 5. I then was uke twice for each tori for each technique.

We had issue with tori getting off-line. It finally resolved itself around Ude-hineri or so.

At the end of the evening, I got to throw Trey with Kote-gaeshi and Ude-hineri. Went ok.

Aftermath: Tired and likely to be sore. Beer for the evening. Ibu the next morning.

In the shop

Well, almost. I spent some time looking for the designs for the cabinets in the shop. Once I found them, I spent some time fleshing them out some more, correcting possible problems.

Now I need to work on where to put doors, drawers, etc.

I also spent some time working on a design for a new entertainment center for the house. K. has asked that it be complete by Christmas, when we host 60+ people for my family gathering. The design is getting close to being ready. I based it on a design in ShopNotes a while back.

Weekend update

Friday: aikido

Saturday: Oil change for the pick up. Some design work for the new entertainment center and the cabinets in the shop. Aikido. Some sample painting in preparation for repainting the kitchen and living room. Joe's bar-b-cue for dinner. Hand and foot with the in-laws.

Sunday: Work on the deck area, incorporating some path work we did a few years ago and had to move when the construction was occurring. The Dark Knight at the theatre and then The Incredibles at home.

At the movies: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight: 4

Heath Ledger does steal the show here. Christian Bale does a good job as well. The make-up for Two-Face was impressive.

I'd happily go see this one again. Heath does deserve an Oscar, the movie might as Best Picture.

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/26/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Greg, Kim (yay!), and Trey.

Ukemi: 1 air fall each side, I think. No issues.

The Walk: Went ok. I counted in Czech for one iteration.

Releases: With Kim. It's fun and a challenge working with her on almost anything. Our height differential, and weight differential, alter the approaches on everything.

Techniques:

We had a visitor for a while, so Sensei Tim went to chat with him. I was left in charge and had Greg and Trey work together while I worked with Kim.

We worked through 1-10 for her. 1-5 both sides and 6-10 right side only. I'd do one or two reps first and then let her go at me.

Gyakugamae-ate (#3) is tough for a short person to get on someone my height. You've got to break me down quite a bit.

At the end of the session, Greg and Trey were working on Kote-gaeshi. Sensei Tim brought me in to try to help them. Trey wanted me to throw him with it, as well, before the end of the session.

Aftermath: Tired and likely to be sore. Ibuprofen.

Friday Night at the Dojo 7/25/08

Aikidokas: Sensei Tim.

Ukemi: Normal warm-up

The Walk: None.

Releases: None.

Techniques:

We worked through 14-17. We actually went to gake on all techniques. Normally, Sensei Tim limits his falls, but tonight he expanded his limits. We also worked on Kubi-garuma and Aiki-nage of the Owaza Ju Pon.

He spent some time making Shihonage more difficult to achieve, countering if my off-balances were not there.

We spent a lot of time on the foot work for Aiki-nage. My timing's decent, usually, but I'm still concentrating on uke's feet. My most consistent issue is my distance from uke. This is a technique where uke is your best buddy. you've got to keep him in close. I don't do that so well at the moment.

Aftermath: A nice active evening. Sensei Tim got hassled a bit from Mrs. Sensei for all of the falls.

F4DZ-5461705-A

F4DZ-5461705-A? What the heck is that?

It's the part number for the seat track for a '93 Ford Taurus SHO. A part Ford no longer makes or stocks. A part my dealer could not find. Well, kinda.

They found a listing for the part at a dealer in Iowa. When they checked with that dealer directly, it turned out that they didn't have one.

They did a search of used parts places and turned one up in Oklahoma somewhere. It would have cost $300 in shipping to get it here and there was no way to know what sort of condition it was in. It was coming off of a vehicle with 300K miles on it, more than twice the mileage on my vehicle.

The lack of this part does not make the care unsafe. It can make the care impossible for me to drive, if I can't move the seat back far enough for me to get into it.

My car is rapidly approaching the point at which it can not be repaired if something goes wrong.

