Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 05/22/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Brad.  We also had a visitor and potential future student watching from the sidelines.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls. 

The Walk: Twice.

Releases: With Brad and Trey.  Trey uked on the right side and I uked on the left side for Brad.

Techniques:

We attempted to have Brad do 1 through 7 of Ju Nana Hon Kata on both sides, with just one shot each.  He did well.  We did end up doing some tweaking on all of the techniques.  We need to go back to left-sided Ushiro-ate, and we need to give him more time with Oshi-taoshi and Ude-gaeshi.

Aftermath: None of note.

Aikido Friday Night - 05/21/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Dan.

Ukemi: Partial warm-up.  I actually hit my head on one of my warm-up falls.  I don't think I've ever done that before.  No harm done, though.  I spent a good bit of time with Don, teaching him how to fall again.

The Walk: Twice.

Releases: None

Techniques:

Trey and I spent the evening working on Shihonage and Ushiro-ate from O Waza Ju Pon.  Introducing Trey to the separating centers of these two throws.

We also had a discussion on re-working the teaching and approach to Ushiro-ate in Ju Nana Hon Kata.  We're going to go back to the more difficult approach for Ju Nana Hon Kata.

Aftermath: None of note.

Weekend update

Friday

Aikido

Saturday

I didn't get going until time for me to leave for Aikido
Aikido
Dinner at Durango's
D&D

Sunday

Another late start to the day
3 hours of yard work in 90 degree heat with 65% humidity.  I did reclaim a bit of the yard that had been claimed by some ground cover.  It was previously the home to a wisteria bush, as well.
Dinner at Joe's

Prompted by my darling wife, K.: I did forget to mention seeing Iron Man 2 between the yard work and dinner at Joe's.  I'll post my mini-review later today, but I'll give it 3 out of 4 stars.

From Twitter 05-23-2010

09:08:07: RT @mvbeads: NO Final Value Fees on ArtFire, just a low monthly rate. Less starving, more art! #AFP #coolfact (Pls RT)
09:25:05: 10% off sale for Father's Day thru June 13th. My item of the week: Cubano style pen in Tiger Narra: http://ow.ly/1Mhpw @vabeachquilter #afp
11:15:02: A pen in my shop ( http://ow.ly/1OKb9 ) that's on sale for Dad's Day: Gran Torino style in Desert Ironwood. http://ow.ly/1OKbK #afp #artfire
13:15:02: A pen in my shop ( http://ow.ly/1OKdc ) on sale for Dad's Day. Cigar pen in Figured Mesquite http://ow.ly/1OKdL #afp #artfire
15:20:03: A pen in my shop ( http://ow.ly/1OKf9 ) on sale for Dad's Day. Cigar pen in Box Elder Burl http://ow.ly/1OKfr
17:10:04: vabeachquilter is the featured shop in our guild this week. Fabulous fabric creations! Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Mh9c

Tweets copied by twittinesis.com

From Twitter 05-22-2010

17:10:03: vabeachquilter is the featured shop in our guild this week. Fabulous fabric creations! Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Mh7w
17:20:04: 10% off sale for Father's Day through June 13th. My item of the week: Cubano style pen in Tiger Narra: http://ow.ly/1Mhh1 @vabeachquilter

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From Twitter 05-21-2010

17:10:05: vabeachquilter is the featured shop in our guild this week. Fabulous fabric creations! Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Mh5h
17:20:04: 10% off sale for Father's Day through June 13th. My item of the week: Cubano style pen in Tiger Narra: http://ow.ly/1Mhod @vabeachquilter

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Lunching out: Pelican Grill

This is a little mom and pop place on NASA 1 in Seabrook.  It looked like they have a regular clientele, but they weren't very busy.  the waitress had to go call the cook in from out back when I ordered.

They push their hamburgers, so that's what I tried.  I ordered the guacamole cheeseburger with fries.  I received the plain cheeseburger with fries.  In fairness, she might not have heard the guacamole, and the order she took down didn't *look* right, so I'll give them a pass on this).

The burger was pretty good.  The cheese was melted onto the patty while it was still on the grill.  Just how I prepare them at home.  The patty looked too uniform to have been made by hand.

The fries were a battered variety, probably Sysco supplied.  Still, not bad.

It took quite a while for the waitress to drop off my check.  The waitress did miss the opportunity to sell me a slice of pecan pie by not checking back with me while I was eating.  That may be a good thing as far as they're concerned.  If it had been bad, I wouldn't be returning.  As it is, I might return to try the guacamole burger and a slice of pecan pie. 

From Twitter 05-20-2010

17:05:10: vabeachquilter is the featured shop in our guild this week. Fabulous fabric creations. Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Mh3T
17:20:08: 10% off sale for Father's Day through June 13th. My item of the week: Cubano style pen in Tiger Narra: http://ow.ly/1MhlZ @vabeachquilter
20:11:30: What Patrick Parker sucks at: I don't think it's a good idea to beat yourself up about all of… http://goo.gl/fb/LIsq2 (via @mokurendojo)
20:13:02: @JohnPicacio Upper, lower, left, right, back or front?
20:14:13: 16 plums harvested last night. A couple hours in the shop last night and tonight. About to go look for more plum.

