Jason's Test Kitchen

The garage ceiling has a brown stain.

2011-08-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

We bought our house in Gilbert in the late spring of 2010.

As the proud new owner of our Gilbert home and the backyard pool (my first pool), I paid the Leslie pool guy to come out and show me the ropes. He spent an hour talking through all the important considerations for keeping a beautiful, well-maintained pool.

A week later, newly armed with the knowledge of a veteran pool guy, I decided to back-flush the pool's filter. Back-flushing is done to remove the dirt and debris from the pool's filter to prevent it from becoming over-clogged.

To back-flush the pool you have to pull and turn a lever to change the direction of the water flow through the filter. It flows water in the "wrong" direction, pushing all the collected dirt and debris at a high rate of speed, out of the filter and through a large floppy 2" hose. The pool service man explained this to me with care. He showed me the sewer drainage entry point in the front yard where the hose was to release all the dirty water. He gave me a "L" shaped piece of PVC pipe and suggested I use that for the end, but I figured I would just push the hose down the pipe and it should be fine.

In order for all of this to work, the hose had to reach the drain. But it turns out the existing hose was too short going around the outside of the house. Being clever and cheap, I found a way to make my way to the front of the house and into the drain by routing it through the garage side door and out through the front of the garage, avoiding the need to go around the house corner and cutting off about 20 feet of needed hose. I pushed the end of the hose down the drain a good 18 inches and returned to the pump at the back of the house. Satisfied, I turned on the pump, and smiled as I saw the hose swell and imagined very dirty water flowing it's disgusting way down the hose, through the garage and into the drain.

Then I noticed a small bead of water streaming its way straight up

Through the garage

from the bulging hose just 20 feet away. I ran toward it for a closer look and was shocked to see it wasn't alone. dozens of similar holes were shooting in all directions. Now in a panic I started to run along its length toward the front of the house. As I entered the garage I was mortified to see a few extra large streams jetting in several directions, some hitting the ceiling, some hitting as-yet-unpacked boxes, some hitting me. I looked out through the garage door and saw the end of the hose like a living thing, a snake possessed, thrashing itself left and right against the ground, filthy water flowing in all directions.

I ran to the end of the hose, grabbed it Crocodile Dundee-style, dashed to the drain and tried to stick it down in, not thinking about how the water flow the forced it out of the hole was not about to change its mind.

The drain

At this moment several thoughts hit me all at once.
1. I should never have tried this alone
2. There is brown water flowing all over my moving boxes- many filled with books, my garage ceiling, and floor
3. The shut-off was almost 100 feet away

The ceiling spots

This is when I remembered to laugh. Soaked and newly schooled in the art of pool care, I ran back to the pump switch and set it to the "off" position. I ran back to the garage, and with a smile and a chuckle, ignoring the slowly ebbing flow of nasty water down the driveway, set my attention to cleaning the garage.

Yes, this would be funny later, but I might as well enjoy it now. It was all I could do.

The garage ceiling still has a brown stain.

Three Layer "Bonk" Bed

2011-01-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

Now that we've moved into our home in Gilbert I thought it would be a good idea to build a bed for the girls. Well, that was the thought in April, about 9 months ago. Our Gilbert home is smaller than the one in Katy and that meant the girls have a chance to share a bedroom. Since we didn't have a bunk bed or other means for them to share sleeping quarters, they've been sleeping on mattresses on the floor while I build their bed. And FINALLY! It's finished.

For those who are interested, here is what it took. I want to thank my Dad for spending a few days helping me develop the concept and put together a majority of the components. I couldn't have done it without him, so thanks Dad!!

My Design

This bed is something I designed after trying in vain to find something on the Internet that was roughly equivalent. I wanted a full-sized mattress on the bottom bunk and a twin on top. The options in the store and the plans I found weren’t quite right. We saw options we liked but not the whole package. My wife saw on Amazon.com a bunk bed that featured cubicle storage on the end of the bed that doubled as stairs. We saw a simple frame design in another bed that we borrowed. I liked the idea of keeping the existing twin mattresses and so the trundle bed underneath was born.

These are not the best-written instructions, but hopefully it will give you the inspiration you need to build your own. Please let me know if you have any questions, and have fun!

The Bed

These are three bed frames stacked vertically with two end pieces, each made of two legs and a support beam.

Legs/Ends Design

This is as simple as it looks. 3 boards affixed with two bolts at each crossing. So this means 4 bolts to each end. The cross beam is for structural support (keep it from wobbling). I affixed these cross boards on the “inside” or facing the bed because I didn’t want it to get in the way of the cubicles and I thought it looked better.

One End (double the quantity of this parts list to get both ends made)

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
AA	2	2” x 6” x 80”	The legs
AB	1	1” x 6” x 40 ½”	Support beam
Hex bolts	4	3/8” x 3”	2 bolts for one AA/AB union, and 2 for the other AA/AB union
Flat washers	8	3/8”	One on each head end of the bolt and one on each nut end.
Lock washers	4	3/8”	One goes on the bolt just before each nut.

You can assemble this now, or it might be useful to assemble these once the bed boxes are affixed to the legs (as pictured here). This would allow you to position the support beam optimally to ensure a square and level bed. If you’re going to wait, then don’t drill the holes for the bolts until you are ready.

Bed Frames

As the diagram shows, the bed is a 4-board frame with a supporting structure for the mattress. The support structure starts with 1”x2” boards which then support cross-members, which then support a thin particle board sheet that provides a consistent base for the bed. (This is important since the mattresses I used are not box spring style; they need a “box” to lay in.)

