Watt's Up Musings of an original geek

Milk and cookies mix, milk and crackers mix, but milk and keyboards don’t mix. Yesterday I spilled about 16 oz. of milk all over my keyboard. I couldn’t move since it was running down the table and onto my lap. I used my hands and arms to block the flow. With Kathy’s help we dammed and soaked up the flood with paper towels. After changing my clothes then it was down to the kitchen to take everything apart and wash it all. The keyboard has never been cleaned so it was full of bits and hair. Ugh. Now today it’s dry and clean, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get it back together again. I gotta be more careful.

Update:Yesterday, after leaving the keyboard to dry out for the week, I attempted to assemble it. Since I had taken it apart quickly to get the milk out of it, I barely remembered how to put it together. However, after about an hour of studying the various pieces I was able to do it with no extra screws left over. Then I was even more surprised that it worked. At dinner that night my family remarked how the subsitute keyboards were so upsetting to them, and how they had become used to this ol’ yet newly repaired and cleaned! keyboard. So human-factors does play a big role in what we like or dislike especially when it comes to keyboards. So when this one finally bites-the-dust where will I find another “Gateway 2000” keyboard from 1991 to replace it. Oh my! [P.S. You can find them (PN 7000598) on the Internet for about $45.00. Maybe I should buy a few for backup]

Katie’s friend, Kim, from Ohio arrived yesterday night and will be staying with us for the week. She and Katie left this morning for Schlitterbahn water park and San Antonio. They’ll return tomorrow after staying over night in San Antonio. Kathy and I went grocery shopping today and bought piles of stuff assuming that the youngsters will eat us out of house and home upon their return.

Katie wanted chocolate chip cookies today. We didn’t have any walnuts so first we had to buy some. We had all the other ingredients. After we returned from the store we made a double-batch. We were lazy so we made them into chocolate-chip-bars on a cookie sheet instead of individual cookies. After they cooled down I trimmed and cut them with a circular pizza cutter.

I was slow in taking the picture and we had already eaten the edge trimmings and a bunch of the bars.If I took another picture now it would show an empty pan. Yum. We can’t do this every week, but it was fun today.

Yesterday Kathy and I had made chocolate-covered strawberries for today. Kathy was having a group of stitching friends over and she wanted a treat for them. We used fresh ripe strawberries, and Hersey’s chocolate. Well we made too many, and now I have the unenvious responsibility of getting rid of them. Yum!

This is just one of several plates of them. Awwww, that’s just too bad. I’ve eaten so many today that I’ll probably not get to sleep tonight. Hmmmm. But there something special about the combination of flavors – the tart strawberries and the sweet chocolate – the combination is more than the sum of its parts.

Yesterday was running and recovery along with a bit of work. I fixed a thorny problem which felt good. During my unit testing at the end of this week I encountered a problem and since then I have been working on trying to fix. This problem was known and had been discussed earlier by the smart people on my team, but was not considered a significant problem. Well now that my unit testing had exposed it, I felt it was indeed a problem that needed to be solved. So after much thought and study, and with a few lines of carefully placed SPU assembler code here and there I got it working. Now the unit test is passing which is good. Naturally there is always more to do, but doing this change entirely by myself and fully understanding what I did further helps reduce the pressure that I have placed upon myself to contribute to this effort and become a full member of it.

So today I didn’t have anything pressing to do. Kathy asked if I wanted to make some shelves for her quilting room, which was once Matthew’s bedroom. I said sure. We talked about what she wanted. I sketched up some plans, and estimated that it would cost about $125. We drove over to Home Depot together and bought the materials: two 4 by 8 foot sheets of birch veneered plywood cut into eight 8 foot by 12 inch wide pieces (they were kind enough to cut them there for us); four mounting strips, and twenty-eight shelf brackets. After getting home I got out the tools in the garage while Kathy cleared out the closet upstairs. Afterwards she came down and helped me. Psst, have I ever told you that she hates me taking pictures of her, especially when she’s got her eye and ear protection on, well she does.

Together we cut the shelves to length, routed the edges with a curved bit, and sanded the edges. Next we carried the materials and some tools up to the room. First we removed the rod, then we measured and mounted the strips to the closet wall, inserted the brackets, and layed down the shelves. As we were doing it we realized we had over bought one strip and 10 shelf brackets, so we plan on returning the brackets, but since we had already cut the extra strip we can’t return it. Although I had a few difficulties getting the screws into the corners of wall with the screw-gun, in the end I was able to do it.After the project was all done the shelves were ready to get filled with boxes of quilting and craft materials. And that makes my sweetheart happy which in turn makes me happy.