At the movies: Beyond the Sea

Beyond the Sea (DVD): 3

Kevin Spacey in a movie about Bobby Darin's life, mainly as an adult.

A pleasant vehicle to get some of Bobby's songs on film, sung competently by Spacey. Covers his rise to fame, his time in the 60's and the problems presented by a childhood bout with Rheumatic Fever.

At the movies: Crank

Crank (DVD): 3

Jason Statham in the role of a hit man who discovers he has been poisoned and will die if his heart rate drops to normal levels.

I don't know if this was meant to be a comedy, but it was one to me. Not a top-notch film for acting, but a lot of fun action.

Weekend update

Friday: Aikido

Saturday:

Started up the lawnmower, ready to mow the yard again. Put it into gear and it started going. Shifted into higher gear and it stopped moving. The exact same issue for which I put it into the shop 4 weeks ago. So, I needed to put it in the shop again. Went to the library and swapped vehicles, got the mower loaded into the truck and went off to Alvin.

Got there and waited about an hour for them to get to it. Since it was a re-repair they got to it that day. It took them about 15 minutes to fix it. I test drove it around their lot for about 5 minutes and brought it back home.

Mowed the yard. Got a nice sunburn.

Aikido

Joe's Bar-B-Cue for dinner. Mmmmmmmmm.

Sunday:

Goofed around. Went to the Dog Shows in town with a friend. K. was doing schoolwork.

Got back and grilled out steak, sausage and chicken. Bar-B-Cue all week for lunches. Sweet!

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/19/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Tess.

Ukemi: Went ok. Didn't do any big falls today.

The Walk: None today.

Releases: None today.

Techniques:

We worked on the Nami no Waza. We managed to make it through 1, 2, 2b, 3, 4, 4b, 5 and 6.

On the chain starting with the 6th release (I think) we explored whether Tenkai Kotehineri is in the chain or whether it should be Kote kajiki (I have no idea if that is the correct spelling).

Aftermath: Tired. Sweaty. A good workout.

Friday Night at the Dojo 7/18/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Mea.

Ukemi: 1 air fall each side. Left side was good, right side pinged the left calf a little.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey.

Techniques:

We worked through 6-10 for him and 11-16 for me, all from Ju Nana Han Kata.

Spent some time on Oshi-taoshi and Ude-gaeshi exploring pivots and such.

Spent some time on Shihonage for me and Sumi-otoshi.

Aftermath: None of note

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/12/08

Aikidokas: Tim, and Richard.

Ukemi: Went ok. Didn't do any big falls today

The Walk: Went ok. We're altering one of the stones, the footwork thereof, and that's requiring a little adjustment. Although I have done that footwork when Sensei Mike has suggested it.

Releases: None today.

Techniques:

We worked through 1-12 for both Richard and me, both sides. We worked far slower than I'm used to and it was a good learning tool.

Ushiro-ate: not enough off-balance. Rushing the rest of the technique.

Oshi-taoshi: I was not going up and over the mountain enough.

Ude-hineri: too far away during the initial off-balance

Waki-gatame: not letting uke into my house enough.

Aftermath: Tired. Sweaty. A good workout.

Friday Night at the Dojo 7/11/08

Aikidokas: Tim, and a new student whose name I did not catch

Ukemi: We went through basic slaps and started to work on forward rolls with the new student

The Walk: Went through this a few times

It's amazing how much time introducing a new student can take. I hope she sticks around.

Aftermath: None.

Weekend update

Friday: aikido

Saturday: Grocery shopping and then Weed-eating for two hours in the morning. Riding mower is still in the shop.

Aikido in the afternoon.

D&D in the evening. First time I've had room in my schedule for that in several months.

Sunday: not much. Grilled chicken, steak and sausage out on the grill for dinner. Made a Peach Pie, too.

Accomplishments during the days off

Here's the list of stuff I had hoped to get done over my days off, with the ones marked that got done.