Trundle

We start with the trundle bed and will have to repeat this parts list for the top bunk, then bottom bunk, with slight adjustments for each.

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
O	2	1” x 6” x 40 ½”	End boards
P	2	1” x 6” x 77 ¼”	Side boards
Q	2	1” x 2” x 75 ½”	Support rail for side boards
T	2	1” x 2” x 38 ½”	Support rail for end boards
R	7	1” x 3” x 40 ½”	Cross-member supports for the plywood insert
S	1	? x 40” x 76”	This is the plywood insert. The width is up to you but think thin. I believe I picked the thickness around 3/32”.
V	4	¾” x 1 x 6”	These are the “rails” that affix to the end boards – two for each end board and provide the raised separation from your floor.
Sliders	4 (1 pack)		These are a pack of plastics rectangular sliders that affix via adhesive to the bottom of each rail. You might need to adjust the shape and size of your rails to match the sliders you purchase.

First build the large box with parts O and P. Then affix parts Q and T to the bottom edges of the box. Then attach the 7 “R” boards, 1 at each end and then the other 5 spaced evenly across. You can use a nail gun for all of this work; take care to keep things as square as possible. Finally, insert the plywood and nail it down to the cross members; this is your last change to make the box square.

Looking at the top bunk from below. You can see the 1”x2” support board that the cross members are nailed down onto, and the large particle board they are resting on.

Top Bunk

Next build the top similar to the trundle. All dimensions and parts are the same, except we remove the rails. We will add separators in the bed assembly phase.

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
O	2	1” x 6” x 40 ½”	End boards
P	2	1” x 6” x 77 ¼”	Side boards
Q	2	1” x 2” x 75 ½”	Support rail for side boards
T	2	1” x 2” x 38 ½”	Support rail for end boards
R	7	1” x 3” x 40 ½”	Cross-member supports for the plywood insert
S	1	? x 40” x 76”	This is the plywood insert. The width is up to you but think thin. I believe I picked the thickness of around 3/32”.

Bottom Bunk

Next build the top similar to the trundle. All dimensions and parts are the same, except we remove the rails and we add the separators (part “U”).

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
W	2	1” x 6” x 55 ½”	End boards
P	2	1” x 6” x 77 ¼”	Side boards
Q	2	1” x 2” x 75 ½”	Support rail for side boards
Z	2	1” x 2” x 53 ½”	Support rail for end boards
X	7	1” x 3” x 55 ½”	Cross-member supports for the plywood insert
Y	1	? x 55” x 76”	This is the plywood insert. The width is up to you but think thin. I believe I picked the thickness of around 3/32”.

Bed Assembly

After bolting together the two end pieces and after the top and bottom bunks are built, it’s time to put them together. You will need the hardware and separators (part “U”) which will slightly widen the distance between ends of the bed. This will allow the trundle bed to fit more easily underneath.

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
U	4	1” x 6” x 5 ½”	These are separators that are inserted between the box and the legs at one end. I put them on the end opposite the cubicle stairs. (2 for the top bunk, 2 for the bottom bunk.) The purpose is to provide space so that the trundle bed will have room to slide underneath.
Hex bolts	8	3/8” x 3 ½”	Longer bolts are needed to accommodate the spacer (part “U”) end
Hex bolts	8	3/8” x 3”	This is for the end closer to the cubicle stairs
Flat washers	32	3/8”	One on each head end of the bolt and one on each nut end.
Lock washers	16	3/8”	One goes on the bolt just before each nut.

Cubicle Stairs

Incomplete cubicle stairs pictured above. Each box is assembled but not yet attached, and not trim or support boards are in place.

This consists of 4 horizontal boxes with dividers at 14” increments. For stability, a horizontal 1x3 backing board is attached at the back top of each box. (You can see them in the design here). It’s important when putting this together to be consistent on the 14” measurement so that the box above lines up with the box below.

Main Stairs

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
A	16	½” x 18” x 14”	All 4 large boards for the top box and the verticals for the other boxes
B	2	½” x 18” x 28”	Top and bottom pieces for one box
C	2	½” x 18” x 42”	Top and bottom pieces for one box
D	2	½” x 18” x 56”	Top and bottom pieces for the largest box
E	1	1” x 3” x 14”	Backing board for top box
F	1	1” x 3” x 28”	Backing board for next box
G	1	1” x 3” x 42”	Backing board for next box
H	1	1” x 3” x 56”	Backing board for bottom box
I	5	Square bracket 18” lengths of trim	“L” bracketed edging/trim to protect little legs from getting scraped on the boxes; also adds a nice slip guard and look (See note on shortening these in the handrail comment below)
J	4	¾” x 18” lengths	Small thin edging for the bottom stair face of each box to add a nice look (See note on shortening these in the handrail comment below)

Build each of the 4 boxes one at a time. The vertical boards fit inside the top and bottom boards for each box. Having someone help you position each vertical board is really helpful. I also found it a huge help to use a pneumatic nail guns to speed up the process and tack the boards together until screws can be affixed at discrete points. I found the ½” boards to be sufficient, but the engineer inside of me would rather have used ¾” boards for better stability. I’ve learned that over-building just makes the furniture heavy and not pretty or more useful.

Take care to square things up before you start nailing or screwing; I found it difficult to get the pieces square later, even with the help of the 1” x 3” back-support boards.

