Ran-o-matic

Vendors Are Blocking Data Centre Energy Cuts

2011-12-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

Almost any CPU can run over 60 DegC without ill effect, so why are we running data centers at a maximum of 27 DegC? The answer in this article in Tech Week Europe is the vendors made us do it.

The current maximum operating temperature recommended by standards group ASHRAE is 27C or 80.6F. Evidence suggests that facilities could operate at up to 113F (45C) without damaging equipment, but this would render equipment warranties void, as manufacturers specify a conservative operating temperature for the products.

Earlier this year, Dell announced that it had increased the upper temperature limits for some its equipment, so data centres can operate the kit at higher temperatures- albeit only for limited periods of 900 hours per year at 40C and 90 hours per year at 45C. Despite these caveats, Dell is ahead of other vendors in offering to support equipment at higher temperatures.

Clearly, the maximum server inlet temperature cannot exceed the design limits of the CPUs themselves, but they should be able to exceed the maximum outdoor temperature in most climates.

Foreign Currency Fee Litigation Settlement Fund

2011-12-23T18:07:00.000-05:00

Another day, another $18.04. That's my share of the $336 million class action settlement fund used to compensate for excess credit card company fees associated with foreign currency exchanges. Read about the settlement here if you are really interested in such things. Like every one of these cases, the windfall goes to the lawyers:

Settlement Classes Counsel intend to apply for a Fee and Expense Award, which will include a request for fees not to exceed 27.5% of the Gross Settlement Fund plus a pro rata share of all interest, dividends, and other distributions and payments (less Tax Payments) accrued by the Settlement Fund, and a request for reimbursement of their expenses of litigation not to exceed $5,000,000.

Do the math, then tell me who ripped who off. Still, I'm going to cash the check.

Strange Game

2011-12-07T22:23:00.001-05:00

22:06: Found a mountain cave that had been ransacked by clowns, and littered with dead cats. I took some beer from a blood-covered barrel, since there was no one else to drink it. http://godvillegame.com

James Quote of the Day

2011-12-05T18:58:00.001-05:00

Yep, that's real bamboo alright.

James Quote of the Day

2011-10-29T12:56:00.001-04:00

A good detective always has an inner monologue.

James Quote of the Day

2011-10-27T19:33:00.000-04:00

That girl is a sour as a lemon.

James Quote of the Day

2011-10-13T16:24:00.000-04:00

My pilot is made of steel, and danger.

James Quote of the Day

2011-09-18T21:09:00.001-04:00

I don't want to play. I want to do something fun like watch a movie like Scooby Doo or something.

James Quote of the Day

2011-09-04T22:14:00.001-04:00

If your heart beats too fast, you get tired and drop like a string of spaghetti.

Infinities

2011-08-28T20:56:00.003-04:00

Infinity is a funny thing and sometimes the infinity of the small surpasses the infinity of the large.

Take rational numbers, for instance. A rational number is any number that can be expressed as a ratio of two integers. There are an infinite number of them. In fact, between any two rational numbers, say 1 and 101/100, there are an infinite number more. But just how infinite are they? I could bore you with a proof, but this post about philosophy rather than mathematics, so just take this as a given:

The set of natural numbers and the set of rational numbers are infinite to the same extent.

Both are considered "countable." You can mathematically map the set of rational numbers onto the set of natural numbers. Try it for fun and profit!

What about real numbers? A real number can be thought of as a representation of a point on a line where the integers occur at regular spacing and every real number represents the distance from an (arbitrary) origin that represents zero. Cantor proved that the set of all real numbers is "uncountable", i.e. it is mo' better infinite than the set of natural numbers (and rational numbers).

All rational numbers are also real numbers, but not all real numbers are rational. You can easily construct a line that is the square root of 2 long (the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides 1 unit long each) and then prove that the square root of 2 is not rational. An irrational number is defined as any real number that is not rational.

Now comes the kicker - The real number set is uncountable, and the rational number set is countable. If you remove a countable subset from and uncountable set, the remainder is still uncountable and so the set of irrational number is uncountable. The set of irrational numbers is mo' better infinite than the set of rational numbers. OK - So what?

So what is this. On that continuum of real numbers, it is not difficult to contruct a rational number or an irrational number between any two arbitrary point, so you can show that:

Between any two rational numbers, there is an irrational number; and

Between and two irrational numbers, there is a rational number.

But the set of irrational numbers is uncountable, and there are infinitely more irrational numbers than rational numbers!

James Quote of the Day

2011-07-08T21:11:00.001-04:00

Quit bleeding on my yard!

James Quote of the Day

2011-06-30T22:17:00.002-04:00

Well that didn't work out like I intended.