Done - Wait for the AT&T guy to fix the DSL
Done - Mow the lawn (1 acre) with a push mower. The riding mower is in the shop.
Not ready - Pick up the Taurus from the shop
Nope - Go blueberry picking
Nope - Go up to the in-laws?
Done - See Wall*E
Done - See Wanted
Done - See Hancock
95% done - Finish assembling the extension to the deck
Not ready - Pick up the 1/4 cow, if it's ready
Done - Call Adobe for help with my Photoshop issue
In the shop:
Uncle Leo's base
Assembly/feed table
95% done - Dog barrier for the other door
Reset wing on table saw
Done - Aikido on Saturday
Not enough folks - Gaming Friday or Saturday night
Did not do - Try to take some HDR photos

Looking at the list, I got almost everything accomplished. I made a mistake on the deck, so I have to fix that. I need to go through and finalize the home network after the DSL fix. I had to get the router reset and that messes everything up.

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/5/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Greg, Trey, and Tessa.

Ukemi: I worked on extending my legs through the falls some more.

I took a Big Fall. Without Pain. Yahoo! Now to continue the tradition.

Nami No Waza:

We worked on the first 4 chains. They are based off of, respectively, releases number 1, 2, 2, and 3.

Kogueri Double Hand Grabs:

We did the first 4 of these as well:

Two-hands to the chest.
One hand to the chest.
Heaven and earth.
Two hands to the same side and then bump uke.

I tried to do these with my eyes closed to get a better feel for uke's balance.

Aftermath: I was an absolutely dripping mess by the end of 2+ hours. Lots of overall soreness. Not calf pain!

At the movies: Wall*E

Wall*E: 4

A Pixar movie. Really, what else needs to be said?

I enjoyed the heck out of this one. Got consistent laughs when Wall*E recharged and made the MacOS boot sound.

Only have one quibble. I think they messed up the scale of the two ships. The one that lands on Earth with Eve seems much smaller in space when compared with Axiom than when you compare their footprints on Earth. A minor quibble.

I'd happily see it again. It might be added to the library when the DVD comes out.

At the movies: Hancock

Hancock: 3

Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman star in a film about a superhero who's not as much of a poster boy as you would hope for.

Fun special effects and a decent story line. I just don't think I'm terribly interested in seeing it again. I can't think of any specific reason why not.

At the movies: Wanted

Wanted: 3

Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and others star in a movie about an everyman who discovers he has the genetics of the best assassin in the world. This everyman is then trained and welcomed into the brotherhood of assassins.

A fun movie with lots of bang of lots of chases. I did not spot the twist coming but I think my wife did.

The end scene pushed a bit of dialogue too far. I found myself thinking "they're more like guidelines".

At the movies: Ronin

Ronin: 2

Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce

A suitcase is desired by Russian and Irish agents. Much mayhem arises from the quest for said suitcase.

You'd think that this high-powered cast would be able to pull off a decent movie, but I guess the script was sorely lacking, or the director was horrible. The movie was not that good. It felt very low budget.

This movie has an interesting tie-in with the film "Munich". There's a role in this movie that almost exactly matches a role in "Munich" and is played by the same actor.

At the movies: Munich

Munich: 3

A Spielberg movie about the Munich Olympics and the Israelis taken hostage during that time. It then follows the retribution taken against the planners of the hostage crisis.

A good movie. I suppose I need to see how much of the retribution is factual.

This movie has an interesting tie-in with the film "Ronin". There's a role in this movie, "Papa", that almost exactly matches a role in "Ronin" and is played by the same actor.

Plans for the week

I'm going to be off work for 6 consecutive days, and there are a number of things that should get done during that time. Let's see what I've come up with and then see what actually gets done.

