Monday, December 30, 2013

More manly stuff

Similar to a Christmas many years ago, I could not fully enjoy my big gift for a few days. 

You already know about the work commitments.  However there was another rub.  The recip saw didn't come with any blades.  Given all the retailers were closed yesterday it was not until today that I could pick up a set of DeWalt blades.  Found them on sale (Christmas spirit just keeps on coming). 

By this afternoon I was in the backyard and some of my trees now are nicely pruned.  And I still have all my fingers. 

And during our time out this morning Geogal told me she already has a project in mind:  a shelving unit for her closet.  Other than needing to borrow a router I think I can make this a reality. 

A whole lotta years ago I got a motocross bicycle for Christmas.  However it was a rainy holiday that day in Houston, Texas so no out-of-doors stuff.  The following day all of us trekked to Seguin for nativity celebrations with extended family.  Two or three days later (forever, it felt to me at the time) we finally returned home.  By this time the rain had retreated and I recall the fun of finally being able to ride that bike. 

Just like the fun of going outside and sawing through dead branches. 

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Now it's time to relax

No entries the past few days is attributed to Geoguy being very busy at his day job. 

Since Christmas Eve onward I was the person on call and this circumstance also resulted in me spending all day yesterday at work.  However the up side of all this is that my labor on a Saturday results in me being able to take an extra day off this coming week. 

And the fact that I already had put in to take tomorrow off didn't hurt either. 

But given my mental fatigue upon coming home in the evenings my creative/writing juices dwindled down to resembling those few grounds at the bottom of the coffee pot.  Here's hoping today is truly a day of rest and play for me. 

Play, of course, can involve me enjoying what Santa done brung.  Among my loot was a set of DeWalt power tools (cordless, of course).  A drill, a circular saw, a reciprocating saw, and a floodlight. 

I already intend to use the drill today to bore holes into a tree stump.  Need to get that thing killed, up, and out. 

And tomorrow I will get to a retailer to procure some blades for the reciprocating saw.  (If you don't know what that is, it's a Sawzall, but DeWalt's version.)  So during my day off tomorrow I can go to the backyard and play "Let's see if it will cut this."  I've already seen comments and videos online in which this tool can be used to cut tree branches. 

As I joked with family on Christmas Day, right now I still have all ten fingers.  Let's hope that's the case for the future. 

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The gift that keeps on giving:  I brought my K-cup brewer home yesterday (it usually occupies my office) because I knew I wouldn't be at work too much this coming week and the womenfolk in my casa would certainly enjoy a cup of fresh java if they desire.  Not only that, but Santa also brought me a package of hot apple cider K-cups.  Geogal and Geoana sampled those this morning.  Luscious.  Smells and tastes like liquid apple pie. 

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Question of the day:  So just how do you greet people today?  Seems odd to say "Merry Christmas" but also appears a bit early to wish one "Happy New Year." 

How about today I give all of my readers both? 

Friday, December 20, 2013

Almost Christmas

As befitting a working adult, I want Christmas to get here for different reasons than when I was a youngster. 

I have things at work that are due by the end of the month. 

I still need to give my co-workers (particularly those I supervise) their gifts of baked goods. 

I gotta get the stocking stuffers. 

And I need to get this blog updated with the latest news. 

(I guess I can consider that last one just about done.) 

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I already wrote about my iPhone upgrade. 

Well, the womenfolk in the Geohouse decided they didn't want me to have all the joy of a fast phone with plenty of cool features. 

So two Saturdays ago Geogal and I trekked to Kearney and made our last stop of the day at the Verizon store. 

A while later we walked out of there with two Christmas gifts.  A gold iPhone 5S for Geogal and a blue iPhone 5C for Geoana.  And my wallet was a lot lighter. 

Enjoy your early presents gals!! 

Then the fun really began.  It already was dark when we hit the highway back to town. 

But wait!  Are those snowflakes?

Yes.

About an hour into the drive Geogal is struggling to see where the highway centerline is.  And I'm keeping track of how large the white patches are on the roadway.

We got home just fine.  Never even lost traction.

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Just about all of that snow has since melted.  In fact the temps were downright mild until yesterday.  Then a blast of Arctic air hit us with a vengeance.

However the forecast does not include snow for X-mas.  Sigh.

