Anyone know where I can get a good 8 port gigabit (1000mbps, not the brand) router with wireless capabilities? I've only seen up to 5 port ones. I may settle for a switch and a single port wireless router, but I'd prefer to get it all in one device if possible. Used or new, doesn't make a difference...
Thnx.
Had a really busy weekend with my daughter's b-day and fathers day. It went pretty well overall- lots of time spent with family. The b-day was great... We had a lot of people come out and enjoy it. We got a "star walk bouncer" and it was a hit with the kids. It had a 100lb weight limit so I didn't feel comfortable jumping on it, though I did go in and lay down while my daughter jumped on/around me
Today I am taking a half day off from work. I have to renew my license and get new stickers for the plate. I also have a dentist appointment at 3:20. I'm not looking forward to either... Why does the BMV only take cash or checks? I don't carry around either, so it's going to be a hassle finding an ATM between here and there.
In other news, the house is supposed to wrap up this week, though I'm not holding my breath
That's about it. Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Has anyone ever heard of John Titor? I know he was mentioned a few times on slashdot before. Basically, he is a guy that claims to have come from the future (2036 I think), who went back to 1975 to get an IBM model 5100 to fix a 2K38 bug, and then went to 1999 to chat on the 'net because he was supposedly interested in learning more about "history". It's pretty interesting (entertaining) reading. Reminds me a lot of an HG Wells type time machine. Have a look if you are interested: linky.
In other news... the house is coming along pretty well but we definitely had some drama this week. The concrete people came out and set up our forms already- wasn't expecting that so soon. They did a pretty good job with it, though my wife wants to change the angle on the sidewalk from our house a little bit. They are supposed to be pouring on thursday or monday of next week so we will see if that happens.
Amazingly, they are making some progress. The trim carpenters got a lot done, though not 100%. The drama: apparently, the framers messed up our beautiful stairway. It is about 6" too short, which means they have to extend out an opening to on our dining room in order for the trim to fit correctly. (It's kind of hard to explain). We're not real thrilled about this. There really aren't any other alternatives that we like- one would be not doing the decorative "side steps" (which was a big reason we went with this model). Sooo... adding 6 " to the wall is probably easiest but it closes are opening (from 8' to 7'6, assuming we don't add 6" to the other side to even it out). We have to figure out what we're going to do here.
As far as the remainder of this week goes- we've got the electricians coming out tomorrow to finish up. The plumbers are coming out Friday. With that and the carpet coming next week, all the major work should be done. The only thing remaining should be the "punch list" which is basically a list of fix-it items that we've identified. Most of them are relatively small (but signifcant): things like fixing some sagging soffits, adding nails to flashing, repairing drywall / scratches, etc.
At this point I think there is a good chance we could be completely done by the end of the month, allowing us to move in by the first week or two of July. Only time will tell!
This has been a busy weekend. Two parties to go to today (Sunday)- just got back from one, and probably won't go to the other. Feeling kind of tired and it's pretty muggy out. We spent most of the day at Maumee Bay, which is a nice state park about 10 minutes up the road.
House Update- the trim carpenters came out on Friday and started working. We checked it out yesterday (after we went to an art fair in Findlay) and it looked pretty good. Most of the trim around the doors have been installed. The biggest thing we've noticed is that not all the stain matches- in fact, some boards look like they were barely stained at all. I don't think there has been any sealer sprayed on yet so I'm hoping the stainers will come out and match things up a little closer. Electrical and plumbing finish work is due next week, followed by carpet the final week. The brick was finally fixed- it looks a lot better. No more bright orange brick sticking out!!
They are hoping to get us completed by the end of this month- the jury is still out because they have quite a few little detailed things to fix. In fairness they really have been kicking butt. One surprise last week- I got a call for the 4th draw (one more to go- due after most of the work is completed). While I was on the phone I asked what my "credit" was and they said I currently owe about $250. Bwah?? I thought we had a $1500 credit so something is up. It looks like they may be trying to charge us for some stupid stuff so I am going to try and addrss it with the manager this week.