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From Twitter 05-19-2010

17:05:08: vabeachquilter is the shop of the week in our guild. Fabulous fabric creations! Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Mh1L
17:20:09: 10% off sale for Father's Day through June 13th. My item of the week: Cubano style pen in Tiger Narra: http://ow.ly/1Mhj9 @vabeachquilter

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In the shop

I finally managed some time on the shop to do productive work on the entertainment center.  I don't know why, but rough cutting the lumber a week ago doesn't feel "productive."  I managed to get one of the middle vertical panels glued up for recutting at a later time.  I had to search through my stack of rough cut wood to find the properly labelled pieces, pick the good sides to glue up, put in biscuits and then glue and clamp em up.

I did one of these at the time so I didn't get the pieces confused and mismatched.  I should have worked on through to the other middle vertical panel, but I was sweating and it was getting near to time for "Castle". 

As a side note, I need to make certain my shop clock is keeping time.  I replaced the battery a couple of weeks ago, but I think there was a time warp walking from the shop to the house.

I hope to get back into the shop tonight for more glue-up.  Maybe the other vertical panel and some of the shelves.

Volleyball, 0-3

Another night playing Fandango, another failed night.  Still, we had fun.

Weekend update

Friday:

Aikido

Saturday:

Laze around the house
Aikido

Pasadena Strawberry Festival with K.and K. - this is the first time I've ever gone to this festival, and it's been going on for quite some time.  I went to see what it's like and to see if it's appropriate for me to get a booth at.  I don't think it is.  To break even, I'd have to sell around 10 pens or so.  Given the folks at the festival, I don't think I'd manage that.  Mayeb I'll feel better after a couple of cheaper shows are under my belt.

Dinner at Durango's with K. and K.

Sunday:

Laze around the house
Grill out for dinner
Bake a cheesecake (collapsed, as usual, but I now have a plan to remedy this issue)

From Twitter 05-18-2010

17:05:10: vabeachquilter is the shop of the week in our guild. Fabulous fabric creations. Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Mh0l

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From Twitter 05-17-2010

17:05:02: vabeachquilter is the shop of the week. Fabulous fabric creations! Check this out: http://ow.ly/1MgYC
17:15:02: 10% off sale for Father's Day through June 13th. My item of the week: Cubano style pen in Tiger Narra: http://ow.ly/1Mhgb
19:45:54: @kaysea14 I just had a golfing themed person follow me. I'm not certain why.
21:17:11: @kaysea14 Jack? Tank? It is a puzzlement.

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Father's Day Sale in my Artfire shop

10% off everything in my shop.  Here's the item I'm featuring this week, a Cubano style pen in Tiger Narra:

Artfire: Featured shop: vabeachquilter

Kim does amazing work with fabrics.  Here are just a couple of my favorites from her shop:

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 05/15/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Brad, Sal, Troy and Don.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.  I spent a good bit of time with Don, teaching how to fall again.  I moved him from the kneeling falls to the crouched falls.  I think we need to go back to kneeling for a bit.

The Walk: Twice.

Releases: With Sal. Occasional bouts of too much rigidity.

Techniques:

We did a Blum line today for techniques.  We worked on shomen-ate and aigamae-ate  Don got involved as well.  He did extremely well for the amount of instruction he had in these techniques.

Aftermath: None of note.

Aikido Friday Night - 05/14/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Troy and Don.

Ukemi: Partial warm-up.  I spent a good bit of time with Don, teaching him how to fall again. 

The Walk: Twice. And then I spent a good part of the evening working with Don on the parts of the Walk he wanted to spend some time on.

Releases: With Troy. We worked on 5 through 8.

Techniques:

At the very end of class Trey wanted to throw me around a bit, so he did some work on aigamae-ate and shomen-ate.

Aftermath: None of note.

From Twitter 05-16-2010

17:45:07: Artfire featured shop: Jewelry by Sherry. Interesting pieces of jewelry. Today's favorite:
http://ow.ly/1Jkey
18:00:12: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen:
http://ow.ly/1JktU

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From Twitter 05-15-2010

07:19:25: @ConneryBeagle Are they as much fun as SQUIRREL?
17:45:30: Artfire featured shop: Jewelry by Sherry. Interesting pieces of jewelry. Today's favorite:
http://ow.ly/1Jke5
18:00:09: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen:
http://ow.ly/1Jktt

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From Twitter 05-14-2010

17:45:04: Artfire featured shop: Jewelry by Sherry. Interesting pieces of jewelry. Today's favorite:
http://ow.ly/1Jkdy
18:00:14: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen:
http://ow.ly/1JksB

Tweets copied by twittinesis.com

From Twitter 05-13-2010

17:45:14: Artfire featured shop: Jewelry by Sherry. Interesting pieces of jewelry. Today's favorite:
http://ow.ly/1JkcO
17:55:10: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen:
http://ow.ly/1JkrU

Tweets copied by twittinesis.com

Artfire: Spotlight: VaBeachQuilter

Out guild leader is the spotlight shop of the week.  She's got some fabulous quilts:

From Twitter 05-12-2010

17:45:11: Artfire featured shop: Jewelry by Sherry. Interesting pieces of jewelry. Today's favorite:
http://ow.ly/1Jkcd
17:55:06: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen:
http://ow.ly/1Jkrv
19:09:06: Waiting on Sales Tax Permit and bicycle to test ride. Maybe they'll both be in tomorrow.