Wait for the AT&T guy to fix the DSL
Mow the lawn (1 acre) with a push mower. The riding mower is in the shop.
Pick up the Taurus from the shop
Go blueberry picking
Go up to the in-laws?
See Wall*E
See Wanted
See Hancock
Finish assembling the extension to the deck
Pick up the 1/4 cow, if it's ready
Call Adobe for help with my Photoshop issue
In the shop:
Uncle Leo's base
Assembly/feed table
Dog barrier for the other door
Reset wing on table saw
Aikido on Saturday
Gaming Friday or Saturday night
Try to take some HDR photos

Weekend update

Friday: aikido

Saturday: work for 12 hours trying to get a release out the door. No aikido. durango's for dinner

Sunday: work, again, for 12 hours. Watch baseball (Chicago/Chicago) in the evening.

Rest of the week? Work Monday and then off until July 7th!!!!!

Friday Night at the Dojo 6/27/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Brad.

Ukemi: No air falls. While waiting for Trey to show up, I had a little extra time to run through reps. Got about 3x normal number of rolls in. Spent a little time after each one checking for things that might be issues on an air fall. Might upgrade to air falls again soon.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey. We found something to correct in each release.

Techniques:

We worked through 6-8 for him and 1 (Kubi-guruma) of the Owaza Ju Pon for me.

Trey was doing fairly well on his techniques.

I was re-introduced to mine on the right side and did ok. I went through three of the four steps of learning it.

1) Push uke's leading hand and let him roll-out.
2) Push only uke's neck and let him roll-out.
3) Push uke's hand and his neck and let him roll-out.
4) Push uke's hand and his neck and have him take the garuma fall

Then I worked on the left side. I only did the first step on that side.

Aftermath: Slight tweak of left calf muscle on a fall for ude-gaeshi. Trey told me to hurry up and get my Shodan before I fall apart.

At the movies: Syriana

Syriana: 3

George Clooney, Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, Robert Foxworth, Christopher Plummer, Jeffery Wright, Amanda Peet combine in a story of oil, the Middle East, Texas, the CIA and corruption.

Some violence, some torture and good acting.

At the movies: Pride of the Yankees

Pride of the Yankees: 3

Gary Cooper plays Lou Gehrig in Lou's life story: from childhood to retirement from the Yankees.

Good stuff. Almost drew a tear from me at one point.

At the movies: Bourne Ultimatum

Bourne Ultimatum: 3

Jason Bourne comes back yet again and finds out how he got to be the way he is.

A fun movie, with amazingly indestructible vehicles yet again.

Weekend update

Friday: aikido

Saturday: K at work. I worked on shipping some stuff, but the local shipping outlet was closed, even though their sign said they should be open.

aikido.

Dinner at Durango's with a double, horizon-to-horizon rainbow.

Sunday: work on the extension to the grilling deck and dinner with mom at Valentino's Seafood.

Little did I realize that ratcheting the lag bolts for the deck extension would really give my thumbs a workout. They're sore!

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 6/21/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Greg, Trey, Tessa, and Brittany. Tessa and Brittany are two NASA co-ops, here for the summer. I hope they'll continue to grace us with their presence.

Ukemi: I worked on extending my legs through the falls some more. I think I'll work on that some more on Friday and try an air fall on Saturday.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Greg.

Techniques:

Tim had Tessa show us Ikkyo, Nikkyo, and Sankyo from the Ueshiba style. Pretty interesting. Ikkyo does not have a direct corollary in Tomiki. Nikkyo is our Tenkai Kote-Hineri. Sankyo shows up in San Kata.

Trey wanted to run through ude-hineri before we went home, so I served as uke.

Aftermath: None of note

Friday Night at the Dojo 6/20/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Brad.

Ukemi: No air falls. I'm trying to ascertain whether I am curling my legs mid-fall. I think I am. I worked on extending them through the falls and it does seem to improve things.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey.

Techniques:

Trey and I were not having a great night. We worked through 1-3 for him and 1-5 for me. I think I was attacking poorly, was not interested in some of the techniques.

Aftermath: None of note

Mechanical issues

Taurus needs to go into the shop for alignment and, maybe, suspension work. I was driving home in the rain the other day and the car started drifting while the wheels were straight. Also, when we go over Botts' dots, the car seems to do the Charleston.