Today was a typical Sunday. I did some housework outside this morning. It was in the mid to high 80s and quite humid. I had to cut the tree on the side of the house back so that it wouldn’t touch the house. When it does the carpenter ants make the leap and get into the house. After that I trimmed the front bushes. In years past they were almost five feet tall, but last year I hacked them back to about three feet. Today I evened them out and tried to make them round-ish. By the time I was done I was a ball of sweat. After changing my clothes, Katie and I went shopping for our weekly groceries. Other than the standards of bread, milk, etc, we got some snow crab legs for dinner tonight. Katie is in a crab-mood. We’ll probably make some baked potatoes with it. Now I’m just plunking on the computer.

Side tree and bushes after timmingI’m running, then I’m going to work each day. I have my running class where I’m training for Chicago Marathon on October 22. I’m taking it easy and not pushing so hard this time. I don’t expect any fancy results other than to complete it. At work I’m involved with SPU Overlay support for the Cell Broadband Engine. I’m working with a cast of characters from around the world which I’m enjoying. I’m the line item owner which means I’m the point man when it comes to status. It also means that I have to herd this bunch of feral cats that make up the development team. Not always an easy thing to do. These past few days I’ve finished some changes and shipped them to the crowd. Now I’m focused on unit testing the code, that is, exercising all the potential alternatives. After work when I get home I watch a bit of TV while on the computer. I keep up with my children through their blogs, but they, like me, have been posting less frequently. They probably think they have nothing to say, much like me, but I still enjoy hearing about their day-to-day stuff. I’m always wondering how they are doing. Then I head off to bed. I’m trying to get in 8 hours of sleep a night. So that means I have to bunk down about 10 PM for my 6 AM alarm. Overall life is quiet, but good. By this I mean it’s not all that stressful which is fine with me.

You would think that I’ve sat enough this past week with all the driving I’ve done. But I’ve been to three movies this weekend: two yesterday, The Devil Wears Prada and The Heart of the Game, and one today, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. The first was all by myself since the rest of my family had already seen it. The second was with both Kathy and Katie. The third was with Katie. The first two were good, and the third was a bit slow for me. I liked The Heart of the Game, and would recommend it especially for those who enjoy sports movies. I’m movied-out now.

After waking at 7:30 AM, brushing his teeth, going to the toilet, I got back on the road. Through Fort Worth and down I-35 I arrived home at 12:45 PM after 2071 miles from leaving California. I was exhausted, but very glad to be home. It was a wonderful trip. Now my life will get back to normal – whatever that means…

I have always wanted to see the Grand Canyon. It has been a goal of mine for years. I don’t exactly know why. Nevertheless, today was the day.

The alarm woke me at 4 AM and I quickly got up and got ready which included lathering myself with suntan lotion. All my things were layed out from the night before and I left the hotel at 4:20 AM. The drive north on Route 64 in the dark with a few other cars took about an hour. The sun was just coming up when I paid my $25.00 entry fee and drove two miles to the parking lot. The weather was great – sunny, clear and cool. I got a few glimpses of the canyon once in the park, but I didn’t stop since I wanted to catch the bus to the trail as early as possible.

Upon parking I got my things including my new wide-brimmed straw hat, my backpack loaded with water and goodies, and my trusty walking stick [dear stick, we have been on many journeys together haven’t we], and then caught a bus to South Kaibab trailhead. Stepping out of the bus I then truely saw the canyon on an intimate level. Standing on the trailhead I could see across for miles and I could also see down. The sheer size and depth was awesome.

Two other hikers started ahead of me. Suddenly I because instantly aware of what I was planning on doing. My fear of heights staggered me and I wondered if I could do this. Oh my Gawd. My balance hasn’t been the same since my surgery. I could fall over the edge. I had to be kidding myself to even think I could do this. My palms began to sweat, and my legs felt weak. Should I stay at the top? Should I take the bus back? Should I give up? I steeled myself, and thought all I could do was try. If I couldn’t make it I would just turn around. But what happened if I just froze somewhere way down there. Petrified by fear, unable to move either down or up. What then?

Very carefully I turned the corner and began to descend. I looked straight ahead at the path. I couldn’t look out or down. I had a death grip on my walking stick. I walked slowly downward keeping as uphill as I could. At times my legs would quiver. I felt I was going to fall over the edge. But I kept going – one step at a time. Eyes straight ahead. Down the uneven steps, down the sandy path, over the mule droppings, around the corners. At times I would stop, press my body as far uphill into the rocks as I could and look out with legs quivering. It was both stunning and unnerving.

