Price is Right with Drew Carey

Has anyone else seen this? Is it painful for you, too? I actually watched the last 10 minutes Drew Carey's first day as host, with some hope he might be good. Nope. He's terrible. He's awkward, and goofey -- not in a good / funny way. Just in a 'I feel bad for the man because he's clearly so uncomfortable'. What where those CBS execs thinking!?!? I keep hoping it will get better, but each time I catch a few minutes, it's almost like it's worse.

And what's with him trying to use Bob Barker's ending line about fixing your pets????? Drew should have come up with his own line, or just not used a line. It just seems so odd and pathetic coming from him.

I am sad to say it, but I hope they find a new host, soon. Maybe Richard Dawkins.

Homemade Lawn Striper

So, a few months ago I decided I was going to craft my own lawn striper. No, not lawn stripper. Lawn striper. So, I set off to create my own design and documented the process for everyone's enjoyment. This first model (the JK7000) had a minor design flaw. OK, maybe a major design flaw. It kind of, um, broke during the initial trial run. Within about 5 minutes. So, I'll link you off to the original directions for the JK7000 Lawn Striping Mower Attachment, but be warned that if you follow these exact directions, you're headed for trouble.

I did make the model JK7001, which worked much better. All I did to modify the JK7000 was to add some chain link between the mounting brackets and the PVC end caps. Essentially, in between Step 6 in the link above. That gave some flexibility to the weighted PVC tube so that as I turned, it could move somewhat independent. Photos of my results can be seen below. I have realized though, that what I really need is an independent pin type system that connects the mounting hardware to the striper itself. This would allow it to rotate freely in a center point, which would make turning much easier. As we're nearing the end of the lawn cutting season, I have decided to hold off on the JK8000 until next year. It will be brilliant though...

Tim's Hot Air Balloons

My 3yr old son Tim has hot air balloons. Or poop. He wasn't exactly sure which one.

I think he had recently gotten out of the tub and was in the process of getting dressed. He bent over and looked between his legs. He said, 'Poop?'. To which his mother and I responded, 'no, not poop'. So, he made the logical conclusion and said, 'Hot Air Balloons!'. The kid loves hot air balloons, but seriously, come on...

No fear...I explained to him that they are testicles.

Personal Projects...

Not really sure when it was, but I had this brilliant idea that I was going to create myspace for dogs - mynewpuppy.com. So, I'm working on it. Seriously. It's actually coming along, but trying to hack out a site like this in an hour or two a day is getting a bit difficult. I've actually got the registration working, log in working, blogging is working, and you can even create a profile now. With the blogger on the site, you can edit and manage your photos, which was great. I implemented TinyMCE for the content editor, and took a Image Manager that someone had created and modified it for my needs. The code I started with didn't offer much security, so I beefed that up a bit.

I'm developing the project in 100% Object-Oriented PHP. So far the OO is working out great for the site. Usually OO stuff takes longer, but it's really speeding along the project as I get my objects created. This is great for work, too. Anytime I can work on a project on my own, at my own pace, it gives me the flexibility I need to be able to take the time to learn new things...