Poppa's Musings http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal Geoff offers slices of life from a Vermont GeekDad Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:19:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 yet another test http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=390 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=390#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:19:57 +0000 Geoff https://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=390 reaper-juron-03045

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=390 0 We’re back, and in HD http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=371 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=371#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:26:14 +0000 Geoff https://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=371 Continue reading →]]> Well, with HD. We moved into a new house over a year ago, and we opted not to get a cable TV subscription. But the HD antenna I got at the Shack wasn’t pulling in strong signal. Which is sad, because I almost have line of sight to the antennas on top of Mount Mansfield.

HD-antenna-01I decided to build one of the DIY antennas, following the instructions Make magazine has online.

I skipped the stand, and just hung the antenna. I even got to use my new Dremel tool to strip the coating off the coat hangers. So far, it seems to be working much better than the retail one.

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=371 0 Fun with little synths http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=350 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=350#comments Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:52:58 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=350

Very cool.

The instruments:

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=350 0 We love the Muppets http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=347 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=347#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:44:26 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=347

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=347 0 USS Albacore http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=346 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=346#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:16:05 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=346 Continue reading →]]> Earlier this Spring, Beloved Wife attended a conference in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and NatureBoy and I tagged along. While BW was conferring, the boy and I ourselves busy. In the evenings, we ate out and explored some of the shops in Portsmouth downtown.

One of the things NatureBoy and I did was visit the USS Albacore submarine museum, which comprises a small gift shop and museum, and a self-guided tour of the actual submarine.

The Albacore has two large, offset rudders and twin, counter-rotating propellers for increased speed and power. 

USS Albacore - port side

USS Albacore - starboard side

 

The doors in the bulkhead were a bit of a squeeze. I’m trying to imagine sailors moving through in a hurry.

albacore-06

 

I couldn’t help thinking of the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues when I saw these controls.

albacore-05

 

Looking through the periscope, you can see… Portsmouth traffic. :-)

albacore-01

 

NatureBoy was impressed by this big mixer in the galley, which he’s sure is a close relation to our KitchenAid mixer back home.

albacore-04

albacore-08

 

Bunks were crammed into all kinds of interesting places. Not that there are bunks above and below the one NatureBoy occupies.

albacore-07

NatureBoy and I were impressed, and I think I’ll be putting Hunt for Red October on our NetFlix queue (maybe Operation Petticoat, too).

Stay tuned for another post with more about our trip.

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=346 0 What class are you? http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=336 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=336#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:32:58 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=336
D&D Home Page – What Class Are You? – Build A Character – D&D Compendium

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=336 0 Snow days are fun http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=335 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=335#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:01:08 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=335 Continue reading →]]> We’ve been getting a lot of wet, heavy snow over the last day, and more is on the way. I even got my car stuck in the driveway on top of the snow. /sigh

snowday-02

I decided to take a day off to spend with NatureBoy during his winter vacation. We had a quick morning errand, and had to dig out my car. This gave us an opportunity to exchange volleys of snowballs.

Much of the rest of the day was spent playing BattleLore, which we hadn’t played in a long time. We played three games, and NatureBoy won all of them.

snowday-01

It’s a fun combination of strategy board game and miniatures.

snowday-03

I also roasted a chicken with carrots, leeks and turnips in my dutch oven. It was very moist and flavorful. Have I mentioned that I love cooking with my dutch oven?

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=335 0 We can has swim? drink? http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=328 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=328#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:32:07 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=328 boys-meets-ducks

Before we had chickens, we had ducks! I miss them… sort of. They were happy to help themselves to NB’s kiddie pool. Though, this picture is of their tub. So is it LOLDucks or LOLKid?

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=328 0 NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=325 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=325#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:03:50 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=325 Continue reading →]]> Official NaNoWriMo YWP 2009 Winner

Nature Boy has participated in the National Novel Writing Month’s Young Writers Program, this month. He’s very excited because he just completed his first draft of his work at over 12,000 words.

He’s been working hard on it, and though I’m not allowed to read it, yet, I can’t wait.

Well done, NB!

]]> http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?feed=rss2&p=325 0 The Oathbound http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=323 http://gcd.w3.uvm.edu/personal/?p=323#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:29:24 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=323 Continue reading →]]> The Oathbound (Valdemar: Vows and Honor, #1) The Oathbound by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Finished this last night. I grabbed the Sword and Sorceress III volume from the library in order to read the beginning of the story, and that was very compelling. This volume developed the characters and story arc. I found it less a single novel than a sequence of encounters, but there is an undergirding narrative that connects the separate chapters flowing and coherent. Although I liked this book a lot, I didn’t see the kind of growth and change in the characters that I have seen in other Lackey novels. I will continue reading the the series, though, and see where Tarma and Kethry take me. View all my reviews >>

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