Stair Rails

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
K	4	1 ½” x 1 ¾” x 30”	These are actually from a 2”x4” board split length-wise down the middle with a table saw. You could do the same with 1”x1” boards but these seemed straighter, and I already had 2”x4” boards on hand.
L	1	1 ½” x 1 ¾” x 52”	Hand rail (again from the 2”x4” board split length-wise)
M	1	1 ½” x 1 ¾” x 17 ½”	Horizontal top rail, again from the “2x4” board
Hex Bolts	8	3/8” x 3”	Used for the vertical handrail posts, holes are drilled near the top and bottom of each box piece where the rail is affixed. See picture for a better idea.
Hex Bolts	3	3/8” x 3 ½”	These affix the hand rail to the vertical posts
Hex Bolts	1	3/8” x 5”	This is needed where the top vertical post, the horizontal rail and the diagonal rail come together in one joint
Flat Washer	24	3/8”
Lock Washer	12	3/8”
Nuts	12	3/8”

Because of the trim used earlier I was forced to dado cuts into the vertical handrail posts. You can avoid this by making the trim shorter so that it doesn’t get in the way of these posts. If you did it the way I did, you will have to do something similar to the above picture. Not a big deal if you have a dado kit for your table saw, or you can use a chisel set or probably some other means. I recommend shortening the trim to skip this step.

Stability

Once fully assembled, the cubicle stairs should be mounted at two points to the bedposts (legs) to improve stability and ensure the stairs and bed stay well connected.

Part	Quantity	Dimensions	Notes
N	2	1” x 3” x 2”	This is just a block used to separate the stairs from the leg but still allow them to be affixed. See picture above.
Hex Bolts	2	3/8” x 3 ½”
Flat Washer	4	3/8”
Lock Washer	2	3/8”
Nuts	2	3/8”

My Quirks

2010-01-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

Over a year ago my dear sweet sister-in-law, Brooke, tagged me for this "Quirks Tag". The challenge is this . . .
- Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
- Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.

So here goes . . .
1. The domino of to-do's. When I notice something needing done, I stop everything to do it. Then, while I'm getting that done, I find something else to do, and stop everything to do it... there's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza.
2. I'm a perfectionist, and it drives me nuts that I'm not perfect at it yet. Still working on this one...
3. My fall asleep routine. Counting. Money, money... My best way to fall asleep started when we had significant credit card debt. I would work out ways of saving pennies and how to get us out of debt while lying in bed. This became a habit, and for years my best way to get to sleep is to plan the Welker economic journey for the next 10 years. When that doesn't work, I count in my head until I fall asleep.
4. Snack food hoarding. This one goes back to my youth. I would save my candy for a rainy day, sometimes for months. It drove my Mom nuts, knowing it was there, so occasionally she would take a piece. So the game was to hide it well enough so I would have it when I was ready, and she would have to come to me to ask. I still have a tendency to candy hoard.
5. Hypermiling. I'm not completely off my rocker on hypermiling, but it's a pretty cool concept. Some people have been known to get more than 100 miles per gallon of fuel, using their non-hybrid, naturally-aspirated engines.
6. The need to be right, or "Macs really are better". I learned to love Macs about 5 years ago, when after using an iPod for a couple of years and after growing tired of regularly having to fix my PC, I finally bought a Mac. I won't get too deep here but I'll state that getting people to understand and listen open-mindedly about the benefits of a Mac over a PC is a bit like trying to talk with a Baptist about the Book of Mormon. Outside of Macs, I'm also generally always right. I admit I have a hard time admitting I'm wrong; it's a known flaw, quirk, or (for my PC friends) you can call it a feature. And I'm working on it. Stay tuned for the next release?

I know everyone already suspected that I'm weird and bizarre. Now you know.

I probably don't know enough bloggers to tag 6, so I'll just leave you to enjoy my quirks, and if you haven't done it already, consider yourself tagged.

Shadow Boxing

2010-01-02T08:38:00.001-08:00

This year our family decided to do homemade gifts for each other. I drew Emily's name and, at Karen's suggestion, I decided to make a shadowbox.

I first looked online to learn about shadowboxes. Turns out there are lots of types with varying complexities, but a shadowbox is basically a piece of furniture that has one to many boxes to allow for storage and display of small collectibles. They can hang or stand on their own decoratively. I was really disappointed with the pictures and plans I found online. Plans were sparse, some cost money, and none appeared to be what I wanted. So I decided to make my own plans. Here is what I came up with:

After designing the layout, lengths, etc. I had to label each wooden piece to make sure I bought the right amount of wood and kept track of each piece during the creative process. (numbered circles on each piece in the plan)

My first and biggest problem was figuring out how to fit all the pieces together. I decided to go with a dado cut at each intersection, and make the pieces fit together like a puzzle. I had to purchase a dado blade set for my table saw and figure out how to make the cut fully square and at just the right depth.

Example dado cut

Two pieces of wood with these dado cuts fit together in a perpendicular fashion, and with enough of these cuts in just the right places, you have the start of a really sturdy shadowbox. This picture shows the back nailed on, but it was stand up just fine without the backing, because of the way the dado cuts fit together so snugly.

I was really happy with the way it fit together overall. Here I'm planning the top shelf and positioning of the doors. My designed called for heart shapes cut out of the doors, but I decided they looked nice without.

Piecing together the shadow box, before anything was nailed together.

Here is the shadow box and hung in Emily's room, with a few of E's creations on display.

It took a lot longer than I had thought it would, but overall I'm really happy with it. Love you, Emily!

Imagination Sold and Serviced Here

2010-01-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

I took two weeks off work in December, not so much that I had vacation plans but that I wanted to see what it was like to not work for two weeks. Turns out it's pretty awesome. And, depending on how you look at it you might even think I accomplished a thing or two.

Shadow Box. See previous blog.