Not much else new. Some things at work are a little disappointing right now. Summer has been kind of crazy, but things are starting to slow down... they may pick up again very soon. I was looking forward to ramping up on
I went to Horsham, PA (near Philadelphia) Mon and Tues for a business trip. The business portion of the trip was pretty much what I expected. I wont get into any details here. Unfortunately, on Tues I was feeling a bit sick. I ended up having to step out of a meeting twice to hurl. It was quite nasty- the night before we went to a german restaurant and I had the "sausage platter". I was thinking I had some bad food, but it turns out my wife (who was at home in Toledo) was also feeling ill so I think it had to be something I picked up before the trip. Anyway, it gets even better. We had a 6:10 flight, and about an hour drive to get to the airport. Two other guys are with me on the trip.. we're driving to the airport and I have the urge to hurl. Problem is, we're going 70mph but there is a lot of stop and go getting on the turn pike. About 5 minutes after the stop-n-go, I tell the driver ("better pull over") and roll down the window. I leave the rest to your imagination, but put it this way- never eat a chocolate brownie when you aren't feeling well. And the phrase "it's just a rental car" comes to mind...
Despite feeling ill I went back to the office yesterday (yeah, I'm that dedicated!). I didn't want to infect anyone else so I went home in the afternoon.. ended up having a 2 hour conf call.
Feeling better today but still not 100%- have a little bit of a headache. Whatever it was, it was nasty.
In other news, the house has been going pretty well. They keep making "little" mistakes though. So I really doubt we'll be done by the end of the month, though there is still hope (and that is what they keep telling us). They now have the counter tops in and are supposed to be working on the trim today. This weekend we may finally get our huge "pile 'o dirt" moved from the front yard. Just in time- the concrete contractor called today to see if we were ready to schedule.
Just wondering if I am the only one having problems....
I try to go to gmail and it just hangs. Nothing shows up in the browser..
This morning was pretty busy- went out to the house and painted a satin version of the wall color in the dining room. My wife is headed out to do some "color washing". She decided on a yellowish gold tone. It looked pretty good on a cardboard sample, but we won't know for sure until it's on the wall.
I also cut out 4 holes in the ceiling for speakers and set them in place. I was definitely a little nervous as I could really screw the drywall up if I wasn't careful. Luckily the drywallers pulled my speaker wire through, and did so right on the joist. I knew exactly where to cut (about an 8" hole)...
As far as the speakers go, they are "audio source". I read some good reviews on them and they seemed to have pretty good "stats". I picked them up from J&R Computers which seemed to have the best price. I got them the day after I ordered (which was via UPS ground, so they must be near by). Haven't had a chance to test the speakers yet, but I plan on doing that tomorrow. After I ensure that they are working I will tighten them flush to the ceiling and put the grills on.
Click here for the latest pics. You can check out the paint color and my speaker job in the dining room and great room.
Things have been going pretty well this week, but glad it has been a short week. June is going to be a busy month- two b'days (mine and my daughters). On top of that we will be wrapping up the house- the builder said he is really going to push for us to be done by end of month. Hopefully he is right, especially since our storage rent just went up.
Thanks to those in the last JE in regards to painting suggestions. We checked out the house again and my wife is pretty happy with the color now, so it looks like we can leave most of it intact. We are definitely going to be painting the dining room this weekend-- and possibly the study/playroom if time. What a roller coaster
In other news, I'm going to be out of town again Mon/Tues of next week, going to Horsham PA again for another business trip.
Anyway, enjoy the weekend. I hope to be online later tonight and possibly tomorrow night- need to get some good Halo 2 in.
Has anyone out there pre-ordered Xbox 360 yet? I was thinking about asking for a pre-order for my b-day. My wife and I were at the mall over last weekend and I asked at "Babbages" for more info. Apparently they already have gone over the pre-order limit for the "first shipment" and are taking them for the second one. I found it surprising that they already know how many they are going to get in the first shipment... (though, it could just be speculation).
It sure has been nice out lately. I've been trying to get outside and shoot some hoops. Hit some golf balls the other day, and went to the batting cages. Not my usual thing (at least, not since college), but my Father-in-law has been dragging me along
In house news, things are moving along this week- good and bad. All the items on the fix-it list are supposed to be addressed this week (actually, they were supposed to be taken care of last week but the builder was out of town and was unable to sufficiently hound the sub-contractors). I can't believe the liberty that the construction industry takes with deadlines. It seems like everyone is behind. I wish we could have those same standards where I work... If we don't deliver on time, it usually is a big deal (especially to an external client). When a subcontractor is behind, I really don't see what motivates them to get the next job done. I'm guessing that the same crews are working on all the homes for our builder-- and we are basically competing for the same resources.