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Volleyball: 0-3, 0-3

Last week's volleyball night was a double-header.  We played well, just not well enough to win.  A couple of the points went on so long that I was eligible for Social Security at the end of them.

From Twitter 05-11-2010

17:45:11: Artfire featured shop: Jewelry by Sherry. Interesting pieces of jewelry. Today's favorite:
http://ow.ly/1JkbT
17:55:08: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen:
http://ow.ly/1JkqN
17:55:10: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen: http://ow.ly/1Jkq8

Tweets copied by twittinesis.com

From Twitter 05-10-2010

17:48:17: HEY @vabeachquilter
19:40:13: Artfire featured shop: Jewelry by Sherry. Interesting pieces of jewelry. Today's favorite: http://ow.ly/1Jka4
19:45:04: 10% off Father's Day sale through June 13th. My item of the week is this Afzelia Burl Baron style pen: http://ow.ly/1JkoT

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Lunching out: T-Bone Tom's

K. and I went out to lunch on Friday.  We were hoping to do some shopping while we were down in Kemah, but the bike shop was closed on our way out of T-Bone's.

K. had the sliced sausage sandwich and I had the "Pig Sandwich".  K.'s was the better choice, by far.  T-Bone's sausage is the second best sausage I've ever tried (K. gave me a slice from her sandwich).  It trails only the sausage from Granger.  It's a nice spicy, coarse grind.  Heaven.

My "Pig Sandwich" was a little dry, and I was not a big fan of their barbecue sauce.  The onions and jalapenos that came on the sandwich did provide a little spice for the meal.

The buns for both of the sandwiches were fabulous!  A nice texture and flavor.

I will be going back soon.  I'm going to have a sausage sandwich all to myself!

Lunching out: BJ's Restaurant and Brewery

At here a week ago.  I had the lunch Chicken Parmigiana and iced tea.  The chicken was ok.  It seemed the breading was mostly cheese instead of a flour/breadcrumb concoction.  It was presented on a bed of pasta with a marinara sauce with a side of cheese bread.  I think the cheese bread was the best, followed by the chicken and then the pasta.

I think I got out of there for about $14.  Other places are preferred. 

Weekend update

Friday

Aikido

Saturday

Mowed a couple of ditches
Took a couple of pictures of sunflowers.
Bank transactions
Mailed out some books
AikidoDinner at Durango's
D&D

Sunday

Baked a peach pie
Baked a SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake
Mother's Day dinner at our place with mom , sis and in-laws

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 05/08/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Brad, Sal, Troy and Don.

Ukemi: Not quite a full warm-up.  We got started before I had a chance to go through my usual and I was watching over Don learn how to fall.

The Walk: None, formally.  I worked with Troy and Don quite a bit to get Don all of the way through the Walk learning it.

Releases: None.

Techniques:

This was a very unusual class session.  After the ukemi, Tim had me work with Brad.  Brad attacked with punches and attempted to behave as he thought he would outside of the dojo.  I had a very difficult time dealing with this.  Some of it might be because Brad just stood there after I took him off-balance.  He did nothing and I felt safe, so we just stood there.  There were some times when things flowed better and I would get Ushiro-ate.  I also managed a variation from Koryu Di Yon No Kata, that was neat (I did need some prompting).  I never managed a Kote-gaeshi. 

Brad would often get inside both of my arms.  I was stymied in those situations.  Trey provided some insight for me at the end of class.  Trey and I also thought about trying Mune Tori Kata Gatam.  It didn't work, but at least we thought about it.


Aftermath: None of note.  A very humbling and enlightening afternoon.

Aikido Friday Night - 05/07/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Sal, Troy and Don.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.  I spent a good bit of time with Don, teaching how to fall again.  He was a Sankyu about 20 years ago, but has forgotten everything.

The Walk: Twice.

Releases: With Troy. We made it through all of the releases.  Next time we'll work backwards so he gets more work on the latter ones.

Techniques:

I can't remember what we did after working with Troy on the releases.  Maybe I did some work with Don on the Walk?

Aftermath: None of note.

Artfire: My item of the week: Afzelia Burl Baron Pen

I'm having a Father's Day sale in my shop on art fire.  10% off of everything until June 13th.

Here's the pen I'd like everyone to look at this week.

Artfire: Featured Shop: Jewelry by Sherry

Sherry's got some nice, handmade jewelry in her shop.  Drop on by.

Here are some items I like from her shop:

SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake - awesome!

I made this cake yesterday for our Mother's Day celebration.  It was extremely well-received.  the only problem was it was too rich.  Supposedly, this serves twelve.  From what I saw yesterday, this could serve about 24.  7 of us managed to only put away 1/4 of the cake.

Courtesy The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook by John Barricelli

GANACHE

1 pound semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped

4 cups heavy cream

¼ cup good-quality honey

½ teaspoon coarse salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise, or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting

2 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

2½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon coarse salt

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1 1/3 cups brewed American coffee

GANACHE

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl; set aside. [I melted the chocolate in a double-boiler as I was too  lazy to finely chop up 32 squares of chocolate]  In a medium saucepan, combine cream, honey and salt. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean pod, if using, into cream, and add the pod. Bring cream to a boil, pour over chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer into a bowl. Discard vanilla bean. (Or stir in vanilla extract, if using.) Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until ganache stiffens, at least 6 hours or overnight.   [I let the ganache stand at room temp for 5 hours and it was still far too runny.  I chilled it for about 1 1/2 hours and it was just right.]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with a round of parchment paper and dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess.