I attempted to mow the lawn with the riding mower yesterday and it stopped moving after about 5 minutes. I attempted a fix for this a while back, but it doesn't seem to have worked. Into the shop it goes. The faster I get it in, the faster I get it back, the sooner I can mow with something besides the push mower. In this Texas heat, that can make quite a difference.

Quality, I haz it

I went looking for some information on a drive enclosure that's giving me trouble. The link provided by a store appears to be the wrong site, as they don't mention any hard drive enclosures in their product list. However, the intro flash struck my funny bone.

I still need to find info on the drive enclosure. My 1TB drive is currently inaccessible.

At the movies: Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum: 3

A down-on-his-luck divorced dad gets desperate and takes a job as a night watchman at a museum. The museum comes to life at night.

I'm amazed that I'm not upset that I watched the movie. I generally don't like the concept of Ben's movies. Maybe the scene with Ben and his mom made me give it a chance? I don't know.

A very well-respected cast, if not a strong script for the cast. Mickey Rooney had a fun part.

At the movies: Jumper

Jumper: 3

It's been a long time since I read the book. I can't even find my copy of the book. : ( But, not much of the movie resembled the book. I think the lead character, his girlfriend and his ability to teleport are similar to the book.

Still a fun movie.

Weekend update

Friday: Japanese class. Home after 10

Saturday: Japanese class. In town by 9am. We were going to go back out and go shopping in the Asian section of Houston afterwards, but K. decided it would be too taxing on the two students. So, we stayed home, baked some chicken and watched a couple of movies.

Sunday: Japanese class. In town by 9am. Back home to grill out for Father's Day: steaks, and salmon. Then the NBA Finals.

Japanese class is done!!!

Blueberries

We finally made the time to go out to the local-est blueberry farm in Houston. It's not local. It's about an hour and a half away, but it is the closest one.

We got there around 6 pm, not having had to struggle through too much traffic.

We grabbed our buckets and dove into the bushes, not to surface, or see each other, for about two hours. K. and I had big buckets. Our niece, E., had a small one.

When we emerged, the two big buckets were mostly filled. The small bucket had a couple of layers of blueberries in it. Turns out she'd been eating more than picking, but that's ok.

Returned uneventfully. Grabbed some dinner and watched the NBA Finals.

Time for some blueberry muffins and blueberry pancakes. Yahoo!

At the movies: Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda: 3

Saw this with my niece. We did skip out before the very end of the credits.

An okay movie. The voices were not overpowering. That is to say, they did not obscure the dialogue. I had trouble recognizing the voices, even though I knew who a couple of them were.

Anyway. Good movie about following your dream, doing things no one thinks you can.

Nihongo

I spent the last weekend in a Japanese class with my niece and two other folks. All together, there a four folks in the class: two adult, two not.

The youngsters are doing the best, far and away. I'm having fun, but the brain gives out around 2:30 each day.

The hardest part is paying attention to what the instructor is saying as she's asking me to translate. I have to concentrate hard, process what was said, and the process the translation. It requires a lot of energy.

Drama

A bunch of, potentially high-stakes, drama in my little aikido world. I hope it all straightens out well. Some of the events that have already transpired are one-way tickets, I think.

Somebody's got to blink.

Also drama in the publishing world.

All of this drama is caused, IMOGDO, by lack of communication. Talk, people!

Publishing excitement

I got involved in a book deal several years ago, mainly to get some of Roger Zelazny's lesser-known works republished and available to a wider audience. The book got published, and it may or may not have sold some copies.

It was not the wisest move I've ever made, at least the way it looks at the moment.

Things have happened in the past couple of days to inject some life into the cold, sodden ashes of the project. Sparks are flying and threatening to burn down houses.

Interesting times.

At the movies: Troy

Troy: 2

Sparta vs. Troy

Wow, were there a lot of big names in this film: Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Peter O'Toole, and Brian Cox (Ah! He was in Bourne Identity). Unfortunately, they didn't have much to work with. I don't know why, but it was just "blah." No real tension. I didn't have much of a reason to be rooting for any particular character.