A Plague Of Capacitors

2011-06-11T12:44:00.003-04:00

A Plague Of Capacitors, a photo by randallhayter on Flickr.

The Carrier A/C at my house is seven years old, a babe in the woods for these generally reliable machines, but yesterday when I got home it was decidedly warmer inside than out. A quick check found the dual run capacitor not looking healthy. Note the bulge on the top, and to a lesser extent the bottom.

Today, I went down to RE Michael and tried to pick up a replacement. Ed Meier recommended them and he was right on the money. BUT - Did you know they wont sell to you unless you are a licensed contractor? Neither did I. Good thing I work at Lee Technologies. Just a little under $8 in parts and I'm chillin' again.

Not sure what would cause the early failure on one of these caps. If it were from Taiwan, I would say is had the plague, but this one is Mexican.

Get Your Candwiches Now!

2011-05-29T16:09:00.004-04:00

The Candwich is finally available, at least if you like PB&J. Still waiting on the BBQ Chicken.

UPDATE: The dang Candwich people broke every link I made by foostering with there web site. I am now just linking to the main page. A little older and a little wiser.

James Quote of the Day

2011-05-22T11:27:00.001-04:00

We don't have any ingredients to make lunch. What ingredients are in pop tarts?

How Do You Price a Snappy Lunch?

2011-04-23T12:47:00.005-04:00

Before my sister bought me a copy of Snappy Lunch, I went looking on Amazon to buy one myself. There were three sellers who had it - two used and one new. Each was over $300 and all were within a penny of the same price! I chose a life of piracy until I could find a more reasonable price and didn't think about it again until today when I saw this blog post by Michael Eisen. Turns out some complicated automatic pricing shenanigans are probably responsible.

My preferred explanation for bordeebook’s pricing is that they do not actually possess the book. Rather, they noticed that someone else listed a copy for sale, and so they put it up as well – relying on their better feedback record to attract buyers. But, of course, if someone actually orders the book, they have to get it – so they have to set their price significantly higher – say 1.27059 times higher – than the price they’d have to pay to get the book elsewhere.

What’s fascinating about all this is both the seemingly endless possibilities for both chaos and mischief. It seems impossible that we stumbled onto the only example of this kind of upward pricing spiral – all it took were two sellers adjusting their prices in response to each other by factors whose products were greater than 1. And while it might have been more difficult to deconstruct, one can easily see how even more bizarre things could happen when more than two sellers are in the game. And as soon as it was clear what was going on here, I and the people I talked to about this couldn't help but start thinking about ways to exploit our ability to predict how others would price their books down to the 5th significant digit – especially when they were clearly not paying careful attention to what their algorithms were doing.

Back to Snappy Lunch for a current price check.

Price	Seller
$67.95 + $2.98 shipping	teagan1116
$67.96 + $2.98 shipping	plan9music
$67.96 + $2.98 shipping	secondhandtunes

Automatic pricing. When it hits $13.95, buy!

Urban Legend or PC Gone Bad

2011-04-14T19:23:00.003-04:00

Let me preface this by saying - I have no idea if this story is true or not.

The story:

Jessica, 16, told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show that a week before spring break, the students commit to a week-long community service project. She decided to volunteer in a third grade class at a public school, which she would like to remain nameless.

"At the end of the week I had an idea to fill little plastic eggs with treats and jelly beans and other candy, but I was kind of unsure how the teacher would feel about that," Jessica said. She was concerned how the teacher might react to the eggs after of a meeting earlier in the week where she learned about "their abstract behavior rules."

"I went to the teacher to get her approval and she wanted to ask the administration to see if it was okay," Jessica explained. "She said that I could do it as long as I called this treat 'spring spheres.' I couldn't call them Easter eggs." Rather than question the decision, Jessica opted to "roll with it." But the third graders had other ideas.

"When I took them out of the bag, the teacher said, 'Oh look, spring spheres' and all the kids were like 'Wow, Easter eggs.' So they knew," Jessica said. The Seattle elementary school isn’t the only government organization using spring over Easter. The city’s parks department has removed Easter from all of its advertised egg hunts.

What makes this story believable? Easy: "Happy Holidays", "Spring Sale", "sanitation Engineer." The list goes on. We are accustomed to political correctness gone incorrect, and substitutions like this are fairly common and fool no one. In addition, an actual person called in to the radio show, at least putting a voice, if not a face, to the story.

What makes the story all legend-y? Just as easy: The protagonist has no last name. The school has no name or location other than presumably somewhere in the Seattle area. The teacher has no name. The school has "abstract behavior rules" ?!

