Asymptomatic

There must be intelligent life down here

Hail Hail
April 27, 2006

A morning or two ago between 5 and 6 am and while everyone was catching their last hour of sleep, there was a strange noise on the roof. A bit like rain at first, but then obviously louder. Suddenly there was lightning, thunder, and the persistent white noise of hail hitting the roof.

Hail isn’t a usual occurrance around here (is it anywhere?), especially in late April. Even when it does hail, it usually only does it a little bit and then stops or turns to rain. By the time you actually get outside to see it, it’s usually quite melted and unimpressive. This time the hail lasted for a while, and even accumulated a bit. It was just cold enough outside that it didn’t all melt suddenly, and there was no follow-up rain to wash it away.

The hail storm was exciting and foreboding all at once. Riley was awakened by one of the noises, probably the hail, and came to lay with us in our bed for safety. Abby didn’t even realize it had happened until afterward. Berta and I were awake partly because of the hail, partly because of the squeaking boy. After a while of listening to the hail hit the roof and windows, I just had to take a look outside to see what was going on.

Get a Great Headshot!
April 26, 2006

I’ve been envying some of the great headshots that people have out on the web. Even people who are not traditionally “pretty” can have headshots that flatter their facial features. Why can’t I have a headshot that looks as good as some of these?

After long last, I have discovered how to get the best headshot possible for publication on your web site. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, and you can do most of it yourself at home, provided you have the right materials at hand. You might even be able to produce a better headshot than the fantastic self-made ones you see online! Here’s how it works…

Find Me a Router
April 25, 2006

Well, I’ve had enough. I’ve got a stack of routers in my little home network area, and none of them performs like I want.

Currently, my home network serves approximately 12 devices (computers and computer-like appliances), and provides telephone service via Vonage VoIP. Not all of the devices are used simultaneously, and not all of them are in locations convenient to the router. I have always-on needs for the telephone and for at least two of the connected PCs, which serve files and function as my desktop when I’m connected remotely. I often find myself at less able and lower powered computers than my home PC, so using Remote Desktop to access my home desktop is quite handy.

Somewhere on the network there is a printer, which I have no intent of attaching to any specific PC, whether it’s on continuously or not.

The trouble is that no router I’ve found has the reliability and features that I need. Perhaps I need a combination of devices to build me network. But I’m pretty frustrated with what I have now.

Abby's Birthday Weekend
April 24, 2006

After Abby’s ballet class on Saturday, at which they handed out their recital costumes, we all went on a little outing for Abby’s birthday.

The rain killed our idea to go to the zoo, since we didn’t want to be outside in the rain. Instead, we offered Abby the choice of several places to go - The Aquarium, The Franklin Institute, The Please Touch Museum. In the end, she chose the Oasis Family Fun Center.

We’ve been there a couple of times before, which I have written about. Both she and Riley seem to like it enough to make it memorable. This adventure, though, the toddler area was partially closed off. Perhaps there was a roof leak or something?

Abby and Riley crawled around in thetunnels and slides for an hour or so. Berta and I followed Riley around to keep the big kids from trampling him. Near the end of our visit, he became interested in a little red-headed girl, and started doing things to “impress” her, like pressing his face against the playground netting and smooshing up his nose in a funny way. She was not impressed, turning her head away in an exasperated expression. Riley didn’t give up, though, and eventually she resisted going off with her parents to play on the playground in lieu of hanging out with Riley. Yeah, he’s a cutie.

We hardly saw Abby. She spent all of her time up in the tubes and sliding down the slides. I had to chase her through the thing to get her to come out when we were ready to go. That was exhausting.

Sunday we had the actual Birthday party. Abby insisted on chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Berta had tried to make a cake on Saturday night, but there were some issues.