Time with family. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Karen and the kids. Santa brought the kids Rock Band II, with two guitars, a drum set, two mics, Lego Rock Band, and the piece de resistance called Beatles Rock Band. We had a great time rockin out. Every one of them have turned out to be professional-grade rockers, including Lucy and Karen on guitar. (I caught Karen on more than one occasion stealing upstairs to play "just a song or two".)

Just-opened Rock Band

Lucy rockin out

Downtown excursion. We explored the downtown Houston tunnels, found something to eat, and enjoyed a really awesome rendition of The Nutcracker at the Wortham Theater Center. We entered at the top and walked down fairly steep steps into our row of balcony seats. Randy experienced a bit of vertigo coming into the theater, and we thought he might not make it through the show. He sat beside me, not the least bit interested in being there, but once the show started he actually watched, and daresay enjoyed it.

The kids at the Wortham Center

Lucy in the balcony, awaiting the start of The Nutcracker.

Game day. We had a full day of gaming with the Gardner family. The whole clan came over to the house and we had a great time. We played Die Macher most of the day while the kids played upstairs on Rock Band, Runebound, and so forth. I learned I'm not cut out to be 'die macher'; that title went quite handily to Chad.

Karen contemplates her next move on Bandu.

Z Machine. This is not a German vernacular but refers to Frotz, the game interpreter I spent hours and hours running over the holiday. I discovered the free download on iPhone app on the Apple Store. Turns out Frotz can run Zork and any other Z-based program.

(Cut scene. Fade into my boyhood bedroom, where as a young teenager I spent hours and hours playing Zork on my Commodore 64.) Try as I might, my 1980's young genius mind was not able to solve all of puzzles found in the Zork game. (Zoom onto my boyish hands and fade out as they pound the keyboard in frustration, the thief having just slit my virtual throat with his virtual stiletto knife.)

Some of you older farts might recall those old text-based games ... Zork being one of the most popular. (Geeks: Frotz is an open-source Z Machine Interpreter.) In these games, there are no graphics. The fun is left to the glowing words on the screen and your imagination. Input is in the form of words, phrases, and sentence. ("Pick up lantern" "Open the mailbox." "Climb the tree") In my opinion Zork is one of the best computer games ever made, and I had a blast playing it again after all these years.

A highlight was completely mapping out the maze, which I never understood all those years ago. I spent hours and hours more solving puzzles, but after several days focused effort I was still not victorious. I read a hint site or two to confirm with satisfaction how much I had solved, but disheartened at just how much was still left to be conquered. I made the sad but careful decision to put the game away, for now. I'm not through with you yet, Zork. Maybe when I'm 50 or 60 I'll pull you out again, and conquer what remains of your puzzles and surprises. One eye open.

Buckets O Fun. We had lots of other fun this holiday, but I'll spare you some of the details and just highlight: Pillars of the Earth board game, Sherlock Holmes movie, Avatar movie, Alamo Drafthouse calzones, tickling Lucy, Tyler "Jimi Hendrix" Welker on guitar, Randy on Tribes 2, Emily's hugs (and her really awesome hand-made gift of pieces for Agricola!)... Suffice to say it was a great vacation.

Now, before everyone comes home, I'd better go find a guitar, a mic, and that Beatles game. "Ooh I need your love, Babe. Guess you know it's true...."

My Favorite Poem

2009-12-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

About six years ago Tyler wrote a poem in his 2nd grade class. Reading & writing aren't Tyler's favorite subjects, but it turns out he's great at both. I don't know if Ms. Hall gets full credit given Tyler's primed, genius imagination, but she still deserves thanks. Thanks Ms. Hall!

Look at that sky!

Look at that sky!

With the fluffy clouds.

I see an airplane going about,

and blue and white birds too.

The sun will shine forever,

the moon will glow forever.

I'll dream about the stars

tonight.

I love the sky.

- Tyler Welker

Ms Hall's 2nd Grade Class, September 2003

Love you, Ty!

25 Random Things

2009-02-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is something I posted on Facebook, but since I haven't had much time lately for blogging, I thought I would publish it here as well.

1. I'm pretty much a geek.
2. I have 4 kidneys and I don't drink (okay that's two things... 5 if you're counting closely)
3. I can say the alphabet backward and know pi to the 10th decimal place.
4. I was adopted at birth.
5. I have a deep need to stay connected to friends but...
6. I am not comfortable being around lots of people.
7. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
8. I love Apple products, especially my iMacs.
9. I would be happy eating Mexican food every day.
10. I lived in the same house until I was 18.
11. I was awarded the Wayne Wymore award for engineering excellence in 1989. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Wayne_Wymore
12. I'm not an engineer by trade.
13. I used to drive a motorcycle and really miss it. (Blue Honda Nighthawk 750)
14. I don't like being the center of attention, especially in front of a crowd or when I'm put on the spot.
15. I get migraine headaches when I eat food with MSG or caffeine.
16. I love food with MSG and caffeine. Most notably: Doritos, Coke, asian dishes, great chocolate, sauces, dressings...
17. I love dating my wife.
18. All my fingers can to a funny double-jointed thing where I can bend the top joint while keeping the middle one straight.
19. I am very conservative and a strong faith.
20 (Old). I love ketchup? Well I thought I loved ketchup, but after hearing suggested uses for ketchup from true ketchup lovers, I think I just really like it.
20 (New). I love Peanut Butter! It's great to eat with Grape Nuts. Or on a toasted sandwich with bacon. Or on a sandwich with honey and banana. Or on apples. Or with chocolate!
21. I love to cook... my friends call me a food snob.
22. I can't wait to be a grandpa.
23. I met a guy at Disneyworld last year who won the Wayne Wymore award. He's not an engineer, either.
24. I love the idea of woodworking and wish I had more time, tools, and room for it.
25. I can speak Dutch and served a church mission in Belgium.

