Big Numbers

200k, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Last Friday the van hit the 200k mile mark. The same van that I just fixed so it would pass inspection. Yes the check engine light is on, but really it would be more surprising if it wasn't. As my mechanics observed vehicles like this are not known for lasting this long.

The big event itself happened while I was driving back from the Kol Nidre service. I glanced at the odometer and let out a big whoop. Nate, who was riding shotgun, said we should take a picture so I told him to use my phone. The resulting picture is a bit blurred, but it is legible.

As for the timing of the picture, Nate gave me the following explanation. He wanted the number to be 200,013 since it was Friday the 13th and the year is 2013.

Lottery - The FlipSide

An interesting short film written/directed by Ben Shelton of Shelton Films. It asks the question what would you do if you won the lottery.

Still Morning

Still Morning, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I'm starting to feel hints of fall, The mornings are chill and it takes a while for the day to warm up. Leaves are starting to show hints of red and orange. And the sun is slowly sliding lower on the horizon, changing the quality of light, No longer the harsh, flat blaze of summer light, there is a softer feel to daylight.

G'mar Chatima Tovah

Tree of Life, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

And an easy fast to my friends and family.

Tiny Lizard

tiny lizard, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Jacob spotted this little guy the other day. To give a bit of scale, that is a nailhead on the left.

I have only briefly seen this particular species (Eastern Fence Lizard) before, most likely due to its diminutive size. I'm used to seeing the five lined skinks, particularly in the juvenile form with the electric blue tail. This little guy is not nearly as showy with its grey scaly skin.

However it is very cute

A Dozen years Ago

Flags, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I had a quiet day today, which is appropriate for patriot's day. I didn't go out except to drop off Nate for his morning car pool to school and to collect Jacob from his after school marching band rehearsal. So I have no new pictures for today. But I did find this rather somber one I took last yer around Veterans' Day at the Virginia War memorial.

I did have one interesting moment this weekend concerning Sept. 11th. Rebecca was working on a school project, a sort of brochure all about her. She had to detail two experiences the affected her life.I was going to suggest September 11th when it hit me, she was born after that fateful day. It has always been a part of her life.

Somehow it really hit home for me how long ago it was. I have this lovely, smart, and vivacious creature that has never known before, only after. She is in middle school and is getting taller by the minute. It really knocked me back for a minute.

A dozen years, more than a lifetime yet it seems not so long ago.

And I Repair Cars

Third Tail light, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Last week I brought the van in for new tires. One tree was shot to heck and I was driving around on the spare. I had a sneaking suspicion that at least one other tree needed replacing and had the shop check them all out.

I was right and in reality all needed replacing and after the *ahem* slightly overdue inspection it turned out I had a burnt out reverse signal light and the third tail light was so dim it was effectively nonfunctional. Thus my van earned a big old reject sticker. Since my van is rather geriatric, 9 1/2 years to be precise, and a discontinued mode my mechanics didn't have the tail light on hand. They told me I had 15 days to correct the problems and maybe I should look around for a tail light in a junkyard. It is a complicated part and it would be silly to spend a lot on such an old vehicle.

After a bit of research I discovered exactly how complicated the part is, in order to replace the third light I would also have to replace the windshield wiper motor. Yes,that's right, the Ford motor company in all its wisdom combined the tail light and the rear wiper motor. The above picture shows the entire part. Every mechanic I've talked to this past week has shook their head and said that's crazy.

Unfortunately I could not find a used one, this was after two junkyards and a dealer in salvaged auto-parts. So I was stuck going to the dealership and ordering from them, note the parts department thought the combo was crazy as well. Today the part came in and I was able to successfully install the new wiper motor and tail light. Toss in a new reverse light buld and I was good to go for inspection.

It's nice to have a vehicle without a rejection sticker.

Fresh Guacamole by PES

A delightful short film by PES.

Well Hello There

Tomato Hornworm, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Yesterday I was breathlessly informed by some of my children that there was an absolutely enormous caterpillar om one of our tomato plants. This warranted further investigation. I had my suspicions on what they found, so a quick trip outside was in order.

They were not exaggerating, it was huge, possibly the biggest hornworm I have ever seen.