CAKE

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add eggs, vanilla, melted butter, buttermilk and coffee, and mix with electric mixer on low speed until fully combined. [I mixed the dry ingredients together, mixed the wet ingredients together and then slowly added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients]  Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake on a baking sheet until a cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Unmold cakes onto rack and let cool completely.

Using a serrated knife, slice the top 1⁄8to 1/4 inch off each cake to level it, if necessary. Discard the top pieces. Slice each cake horizontally into two layers for a total of four layers. Place bottom layer on a 9-inch cake round, a turntable, or a platter, and using an offset spatula, spread thickly with about 1½ cups of the ganache. Repeat with the second and third layers, spreading another 1½ cups ganache over each layer. Add the final cake layer and spread it with a very thin layer of ganache . Place the cake in the refrigerator until set, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place it on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. [Oops.  I didn't see the remaining steps in the recipe.  Presentation was pretty nice, even without them]  In the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, heat the reserved ganache just until liquid. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Using a large offset spatula, help spread the ganache from the center to the edges so the cake is completely covered. Refrigerate to set, about 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature. 

From Twitter 05-09-2010

11:13:32: 32 squares of chocolate for the icing for one cake? This should be gooooood.
19:21:33: Chocolate cake was a hit. Too rich. 7 people, barely a quarter of the cake eaten. Folks at work benefit from leftovers tomorrow.
20:00:08: KaoticKrafter is this week's featured shop. She does a lot of work with recycled fabrics. Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Gypz

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From Twitter 05-08-2010

10:44:33: @NASFiC2010 Trying to figure out why I'm still not a member. Gave a check to Tim Miller in August. He says you've had it a while.
11:44:10: I think it's safe to say that if all of the credit card receipts are from the same restaurant, you eat there too much. 7 receipts!
19:10:03: My item of the week: Chainmaille Hat Band for a cowboy hat: http://ow.ly/1FOVF
20:00:15: KaoticKrafter is this week's featured shop. She does a lot of work with recycled fabrics. Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Gypd

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From Twitter 05-07-2010

19:05:08: My item of the week: Chainmaille Hat Band for a cowboy hat: http://ow.ly/1FOVu
20:00:13: KaoticKrafter is this week's featured shop. She does a lot of work with recycled fabrics. Check this out: http://ow.ly/1GyoR

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From Twitter 05-05-2010

19:05:21: My item of the week: Chainmaille Hat Band for a cowboy hat: http://ow.ly/1FOUS
20:00:44: KaoticKrafter is this week's featured shop. She does a lot of work with recycled fabrics. Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Gynh

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From Twitter 05-04-2010

17:50:32: @renegade500 Yep. It's kind of warm today. Gorgeous this morning, though.
19:05:09: My item of the week: Chainmaille Hat Band for a cowboy hat: http://ow.ly/1FOUF
20:00:23: KaoticKrafter is the featured shop this week. She does a lot of work with recycled fabrics: Check this out http://ow.ly/1Gym0
20:10:55: @kaysea14 Our guys like drinking from standing water in flower pots. The hose? They don't want to risk getting wet.
22:00:43: Dogs are upset that they got a bath today. They just had one on Sunday. Not Fair! (Snake juice had to be cleaned off.)

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Photos from Keels and Wheels

From Twitter 05-03-2010

19:05:10: My item of the week: Chainmaille Hat Band for a cowboy hat: http://ow.ly/1FOUv
19:55:03: KaoticKrafter is the featured shop this week. She does a lot of work with recycled fabrics: Check this out: http://ow.ly/1Gyla

Tweets copied by twittinesis.com

Artfire: Featured shop: Kaotic Krafter

Kaotic Krafter does a bunch of work with recycled fabric.  There are a bunch of neat items in her shop:

Weekend update

Friday

Aikido

Saturday

Bank transactions
Early voting
Friendswood Fine Art Institute's first annual Art in the Park
Bamboo harvest

Sunday

Keels and Wheels in Seabrook
Rough cutting lumber for the entertainment center
Grilling out pork ribs, chicken, and burgers

Aikido Friday Night - 04/30/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, Sal, Troy and Don.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.

The Walk: Twice.

Releases: With Troy. We made it through the sixth release.

Techniques:

I worked with Sal on Aigamae-ate,  Gyakugamae-ate, and Gedan-ate.  Emphasized the importance of breaking me down to be in his playground.  Sal made some good progress.  There's still plenty of room for smoothing out the rough edges, but doing very well

At the end of regular class, Tim was going to have Trey and me do some work together.  We ended up doing some more demonstration work on 1-5 for the other 3 guys.  They stuck around and got some additional benefit, I hope.

Aftermath: None of note. ARMA had a seminar on Saturday, so we had no class.