Anyway, after seeing the paint, my wife is not thrilled with the color (major doh!). She thinks it is too dark. Unfortunately, there probably isn't a whole lot that can be done at this point. It's probably something we will have to get used to (I haven't seen it on the walls yet) but I know she won't be thrilled, especially since she loves to decorate. One problem with our floor plan is that since everything is open we will probably have to paint EVERYTHING on the first floor if we change the color. The 25' foyer is probably the biggest "issue" in repainting. Doing some 5-minute ebay research it looks like I could get a 12' scaffolding for about $500 + shipping. That isn't too bad, especially since we will probably paint again. Unfortunately, we are pretty tapped right now and any additional cost means we have to cut out something else... Ugh. There may be some other ways around it, we'll see (suggestions welcome).
The flooring people were out yesterday and we now have our vinyl flooring in. I am going to check it out after work tonight and see how stuff looks.
Had a good memorial day weekend. Had a nice bbq on Sat w/ the family, followed by another showing of Episode 3.
(Begin Star Wars rant) It was about as good as the first time through. Sunday we decided to watch Episode 4 and it is amazing the difference- acting, story development, and of course special effects. As a director, I really think Lucas matured. My conclusion: Episodes 1,2,3 have better character development, while the original series has more of a "mystic" quality to them. Overall I think Lucas did a great job and am pleased with it. (End Star Wars rant)
The new house is coming along- the painters finally made it out and should be painting the house as I type this. The color we chose is called "Macadamia" but looks like a deep tan. We only chose one color because it was $100 for any additional color. We will probably paint the dining room and our daughter's room but otherwise leave everything the same color. With an open floor plan it might look odd to do otherwise. Hopefully we will be done by the end of this month, but I am not holding my breath. I think it may go out until July. There is still quite a bit of finish work to go, but once the painting is done a lot of it can move in parallel. Electrical and plumbing finish work will probably take a day. The trim work will probably take the longest- I'm guessing a good week. The hard flooring is going to start up this week- should take a day or two. Carpeting will probably take one day. There are still a few things on the list to be fixed, as well.
It was a pretty crazy week- left 5AM for Philly on Thurs morning. Had a meeting until 7pm that night with only a short break for lunch. Rinse and repeat for the next day, except we left around 3pm only to get delayed 1 1/2 hr at the airport. Was home in bed by 11pm Friday night. It was a pretty good trip overall, a lot of stuff to think about for work..
This morning I had the "itch" to see Episode 3, so I decided to go to the 11am showing. Glad I did- got some great seats and it wasn't that crowded (though a lot of people were there). I was quite satisfied with the movie. I would put it right up there with the the best of them. I even got a little teary eyed at the end.
In other news, made it out to the house to check on the cabinets- they installed them on Friday. They look pretty good. There is a lot of pressed board in them, but I guess that is just the way they make them now days. The staining looks great and I am glad we picked the color we did.
Well that's about it... helping the in-laws with the yard and pool today. It's going pretty well but I am low on sleep and have a soar throat. I'll be glad when the weekend is over
I have posted the updated pictures of the house from this past weekend in case anyone is interested. Click here to check 'em out. If that link doesn't work
I decided to do the responsible thing and not go to see Star Wars opening night. I have to leave the house at 4am for the airport, and have a meeting that day from 8am-11pm at night. It wouldn't be good for me to be nodding off in the meeting. My strategy is to avoid all spoilers until Saturday and go see an afternoon showing to hopefully avoid the crowds. Hopefully that'll work out...
In house news, not much new has happened since last week. The painters are still not finished painting- they haven't been out since Saturday. I'm hoping they don't drag on too much longer. I have also been trying to find out about concrete. I got two estimates and they were within $200. The cheaper one actually has a better finish (a swirl) on it. However, the other company said they may be able to match the price- and by contract, they have to pour our sidewalk and porch which is included. Since I don't really want two different types of concrete I think I'll go with the original one even though it may be a little more.
I'm just hoping we are in there by end of month next month. Living at the in-laws isn't too bad but I'll be glad when we are moved. This weekend after a long business trip my father-in-law wants me to help him jack up his deck so he can put in a new pool liner. Not looking forward to that... No rest for the weary this weekend.