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Here's hoping the weekend can be productive, relaxing, and joyous.

You can call that my early Christmas wish.  

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Finishing the thought

After posting I realized my last entry didn't finish the story of my Apple upgrades and what devices I want in what order. 

Since I got an iPhone on my trip out west the next cool item on my wish list is a MacBook Air (13-inch).  Upgraded to 8 GB of RAM.  Should work well for everything I need to replace my still-working-but-really-showing-its-age 2006-era MacBook. 

THEN I will set my sights on an iPad Mini with Retina Display (Space Gray to match the iPhone). 

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It's really cold today.  The type where if my deep freeze unit failed I can just toss everything out in the backyard with no spoilage.  Not even anything thawing out, for that matter.  Still technically autumn but winter is no doubt here. 

At least this is the fun part of the cold season.  After the holidays are over, after the last football games are played for the season, after hunting season comes to a close, then we have the cruddy part of winter.  February and March especially. 

But I'll enjoy the temps for right now.  And no time like the present to enjoy dishes such as soups, stews, and spicy chile. 

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Change in the desired devices

You remember this entry in which I hinted I wanted an iPad mini with Retina display under the Christmas tree on December 25. 

Scratch that. 

Originally I didn't intend to upgrade the iPhone for at least the near future.  In my mindset my venerable iPhone 4 still needed it do everything I expected. 

However during one of my evening constitutionals during July or August I dropped it.  I figured the Otterbox case protected it.  At first nothing seemed damaged.  However I soon learned that the upper speaker (the one you use to listen to your phone calls) didn't work. 

Drat. 

I figured I could get around that by using the "speaker" function whenever I got an incoming call.  Yeah right, like I was going to remember that every time. 

Then about two days later the upper speaker worked again with no explanation.  So far, so good. 

Until recently.  Shortly before the weekend of November 15-17 the old "can't hear my phone calls" problem again reared its head. 

Given I was planning a trip to Denver anyway I figured it was time to break down and buy me an iPhone 5S while there.  Geogal was certainly OK with the idea (she tried to answer incoming calls for me during times when I couldn't--such as washing dishes) and was obviously frustrated with sliding the bar for "answer" then not hearing anything when she put the phone to her ear. 

So I am now the proud and happy owner of a Space Gray iPhone 5S. 

And it's a really cool device. 

I've already shot slo-mo video at one of Geoana's basketball games.  Speaking of Geoana she seems taken with my new phone and is now trying to see how many philosophical questions she can ask Siri. 

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As I alluded above, I went to Denver in mid-November.  The occasion?  Geogal and Geoana were headed to Kansas City that weekend for a church youth group function so I chose to head the other direction.  I'd been longing for a road trip anyway and this seemed the perfect opportunity. 

As if I need an excuse. 

On my list, in addition to the task mentioned earlier, was to visit an Apple store, go to some outdoor retailers to get a new pair of hiking boots, and hit The Tattered Cover bookstore.  Also needed to pick up some New Mexico spicy southwest cooking ingredients that I can't obtain in here in The Land Of Dorothy.  You know, red chile pods, green chile sauce, and the like. 

I actually got my iPhone at a Verizon store that Friday afternoon so my visit to an Apple store didn't take place until the following day.  Went to Cherry Creek Mall.  Crowded as one would expect on a Saturday afternoon.  I'm surprised I even got a chance to pick up and hold an iPad Air. 


On my way out of this gaggle of pretentious stores I noticed Microsoft also has a presence at this mall. 

Well, a kiosk anyway. 

That could be a joke right there.  But I just couldn't resist snapping a couple of pics to show the folks back home just how different the interest in the products is between the Apple offerings and the devices from Redmond, Washington:







Gotta love how the sales guys are just standing around off to the side in that top pic.  But I'm sure Steve Ballmer (if he was not in the process of stepping down) would continue to pontificate how the Surface is going to dethrone the iPad. 

Oh and by the way I did get my hiking boots.  Broke them in that afternoon at Red Rocks Park.  I decided to keep to an easy trail given this location is 6000 feet above sea level (according to my GPS device) and I am nowhere near acclimated to the altitude.  Also got some pictures to make other people envious. 







One enjoyable trip!  But it was still good to get home.