From Twitter 05-02-2010

19:05:07: My item of the week: Chainmaille Hat Band for a cowboy hat: http://ow.ly/1FOTE

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From Twitter 05-01-2010

09:19:54: Long week at work. Some more work work to do today. Some fun is scheduled: Keels & Wheels a possibility: http://bit.ly/dcCKo1
14:17:03: Work, some time in the shop, and then grilling burgers for dinner. Keels and Wheels tomorrow. Bike still not in to test ride.
17:20:05: This week's featured shop is Crafty Baby Hope. All sorts of jewelry and polymer clay items. Saturday's pick of the day http://ow.ly/1Dnjw
18:47:57: Missed the Derby because I was out harvesting bamboo. Rats!
18:52:25: My item of the week: Chainmaille Hat Band for a cowboy hat. http://bit.ly/a4wSKD
19:01:02: First year of Friendswood Fine Arts Festival in the Park. I should be ready to vend the next time it rolls around.

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From Twitter 04-30-2010

17:15:09: This week's featured shop is Crafty Baby Hope. All sorts of jewelry and polymer clay items. Friday's pick of the day http://ow.ly/1DnhY

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From Twitter 04-29-2010

17:15:11: This week's featured shop is Crafty Baby Hope. All sorts of jewelry and polymer clay items. Thursday's pick of the day http://ow.ly/1DnfO

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From Twitter 04-28-2010

17:15:28: This week's featured shop is Crafty Baby Hope. All sorts of jewelry and polymer clay items. Wednesday's pick of the day http://ow.ly/1DneB
17:17:57: Wow! This is just a beautiful shade of blue: http://ht.ly/1E6bf @madmoravian #artfire (via @vabeachquilter) Blue Maple Burl Cigar pen

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ArtFire: Spotlight Shop: Kaotic Krafter

KaoticKrafter

Unique Gifts

From Twitter 04-27-2010

17:15:09: This week's featured shop is Crafty Baby Hope. All sorts of jewelry and polymer clay items. Tuesday's pick of the day http://ow.ly/1Dncc
17:50:54: @renegade500 What doesn't Supertramp improve?
20:11:33: Minor woodworking done. 5 cup salad ready for tomorrow's pot luck.

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Commuting bikes

I'm working on finding a commuting bike for when my company completes the new building currently under construction.  It will be about a 5 mile commute from home to office and then 5 more back home. I'll need to get some lights, helmet, saddle bags and toolkit at least, in addition to the bike itself.  The two bikes I'm considering are the Jamis Coda Sport and the Cannondale Quick 4

Here's a listing of the stats reported on the web pages for the bikes:

    C * Frame Quick, mech formed, 6061 alloy
    J * Frame - Reynolds 520 double-butted chromoly main tubes, extended head tube with reinforced collars, double tapered cromo stays, forged dropouts with eyelets

    C * Fork Ultra X All-Conditions Carbon
    J * Fork - Chromoly unicrown, bulge butted steerer, low-rider carrier braze-ons, forged dropouts with double eyelets
    C * Headset VP semi-integrated threadless, 30 mm top cover

    J * Headset - Ritchey LB A headset, 1 1/8”
    C * Rims Cannondale C3 w/machined sidewall, 32 hole
    J * Wheels - Alex ID-19 alloy double-wall rims, 32H, with Shimano Road 2200 hubs, 14g stainless steel spokes

    C * Hubs Shimano HB-RM40 front, FH-RM30 rear
    C * Spokes 15g stainless steel

    C * Tires Kenda Kwick Trax, 700 X 32c
    J * Tires  - Vittoria Zaffiro, 700 x 28c

    C * Pedals VP platform w/sole-friendly alloy cage
    J * Pedals  - Full alloy platform

    C * Crank Shimano FC-M341, 48/38/28
    J * Crankset - FSA Dyna Drive Triple, 48/36/26T, 170mm (15-17”), 175mm (19-23”).

    C * BottomBracket TH cartridge
    C * Chain KMC Z72 8-speed
    J * Chain - KMC Z9000

    C * RearCogs Shimano CS-HG40, 11-32
    C * FrontDerailleur Shimano Alivio
    C * RearDerailleur SRAM X-5
    J * Derailleurs - Shimano Deore M590 rear and Deore M590 bottom-pull front

    C * Shifter SRAM X-5 trigger
    J * Shiftlevers - Shimano Deore M590 Rapidfire Plus, 27-speed

    C * Handlebar Cannondale C3, 20mm rise, 600mm wide
    J * Handlebar - Jamis flat bar, 6061 T-6 alloy, 10D bend x 580mm

    C * Stem Cannondale XC3 1 1/8", 31.8 mm
    J * Stem - NVO Components adjustable threadless system (ATS) aluminum stem, TM-3, 90mm (15”), 105mm (17-19”), 115mm (21-23”)

    C * Brakes Tektro TK-B18 linear pull w/cartridge pad
    C * BrakeLevers Tektro 3-finger w/Kraton insert
    J * Brakeset  - Tektro direct-pull brakes with front power modulator and Tektro alloy levers

    C * Saddle Cannondale Quick Ergo Performance
    J * Saddle - Selle San Marco Elba

    C * Seatpost Cannondale C4 Alloy
    J * Seat Post - Suspension, 45mm travel, 350mm x 27.2mm (260mm on 15”) , alloy clamp with QR seatpin

    C * Sizes S, M, L, X, J
    J * Sizes M: 15”, 17”, 19”, 21”, 23”

    C * Extras Montague "CLIX" Front QR, rack mounts

I think it'll come down to the first bike to fit me, as I'm going to test the limits of the sizes of any bikes I try.  At 6'5", I'm not going to have a huge number of options.