Have been getting excited about Xbox 360. It looks like it will be a great system especially since some of the games will be backwards compatible. However, I'm the type of person that will play only one game at a time (such as Halo 2) so chances are it will just be my halo gaming system. Also, I will most likely use it as a media center extender since I am running MCE. Well worth the money...
To everyone else going to see Episode 3 tonight, enjoy.. and PLEASE don't tell me about it
Not too bad of a weekend. The funeral for my 2nd cousin went really well, all things considered. There were probably 300+ people at the funeral. He had a great testimony as a Christian, something that was encouraging to me. One of the pastors likened him to "Enoch" (a man who walked with God and was taken away), while another young aspiring pastor (who he worked with) considered him to be a Moses to his Joshua. His wife and children were doing quite well- even laughing and smiling.
We spent the remainder of the week (until Sat am) at my parents and running errands in Columbus. We found a great deal on lights at a place called "Northern Lighting" in Columbus. We also found a great bedroom furniture set. My mom found an ad in the paper about a place that sells overstock furniture. We called and made a trip up to North Columbus. Glad we did- got great set of solid wood furniture for what we were going to pay for laminate. I'm glad we are about wrapped up on things we need for the house..
House update: when I got back on Sat. I went to check out the progress. They have completed the rough grading, minus hauling away a monster pile of dirt that is now on the front of our yard. The grading looked pretty good, though it seemed a bit flat in the back. This week they should be finishing up the painting (they started priming over the weekend). We may also have our concrete driveway poured. The house accross from us is going through the same builder and they are now ready for the concrete as well, so we may be able to save a little if we have it poured at the same time... However, I'm not eager about doing it quite this early since we will potentially have construction vehicles on the concrete (though it should be limited to vans, trucks, etc. since all the heavy stuff should be done).
Misc update: I've got a ticket to see Star Wars at 12:10 am on Thursday morning. I just found out I have to fly out to Horshem PA at 5am that same morning, so I'm debating if I should go to the movie or not. I don't really want to drag down too much that day... And it will be a long day. Hmmm... Decisions..
Didn't get a chance to post pics of the house this weekend. Got side tracked with Mother's day. We had a pretty good one- got to go out to a good Lebanese place. Had some mixed kabab and decent hummus. I still like "the Beruit"- kafta and hummus is better there. Anyway, it was good and we had fun. The waiter remembered my wife (who used to go a lot a few years ago) and brought out flowers for all the moms before we left.
Anyway, I got some pretty sad news yesterday. My 2nd cousin (cousin on my dad's side) passed away. He was only 48 years old and died of a heart attack (second one)- a year ago he had his first heart attack and it was so bad they had to put a shunt in. The sad thing is he was laid off and had 3 kids- the family probably doesn't have much money. He was a really good guy and fortunately, he was also a strong Christian. So I believe he is at home w/ the Lord and in a better place. Was kind of tough for me because we connected pretty well. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with him but really enjoyed what time we did have. We are going to be going to the funeral later this week and spending some time afterward in Columbus visiting my parents.
In other news, got to play some Halo 2 last night with NeeNee and a few other friends from my clan. It was hysterical. We played a game against a group that we matched up with two times in a row.. They were actually pretty good (and beat us both times). The second time around, they started going after NeeNee and were making a game out of it. At one point, they started teasing a kid on their team (probably someone who joined up with them to fill up the team) and said "I bet NeeNee is that one kid's mom". I about lost it for some reason.
I now have tickets for the 12:10 am showing for star wars opening morning. Going to go with a group of friends (same ones I went with for the other episodes, and LOTR series).
Back to the house.. I went out yesterday and the siding is about 99% - they put the rest of the siding up and put one of the two vinyl caps above the garage. It looks pretty good. The garage window seems a little high but it's not bad. They were supposed to install the water meter and turn it on today- I'm going to go check that out and make sure it isn't leaking anywhere. This week they are going to start painting as well. Oh, our second builder (Larry) was "let go" much to our surprise. So we are now back to working with the manager, who is pretty cool. It seems odd that they are going through so much turnover. Not sure what happened with Larry- he was really cool and actually CALLED US. Took care of a lot of the details and we were happy with him. Even with the turnover things are going well and they are getting the job done. The manager (Jack) is estimating that we will be in there by the end of June, which would be great for us. I hope it doesn't go beyond that...
What this country needs is a good five dollar plasma weapon.