In my previous life I was a lab tech, one of the labs I worked in had tobacco hornworms. From what I learned we had a tomato hornworm, which is very similar to the tobacco. Both will feed on tomato plants, so it's no guarantee that you have tomato hornworm on a tomato plant. I also learned that these were the critters that had been eating the odd tomato. I had blamed the squirrels, but now I know better.

Picture of the Week: Round Up

Round Up, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I had no real expectations when I took this photo. I had my little point and shoot camera with me and got some decent shots, I was able to get the timing right so that Meryl was clearly visible. I pulled out my cell phone so I could do a quick upload onto Facebook.

All I took was one picture with my phone and I was amazed with the result. I wasn't expecting much so I was blown away by the clarity of the picture. The picture is straight out of the phone. No cropping, no adjusting of light levels, nor color enhancing. It was uploaded straight from the phone to Flickr. The blur on the Round Up is perfect. Motion is indicated, but the static features are clearly captured.

Cell phone cameras have come a long way.

L'Shanah Tovah!

Off to School, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

May you have a sweet new year.

Artist of the Week: Soccer Tourney

Away We Go, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This week's artist, or rather artists are Max and Rebecca.

I took this picture of them at the county fair. It was far less than ideal weather, what with the periodic downpours', and yet that made it all the better. There were no lines and for once it didn't feel like we were on the surface of the sun. They both had a wonderful time and were even willing to go on the rides together.

This past weekend they also spent some time together. Both of their soccer teams were entered in a tournament over in Williamsburg. We headed over on Saturday and were on the soccer pitch bright and early for their first games. Rebecca's team had another game shortly after and in the short time between their second games , I scooted over to the hotel we were staying at to check in. When we came back after Max's game we relaxed in the hotel. Rebecca hung out with her teammates and Max spent time with his teammate that was staying with us (he's a great kid and is Max's best friend. His mom was stretched mighty thin last weekend and I offered to take him in. At this point in the tourney both teams had one loss and one win. putting Max's team second place in its bracket.

On Sunday Rebecca had two scheduled games (for the girl's team it was round-robin affair) while Max's team had made it to the semi-finals, if the boys' win, then they would play in the finals. Unfortunately it was not to be and they lost. However it was not too shabby for a team that up until Saturday had yet to of played a game together. As for Rebecca's team, they hung in there and played some very tough competition to a tie and lost to the team that completely dominated the game. Both Max and Rebecca conked out in the car during the ride back home. It was an exhausting weekend.

First Day of Middle School

First Day of Middle School, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Today I can really and truly say I have no more elementary school aged children. After 12 (!) years of having at least one, and for a few years three, in elementary school I'm done.

I guess it is a little bit sad, but I'm so done with it all. Don't get me wrong, I love our school. We had wonderful teachers and the staff was terrific, particularly with Max. However I'm so glad to be closing that chapter in our lives.

As for my middle-schoolers, they were nervous, but excited. Their seemly sad expressions are more about the much earlier bus schedule and the far longer walk to the bus stop.

Oh and silly mom having to take yet another picture.

Back In The Saddle Again

The last part of summer just about wiped me out. Two soccer tournaments, a big shindig in honor of our Rabbi, and the general chaos of back to school. Add in a new computer and all that entails and my little corner of the internet was sadly neglected. But now that the school year starts I'm back in the saddle again.

Please Explain

Texas brand, but from Wisconsin, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I love Jacob's sense of humor, it's not that far off from mine. We find the same things funny and gleefully point them out to each other. Case in point, the can Jacob noticed on the shelf at Walmart.

Neither of us could get over the fact that the label boldly proclaims "Texas Brand" with smaller letters stating "made in Wisconsin." So many questions, is it Texan or is it Wisconsin. Clearly not from the lone star state, since it it is made in Wisconsin and yet Texas Brand, Thus is it just Texas style? Also why the big deal that it is made in Wisconsin.

We will probably never learn the reasoning behind this label, but it did amuse us and was worthy of a picture.

Well That was Annoying

Last month my computer died and I went on hiatus until its replacement arrived and I got everything squared away on the new system. I had just gotten back in the swing of posting when Friday the modem called it quits as I was writing a very involved email.

Nuts.