In the balance, unless I see a story that at least name the school system, I'm sticking with legend. The deal-sealer for me - The teacher inexplicably calls the Easter eggs "spheres" rather than "eggs" of some sort.

I reserve the right to eat my words if names are named.

James Quote of the Day

2011-03-27T15:15:00.002-04:00

Enuminator, a photo by randallhayter on Flickr.

It's an enuminator, You know - the thing in a car that tells you the temperature outside.

James Quote of the Day

2011-03-18T23:31:00.001-04:00

Mauve is brownish-green. Taupe is greenish-brown.

Lazy or Awesome or a Little of Both?

2011-03-13T13:58:00.004-04:00

(Image from FabioMilito.com)
This universal wrapping paper art concept has been making the rounds in the last week or two. The actual design, by Fabio Milito and Francesca Guidotti, is a couple of years old, but they are apparently going to actually produce it. You choose the occasion by circling it, Find-A-Word style.

If you like that, check out some of the other concepts, like the musical business card comb (no, I'm not kidding). It plays "a classic rock theme" when rubbed with your fingernail.
(Image from FabioMilito.com)

James Quote of the Day

2011-03-05T11:57:00.001-05:00

I get mixed up and my vocabulary gets whizzed around.

James Quote of the Day

2011-02-22T09:12:00.000-05:00

More twisted than a cat on a roller coaster.

James Quote of the Day

2011-01-09T10:43:00.001-05:00

Great. Who's calling me now? I bet it's from my room because this phone doesn't actually work.

James Quote of the Day

2010-12-22T11:24:00.001-05:00

That is the board-hole. You know, on a spaceship, the hole where you board.

James Quote of the Day

2010-12-22T10:31:00.001-05:00

My mind is bobbling over this. It literally bobbles the mind.

James Quote of the Day

2010-12-21T14:12:00.002-05:00

Peru seems to be a pretty small place. How can anyone fit on it?

James Quote of the Day

2010-12-18T11:43:00.001-05:00

Take that to mommy's car - On the devil!

James Quote of the Day

2010-11-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

I'm gaming to win!

Mayberry NCC-1701

2010-11-14T13:35:00.003-05:00

Neatorama has some really interesting (neat??) posts and I really liked this one about a shared set used for both Star Trek and The Andy Griffith Show.

Star Trek and The Andy Griffith Show were sometimes filmed on the same lot. Specifically, the episodes “Miri” and “City on the Edge of Forever” used the lot that was also used to represent the town of Mayberry.

This post led me to The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club. If you follow the link, don't miss Postcards from Goober. (Goober says "Hey!") and the lost episodes fan fiction section. I Like "Ernest T. Bass on Easy Street" by David Kerley

Blues Maker

2010-09-27T16:18:00.002-04:00

Blues Maker is a cool little web toy (in flash, of course, what else do you expect?) that will custom mix a blues tune for you. It takes a while to load.

James Quote of the Day

2010-09-26T22:15:00.001-04:00

Push-ups! Why does it always have to be push-ups?

James Quote of the Day

2010-08-22T12:48:00.001-04:00

It tastes like a green apple but it's not green. It's not a green apple. It's a red green apple.

James Quote of the Day

2010-08-08T11:16:00.001-04:00

If you had waited for me I wouldn't have had to throw that party of mischief.

Cheating scandal at U.S. Open rocks bass-fishing community

2010-08-04T16:22:00.005-04:00

Cheating scandal at U.S. Open rocks bass-fishing community

James Quote of the Day

2010-07-29T21:31:00.000-04:00

In the 19th century they had metal dog masks. Of course, the metal was made out of wood.

Don't Lie on a CIA Job Application

2010-07-28T19:35:00.003-04:00

I get lots of email hyping blogs and mostly just ignore them, but this blog post is almost Darwin Awards worthy (other than the whole lack of death thing):

The Washington Post reported that Glenn Duffie Shriver, 28, was arrested on June 22 for lying on his CIA job application about his work with Chinese intelligence that netted him $70,000. He now faces five counts of making false statements that could land him a maximum of five years in prison, if convicted.

I wonder if he thought the agency wouldn't notice that he was a former employee of a foreign government's intelligence network?

James Quote of the Day

2010-07-24T20:38:00.004-04:00

He made a roller coaster car using modeling clay, only there was a problem -

The roller coaster had a malfunction: It went around the loop-the-loop and stopped at the top, upside down! The people didn't fall out because they have stick-a-seats. They are like grip-shoes, only seats.

