Last Saturday, DISH Network upgraded my satellite system to ensure I'd continue to receive the latest HD programming.
My previous setup involved two separate dishes on my roof. (For those who want the technical jargon: I had a hybrid system with one dish pointing at satellites 110°, 119° and a second wing dish pointing
at 61.5°. DISH Network is dividing up their channels and satellites such that a customer must either have a "Western
Arc" configuration consisting of 110°, 119°, and 129° or "Eastern Arc" consisting of 61.5°,
72.7°, and 77°. Each of these "arcs" would use a single unified dish. In my case, due to line
of site issues, I needed to have the Eastern Arc with the DISH Network 1000.4 dish.) The canopy of trees around my house made putting the upgraded dish on my roof an impossibility. Therefore
a pole mount was done about 130 feet behind my house in the only part of my property that actually has a semi-clear view of
the eastern sky. I had to cut down a couple trees to accomplish this, but the absence of those trees did not effect
the overall appearance of the landscape.
When the installer arrived, he helped me determine which trees were impeding
the line-of-site to the satellites. Even though I live way out in the woods, he said it is illegal for him to dig the
hole for the pole mount until the authorities inspect it and give him the go-ahead to proceed. This would mean he would
have to initially install a temporary tripod install and then return at a later date to dig the hole for the permanent install
once the "dig test" people approved the site. He told me the way to expedite the install would be for me to
dig the 3 1/2 ' hole myself. He left me with two bags of quick set concrete and a pole while he temporarily left
to take care of another customer. Three hours later, he returned, aimed the dish, ran the cable on top of the ground
for me to bury later, and quickly connected the cables to my receivers. He confirmed I was getting all the correct channels
and left. I started to feel as if I'd done all the work, but he did do a very professional job.
So, I had
a long holiday weekend starting today. I decided this would be a good time to bury the cable. The coaxial cable used
for the install is bright orange. While I was going to bury the cable, the part that trails up the pole and loops underneath
the dish itself virtually glowed and stuck out like a sore thumb. I decided it'd be amusing to obscure the cable
with camouflage duct tape. After consulting with some of my online buddies who are experts on such things, it was decided that I could use the tape to obscure the exposed bright orange cable with
no ill effects.
While summertime in East Texas is never a good time to take on such a project, today was particularly
uncomfortable as the humidity was so high, and the remnants of now tropical depression Alex are bringing scattered showers
while I'm doing it. The rain just turned to steam as it hit the already saturated ground.
Ultimately, the
cable burial was not too hard. The beauty of having wood ferns as a natural ground cover is that they provide a virtual
carpet of fine roots on top of the soil. I literally just scored the "carpet" with a flat transfer shovel
and pealed it back just enough to slide the cable underneath it. The grade of cable was "direct bury" so there
was no need to use conduit.
Then came the duct tape trick. I made a cleaner loop of cable and re-affixed zip ties to
make the cable lie completely flat against the pole. I decided to completely wrap the pole all the way up to the dish itself
as well as wrap the loop such that none of the orange cable was visible. The cool thing is that the style of camo used on
the duct tape is "digital camo". Apropos for a digital satellite system.
It's not easy making
a satellite dish blend into the woods, but I think I pulled it off pretty well.
Here are some before pictures (click
on the thumbnails for larger versions).
Our beloved Pip is a Pit Bull mix. She has (had) glaucoma that resulted in complete blindness about 2 years ago. She
adapted to the blindness quite well, and can even maneuver through the woods on her own to have her morning "movement".
Otherwise, she lives in the house with us and apparently loves it. She retrieves her toys from her basket and plays
with them. She even stimulates herself by tossing her toys into the air and then searches them out. She is a very
content and gentle dog.
In simple terms, glaucoma causes an increased pressure in the eyes. As is often the case, the medications that were designed to keep the pressure
in her eyes under control were starting to fail to keep her comfortable. To to eliminate her pain, today, Pip had a complete
enucleation (surgical removal of her eyes). She is doing quite well just 4 hours post-op. The stitches will be removed
in about 2 weeks.
I took a picture of her just to document the occasion, but I realized the picture may be misleading
(click the thumbnail for a larger version). Even just four hours post-op, she's still a happy, content, dog.
So, I shot this short video of her wagging her tail.
I don't go to the theater very much. That's because HiltonHouse Theater is much better. However, it may
be hard to wait for these three films to be released on Blu-ray.
The first one, The Expendables. Even if the plot and screenplay is terrible, with the lineup of "actors", it's sure to be a fun ride.
It's almost as if a group of fanboys got together and said, "wouldn't if be great to have Bruce Willis,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Randy Couture, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren,
and Mickey Rourke in the same shoot-em-up movie!"
The next one, Salt, looks to be in the same vein of a Bourne film and the sleeper, Breach. I not a huge Angelina Jolie fan, but again it'll probably be a fun summer film.
The last one, Knight and Day, is a little confusing. Say what you will about Tom Cruise as a person (weirdo?), but he is a pretty good actor.
