Whoever thought Ford's were Faithful certainly didn't own a Ford Mustang.
The latest on my car is that a guy was very interested in buying it on Thursday for his 16y.o. son (who just got his license), until he took it out for a test drive. No nothing went wrong, he's just a little afraid of letting his son loose in a car like this. He was origionally looking for something like a Dodge Neon (much less power).
So today we went over to Jeremy's house (where I have parked the car on route 173) to put it back out in the yard for sale. We got there, I got in and turned the key, and it won't start. It doesn't even sputter, all it did was drain the battery cranking, and plain refuses to go.
So what is the problem? I don't know, but a while back we owned a Ford Escort that would get tempermental in wet or high humidity situations. Needless to say, we will probably be trying the same trick that worked on the Escort, on my Mustang. Here's how it works, pop the hood, and dry the distributor with a hairdryer for about a minute, then, fire it up!
Wierd? Yes, but hey! What else is new, it's a Ford.
Hmm... Something Wierd?
Hey everybody,
I just found something very strange about my blog. I'm not sure how long it was like this, but have any of you noticed it?
It's not up now, I fixed it, but if you did notice something strange recently, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Jonathan
I just found something very strange about my blog. I'm not sure how long it was like this, but have any of you noticed it?
It's not up now, I fixed it, but if you did notice something strange recently, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Jonathan
A New Go-Kart!
Last Friday I traded one of my computers for a Manco Dingo Go-Kart. Today I got it tuned up (it hadn't been used for a while), and we had a lot of fun sliding around on the driveway.
Here's a few pictures:
If anybody is interested in buying it, let me know.
It's a 98-99 model, but it is in unbelievably good shape.
I'm asking $650, but I'm willing to sell it for only $550 O.B.O. to any of my blog readers.
Here's a few pictures:
If anybody is interested in buying it, let me know.
It's a 98-99 model, but it is in unbelievably good shape.
I'm asking $650, but I'm willing to sell it for only $550 O.B.O. to any of my blog readers.
A Cool Thing: Toilet Bowl Cleaner, and Aluminum
Yesterday we made a toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil fire-cracker for the first time. It's pretty simple to make, and somewhat cool. Here's what you do. Take a bottle and fill it with Aluminum Foil (the more aluminum surface space, the faster this works). Then spray a bunch of "The Works" brand, toilet bowl cleaner into the bottle, cap and shake the bottle, and throw.
If it doesn't appear to work, DO NOT APPROACH BOTTLE. It took ours about 3-4 minutes to finally explode. The explosion resulted in an invisible flash (that I'm assuming was there :-) and a plume of smoke about 12' high! The first one that we made we thought was a dud, so we started working on a second one, when all of a sudden there was a bang behind us as the one in the yard finally exploded.
It appears that the reaction between the aluminum foil and the toilet bowl cleaner builds up flammable gasses and heat. Once the temperature reaches the flash point, all the gasses in the bottle explode. Resulting in a somewhat satisfactory pop.
Please note that this should only be tried under close adult supervision, and I will not be held liable for any injury, loss, inconvenience, annoyance, or anything else that may result from this experiment.
If it doesn't appear to work, DO NOT APPROACH BOTTLE. It took ours about 3-4 minutes to finally explode. The explosion resulted in an invisible flash (that I'm assuming was there :-) and a plume of smoke about 12' high! The first one that we made we thought was a dud, so we started working on a second one, when all of a sudden there was a bang behind us as the one in the yard finally exploded.
It appears that the reaction between the aluminum foil and the toilet bowl cleaner builds up flammable gasses and heat. Once the temperature reaches the flash point, all the gasses in the bottle explode. Resulting in a somewhat satisfactory pop.
Please note that this should only be tried under close adult supervision, and I will not be held liable for any injury, loss, inconvenience, annoyance, or anything else that may result from this experiment.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Yesterday, we started off the day by getting together with our Church family in worship, as we do every Sunday morning. After the worship service we came home, and spent the day with Nathan and Jeanine, and Jeremy and Sara. We enjoyed feasting, bible trivia, quoting scripture memory, exchanging gifts, and lots of felowship.