Class Action Scam

2010-07-14T20:05:00.002-04:00

I wrote a few days ago about my great windfall in the classmates.com settlement.Now I have a Notice of Pendency in a Class Action against MFS Funds. This one seemed significant:

Plaintiffs have now reached Settlements that will resolve the claims asserted in the securities class, ERISA class and derivative actions pending in the MFS Sub-Track of MDL - 1586. The proposed Settlements provide for a total payment of $75,042,250 in cash plus interest, funded on behalf of seven separate groups of defendants. You may have already received a copy of the Mailing Notice describing the proposed Settlements that the Court ordered to be mailed to class members. The Long-Form Notice explains in more detail the important facts and terms of the Settlements.

W00T! The only problem - the average recovery per share is between $0.0007 and $0.2057. I will need to put off buying that new Ferrari.

Make a guess at who gets the real payday on this one. Yep, the attorneys get fees not to exceed 15% of the gross plus expenses not to exceed $630,000 plus additional fees of 1.25%. All not to exceed 17.09% of the average recovery per share. Of course, these are only estimates.

Evil Fortune Cookies

2010-07-14T14:44:00.002-04:00

ThinkGeek :: Evil Fortune Cookies

I always thought this would be a good idea for a product, although I just call them "Misfortune Cookies":

Cookie Misfortune Evil Fortune Cookies

•Tasty fortune cookies with evil, cruel, and funny fortunes inside.
•Wrappers are blank to blend in with any restaurant decor and surprise your target.
•10 cookies per package - each with a different fortune (though if you buy multiple packages, you might get repeats).
•WARNING: Not for children. Trust us.
•Packaging: All 10 cookies come packed in a quart sized take out box. Yum.

The price is steep at $9.99 plus shipping.

Candwich

2010-07-12T16:18:00.000-04:00

I present, without further comment, the Candwich.

Classmates.com Scam Mark II

2010-07-10T13:02:00.004-04:00

A while ago I wrote about the classmates.com member upgrade scam. Today I was notified that the court agrees with me. The proposed settlement:

In addition to injunctive relief, as a Settlement Class member, if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement and if you timely submit a Valid Claim Form, you are entitled to receive a credit of $2.00 off of the purchase or renewal of a w ww.classmates.com Gold Membership. Under the Settlement Agreement, Settlement Subclass members are entitled to receive either a cash payment of $3.00 or a credit of $2.00 off of the purchase or renewal of a w ww.classmates.com Gold Membership.
In addition to its cash and credit components, the Settlement also provides, on a non-opt out basis, for Defendants to provide injunctive relief to all Settlement Class and Settlement Subclass members. A description of the injunctive relief that Defendants are providing is set forth at the following website: www.cmemailsettlement.com.

$2.00 off the exact product they were trying to scam me with to begin with? That takes it to between $13 and $57? W00t! But wait, there's more:

Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees and costs to be paid in conjunction with this Settlement. Defendants have agreed not to oppose Class Counsel’s request to the Court for attorneys’ fees up to $1.3 million, plus costs. Costs may include participation awards of up to $2,500 for each of the two Lead Plaintiffs. Fees and costs that are awarded by the Court will be paid by Defendants separately and will not affect your entitlement to benefits under this Settlement. You will not be obligated to pay any attorneys’ fees or costs as a Settlement Class member, nor will any award of attorneys’ fees, costs, or participation awards by the Court reduce the amount of Settlement benefit available to Settlement Class or Settlement Subclass members.

$1.3 million plus costs! That's more like it. Who gets this money?

KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P
Mark A. Griffin
Amy Williams-Derry
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200
Seattle, Washington 98101

KABATECK BROWN KELLNER L.L.P.
Richard L. Kellner
644 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, California 90017

This entire settlement is a scam.

The Economist Lives in a Fantasy World

2010-07-06T17:35:00.004-04:00

I got some regular old every day snail mail spam today from "The Economist." So what, exactly is it? From their website:

Edited in London since 1843, The Economist is a weekly international news and business publication, offering clear reporting, commentary and analysis on world current affairs, business, finance, science and technology, culture, society, media and the arts. As noted on its contents page, The Economist's goal is to "take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress." Printed in five countries, worldwide circulation is now over one million, and The Economist is read by more of the world's political and business leaders than any other magazine.

Sounds interesting. The fantasy only enters the picture when I look at the pricing.

For only $67.25 (my Professional Discount Rate), I can now get this great offer valued at $431.25.

Breakdown

25 issues of "The Economist" (valued at $174.75)
Weekly coverage includes sections for six regions of the world (no value given)
"Technology Quarterly" (no value given)
20 special reports (no value given)
Special Issue: The World in 2011 (valued at $9.95)
Unrestricted access to "The Economist" online (valued at $46.55 - Paywall!)
Free access to "The Economist" in audio (valued at $200)

That is one big discount. I know the magazine has been doing well for a dead tree weekly, so I have no idea what is causing the giant discount. I am clearly not in the correct demographic to understand.