Click on image to enlarge

I was doing it. Down and down I continued. Plant my stick, balance myself, step downward. Over and over.

At times the trail would zig zag back and forth, and at others it would start afresh in a new direction. However at all times I could feel the enormous height, the massive sheer rock cliffs, and the valley thousands of feet below. On I went. Eyes straight ahead. Plant my stick, balance myself, step downward. Over and over.

The path was uneven. Sometimes hollowed out with a sandy base, sometimes littered with mule droppings, other times formed of irregular solid sandstone, still other times filled with one or two inch jagged pieces, and all separated from the next by a sunken cedar branch steps. It forced me to concentrate on my balance. Plant my stick, balance myself, step downward. Over and over.

Turning one corner coming around a bluff the rest of the canyon came into view. From shadow to sunlit path. A slight wind could be felt. Boulders to the left sticking out into the void. I was 3/4 mile on my journey and half way from my turn around point which was to be 1000 feet down into the mile deep canyon. I had reached Ooh Aah Point. Yet I couldn’t say it – those weren’t the sounds I felt at the time. All I could think… Plant my stick, balance myself, step downward. Over and over.

At times I looked back up from where I started. The path was barely visible in the distance. The scale of the canyon is so great that where I had started now looks like a minature scene.

After 50 minutes of total concentration I arrived at Cedar Ridge, the turnaround. A much needed stopping point and a broad flat red sandy area. Others had arrived earlier and were still there. They had walked out on the bluff as far as you could go. Pictures were being taken to record our accomplishment. I had mine taken. Is that a smile I see? I had done it. I had faced my fear of heights. I had kept my awkward balance. They were still a part of me, a big part, but I had done something that was hard for me and I felt quite happy that I had succeeded. Inwardly I was beginning to relax. I sat, drank some water, ate some granola bars, and enjoyed the view.

After a 30 minute rest I began my ascent. The way back up was much easier. The fear of the unknown had disappated. I could see the switch backs ahead of me this time and now I know where the steep parts are. After 2 1/2 hours I arrive back at the trailhead. Instead of catching the bus I walked the rim path and stopped at various lookouts. Although many other people could walk right up to the railing. I could only approach it slowly and stand a few feet away. I was still very much afraid of the height. After 5+ hours of hiking South Kaibab trail, walking the Rim path, taking many photos I grabbed a sandwich and fruit at the park cafeteria, and left for points further east.

Back in the car, and back down Route 64 to I-40. Mile after mile, and hour after hour, I drove from afternoon to late night. Past Albuquerque, NM to Armadillo, TX and Route 278. I was getting very tired and tried to stop at 12:15 AM, but the trucks were too noisy so I left the rest stop. Next I stopped at a church, but again the trucks zooming by and finally at 2 AM the noise of a nearby freight train and it’s whistle scared me awake and again I started driving. At the next rest stop at about 4 AM I pulled as far from the trucks as I could, angled the seat back, pulled a blanket and pillow over my head to shield me from the parking lot light, and slept until 7:30 AM.

I returned home yesterday night from the fireworks too tired to start on my drive so I unpacked my aero-bed, sleeping bag and pillows and again slept at Stephanie and Justin’s apartment. I woke once at 2:30 AM, and went back to sleep. Then I awoke at 4:30 AM and was awake enough to pack the remainder of my stuff, and get on the road by 5 AM heading south on 101 with two Coke Zeros helping. I had a very good time with them and shed a sad tear upon driving south alone. Stephanie has a very infectious fun-loving almost-quirky personality and is a special lady. From my viewpoint she and Justin enjoy each other’s company and it’s nice to see them sharing and working together as friends first and foremost. I will miss both of them.

I listened to books on tape to help the miles go by. From US-101 to I-580 to I-5 I drove on. I stopped several times along the way for gas and bio-breaks, but otherwise the trip was uneventful.

Finally I was on I-40 until Williams, AZ where I arrived at about 5 PM after 790 miles. My body was tingling from the massage of the road vibrations. I checked into the HoJo hotel (this was the first time that I stayed at a hotel). After dinner at McDs I took a much needed hot shower and prepared for my adventure to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. I layed out my clothes, packed my backpack with various things, set the alarm early and went to bed at 7:30 PM knowing that I would be getting up at 4 AM to travel up there.