The first one I'm going to try is the Coda Sport.  3rd Coast Bikes, in Seabrook, ordered one for me.  I'm just waiting for it to arrive.

From Twitter 04-26-2010

17:30:02: This week's featured shop is Crafty Baby Hope. All sorts of jewelry and polymer clay items. Monday's pick of the day http://ow.ly/1DnaN
18:17:51: Pen of the Day: Gran Torino in Desert Ironwood: http://bit.ly/cbjMYw . Reply to me in 24 hours for 20% off this pen.

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Discreet assignations

As K. and I were going to be last night, she spotted a truck behaving a little strangely.  It turned around in our driveway and then parked across the street.  It sat there a few minutes before she mentioned it to me.

I took a handy dandy flashlight and did a look see.

The occupant had the accessories in the truck on, but I could not get any good details.

A few minutes later, a teen aged girl came walking down the street.  She made some comment to me that I didn't quite catch and then climbed into the truck.  There seemed to be a minor flurry of activity in the truck before it drove off.

My guess is this neighbor girl was sneaking out of her house to go off with her boyfriend for a while.  I did not stay up to see if/when the couple returned.

Weekend update

Friday

My niece was in town for the day, so I skipped aikido so that the family could go out to eat together.  We spent a long time trying to get the niece to choose the restaurant, but she wouldn't do it.  We ended up a Franca's (fabulous as always) and then stopped by a bubble tea spot for after dinner drinks.  Not bad, but I chose not to partake of bubbles and just had tea.

Saturday

Into town to pick up some more wood for the entertainment center.  I was way off on the amount I purchased last time for some reason.
Stopped by Woodcraft to use a coupon and pick up some miscellaneous pen supplies
Aikido
Dinner at Joe's and early to bed

Sunday

Breakfast with the in-laws, as the electricity went out.  All of their appliances are electric.  Some of ours are gas, so we could cook.
Yard work
Pen turning
Preliminary layout work for the entertainment center
Pizza
Baseball on TV

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 04/24/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Brad.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.

The Walk: Once.

Releases: With Brad

Techniques:

We got to work with Brad on Ude Gaeshi for an extended period of time for the first time.  He really picked up on it nicely by the end of the afternoon.  He's still uncertain about being able to keep up with a falling uke when he's got uke in an arm lock.  That'll change with time.

At the end of the session, Trey and I worked on Oshi Taoshi and Gyakugamae ate in the kneeling section of Koryu Dai San.  We spent about 45 minutes on this stuff.

Tim also had me do a couple of seconds of Jo work.  Apparently that'll be a part of my next demonstration.


Aftermath: None of note. 

Artfire: Featured shop: Crafty Baby Hope

Crafty Baby Hope. does a lot of jewelry and polymer clay work.  Here are just a few items:

From Twitter 04-24-2010

09:10:07: Swirl Jewels is this week's featured shop on artfire. She's got a bunch of neat bracelets and necklaces. Check out: http://ow.ly/1Ad9J
18:00:24: @renegade500 As long as you don't have to resort to Macauley Caulkin's tactics, I think you're ahead.
18:22:23: My bottle stopper for today: http://bit.ly/aSYh7Z Reply to me in the next 24 hours for 20% off of this item.

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From Twitter 04-23-2010

09:10:12: Swirl Jewels is this week's featured shop on artfire. She's got a bunch of neat bracelets and necklaces. Check out: http://ow.ly/1Ad7s
18:02:16: @ConneryBeagle It's always good to play with long, lost friends!
22:32:02: My item for the Coolibah Burl Cigar pen. gorgeous figuring: http://bit.ly/bmmdXu

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RapidCart for jYOUlry on artfire

jYoulry

Unique Gifts

RapidCart for my shop on artfire

madmoravian

Unique Gifts

From Twitter 04-22-2010

09:10:11: Swirl Jewels is this week's featured shop on artfire. She's got a bunch of neat bracelets and necklaces. Check out: http://ow.ly/1Ad43

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From Twitter 04-21-2010

09:10:06: Swirl Jewels is this week's featured shop on artfire. She's got a bunch of neat bracelets and necklaces. Check out: http://ow.ly/1Ad5F

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Power outage

We lost power this morning around 3 am.  Prior to that, apparently, one of my dogs (Jack) got sick between my feet. 

I slept through it all.

K. woke me up a bit later to shut down my computer.  The UPS it was attached to was operating on only battery power and was beeping to let us know that fact.  Beeping items are not one of Tank's favorite things, so I had to gracefully shutdown the computer and power off the UPS to shut up the beeping.

Apparently, the power came on again about an hour later.  I slept through that, too.

Artfire: Featured Shop: Swirl Jewels

She's a relatively new member of the guild, and she's got some pretty nice stuff.  Visit her here.

Volleyball, 0-3

Another fruitless night on the volleyball court.  It's kind of redundant to say we were playing the second best team in the league.  We're the worst, so does it really matter?

Still, a fun night on the court.  I didn't have enough time to stretch properly, so I'm as little sore today.

From Twitter 04-20-2010

09:45:11: Switl Jewels is this week's featured shop on artfire. She's got a bunch of neat bracelets and necklaces. Check this out:...