America the Beautiful by Ray Charles

2010-07-04T11:52:00.002-04:00

Ray Charles took "America the Beautiful" and made it into something perfect. There is a poetic grace in a man who grew up in the segregated south and totally blind from seven years old singing about the beauty of America. Enjoy your Fourth of July.

Oh beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife,
Who more than self, our country loved,
And mercy more than life,
America, America, may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine.
When I was in school you know ,
We used to sing it something like this, listen here:
Oh beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain,
(Look it here) I'm talking about
America, sweet America,
You know, God done shed his grace on thee,
He crowned thy good, say with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.

America, I love you America,
(Because) My God he done shed his grace on thee,
And you oughta love him for it,
Cause he, he, he, he, crowned thy good,
He told me he would, say with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.
Oh Lord, oh Lord, I thank you Jesus
(Shining sea).

James Quote of the Day

2010-06-12T17:29:00.001-04:00

I don't have far seeing eyes. I can't even see the Indians dancing. I just made that up.

James Quote of the Day

2010-06-06T19:42:00.001-04:00

A pistol bomb is what causes a pistol to shoot out. Either that or it shoots lady perfume.

James Quote of the Day

2010-05-17T21:47:00.001-04:00

James to his mother on the loss of her second wedding ring:

Why are you crying mommy? Its just a ring, you can get another one just like it.

Road Analyzer?

2010-05-06T20:34:00.003-04:00

Road Analyzer?
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Spotted this in the Safe-way parking lot in Leesburg. Never seen one of these trucks before. From Roadware:

Fugro Roadware has re-introduced the ARAN - now the ARAN 9000! The ARAN has been retooled to meet the rigorous data collection requirements of the road infrastructure data collection community. The ARAN's robust platform has been expanded to deliver:
50% reduction in computing hardware over the previous platform with the same functionality
Database driven systems
Robust, fault tolerant systems
Plug and play system integration
Microsoft.net platform
Realtime sub-cm data synchronization
Advanced mission management software
Increased portability of subsystem components
Global solution with interfaces in several languages
User friendly operating system to minimize training costs and operator error
Industry-defining warranty
Dynamic architecture supporting future upgrades

With all of that, I wonder if it can find potholes?

James Quote of the Day

2010-05-06T15:37:00.003-04:00

If you take a bite of my cheese, you'll never believe your eyes.

James Quote of the Day

2010-04-15T12:12:00.001-04:00

What does unfortunate mean? Unfortunately, I don't know.

Let the Good Times Roll

2010-04-03T15:59:00.004-04:00

Good times are here again! The weather is warmer, the flowers are blooming, at the 15th of Nisan has come.

13th of whut??

Stick with me for a minute and set your way-back machine to 1985.

Ronald Reagan started his second term as US president, Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR, and the first WrestleMania was held in Madison Square Garden. But - all was not right with the world.

The Coca-Cola Company's market share for their premier product had fallen from a high of 60% right after WWII to 24% and it was only trending downward. Pepsi was even out-selling Coke in supermarkets. Something had to be done. The company's solution was New Coke. It was introduced on April 23rd and that same day, the old formula was discontinued. We all think we know how this ended, but what you might not know is that the original formula was never actually brought back in the US. Coca-Cola "Classic" used high fructose corn syrup instead of cane sugar to sweeten the drink. With corn subsidies, it made (dollars and) sense. Coke says there's no difference in taste, but many cola purists go out of their way to buy foreign market Coke to get that real sugar taste and Mexican Coke in glass bottles is highly sought.

This brings me to the 15th of Nisan. The start of Passover. High fructose corn syrup is not Kosher for Passover. The Coca-Cola company wouldn't want to miss out on making a sell, so for years they have made a version just for Passover and guess what? It is made with sucrose, not high fructose corn syrup, and it tastes like Coke did back before that fateful day back in 1985. Look for it with the OU-P mark and yellow cap.

James Quote of the Day

2010-03-27T11:00:00.001-04:00

I have a triangle eye, have a triangle eye, have a triangle eye eye eye oh,
I have a triangle eye, have a triangle eye, have a triangle eye eye eye oh yeah!

Birthday Merry-Go-Round

2010-02-21T15:58:00.002-05:00

Birthday Merry-Go-Round
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James had a birthday yesterday. He wanted to ride the carousel at the mall, so that's exactly what he got to do.

James Quote of the Day

2010-02-21T13:11:00.000-05:00

I'm going to Pluto - I don't know why!

