Weekend Fun
16
Aug
This weekend was fun. Reed was no longer suffering from Foot Hand Hoof and Mouth Disease virus infection and was in high spirits. Of course, the sugar overdose helped:
We played some hide and seek in the closet:
Reed even discovered that it is easy to get in than to get out:
So, we have a problem…
16
Aug
I posted a few days ago on making cheap, homemade, wonderful iced coffee. Today, this is what our countertop looked like:
But, tomorrow, we will have two pitchers of regular and two pitchers of decaf and all will be well… and my left hand will finally stop shaking.
My must-have iPad apps
10
Aug
A good friend of mine recently asked me what iPad apps I can’t live without. Here they are and why:
Reading:
Kindle – It’s like adding $140 to the value of your iPad. Amazon has the widest selection of ebooks and you can sync everything up with your computer (and kindle, and iphone….). Hint, read your books in portrait mode, not landscape. For some odd reason, I get a vast amount of reading done that way.
The other eBooks apps. They are free and you might find what you can’t find on Amazon there. I have the iBooks, Borders, and Barnes and Noble apps. If you are loading your own pdf or ebooks onto the device, I would use iBooks or Stanza.
Instapaper – the holy grail of internet reading. I have my google reader, iPad browser, and computer browser all set up with Instapaper bookmarklets. When I come across an extended article, I throw it into my Instapaper account and read it at my leisure. Now, I rarely loose a worthwhile read in the shuffle of daily life.
ComicZeal4 – The best comics reader, hands down. If you know, you know. Also check out DC Comics, Mavel Comics, and ComiXology (which powers both the DC and Marvel apps). I will start to buy a redic amount of comics when they open up trades for purchase.
Bible – I really can’t find a good mix of readability, good translations, price, and note taking in any Bible app. ESV’s one is pretty good, but I don’t like to use the translation. OliveTree’s stuff makes some good strides, but is expensive. Likewise with Logos. Bible, which is put out by lifechurch.tv is what I ultimately find myself using most often.
Snap into a Iced Coffee!
10
Aug
When I think of enthusiasm and food, I always go to Randy “the Machoman” Savage and his heartfelt enthusiasm for Slim Jims. I share Randy’s enthusiasm for food products, but I direct mine towards coffee, not salted animal purée, as you can see ( –>)
Yesterday I rediscovered instructions for making Iced Cold Press Coffee and decided to make some. I love the stuff that Dunn Bros makes, but I don’t wanna pay $3.30 for a glass or $10 for a gallon.
The instructions that I found were kinda sparse (but more than adequate). So, here is what I did with as many pictures as possible.
Step 1: Measure out the Coffee and Water
The recipe I read called for 1 cup of beans for 4.5 cups of water. That will kill a horse. I went with (and loved) 1 cup of beans for 6 cups of water.
Step 2: Mix’em
Grind up ‘dem beans and drop ‘em in the pitcher
Combine it with the water and you will get a whole heaping of horrid:
(Above: what I got when I googled “Twilight + Misogyny”)
Step 3: Chill for 12 hours
This is often the hardest part. Most of the food I make is made on the fly and made because I get a hanker’n for it. The idea of waiting 12 hours to get 6 cups of wonderfulness? Now that is difficult. But so is saying cool drinking coffee in the summer.
Step 4: Packaging
Ok, so maybe this is the hardest part. You can, like I initially did, just strain it a cup at a time. (->) But, I wanted to go a step further and package it up all nice like.
The folks at Dunn Bros have their Cold Press Ice Coffee all bottled up and fancy looking. So, I got to looking around and came across some old Heartland Milk jugs.
I grabbed a tall glass and a strainer and strained the coffee cup by cup. This took a while, but my little boy is sick, so I just alternated holding him and straining the coffee.
The outcome was pretty snazzy:
Step 5: Enjoy
Once all of the above was done, I took Reed outside and enjoyed the fruits of my labor while reading a good book:
But, after 5 minutes, I noticed it was well above 90 degrees and it was still “the morning,” so Reed and I went inside where sitting was not sweating.
Fruits and Veggies
23
Jul
While Reed’s favorite thing on the planet is red meat, he also loves his veggies and fruits:
Meredith boldly loves me as no one has before
20
Jul
Meredith found me a replica of the latest Enterprise for my desk. Oh yeah.
Reed is our little MAN
20
Jul
Interesting, according to this report, I am just mimicking my parent’s behavior.
Meredith and I try to get Reed to listen to children’s music, watch children’s TV, and eat baby-type food. But, the boy just won’t have it. He loves to dance to the Flotbots and Wax Tailor but becomes disinterested in children’s songs. We try to feed him mashed up whatnots, but he’d gotta be able to pick it up and eat it himself. If mom and dad are eating it, he has to as well. His favorite food? Mom and Dad’s Chipotle.
Be gone Veggie Tales and Backyardigans, bring on Avatar and Sesame Street (ok, so that last one doesn’t really fit).
Oh, and if Mom and Dad are doing it, so is he. It is wonderful to watch him intensely observe the world with the goal of mastering it. Meredith and I watch our TV through Netflix through our Xbox. Reed, for the past week has been snapping his head back and forth between the 360 controller and the TV when we set up shows. Now, instead of just grabbing and smashing the 360 controller (when he can get his hands on it), he now skillfully presses button on the controller and snaps his head ‘round to the TV to see what effect it had upon the screen.
Thwarted.
28
Jun
Meredith and I sabbathed pretty hard yesterday. Much needed naps and relationship occurred while the house was unattended. Today, I am cleaning up here and there so that I can focus upon work this evening, ‘cause those forums and lectures won’t grade and write themselves.
So, after lunch, I set Reed down in front of some Sesame Street while I finished the kitchen and worked on the garage.
Reed was calm, present, and alive when I came in from the garage. One thing was amiss, though:
Reed looking at me as if to say “Whad’ya expect?”
I might save the living room for Meredith. 