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From Twitter 04-19-2010

09:45:03: Swirl Jewels is the shop of the week. She's got some really nice necklaces and bracelets. Check out this neat item: http://ow.ly/1AcUD
19:06:12: Sarah Clemens will have art work at Armadillocon 32!

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Weekend update

Friday

Aikido

Saturday

Maas Nursery for a Myers Lemon tree
Third Coast Bikes to have them order me one of  these-----

to try out for size and fit after it comes in
Alpha Bowl for some bowling supplies
Aikido
Durango's for dinner
D&D until 3 am

Sunday

Lunch with the in-laws
Company picnic at the local Main Event where K and I bowled, ate and played video games for 3 hours.  Fun times!

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 04/17/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Brad.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.

The Walk: None.

Releases: None.

Techniques:

We got to work with Brad on Oshi Taoshi for an extended period of time for the first time.  He really picked up on it nicely by the end of the afternoon.

At the end of the session, Trey and I worked on Oshi Taoshi in the kneeling section of Koryu Dai San.  Brad sat around and watched us so that he could compare what we're doing with what he's doing.  The techniques are as similar as they can be given the standing versus kneeling positions.


Aftermath: None of note.  My knee is doing ok.  Trey's starting to get a taste of what kneework's like.  He appears to be suffering more than I do.  My issue is just with getting stretched out for all of this work.  His appears to be the actual movement.

Aikido Friday Night - 04/16/10

Aikidokas: Tim, and Trey.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.

The Walk: None.

Releases: None.

Techniques:

Since there were just two of us, we worked on a lot of things.  Trey got to work on some items from Koryu Dai San: Mae Otoshi , Ushiro Waza Mae Otoshi , Ushiro Waza Tentai Kote Hineri , Mune Tori Kata Gatame.  We've skipped Kote Kajiki at the moment.

I did a little work on Koryu Dai Yon, with a couple of the releases and then did some work on some of the knife defenses.  I also did a little work on the Tanto Dori sections of Koryu Dai San No Kata.

It was nice to get to explore and just try things out, playing with off-balances, entries, etc.  It was a nice evening.

Aftermath: None of note.  We had a couple of visitors.  One did some work with KG in the past, the other one did not say much.

From Twitter 04-17-2010

07:00:09: Boutique Karma is the featured shop this week. A hint of winter in Spring with this coffee cuff. http://ow.ly/1xCLf
08:52:44: Kittens get worried when you hoot like an owl at them.

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Box Elder items

A while back, a commenter was interested in seeing some Box Elder items I've done.  Better late than never.

From Twitter 04-16-2010

07:00:16: Boutique Karma is the featured shop this week. Come for the lover of the classics. Check out this coffee cozy http://ow.ly/1xCJM
21:23:27: Yon Kata work and some work with Trey on San Kata at aikido. A couple of visitors as well.
22:35:17: Newly added : Gran Torino in Rhodium and Blue Maple Burl : http://bit.ly/9zWyeR

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Lunching out: Mario's

Not much has changed at Mario's in the past few decades.  Supposedly the lunch buffet is a new re-addition to their menu.  That's what I had.  Admittedly, you're not going to get the freshest food on the buffet, depending on when you waddle up to the line and when they've added new stuff to it.  The salad was good, the pizza was just ok.

The buffet is definitely just a pizza buffet.  The last time I went to Mario's, the buffet was a full Italian extravaganza.  I might come back to try something from the menu.

Mario's is neck-and-neck with Angelo's at the moment.  Frenchie's is head-and-shoulders above them both.

Lunching out: Angelo's Pizza & Pasta

They've got a nice, comfortable place and it was fairly busy, but....  I had the Penne Nicola and an iced tea.  The Penne was not that flavorful, but the chicken was ok.  I made fairly liberal use of the parmesan and crushed red peppers.  I might try this place again, since Franca's is not open for lunch.

Volleyball, 0-3

Futility rears its ugly head.  We even had a ringer on our team from one of the powerhouse teams.  But, playing the top team in the league, it did not help.  Still a fun set of games, I got some decent serves going.

We'll get 'em next week.  Or next season.  Or .......

From Twitter 04-15-2010

07:00:19: Boutique Karma is the featured shop this week. A bright John Deere mug insulator: http://ow.ly/1xCIe

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From Twitter 04-14-2010

07:00:16: Boutique Karma is the featured shop this week. Check out this kid's crayon caddy. http://ow.ly/1xCHl
11:57:35: Looking for flat bar commuter bike current options: Giant, Raleigh, Cannondale, Gary Fisher. Rec's or other suggestions?
20:20:48: Artists at this year's Armadillocon: Cat Conrad, Brandy Stark, Tomi Welch, Daniel Cortopassi. So far.
21:32:34: Gran Torino pen in Blue Maple Burl ready for photo shoot.

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From Twitter 04-13-2010

07:00:14: Boutique Karma is the featured shop this week. Check out this neat coaster set. http://ow.ly/1xCFQ

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From Twitter 04-12-2010

17:55:12: @kaysea14 I don't know, but I'm glad it went. It's a lot less scary form the backside than the frontside.
19:54:09: A Baron rollerball pen made out of Afzelia Burl! http://bit.ly/aSojkQ
19:55:53: A Cubano style pen turned out of Desert Ironwood with black titanium and platinum-plated hardware. http://bit.ly/bCpWcn

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Artfire: Featured shop: Boutique Karma

This week's featured shop is Boutique Karma:  check out this interesting set of coasters:

 

Available here

Weekend update

Friday

Aikido

Saturday

Dropped some stuff off at the city Spring Sparkle event
Dropped some stuff off at Pearland's Recycling Center
Out looking for a new bike
Aikido
Dinner at Durango's
Work on some pens in the shop and computer

Sunday

Movie and dinner with K, in-laws, mom and sister to celebrate some birthdays.
More work on getting pens ready to upload to artfire

Aikido Saturday Afternoon - 04/11/10

Aikidokas: Tim, and Trey.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.