James Quote of the Day

2010-02-20T11:47:00.000-05:00

That smells like someone crying.

James Quote of the Day

2010-02-10T20:36:00.003-05:00

Uh - It's a cartoon. I can make up anything I want to!

James Quote of the Day

2010-02-04T20:39:00.002-05:00

The ground lays on the foundation
The foundation lays on the Earth
The Earth lays on space
Space lays on Heaven
Heaven lays on clouds
Clouds lay on the blanket
The blanket lays on a chair
The chair lays on a book
The book lays on the shelf
The shelf lays on the carpet
The carpet lay on the couch
The couch lays on a paper airplane
The paper airplane lays on a bed
I'm funny! I didn't want to add funny to the thing!

James Quote of the Day

2010-01-31T21:25:00.001-05:00

Warm as a cookie in the oven.

RIP Otis

2010-01-28T15:32:00.002-05:00

Otis the snail passed today. Natural causes.

Weenie the Betta

2010-01-26T17:58:00.001-05:00

Weenie the Betta
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

All of the new fish are now named:

The Betta is Weenie
The Neons are Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe, and of course Tiny.

More Fish

2010-01-26T13:51:00.001-05:00

James picked out a new betta and five smaller fish (neon tetras, I think). No pictures or names yet, but they should all be named soon. Otis the snail still seems betta proof, even against the newer, younger fish.

James Quote of the Day

2010-01-25T12:40:00.003-05:00

Is a tiger a cat?

No a tiger is not a cat. A tiger is a carnivore, so it eats meat. A cat eats fish or mice maybe or cat food.

Isn't a mouse meat?

Well yes, I guess, but a tiger eats big meat.

What kind of meat does a tiger eat?

They eat mules.

What are mules?

They EAT them.

RIP Bleh

2010-01-25T12:34:00.004-05:00

Bleh
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Bleh the big bad betta has moved on to that fish-fish tank in the sky. James (again acting as the house ME) says preliminary cause of death is falling apart. Looks like fin rot did him in.

James Quote of the Day

2010-01-20T18:00:00.002-05:00

How Do You Sharpen a Pencil?
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Do they make pencils in Pennsylvania?

Sleepy Boy

2010-01-16T15:09:00.001-05:00

Sleepy Boy
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Ever since James was a tiny baby, he has had trouble falling asleep. Everyone gives advice - none of it has been any good. Night after night he fights sleep as long as he can and then fights it a little while longer. The best we have been able to do is to follow a routine every night and keep things quiet to give him the best shot at getting to sleep. As least once he finally falls asleep he seems to sleep fine.

Letter From Santa

2009-12-25T12:22:00.002-05:00

Letter From Santa
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

As all small boys must, James woke us up today. He didn't want to open presents Well, not yet anyway. He wanted to show us a letter he got from Santa and eat the peppermints that were with the letter. It seems James left Santa some drawings and a joke (Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!) and Santa liked them.

Thinking Of Presents

2009-12-25T12:05:00.001-05:00

Thinking Of Presents
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James doesn't wear his glasses very often, but when he does, it always looks cute. He needs them so that he can read the name tags on his presents. Good thing he put them on - the one he was getting ready to open was for the cat.

Exposition Christmas Song

2009-12-24T11:46:00.002-05:00

Exposition Christmas Song
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James calls "Jingle Bells" the "Exposition Christmas Song" when he sings it and goes really fast. Today he is going at King Kamehameha super fast speeds usually only seen in interplanetary spacecraft. Why is it that small boys move faster when they are tired?

Snow Bush

2009-12-22T11:43:00.001-05:00

Snow Bush
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

The great December snow of 2009 ended here late Saturday night/Sunday morning with about two feet on the ground. Sunday afternoon we had a Christmas party at the house and almost everyone who had planned to attend made it just fine.

Christmas Dudette

2009-12-14T19:08:00.001-05:00

Christmas Dudette
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James did the Christmas tree decorating yesterday. I think he did a great job. Once the angel is on, the tree is done. Tam made this one in 1992.

Dr. James

2009-12-14T17:53:00.001-05:00

Dr. James
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

When I got home from work today, I was met by a curious sight. James had his lab coat (and glasses, which he almost never wears) and was performing an experiment on the kitchen counter. He had green dyed hydrophobic sand and some water so that he could investigate its properties.

He said I needed safety glasses so I shoo-ed myself away.

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

2009-12-13T20:13:00.001-05:00

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

OK. When he lost one tooth, he was proud. Now he's REALLY proud and will surely have no teeth at all soon.