It's a Wonderful Vacation

2009-01-04T06:27:00.000-08:00

We've had a fun-filled Christmas and New Year's holiday and I want to share a few highlights.

Gingerbread houses. Karen did a fantastic job as usual making the gingerbread pieces and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the creative process. Karen didn't enjoy making the pieces so much, because she had to form each piece prior to cooking. I've proposed we take Aunt Elaine's approach next year, which is to bake the gingerbread first, then cut it.

Sugar Cookies. Emily, Lucy and I enjoyed making sugar cookies for Santa. We had lots of fun picking out cutters and rolling and tasting the dough. Yummy!

Christmas Eve. We had the Bown's come over for our Christmas Eve dinner. They're new in the ward so we enjoyed getting acquitanted and telling them too many family secrets. The turkey was wonderful (thanks Karen!) and the company was even better. I read the traditional Christmas story from selected verses out of the scriptures, then Karen gathered the kids and read them 'Twas the Night before Christmas with our special pop-up book. We had a wonderful time.

Games, games, games. We got lots of games for Christmas and gave several a spin around the block. Tyler loves the Risk 2210 and we had Josh Lund come over to play it. The good news is that it's limited to 5 turns; the bad news is the game can still last 3 hours, give or take. Other favorites include Killer Bunnies (thanks Andrew!), Catan expansions, and the Race for the Galaxy expansion.

Deluxe sights & sounds. We bought an audio system for Christmas to match our t.v. on the wall, along with a blu-ray player. Incredible! Horton Hears a Who was an amazing experience.

Karen finished Lucy's afghan. It's beautiful! Karen's like a machine and is now working on one for Tyler. Camouflage colors this time...

New Year's Eve at the Bleazard's. About 1/2 dozen families and probably 20-25 children. Lots of fireworks. Wii Rockband. Lots of snacks. A very silly game (Things) and too much information shared between friends. It was a wonderful time!

Bowling with Randy. He loves bowling and had money to burn, so we went to Times Square and bowled a couple of games. He's really good, and even got a solid strike. Go Randy!!

Dates with Karen. This was a personal favorite. The Alamo Drafthouse is great fun - nothing special in terms of the food or the audio/visual, but ther pre-movie entertainment (corny old video shorts, old t.v. ads, and other themed humor) and eating in the theater make for good fun. The food is good (I recommend the Hawaiian Calzone) and the Italian Soda's are great (although I like an apple Sprite best).

Lots of nothing. Movies, t.v. shows, naps, playing with kids, eating too much, etc. Also, lots of catching up with old friends.

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation.

Home and back to the grind

2008-11-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in a while and not feeling super inspired but I'd better put a few thoughts down. It looks like we made it back from Walt DisneyWorld in one piece. Quite the drive! It's about 15 or 16 hours. We stayed the night in Tallahassee both coming and going. I had hotel points from all the traveling I've been doing for work so I was able to pay for two rooms (my parents and us) on the way there.

Every little bit helps! For those who have never been, WDW is very expensive. But it's not without justification. It is probably one of the best, if not THE best theme parks in the world. It's basically supply & demand and they can certainly demand the price. Depending on how much you're willing to spend, a week for a family of 4 can run you between $4,000 and 12,000 after you factor in travel, sleeping arrangements, entrance fees, food, etc. We stayed in the Contemporary which is the cheapest of the hotels on the monorail line. It's a very nice place to stay and SO convenient. In fact the monorail is probably one of our favorite things about the WDW experience.

Karen will Probably blog about our trip (she'd better), so I won't dig too deeply into the details, but we had a fabulous time. What I will say however is that we have decided at this point we're not addicted to WDW as are many of the people we know. We'll probably go again in 3 years or so for the kids, but our thoughts of returning for a wedding anniversary are souring; we'll probably go somewhere else.

Work has been very stressful as I've been given an assignment that is already fully underway (I'm taking over for someone who has to take a leave of absence). It's a role where I have little experience but the assignment is highly visible to the client and critical in terms of how they view my company's ability to delivery quality & value. It's a fairly short but intense assignment; I could feasibly be through by March, possibly stay on another year for the next release if things go well (I have doubts about my abilities but we'll see). My vacation days for the WDW trip had to be trimmed so I could visit the Netherlands to learn the job assignment from the person who is leaving. And I need to get right back to it, so I will not be taking any vacation days this coming week. I'm also not expecting much relaxation around Christmas and New Year's Day.

Anyway, the trip to WDW was much needed but not the relaxing experience it could have been due to the anxiety I'm feeling about doing a good job on this assignment. I haven't felt this much anxiety about work (or school) in many, many years; maybe never. I'm hoping things go well and it was worry for nothing. Wish me luck! :D

Puffs of Smack, Corn, Hot Air

2008-11-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

Today I discovered I am not the only popcorn food snob in Katy, Texas. The 'other guy' is our friend Jordan Marcks. (See him HERE in his popcorn get-up.)

So I asked Jordan about his popcorn secrets and he was happy to share. I shared mine, which I was surprised were very different. Then, for the sucker punch I mentioned Toasted Cheerios, my wife's salty snack favorite.

Before I go too far, I have to tell you I'm a pretty heavy hitter when it comes to popcorn. I have roots going back to my younger days, at the feet of my Dad who made popcorn just about every Sunday. My Dad's popcorn was amazingly delicious... light popcorn with just the right amount of salt and oil. Dad's popcorn is very 'by the book' - 1/4 cup oil, 1 cup popcorn, into the Stir Crazy. After the popcorn pops, Dad's trick is to first salt the popped bowl of corn, then dump half into a bigger bowl, salt again, then dump the rest into the bigger bowl and salt a final time.