I did the usual power cycling and it refused to work. One long phone call later I got Comcast's blessing to swap out the old for a new one. All I wanted was a functional modem. the tech support guy wanted to get me a discount on my service and determined we would be eligible for the latest and greatest of their modems. It is an all in one unit that functions as a modem, digital phone jack, a wireless router, and could poop rainbows. Honestly I tuned out halfway through. All I cared about was the reduction in my internet bill. Then he started to schedule me for and installation appointment for either Monday or Tuesday. Whoa, that was too long to be without internet service and I can do this myself.

Why can't I just pick it up at the service center that is less than 20 minutes away?

I got some song in dance that it is only on the service trucks and can't be just "picked up at the service center." I could, however, have it shipped to my house directly. Which, of course, would be next Friday. Ouch. We settled on my getting the basic that day and turning it back in when the new one shows up. Amusingly I was offered the new fancy dancey one at the service center. Score one for diy.

Sadly my victory was short lived, the new one didn't work either. So another call to Comcast and this time with the tentative diagnoses of bad wiring. and I could be scheduled in for Tuesday for a service call. Ugh, we are now even further back to getting the internet back. Fortunately the whole thing resolved itself when the magical modem suddenly powered up. That said, I'm still waiting on the modem thing to start pooping rainbows.

We Got the Power

After years of sitting on the fence, my in-laws pushed us off  and got us a generator.

We don't lose power very often and it generally comes back quickly. It takes a fairly major storm, ie a hurricane, to knock out the power for any significant length of time. And yet it is a concern when at any one time you have well over a $1000 worth of medications that must be kept refrigerated. Meryl is always happy to take us in and allow us to abuse her refrigerator, but it's a royal pain in the neck going back and forth.

So now we are the proud owners of a 4,400 watt generator that runs on either liquid propane or gas. I guess this means we won't be losing power for quite some time.

Artist of the Week: Sand Huts

Soccer Max, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Max is this week's artist and he is pictured here with the coaches from last week's British Challenger soccer camp. Originally Jacob was to be the one attending the camp, but the Thursday beforehand he did something wonky with his foot and was unable to attend. As we were trying to figure out to do Max mentioned that he wished he was going to te same camp.We didn't sign him up this year because his travel team has a team camp scheduled the following week. Since Max and Jacob are in the same age group we substituted Max for his brother.

The coaches were fine with the idea, but suggested that maybe on the following day Max should come back and be with the earlier, younger group. I told them to just let him give it a try, Max may be small, but he is a good player. When I came back three hours later to pick up Max the coaches agreed that Max was in the right group, he would be running rings around the younger kids.

Sand huts, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Which brings me to Max's sand constructions, he is a good little builder that likes to make rings around his buildings. We had gone to visit friends in Syracuse, NY and went to a couple of lakes in the area. Max always views a beach as an opportunity to build. He made a series of small huts or caves with well defined moat surrounding them. Off to the upper right side you can see a field where the crops are grown. He then went on to make bigger and better structures which I did not photograph. Silly me, I wanted to swim and socialize, not stand around and take pictures. But really he made quite a complex, which was very challenging considering how crowded the beach was at the time.

Oh Deer

Deer, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

When I say we have a lot of deer in the neighborhood, this is what I'm talking about.

Normally we have just a couple of does and several fawns (one doe always seems to have twins, it must be something in the water). Very rarely will there be a buck. This year, however, we have seen a buck fairly often with our resident does. This small family grouping is part of a larger herd that I was able to photograph last week.

The photo quality is terrible, but in my defense it was twilight and the deer were not going to stay still and let me get close enough for the flash to work.  That said, you can plainly see the buck, he is on the right side of the herd. Also this may look like a lot of deer, but quite a few had left by the time I got outside with the camera. This is just a small portion of the deer popution in my neighborhood.

So yeah, gardening is kind of pointless with this amount of deer in the area.

Sign Language

I'm back with a new computer. It took a week for the new system to arrive and another to transfer my pictures and load programs. I must say it's nice having a system from this decade. I didn't lose anything, most of my pictures wee backed up andmy old system gave its final gasp after I was done with it.

So anyhoodle, here is a sweet short film that was the Grand Prize Winner Virgin Media Shorts 2010.