The Walk: None.

Releases: None.

Techniques:

Trey and I did some work on Ju Nana Hon Kata, the first 17.  I was horrible.  I knew I would be.  It's been a year since I've really done any work on them.  Trey had some issues as well, so I wasn't alone in my horribleness.

We did a little playing with Owaza Ju Pon, and some Koryu Dai San standing: some of the techniques we did on Friday night. 

We then did a some work on the second technique of the kneeling Koryu Dai San, Gyakugamae Ate.  It's one of my favorite techniques, uke attempts a hammer strike to the temple, but before he even gets close, tori angles into him and across uke's shoulder, causing him to fall over.  We played with angles and timing.  Trey got one really soft and effective rep in.  I can't wait for more.


Aftermath: None of note.

Aikido Friday Night - 04/09/10

Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Sal.

Ukemi: Full warm-up, no big falls.

The Walk: Only once.

Releases: None.

Techniques:

We all worked on Sal and getting him some more time working on Shomen-ate and the Aigamae-ate. We had some minor breakthroughs and he is progressing.  He's going to get a lot more attention now that Trey and I are done for a bit.

Trey and I did some work on the first few of Koryu Dai San for him.

Aftermath: None of note.

From Twitter 04-11-2010

18:43:40: Get this custom photo pendant necklace with $10 off: http://ow.ly/1x4eL use coupon: CLEARANCE @jYoulry
18:44:47: 9 new pens photo'd and ready for upload to artfire.

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From Twitter 04-10-2010

23:16:28: 8 new pens ready for their glamour shots and then upload to artfire. Maybe in the morning.

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From Twitter 04-09-2010

07:05:06: Featured shop on artfire this week: jYOUlry. She's got a bunch of custom items: http://ow.ly/1uUCf and just the image: http://ow.ly/1uUCI
22:29:32: @ConneryBeagle BAWH!!!!
22:30:36: Knee still bugging me from demo. Feels like rug burn inside my knee.

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From Twitter 04-08-2010

07:05:08: Featured shop on artfire this week: jYOUlry: Check out the neat items: http://ow.ly/1uUAT and just the image : http://ow.ly/1uUBb

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Weekend update

Friday

K. had the day off, so I took a day off as well
Spent the morning geocaching at Jack Brooks Park
Crashed for a couple of hours
Dinner at Pappas Bros. Steak House

Saturday

Geocaching downtown
Astros baseball game
A stop at Woodcraft on the way home


Sunday

Some time in the shop
Grilled out
Dinner with the in-laws.

Volleyball, 2-1

We actually won a match!  Lost the first game, but won the other two.  One of our guys served well at the beginning of the second game and gave us a 6 point lead.  The team we played was previously 9-6.  I'm sure we lsot to them 0-3 the last time we played them.

From Twitter 04-07-2010

07:00:14: Featured shop this week on artfire : jYOUlry. Check out the neat items she's got. Here's the page http://ow.ly/1uUzy and here's just...

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From Twitter 04-06-2010

07:00:11: Featured shop on artfire this week: jYOUlry. Check out the neat pieces she has:
http://ow.ly/1uUya and just the image http://ow.ly/1uUyG

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From Twitter 04-05-2010

18:46:24: Videos from my Nidan demonstration
http://bit.ly/cSMs9K and a short outtake....
http://bit.ly/aJObuG
19:05:05: RT @vabeachquilter: We have a new featured guild shop: jYOUlry ... check out this custom order bracelet : http://ow. ... (via @jYOUlry)

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Bluebonnets

A couple of pictures from my little bluebonnet patch.  I'll try to get some better ones later.

Astros - preseason vs. Toronto

The Astros  looked a bit like the Keystone Kops on Saturday.  It may have been the angle.  The plays I saw that looked troublesome were along the right field line and our seats were along the left field line.  I certainly hope they improve.

I also have a beef with the concessions folks.  I wanted the bratwurst, which came on the "Tour of the Majors" platter (i.e., with fries).  The sign said it was $8.75.  They wanted to charge $10.75, but settled on $9.75.  I should have walked away at that point and refused to pay anything over the posted price, but I was feeling biddable.

I hope they straighten out their pricing issue.

Geocaching - 4/2 and 4/3

We managed to get out geocaching this past weekend.  We took Jasck and Tank out for some park time to Jack Brooks Park.  While there we managed to find 6 caches in the nursery rhyme series.

Saturday, we did some urban caching before going to the Astros game.  Lots of muggles around so we weren't 100% successful.  Still a good time walking and talking about Houston and various memories.

Artfire: featured shop: jYOUlry

She offers innumerable items that can be customized with your favorite picture.  Giver her a look: jYOUlry

Demonstration videos

Here's my full demonstration video.





And here's a little highlight