This was heaven until I discovered a few things in the mid-90's:

Butter. I always thought butter was something that went extinct in the 60's (kids, that was before I was born). Apparently it's not a myth and it did not become extinct. There is a thriving underground butter trade and I ran into it around the mid-90's.
It IS possible to improve upon mother's (and father's) cooking. This revelation alone is probably worth its own blog, but just go with me on this.
Systems Engineering. Over the 90's my study of this auspicious degree developed within me the need to "make it better"... this degree essentially challenges - nay, compels the follower to "make it better" (whatever "it" happens to be).

Identifying "Bad system design" has been my quest ever since. (Did you realize making popcorn can, in fact, be described as a process within a system?)

So here is my ultimate "Bring it on, Jordan!" popcorn:

Don your kitchen garb - whatever keeps you clean.
Place 2 Tbsp. butter in a small microwave-safe teacup or mug and place in the microwave.
Get out a large bowl and next to it place your Morton popcorn salt.
In a Stir Crazy electric popper (we're on our 4th popper; I'm open to suggestions), add 3 Tbsp peanut oil and 1 scant cup Orville Reddenbacher popcorn, cover and plug in.
Melt the butter for 20 seconds. You could do this at step 2 but I want it to be warmer so this is the habit I've gotten into. Set the microwave for 8 seconds but don't start it.
Grab the popper on both sides with some mittens or 'hot pads' and start to gently shake the popper, pushing away and pulling towards you in swift, gentle motions. This helps the popper evenly distribute heat over the kernels since the oil is really what distributes the heat, not the bottom of the heating unit. It also lessens the chance of burning and increases the number of popped kernels.
Instead of hot pads, you might want to consider using a rag to wrap over the top of the contraption to prevent burning, or wearing a coat or long gloves, as the oil can and will splatter. (I usually use a rag but didn't in the pictures here so you could see what I was doing.)
When the first few kernels pop (it's just starting to get going), speed over to the microwave and press Start.
Bring the butter back to the popper and set aside.
Continue to shake the popper, until it's really going strong and a quarter to a third of the popcorn is popped.
Grab the butter, lift the top lid and dump the butter in. Quickly close the lid, then turn the teacup/mug upside down into the waiting bowl so the remaining butter will be captured. Mmmm...
Continue to shake the popper, a bit more vigorously now so that the butter will drip all around into the popping frenzy.
Because you used a high-smoke point oil and because there are no sugars, you're safe letting the popcorn pop a few seconds beyond the last kernel pops. In fact I probably wait longer but I enjoy the half-popped old maids and the nutty flavor left over by the cooking at the very end. This part is up to you.
When popping is finished, unplug the Stir Crazy and turn it upside-down, removing the heating unit. Salt quickly, dump half into the big bowl, salt again, dump the remainder, then salt again. Now, using your clever chef skills, give the popcorn many good tosses to shake it up and spread around all the salty, buttery goodness.
Enjoy!

Couple of notes: Don't skimp on the butter; it's delicious! I use peanut oil because it has a high smoke-point and is tasty. (Cinemas used to use cottonseed and peanut oil.) It's the high smoke point that keeps the flavor pure. I sometimes use Canola oil and it works just as well and is healthier. Popcorn salt is formulated with much smaller crystals, which results in more even popped kernel dusting. I'm sure there is a scientific term for this.

So, other than a secret jealousy for his popper (all metal, stove top style), and a curiosity for his different (and healthier) choice of ingredients, I left Jordan's house with a challenge in the air. He threw back the threat of "popcorn night showdown". Huh!

Am I scared? No, just hungry!

House Full of Canon

2008-10-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

Our brand-new Canon EOS Rebel XSi camera arrived in the mail this week and we're excited!!

(Actually two of them came. After ordering from Dell, then learning the camera would not ship for another week, I got them to cancel my order then bought one through Amazon.com. Meanwhile, Dell shipped our camera anyway. Long story short, the Dell product is on a UPS truck heading back to the warehouse, and my credit card is eager for a store credit.)

I know that was impatient of me to not be able to wait a week for my new camera. But the way I see it, our trip to DisneyWorld is fast-approaching (34 days, 16 hours, and 19 minutes as of this writing), and since Karen crowned me the photojournalist for the trip I figure I need as much time as possible to learn the whole "DSLR" way of taking pictures.

The need for a new camera started its real fever just over a week ago, when my wife blogged ab out the flowers I sent her. The picture was awful, and this was more or less the tipping point. She had a right to complain. Our point-and-shoot camera (a Fujifilm Finepix E900) has never taken pictures that were very good - usually snowy, not clear at any zoom level, bad battery life and generally very disappointing. What's frustrating about this is that we bought it on recommendation from Consumer Reports. Note to my beloved readers: Do not use Consumer Reports for decisions on any sort of electronics.

So it turns out one of Karen's friends has been blogging about her camera and her pictures are wonderful. And her other friend's pictures are wonderful. And her sister's pictures are wonderful, and our sister-in-law's pictures are great... and, well, you get the idea. It was time to go camera shopping.

... We interrupt this blog for a guilty conscious moment.

Alright I have to be honest. I've dreamt of buying a fancy SLR for a long time now. I'm a pretty patient fellow. Despite the long talks with people who know (you know who you are) and the many strolls through the photography section of Best Buy, I have not pushed very hard for one of these gizmos. You could say there might have been a subconcious part of my psyche that conceived of buying one, final, terrible "point and shoot" camera that would then bring Karen to ask for an expensive Digital SLR. And you would either be correct or slightly delusional. And who am I to judge? But I'm not actually here to dispute the past, just revel in the present....