Radiate Me

2009-12-12T16:19:00.001-05:00

Radiate Me
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I don't get much of a chance to quote Tom Roland and Merle Haggard, but even though today is the warmest we've had in a few, it feels cold:

If we make it through December
Everything's gonna be all right I know,
It's the coldest time of winter
And I shiver when I see the falling snow

I'm glad that old radiator is pumping out heat.

Lost a Tooth

2009-12-07T19:37:00.001-05:00

Lost My First Baby Tooth
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Yesterday, James lost his first baby tooth. He was quite proud of himself and is looking forward to having no teeth at all. I can't convince him that teeth don't come in all at once.

Christmas Polar Bear Sled

2009-12-05T12:06:00.001-05:00

Christmas Polar Bear Sled
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Nothing like a little traditional Christmas decoration to put you in the holiday mood. Lets make sure everything is covered:

Prezzies - check!
Snow - check!
Elves - check!
Sleigh - check!
Polar bear sled team - check??
Tropical plants - ??

Christmas Crystals

2009-12-05T12:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Crystals
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

This is one of those "Magic Growing Crystal" cardboard trees. It took about 4-6 hours to grow after we added the Mysterious Magic Water(tm).

"CAUTION: To be used under Adult Supervision. Proper Laboratory Safety Procedures Should Always be Followed!"

James and His First Snowman

2009-12-05T11:51:00.003-05:00

James and His First Snowman
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

There is a icy-cold, wet snow falling today. The first snow of the season and James is old enough to make snowmen on his own. So far, he has made three.

For Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T07:37:00.000-05:00

"One More Roll" by Cmdr. Gerald "Jerry" Coffee

We toast our hearty comrades
Who have fallen from the skies
And were gently caught by God's own hand
To be with Him on high.
To dwell among the soaring clouds
They've known so well before
From victory roll to tail chase
At heaven's very door.
As we fly among them there
We're sure to hear their plea,
To take care my friend, check your six,
And do one more roll just for me.

Plant Growing on Maple Tree

2009-11-10T18:39:00.001-05:00

Plant Growing on Maple Tree
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

This seems to be a type of mistletoe or some related hemi-parasitic plant. Even though the picture doesn't show it very well, it has green leaves even though the tree has lost almost all of its own leaves.There are two bunches in this tree. I wonder how many are needed to kill a small tree?

Otis

2009-11-10T10:47:00.002-05:00

Otis
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Otis has made it over a week and still shows no signs of being eaten like the dearly departed Mylo. Bleh seems more than a little leery. Could be size + armor is better than armor alone.

Otis is in The Tank

2009-11-01T08:58:00.002-05:00

Last year about this time, we added a friend for Bleh named Mylo. Unfortunately, he didn't stand a chance against the big bad Betta and went to the great snail pond in the sky. This time, we added another snail named Otis. Otis is massive, so we hope Bleh will leave him alone. Time will tell.

Rainy Day at Work

2009-10-28T20:39:00.001-04:00

Rainy Day at Work
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Looks more like an impressionist painting than a photo to me.

San Antonio from the Tower of the Americas

2009-10-28T20:24:00.001-04:00

San Antonio from the Tower of the Americas
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I finally went up in the Tower my last trip down to San Antonio. Doesn't really look like the seventh largest city in the US, does it?

I Always Feel Like Someone's Watching Me

2009-10-28T20:18:00.001-04:00

I Always Feel Like Someone's Watching Me
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

The hotel I am staying at has lots-o video cameras, both inside and out. I'm not sure I like them stealing all of those photons reflected off of me, but I guess I'm not using them.

The parking lot also has signs that warn me I am parking at my own risk. If the risk is all mine, exactly who is this camera protecting?

Children and Empathy

2009-10-21T19:22:00.001-04:00

Sitting on the Porch at the Carter Store
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Yesterday was not the best day at work, so when I got home I needed some quiet. James is not a quiet child. I explained to him that I needed some peace and he said he would make a deal with me - He would be quiet if I would tell him a bedtime store about a bad day at work.

Bedtime came around and, since he had been quiet, I told him a story of a daddy who had a very bad day at work. I moved from one bad thing to another until I had the story daddy's lunch fall in a puddle. James stopped me and said that a boy went to the daddy and gave him a sandwich. He didn't want that story daddy to have any more of his bad day. Empathy.

How Many Naugas?

2009-10-01T18:13:00.004-04:00

How Many Naugas?
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

My car is practically crawling with the durable hide of the Nauga, so I wondered about the history of Naugahyde. I found this at nauga.com:

The small chameleon-like animals known as Naugas™ have long been known as the source of beautiful and durable fabrics that look like fine, soft leather. And since Naugas shed their hydes without harm to themselves, the fabrics they help make came to be known as Naugahyde®, The Cruelty Free Fabric™.