If there's any doubt, check out Magnolia. Knight and Day is certainly going to have some humor, but it's apparently going to include some crazy stunts!
We started off the summer blockbuster season right with Iron Man 2. I can't wait for what's to come.
Look what I found this morning. While I was taking out the trash, I noticed this beautiful specimen. He, like
me, probably wasn't expecting the 52 degree temperature. I just took a few pics, and let him/her be. He'll
warm up later and slither off. As everyone knows, at HiltonHouse, we live and let live. (Click on picture for larger
version).
Gypsy has turned out to be a great dog. Her training has been a little difficult because she's so different
from any other dog we've had. She still has the destructive puppy-ness quality, but she's trying so hard to
be good. She is probably the most obedient of the pack, now. She comes to me when I call her, and
then she even heels---and I didn't even intentionally teach her that. On my morning walks, if I call her once, she
comes to me and sits, making direct eye contact. Then, as I continue walking, she walks very close to me and behind
me. If I don't have my hands in my pockets, my hand will occasionally inadvertantly brush her nose, due to her being
so close. She does this regardless of what the rest of the pack is doing. She understands the signal to carry
on (un-heel?) is for me to kneel down and pet on her while talking to her in a playful tone. While it still requires
a voice command, she even restrains herself from chasing the school bus or newspaper guy, overcoming the pack mentality despite
Bonnie and Mercy charging off barking their fool heads off. I've all but given up on breaking Bonnie and Mercy from
this annoying activity.
Today, the warm sun knocked Gypsy down. I just wanted to post these pics to show
what a beautiful dog she's turned out to be. So, to the soul-less jerk who dumped her, have a look at what you gave
up...
We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. Per our tradition, my wife and I went to her step-father and mother's home around 10:30 a.m. There, we snacked and watched football while her father-in-law
fried the turkey and her mother slaved in the kitchen. My wife made the dressing which was delicious as usual.
The turkey, dressing, roasted vegetables, salad, and homemade rolls were all perfect as was the company. Then we followed it up with her mom's italian cream cake and
coffee---and more football! I just love her mother and father-in-law!
Then around 5:30 p.m., we schlepped (always
wanted to use that word) over to my parents home for an evening meal with my parents, brother, sister, sister-in-law, newphews, niece, and my nephew's girlfriend. My mother slaved
over a huge traditional meal of turkey, dressing, oyster dressing, "green rice", creamed potatoes, giblet gravy,
and fruit salad. My sister made chicken-n-dumplin's, which apparently my wife prefers over mine.
Afterwards, we had our traditional white elephant Christmas ornament gift exchange, which is always fun and results
in a new ornament for each family's tree.
We are so blessed to have a family that still lives in close enough
proximity to have these get-togethers. What's even more of a blessing is that we all love each other dearly and
genuinely care for each other. I'm reminded of this every time I hear a self-help guru or psychiatrist on talk shows
give pointers on how to avoid hurt feelings and blow-ups at holiday reunions. This always seems absurd to me, but it
is apparent that there are families whose gatherings are not as peaceful and enjoyable as mine. Mom, Dad, Monty, Mona,
Tina, Mackey, Clayton, and Molly. I love you all, and I am so proud to call you my family. I am truly thankful.
I'm so sick of this. Just when the nonsensical expression, "at the end of the day", seems to have reached
market saturation, another idiotic phrase is spewing from the mouths of the talking heads. "Yeah, no..."
or "No, yeah..." I must've heard this utterance twenty times in so many minutes during my Saturday morning viewing
of the national news. These are interviews, debates, and extemporaneous conversations of alleged educated people.
I'm theorizing that the first word, "yeah" is acknowledging the question, while the "no" is the actual
answer. However, the purposes and the words can be inverted. I'm probably giving them too much credit.
These are more likely to be modern versions of the filler words, "uh" and "um" that their college speach
instructor scolded them for using. These are phrases that simply buy them time to think of the politically correct answer
to the question. Whatever the reason, stop it! You sound like a junior high kid who would be virtually mute if
it weren't for their crutch-word, "like".
Two years ago, I posted a video on my blog regarding "Batter Blaster". I initially thought it was a joke, but after a little research, I realized it was the real thing. Frankly,
it hasn't crossed my mind since I posted it.
Yesterday, I came across the one and only "Batter Blaster"
and figured I'd splurge on the $2 and give it a try. My wife is the real pancakes fan, so I thought I'd surprise
her this morning. Long story short, this stuff is utter crap! Absolutely disgusting. You can literally taste
the chemical propellent in the can. No amount of butter and syrup can make this stuff palatable. The dogs loved
it. It should be noted, however, that they consider four-day old possum carcass to be a delicacy.
My wife spent the day with her dad. They start getting "the fever" this time of year---specifically, "Bow Season Fever". They like to tweak their bows, even though they've apparently got them working perfectly.