I have to give most of the credit selecting this camera to my brother in-law, Joseph Scott. Thanks Joe! He is a walking photography encyclopedia. For those thinking about buying a camera, I would recommend talking with him first. As I struggled to make my final purchase his advice helped me finally do it. In the end, I bought a Canon EOS Rebel XSi, two 8 GB HDSD high speed memory cards, an HDSD memory reader, and a fantastic book to teach us how to take good pictures called "Understanding Exposure".

Our camera is amazing!

Notes: The first picture on this blog was taken with the Fujifilm. If you look at the large version you might see some of the snow (maybe better called hail than snow). The other pictures were taken using the auto mode on our new camera.

Building Bridges

2008-10-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday a group of us from our Church spent last Saturday in Bridge City, TX helping those who were flooded by Hurricane Ike. There were probably 200-300 volunteers from our area who drove about two hours east of Houston to help those who are still clearing the mess left by the storm. Until the mess has been cleared, there can be no rebuilding.

The overwhelming storm surge left tremendous flooding in areas that might have otherwise fared well. Other than a faint water line about halfway up the first story of the houses, the outside structures of these homes looked relatively normal. On the inside, however, there is a much different story: Rotting wood, sheet rock, insulation, food and other items left behind; Mold growing up the sides of walls and furniture; Cups, pots, and bread makers inside china hutches and on shelves full of water.

We met at our church building at 5 a.m. then drove the 2+ hour trip to receive work orders. We found our assignments and promptly put ourselves to work. We worked throughout the day "mucking out houses". This is a process that involves removing flooring (carpet, linoleum, tile and wood, etc.), sheet rock, furniture, insulation, cabinetry, and so forth. Much of the items are moldy and rotten, requiring us to wear protective breathing masks.

It was a bittersweet experience to sit with one of the homeowners and talk with her about her losses and hopes. It was heartwarming to see how unshaken her faith is. She spoke of rebuilding her home, and that she sees an opportunity to design her home the way she wants it. What a great example.

Many in the area kept up their humor, posting clever signs ("for sale", "everything must go", "don't loot or we'll shoot", etc.) We also witnessed children in water fights and laughing. For all the problems these good people are facing, they are incredibly resilient.

As my friend Brad Green, who was one of the volunteers from our congregation put it, "The devastation is overwhelming. Imagine 5 feet of sea-water inside your home.... and then to see everything you own sitting at the curbside about to be hauled away. Many tears were shed. Please keep the good folks of this area in your prayers."

My faith was strengthened and my heart warmed by this experience.

Thanks to Brad for the pictures in this blog.

Handy Randy

2008-09-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Randy and I did a little garage project. This is the 3rd woodworking weekend in a row for me, if you include the shelves weekend and the week in-between when I helped with the roof.

Randy needed to complete a woodworking project for his cub scout project, so rather than making a birdhouse Karen and I thought he could help me build a workbench in the garage. He went with me to Home Depot and was a real trooper, helping me pick out all the materials. This was a bit difficult with all the post-Ike home repair projects in full flight and supplies low.

I decided to use the old 4x4 legs from the beds I had made for Tyler and Randy - when I had split their bunk beds to make loft beds. The 4x4 lengths made excellent bench legs. Randy got a little bored with the project but came out and started driving nails. After that, I pretty much could not get rid of him. He loves that hammer! And he's very good at it.

We put up a bench with a "step" or "seat" on one side that I thought the kids could use to help with projects, or I could just sit things on it. We also put up peg board and hung some tools from it.

Great job, Randy!!

Ooh it's hot up there

2008-09-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

After the ravages of the hurricane our church meetings were cancelled today. There were too many people with hurricane aftermath problems that needed attention.

I got a call today from Brother Bleazard who needed a ladder to work on the Gillett's roof. So I spent an hour or two on the roof with Br. Bleazard putting tarps over holes. I did it barefoot because I could get a better grip on the steep roof - was great idea until the sun came out. Br. Bleazard used to work on roofs so was very good with safety and making sure we were roped and tied to prevent falling off. But even still I was very glad to get down and be done with it.

While I was on the roof I got another war wound on my thumb. The first was from my shelf wood-work (see earlier blog) and mashed my thumb with a hammer, the second was when I was splitting some hamburger patties and whacked the same thumb with the spatula, and the last was with a hammer on the roof. The last one split it open - it was pretty gross. And for those who know how well I do with the sight of my own blood, I got a little nervous standing on the top of a 2-story roof with my blood drops staining the shingles and tarp everywhere... I worked through it and made it off the roof in one piece.

What a blessing to have nothing better to do that help out my neighbor with his roof problems. How could I refuse that opportunity? I just keep thinking about how little damage we had to our house and in our neighborhood in general - we are so blessed!

Saturday night and all is well

2008-09-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

I just want to report quickly that all appears to be well with the Jason and Karen Welker family. The kids slept well last night despite the scary howling winds. The power started going in and out sporadically from around 1:30 a.m. until about 5:30 a.m., when it went out completely. What made that fun is that our bed mattress is an air mattress (Select Comfort) and during the night whenever the power would go out, it would beep at us. What a ridiculous idea for a bed alarm! Let me sleep for crying out loud! Other than loss of a/c it was almost a relief to have it out.

