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 →
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 →
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 →
The Front is Finally Done!
In May of 2008 I started the long process of painting the house. I decided to tackle the front first, because it is of course the most interesting side of the house, but also the porch was new construction and … Continue reading →
Windy Ridge
Yesterday was a beautiful day in Ferndale, so location scouting was as much of an excuse as I needed to get the KLR650 out of the garage and load it up with camera gear. Last month on our hike to … Continue reading →
Punta Gorda Lighthouse
After getting back from the rodeo on Saturday we started planning what we were going to do to entertain Derek and Lauren on Sunday. We suggested Fern Canyon, but Derek said Lauren liked long hikes, and after our snowshoe trip … Continue reading →
Repairing an Antique Rim Lock
Since we’re going to be hosting some out of town guests this weekend for the Bionic Woman Variety Show, Lori’s been hard at work cleaning the guest bathroom. Calling it the guest bathroom is a bit of a misnomer. It’s … Continue reading →
Bothe Napa State Park
So here it is, 7:52 in the morning at our campsite, and I’m logged on to the Internet. Trying to get this posted before my laptop runs out of juice because we used it to watch Long Way Down last … Continue reading →
2 Week Update
It’s now been two weeks since Lori’s activation date and it’s been two of the most interesting weeks in my life. Trying to describe how I’ve felt has been hard. I can only imagine that it must be close to … Continue reading →
Honey Do List From Hell
This weekend Lori and I didn’t have to go anywhere, and the weather was really nice. I was very tempted to take one of the motorcycles out for a spin, especially since this is one of my favorite times to … Continue reading →
Welcome Back to the Real World
Today was like the best Christmas ever. Today was Lori’s activation day. After spending the last 19 days in total silence, the big day finally came and she got to see how the new implants worked. We got to Stanford … Continue reading →