Weekend update

Friday: aikido, dropped off by K. who went to a genealogy meeting. 2nd car still in the shop

Saturday: up and off to the dealership to pick up the Taurus. No incidents on the way home, so it may be fixed.

aikido.

Dinner at home with K. and friend K. Cooked steaks indoors, came out ok. Cooked fish, made bruschetta and strawberry daiquiris. Good times.

Failed to fix her string trimmer. Failed to even get to the source of the problem. The started string on Ryobi string trimmer extends about 12 inches and then stops.

Sunday: slept in and then watched the Aggie women lose the early game to Florida in softball.

Went out to the shop, did the waxing of the metal surfaces of some power tools and then actually turn a couple of bottle stoppers. Destroyed a blank of yellow heart, but the purple heart and padouk came out ok.

Started up the string trimmer for the first time in a while. I'm glad I stored it away without any gas in it.

Watched the second game between A&M and Florida wherein the Aggies came through and scored in the top of the 9th and managed to keep the Gators from scoring in the bottom of the 9th. Now we take on ASU in a 3 game series!!

Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 5/31/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Randy, and Brad.

Ukemi: One attempt at right-sided big fall, re-aggravation of the muscle. Randy and I went over to a spare mat pile and attempted another one, to see what was going on on a softer surface. The fall looked fine, but it still hurt that muscle. Weird

I've got a two week layoff because of an intro Japanese course over the next two weekends, so maybe the muscle will be ready then.

The Walk: Okay. That sore muscle does make some of the pivots more difficult.

Releases: With Randy, went ok. He wanted to see a repeat of 6th release.

Techniques:

1, 2 and 5 (Kubi-garuma, Kata-otoshi, and Aikinage) of Owaza Ju Pon with Randy, right-sided only.

Worked on timing and all other parts of these technique with roll-outs only for uke. Did ok.

Did some work as uke for Brad at the end. It gave him a much taller uke to adjust to for shomen-ate, gyakugamae-ate and ushiro-ate.

I did ok. Some work on Shihonage and Mae-otoshi, as well as Sumi-otoshi.

Aftermath: Still stiff left calf muscle. Two weekends off for Japanese class.

Friday Night at the Dojo 5/30/08

Aikidokas: Tim, Randy, and Trey.

Ukemi: Took a big fall, right-sided. Landed weird on the left calf muscle and it complained. This is annoying. The fall feels ok otherwise.

The Walk: Went ok.

Releases: With Trey.

Techniques:

11-17 left-sided for me as tori. 1-10 for Trey as uke, left-sided.

Worked out some problems for Tenkai kote-hineri for me. I need to continue pushing. Got some compliments on shihonage for following uke properly.

On the first attempt of hiki-otoshi I did not "disappear" properly. Second attempt was much better.

On mae-otoshi, Trey clued in to the fact that I could have directed his fall anywhere I wanted.

Sumi-otoshi was ok. Trey side/back-falled out of it instead of a big fall. That indicates I was a little late changing directions.

Aftermath: Very sore left calf muscle. Pulled? Strained? Bruised left knee cap. Probably from an oshi-taoshi fall with Trey as tori.

At the movies: I am Legend

I am Legend: 3

Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.

Starring Will Smith. There was some good tension in parts, that's for certain. There were some gaps in logic that weren't explained and some camera work that threw me out of the movie.

I'm considering marking it down to a 2 instead of a 3, because of the camera work. Nah. I'll leave it as is.

At the movies: Music & Lyrics

Music & Lyrics: 3

Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore in a story about a has-been pop singer who has just a few days to write a song for the current popstar-of-the-month.

This was a pretty formulaic love story, but some of Hugh's lines actually got me to laugh, so I'm giving it a 3.

At the movies: Lucky Number Slevin

Lucky Number Slevin: 3

A case of mistaken identity leads into the middle of an old mob feud.

I did not see the twist coming until very late, if at all. A fun, somewhat violent movie. A good cast: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu and Josh Hartnett.