The kids had a rough time today without a/c, t.v., computers, Wii, etc. By about 2 p.m. we decided it was time to solve the lack of power. A couple of our neighbors had purchased generators and they hummed smoothly all day long. We weren't able to find a generator within 300 miles. My parents called and volunteered to bring us one from Flagstaff (they're on a wedding anniversary trip). So they bought one and we agreed to meet them halfway (Lubbock Texas). After a 20 minute drive we got a call from Ned, our neighbor, telling us the power was back on. We came home and called Mom and Dad and aborted the trip to Lubbock.

What a blessing! No real house damage (bent exhaust chimney pipe and a loose piece on the roof but that's about it). The dog survived and the fish are still swimming.

I'm thankful for the prayers and thoughts of our friends and family. I know those prayers were heard and am grateful for the power of prayer.

I do not like Ike; no, I do not like him, Sam I am

2008-09-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

------------------------
Would you like them here or there?

I would not like them here or there.
I would not like them anywhere.
------------------------

I'm going to agree with the unnamed guy from "Green Eggs and Ham" on this on. I'd just as soon not taste the effects of a hurricane. But, if we must then I think we're about as ready as we're going to be.

We should be okay I think. Good news is that depending on where Ike makes landfall we should have a good bit of land to slow it down before it hits us - between 50 to 90 miles most likely. We are in the direct path depending on which model you look at. Yesterday the "favored" model showed the eye of the hurricane going directly over our community, but today that model tracks Ike further east (by about 15 miles). Some models show the hurricane passing us to the south then west, which would not be as good. Being on the west side of a hurricane is usually better because the rain and debris has dissipated somewhat. The east side is typically where the accumulation of debris and heavier rain bears down, and is often called the "dirty side".

We've filled the bathtubs with water, put up our trampoline and other outside stuff, clean and cleared rooms, and made a place in Karen's closet for the kids to sleep tonight through the storm (no windows). The kids are excited. My only real concern is that we didn't board up the windows. Then again, most of the neighborhood didn't do it either.

Wish us luck!

The pains of progress (and putting up shelves)

2008-09-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

So it's been, what, two and a half years since we moved into this house? We're slowly but surely organizing things. It's not that I don't want organization but I need to space my projects far enough apart so that I forget how painful they are. Case in point: my most recent inspiration - the shelves I installed in the garage.

We have a 3-car garage and we make a point of using it. This is a tangent worth of its own blog, but let's just say most people in Texas seem to think the garage is for everything but cars.

We have two cars, so currently the 3rd bay has served as a catch-all. Unfortunately it's been catching too much. Also the back section of the garage has been poorly used and I got the idea that I could do something with the vertical space.So I took my inspiration from a show I saw many months ago - the DIY Network's Wasted Spaces (search for "Sports Garage Makeover"). I went to Home Depot and bought myself some lumber and screws and away I went fixing the problem. I built three shelves hanging side by side from the back of the garage.

What I did wrong:

With the first shelf, I built the shelf completely before raising it up and screwing it in. This meant the shelf was heavier and had nothing to brace it while screwing it in place. Karen and I together were barely able to hold and secure it. For the 2nd and 3rd shelves I screwed the 2x4 horizontal support into the wall , then laid the particle boad shelf frame onto that while securing the hanging 2x4 supports. MUCH easier.
I used the wrong length 2x4 to make the first hanging support. I didn't realize this until it was fully secured. What's the saying about measuring twice, cutting once?
I nailed the metal braces into the ceiling joists instead of screwing them in. I should have used screws but didn't realize this until after the first two shelves were up. I'm planning to go back and add some "L" braces to the 4 hanging supports, as well as a middle support to those first two shelves with screwed-in metal braces.
Smashed my thumb.

So at just under $100, two days hard labor, 3 dozen bent nails, two broken drill bits, one broken Dremel cutter, and one very smashed thumb I'm pretty happy with the results.

Next garage project will be to build some additional shelves along the far wall and underneath the hanging shelves. One section will have a workbench space. I can't wait!

Et tu Gustav?

2008-08-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

I've been working in New Orleans pretty much all summer now. I have a team from all over the eastern U.S. who fly in every week to lend a hand to the project. On Wednesday it was decided this week to stay home and avoid the hurricane. So it strikes me a little funny our fine little storm is ever so slowly tracking closer to Texas. I wonder, if it continues to track further west, should we pack up and drive to New Orleans to avoid the hurricane? And while I'm there, maybe I can get some work done...

It appears Gustav is heading more or less our way, and by Labor Day we may be packing it up. I actually don't think we'll be leaving home unless the perfect situation emerges so that the size and bearing make even inland Katy at serious risk. After hurricane Rita and our 8 hour trip to San Antonio I think we've learned quite a bit about running from the weather. One is that these storms are difficult to predict. Another is how to prepare, and another is when to run.

So far, it's not tracking close enough or predicted to be large enough for Katy, Texas to worry too much. I've always said that coming from the desert, even the rain is a fascinating event I never tire of. But I have to admit hurricanes are a little over the top, even for me.

So, after our bout with Rita, I have to wonder...

Ty and Em Disco!

2008-08-23T09:47:00.001-07:00

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It's blog, it's blog..

2008-08-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

I couldn't think of a better way to to kick off my blog except with the Log song. So, think up the tune or look it up, then sing along... it's bLog!

"What rolls down stairs alone or in pairs
Rolls over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack and fits on your back?
It's bLog, bLog, bLog!

It's bLog, bLog, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's bLog, bLog, it's better than bad, it's good!
Everyone wants a bLog! You're gonna love it, bLog!
Come on and get your bLog! Everyone needs a bLog!"

- (slightly altered) "Log" by Ren & Stimpy