While my tone may seem condescending, I'm really glad she has such a hobby that she can share with her dad, brother,
and brother-in-law. I actually take the opportunity to endulge in bachelor-type things. I watched a couple lowbrow
classics, "Swingers" and "Mallrats". Then I topped the day off by sitting on the front porch listening to "Big Bad Voodoo Daddy", smoking a new mystery cigar courtesy of "The Black Band Project" which turned out to be a Camacho Conneticut accompanied by real absinthe. A wonderful combination. Then, after about 8 hours, I started missing my wife. Right about that time,
she came home. Pretty good day.
Writer, director, producer, John Hughes died of an apparent heart attack today while taking his morning walk. This
is devastating to me. Being a child of the 80's, I have to say that I've been impacted by works
of this great man in a not-so-small way. I'm not alone in this sentiment. This man was an icon in the truest
sence. His movies---to this day---continue to evoke emotions within me, and the themes that he portrayed
on film maintain their relevance today. He had an inate ability to channel the essence of the American teenager condition
both from the male and female perspectives. More importantly, he did all this with humor while maintaining sensitivity
to the subjects. Just off the top of my head, in my own video library, I find The Breakfast Club, Planes Trains
and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. There are many, many more. Mr.
Hughes, you will be missed.
It's been well over a year since I've seen meteorologist, Rebecca Miller. My wife and I immediately noticed her
abscence from KXAS in March 2008. We searched online for information regarding her absence and eventually discovered she was fired by KXAS. (If
you want to know the details of her exit, it's easy to find with a quick internet search. I won't go into that here, since
it's well covered elsewhere.) Regardless of the reason, it was a dumb move on KXAS's part. Becky's forcasts were
honest, and she never hyped the weather. Texas weather is volitile enough as it is. Unfortunately, some meteorologists
seem to project the worst instead of the likelihood. If every front that comes through is a "tragedy", the viewers begin to
quit listening, and then they're unprepared when a "real" threatening storm comes through. Becky would talk to the viewers
as if we were actually intelligent. She'd tell us when a real threat was coming, but just as importantly, she would
tell us when things weren't so dangerous. A very refreshing trait that Becky has is her comfort in her own skills allowing
her to be honest when she's just not sure, while so many other meteorologists don't even acknowledge when they've gotten it
wrong.
Flipping through the channels recently, I landed on KDAF-TV Channel 33. Much to my surprise, there's Rebecca Miller! After a quick search, we found that she's been there full-time
since January. That'll teach me to stay in a rut and only watch one channel for news. My wife and I adore Becky
so much, we may actually sacrifice HD news just to get the informative forecasts from her. I'm torn, though, because
I do like KXAS's Brendan Higgins, Deborah Ferguson, and Tammy Dombeck, but I'm willing to give KDAF's personalities a chance. Now, I need to go find the emails of their the engineers to find out their plans to go HD.
Welcome back, Becky! Sorry it took so long to find you.
It's a rare occasion that technology actually leaves me speechless. The problem with being a technophile is that
your obsession results in constant exposure to the technology you love. This inherently desensitizes you to the advancements
in technology. You come to expect it. You learn to anticipate the natural progression, and you often find yourself unimpressed when it doesn't
progress as quickly as you would like. For instance, if you used a PalmPilot in 1996, you probably weren't surprised by the advancements
of the iPhone. Sure, the iPhone spanks the capabilities of the PalmPilot, but a PalmPilot user could easily envision
the future iPhone. The technology of the touch screen and motion sensor was cool, no doubt---but not jaw-dropping.
At this year's E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo), Microsoft unveiled an add-on device for their XBox 360. This
is a project that's currently being fine-tuned and is projected to be available to consumers by 2011 at the latest.
The project, codenamed Natal, reveals a technology that, in my opinion, makes a great leap in interactive technology as opposed to an incremental step. Since this is not a tech blog, I won't attempt to re-hash
what the professional tech bloggers out there have already posted, so check out what the folks at Gizmodo have to say about Project Natal for more details.
Honestly, this is something that is both exciting and a little scary. Can you conceive the natural progression---the
logical, incremental outcome of this technology?
Check out the following videos for the crash-course. The first video is a demo. The second video is an interview
with Peter Molyneux, one of the designers of Natal. These are both must-see videos. My jaw has dropped.
Writer, director, producer, John Hughes died of an apparent heart attack today while taking his morning walk. This
is devastating to me. Being a child of the 80's, I have to say that I've been impacted by works
of this great man in a not-so-small way. I'm not alone in this sentiment. This man was an icon in the truest
sence. His movies---to this day---continue to evoke emotions within me, and the themes that he portrayed
on film maintain their relevance today. He had an inate ability to channel the essence of the American teenager condition
both from the male and female perspectives. More importantly, he did all this with humor while maintaining sensitivity
to the subjects. Just off the top of my head, in my own video library, I find The Breakfast Club, Planes Trains
and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. There are many, many more. Mr.
Hughes, you will be missed.
