12 Hours at San Jose Speedway
A couple of weeks ago Rick Phillis invited me to participate on a team going to San Jose to participate in a 12 hour slot car race. I hadn’t traveled before for a slot car race, but since it was … Continue reading →
Early Ride up to Route 1
One of my springtime rituals is riding up to Route 1 in the South Fort Mountains to see my favorite wildflower patch. I usually start trying Memorial Day weekend to see if the road is even open. But this year … Continue reading →
Frogs and Mosquito Fish
Apparently the saying is true, “build it and they will come”. No sooner did we put plants in the pond, the frogs moved in and started laying their eggs. But even earlier some unwanted guests moved in, mosquitoes. Since I … Continue reading →
Kerria japonica
I forgot to mention in the garden tour one special plant that is blooming right now. This plant involves my entire family with the exception of my brother Derek. It has a long history and it doesn’t look like much … Continue reading →
Spring Garden Tour
The winters in Ferndale can be long and wet, so wet that it makes getting any gardening done nearly impossible at times. Even mowing the lawn becomes a challenge, and unlike what I was used to in San Jose, the … Continue reading →
Lori’s Stained Glass Window
When we were planning the guest bathroom redo, I though it would be nice to add a stained glass window like we did in our 1914 Bungalow in San Jose. I kind of handed that project over to Lori, letting … Continue reading →
Driveway Landscaping Project
One of the true eyesores of our yard was our driveway. Our yard to the south is bordered by our neighbor’s cow pasture, and it had a fence that was practical for keeping the cows in their yard most of … Continue reading →
Reregistering AT&T Handsets with a New Base Station
I’m mostly putting these notes here in case I need them again, but maybe they’ll help someone else out. About 8 years ago I bought an AT&T corded/cordless phone system for my home office and house. It is was a … Continue reading →
The Parlor is Finally Finished!
When we bought our 1888 Victorian home in 2000, we knew we wanted to tackle the parlor as our first interior project. Parlors were the room Victorians use to entertain, and so they were the fanciest room in the house. … Continue reading →
The Back Bathroom is Back
For the first 12 years we owned our Ferndale Victorian, the back bathroom was used more as a closet than anything else. With the lack of closet space typical in Victorians, there wasn’t a good place to store things like … Continue reading →
The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Our Rose Arbor
One of the first things Lori and I did upon moving into our 1888 Victorian on Rose Ave was to plant some roses along the avenue. Logical right? We went to Miller’s Farm Nursery and selected enough Cécile Brünner and … Continue reading →
2001 Dodge Dakota Review
If you’re thinking of buying a used 2001 Dodge Dakota, don’t. When we purchased our 2001 QuadCab, it was the first year Dodge made them. It was far more comfortable than the competition’s mid-sized quad cab trucks that were available … Continue reading →
The Bedroom is Finished!
Today was a momentous occasion at the Knowles house. While we have done lots of work on our 1888 Victorian in the 17 years that we’ve lived here, I can finally say one room, our bedroom, is completed. We have … Continue reading →
Goodbye Facebook, Hello Toilet
Well I’ve had it. With the latest revelations about Facebook’s involvement with Trump’s campaign, I find I can no longer support their business, and I certainly can’t trust them with my personal information. So I’m going to delete my Facebook … Continue reading →
Mr. Peanut’s Untimely Death
Lori has been decorating our Christmas Tree which we decided to have at the studio since we spend way more time there than at home. (It’s 9:50PM as I type this at work) She was very dismayed to find that … Continue reading →
Fall Colors
Three of weeks ago I explored Route 30 and the fall colors were just beginning to show. So when today ended up being a beautiful day for a drive I decided to take Lori back to that area to show … Continue reading →
And then there was one
In 1985 Lori and I bought our condo, and one of the first things we did was go out and get some kitties. Three in fact, Fred, Lucy and Ethel. We lost Ethel after she was hit by a car, … Continue reading →
Unplug and Reboot – Troubleshooting Apple Airplay, a Yamaha Receiver, and Frontier DSL
If you’ve ever placed a call to a tech support line for computer equipment, you know that usually one of the first things they’ll instruct you to do is unplug the device, wait 15 seconds, plug it back in, and … Continue reading →
Poppies and Darwin
Most people who have lived in California any amount of time have become familiar with Eschscholzia californica, whether they know it or not. It is after all the state flower, and it grows almost everywhere, both natively and cultivated. Yep, … Continue reading →
Let’s Make A Deal
In Sam Harris’ book, The Moral Landscape, the author makes the point how hard it is to change someone’s belief, even when you present them with facts. To illustrate his point he provides the following example. Imagine that you are … Continue reading →
Allstate Motorcycle Insurance – Loud pipes are all the safety equipment you need.
Featured prominently in the February 2012 American Motorcyclist is a full page ad for Allstate Insurance that depicts one of the worst characterizations of motorcycle safety I’ve ever seen in the magazine. Before I get to their ad, first … Continue reading →
He Finally Figured It Out
Trevor, our part time cat, first showed up at our house in the fall of 2002. We call him our part time cat because he’ll show up religiously every day for a few days, and then we won’t see him … Continue reading →
Ricky’s Toy Grasshopper
Lori left for Paula’s house today, so I get to play bachelor for the next three days. Woohoo! Oh I’m sorry, the correct response is: “Boy I’m going to miss her”. I’m most likely to spend the weekend cleaning my … Continue reading →
In My Own Backyard
It’s often true that people don’t discover their nearby attractions until relatives or friends visit from out of town and they become the tour guide. People travel all over seeking out the new and interesting, when sometimes the best places … Continue reading →
Comments
Today is one of those days where I’m pining for the Internet we had back in 1995. When I first found out about the World Wide Web it was a welcoming homey place. A place where you felt safe because … Continue reading →
The Kitchenaid Bank
This afternoon I finally got around to tackling the biggest project on my honey-do list. I had to. I was running out of clothes to wear. For the last few months our clothes dryer has been making an increasingly loud … Continue reading →
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
One of the problems of having a camera that you can tuck just about anywhere, is that it can get tucked just about anywhere. So for a couple of months I’ve been without my take it with me camera, my … Continue reading →
IROC AF/X Slot Cars
Back in the 70s when I was a teenager, I wanted a slot car track. I finally talked my parents into letting me build a track suspended from the ceiling in the garage. I designed a tri-oval layout that featured … Continue reading →
Kidnofax, Reneton and Polcical do not heal Polycystic Kidney Disease
Like most people I am baraged with emails on a daily basis claiming I have lost relatives that have left me millions, or I’ve won the lottery or any number of scams that seem so obvious to me it makes … Continue reading →
Replacing the Del Sol’s Headlights
After Lori’s accident with the deer I needed to replace the right headlight and turn signal. The first step was to remove the front bumper so I could fully assess what was going to be needed. Not sure how to … Continue reading →
Strike Two
When I got home from the fire department drill last night the garage door for the Del Sol was open, which I thought was kind of odd. When I got into the house, Lori told me why. She had hit … Continue reading →