Poppa's Musings http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal Geoff offers slices of life from a Vermont GeekDad Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:29:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 The Oathbound http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=323 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=323#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:29:24 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=323 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 >>

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=323 0 Greens, beans, and rice http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=322 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=322#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:54:51 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=322 I improvised a dish with some collard greens, some black beans, and rice, plus onions, carrots, and some dice kielbasa. And I started with two strips of thick-cut Mckenzie bacon.

greens-beans-rice

It came out very well; Beloved Wife had to go back for a second helping! And I got to use my birthday dutch oven again.

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=322 0 Sneak attack soda – yum! http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=319 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=319#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:21:29 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=319 A while back, I posted a link on Facebook about the Dungeons & Dragons Limited Edition Spellcasting Sodas from Jones. The mom of a kid who participates in the kids D&D group saw that link, and ordered a case as birthday party favors. And the kid wanted bring some to the gaming group.

dnd_jones_soda

Well, I was skeptical. But I had the sneak attack soda; I think it was the best cream soda I’ve ever had. Of course, NatureBoy wants to get our own case so we can have D&D soda bottles that we treasure forever. :-) .

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=319 0 Chicken Coop Plans http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=316 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=316#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:41:41 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=316 I just found my original sketches of the chicken coop design, and I have to say that the execution wasn’t too far off the mark. Here’s the sketch…

ChickenCoop-Sketch

And here’s the coop…

ChickenCoop2-finished

Not bad.

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=316 0 My birthday present http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=312 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=312#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:58:32 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=312 I haven’t started calling it my precious, but I’m very fond of the enameled cast-iron dutch oven that Beloved Wife got me got my birthday.  This weekend, I used it to make a yummy vegetable curry.

dutch-oven-curry

Even NatureBoy enjoyed it! I will have to make it again.

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=312 0 Chicken Coop II http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=308 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=308#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:44:00 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=308 One of the major projects of this summer has been the new Chicken Coop.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: Chicken Coop

About five years ago, we got rid of our chickens and our old chicken coop. The urge to keep chickens returned, though, and so we needed to be a new one. There are still a few details that need to be addressed (South door window, back door latches, nesting boxes and trim. But the chickens are out of the house!

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=308 0 BW’s licensure exam today! http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=307 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=307#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:33:32 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=307 Beloved Wife is taking her Occupation Therapy Assistant licensure exam. Best of luck, sweetie. You’ve worked very hard for two years; I know it will pay off.

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=307 1 Happy 13th, NatureBoy! http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=304 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=304#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:40:39 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=304

You are loving, creative, spirited, and lots of fun. I love being your Dad; it’s such an adventure. I can’t wait to see what’s around the corner or behind the locked wooden door. :-)

CraftyMomma has some more cute NB photos. Check them out.

This one is going on my desk:

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=304 0 Steve retires :( http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=302 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=302#comments Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:53:26 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=302 For he's a jolly good fellow! #byesjc on Twitpic

Among other things Steve said at his retirement celebration, today, was this. “I hope I have as much fun in retirement as I’ve had working at UVM.”

My tears didn’t come until I left the party.

Friend to me and many, many souls here at UVM; visionary, curmudgeon, provocateur, playful adopter and vocal advocate of disruptive innovations. I will miss your voice, calling to us from a divergent path, pointing toward a new, interesting destination.

Now that you’ve migrated much of your virtual essence into the cloud, I expect frequent pings (tweets, facebook updates, Asian video chats…) telling me what you really think. And keep the cool music and design posts flowing.

Let’s go out to lunch before summer is over. I’ll buy you a martini. :)

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=302 0 CraftyMomma’s most recent project http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=301 http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=301#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:30:01 +0000 Geoff http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?p=301 When I got home from work, yesterday, Beloved Wife showed me her most recent creation:

A spouse who’s good with power tools. W00T!

It’s a “grazing ark” for our intrepid guinea pigs. Yes, they will be spending most of their summer days outside. (Hurray!)

It came out just exactly as she had described it to me and had sketched. We had a couple brief consultations about construction methodology, but the design and execution are all hers. Well, done, BW!

]]> http://www.uvm.edu/~gcd/personal/?feed=rss2&p=301 0