And there I would have guessed it was a vinyl coated fabric :)

Whacks-a-Ball Death Star

2009-09-28T19:28:00.003-04:00

Whacks-a-Ball Death Star
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James made a Death Star out of my Ball of Whacks. This is a cool learning/creativity toy made of 30 little magnetic blocks that can be formed into a 30-sided rhombic triacontahedron (the whacks-a-ball James likes so much), a car, a frog, or other things you might come up with, like, oh say a death star. The little figure made of the three removed pieces is a good guy, ready to destroy the death star.

Buffet with "Palm Trees"

2009-09-28T13:33:00.001-04:00

Buffet with "Palm Trees"
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I wanted some Chinese Buffet on Sunday and James knew just where to go. Unfortunately, he did not know the name of the place. He only knew that they had "Palm Trees" there. We got in the car and James started giving directions. We ended up at the Golden China. Not palm trees, but what do you want ? He's five. He got us there. Job well done!

Con Cloud

2009-09-27T20:15:00.001-04:00

Con Cloud
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I took this with my trusty company-provided Bold with 2 MP of pixel-y goodness. No processing. The guys thought I was crazy for stopping and shooting this, but what can I say. I like con trails.

Cyclone 9

2009-09-20T12:23:00.002-04:00

Cyclone 9
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

We went to the Leesburg airport during their open house. The highlight was the fully restored B-17G-VE Flying Fortress "Aluminum Overcast." This is a view from below of the inside port Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone 9 radial engine, one of four that power the aircraft.

The Ashtray Says - No Smoking

2009-09-19T12:09:00.001-04:00

The Ashtray Says - No Smoking
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Saw this at Lindsay VW and it made me laugh.

Clubman Without a Club

2009-09-19T10:12:00.001-04:00

Clubman Without a Club
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I've worked a few late nights in the last couple of weeks. The parking structure is a lonely place once all of the other cars are gone.

Tiny Windmill

2009-09-14T19:23:00.001-04:00

Tiny Windmill
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James is growing like crazy, but I don't think he is quite as tall as a full-sized windmill just yet.

A Boy and Someone Else's Dog

2009-09-14T19:21:00.001-04:00

A Boy and Someone Else's Dog
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James makes friends with dogs everywhere he goes. This dog was at the Brumley Gap Firehouse where we had a family reunion. Dogs seem to know James is OK. This one, named "Bonehead", was totally blind and his eyes were completely clouded. James calls him the blond-eyed dog.

Days Inn Spelling Test

2009-09-08T11:02:00.001-04:00

Days Inn Spelling Test
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I will be the first one to admit that spelling is not high on my "things I'm good at" list, but really. This sign was glued to the bathroom mirror of the Days Inn in Waynesboro Virginia.

James Took Me Backstage

2009-08-01T15:56:00.002-04:00

James Took Me Backstage
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

James made friends with the band and took me backstage. I scooped him up before he could go out and try to play a set or two with them.

Tracks to Nowhere

2009-07-21T23:33:00.002-04:00

Tracks to Nowhere
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Do you ever feel like you're on the wrong track? It could be worse. You could be on a train riding the tracks to nowhere. Cheer up!

A Whole Lotta Hole

2009-07-21T23:27:00.003-04:00

A Whole Lotta Hole
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

Tank Pit
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

This is the future home of two 40,000 gallon water storage tanks. I like the way they got the backhoe out of the pit - they used the business end as an arm and just pulled the machine out of the hole.

Big Mini

2009-07-11T22:56:00.001-04:00

Big Mini
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I finally picked a car to replace my late, lamented VW TDI. It is a Pepper White '08 MINI Clubman and is fairly loaded up with options. I dropped the cash for it yesterday, but the dealership let me have it early in the week. Infiniti of Chantilly is a really nice dealer and George Khalil is one of the best car salesmen I have ever dealt with. I hope the car is as good.

So far, I'm loving driving the thing.

Cooperative Dragonfly

2009-06-28T11:42:00.002-04:00

Cooperative Dragonfly
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

This dragonfly must want to be in pictures. It posed over and over again. I think it even landed on Tam for a shot she got.

Two Objects Can't Occupy the Same Space

2009-06-28T11:38:00.004-04:00

Two Object Can't Occupy the Same Space
Originally uploaded by randallhayter

I still haven't had the appraiser out to tell me the cost to repair, but there's not a panel on the passenger side without at least some damage. This is what happens when a 19 year old driver only looks one way before pulling into oncoming traffic. Her car is now a wadded up piece of mess that was formerly a Sentra.