I hope your day was filled with the celebration of our dear Saviors birth.
Yesterday, we started off the day by getting together with our Church family in worship, as we do every Sunday morning. After the worship service we came home, and spent the day with Nathan and Jeanine, and Jeremy and Sara. We enjoyed feasting, bible trivia, quoting scripture memory, exchanging gifts, and lots of felowship.
I hope your day was filled with the celebration of our dear Saviors birth.
Random Photo of the Random Moment: Laser Tag
Random Photo of the Random Moment: Laser Tag in the basement.
It's only too bad that we didn't have Airsoft at the time. Also, this photo is not staged. It is an action shot that was taken during a 2 on 2 game in total darkness (aside from the camera flash). I was sitting out this round since there were five people, and only four guns/receiver sets.
Car Update.
Ok, if you have been reading my blog, you know that I recently bought a bomb of a Ford Mustang, that has been one headache after the next.
The last update was that my car was out of the shop again, however that isn't doing me any good right now because it's stuck in our driveway with a flat tire! Normally this is not a problem for me, but this time it is because it has lock nuts on the wheels, and I don't have the drivers for it!
Now I'm really stuck.
If anyone has any good ideas of how to get around this, please let me know.
The last update was that my car was out of the shop again, however that isn't doing me any good right now because it's stuck in our driveway with a flat tire! Normally this is not a problem for me, but this time it is because it has lock nuts on the wheels, and I don't have the drivers for it!
Now I'm really stuck.
If anyone has any good ideas of how to get around this, please let me know.
My car is back from the shop!
Hey everyone, yesterday I got my car back from the shop and guess what the problem was...
A security system that I didn't know about! Yep, flashing lights and no responce when you turn the key. That does sound like a security system to me.
Well, I must say that I'm a little embarrased for sending my car into the shop just to get the security system turned off. That's like sending your car in because you lost the keys!
I'm just grateful it wasn't anything worse.
A security system that I didn't know about! Yep, flashing lights and no responce when you turn the key. That does sound like a security system to me.
Well, I must say that I'm a little embarrased for sending my car into the shop just to get the security system turned off. That's like sending your car in because you lost the keys!
I'm just grateful it wasn't anything worse.
The Desaulniers Visit
Last night we had some friends from Iowa, the Desaulniers, stop by for the night. They were in Michigan last weekend, and called us to ask if they could stop for the night at our house on their way home. Of course we are always delighted to have guests, so last night around 6:15 they showed up.
We enjoyed a meal together and great conversation, however I can't speak to this much, because I had to leave for a piano lesson at 7:15, consequently missing most of the meal (fortunately my piano teacher teaches about a mile down the road, so I didn't have to go far). When I got home around 8:50 we talked for a while and then played "Four-On-A-Couch". The goal of this game is to get everyone from the opposing team off the couch, and four people from your team on. This is basically accomplished by one empty seat, a lot of thinking, and continual systematic rearranging of the group, until the final goal is accomplished. Here is a picture of the four couch representatives from the boys team!
Winners!
_________________________
Also, I just got some hilarious pictures from the conference that we met the Desaulniers at (the national home school leadership conference in Philadelphia, PA). These pictures are from one night that a few of the state leaders children got together to play some games. In the pictures are the Backs (OH), Clarks (OH), Desaulniers (IA), Hekis (IA), and of course the Erbers (IL).
The game that we are playing is "I've Never Done It". Rarely were there such wild stampedes as I am about to show you, but the few that did happen were captured courtesy of Mr. Heki.
Make sure you get a seat, or you will be stuck in the middle having to say something that you've never done.
Now this is something I've never done, :-) but it does look like the boys made it to the seats first. BTW: Notice the expressions of everyone seated - quite hilarious.
No, Joseph and I are not clapping hands, just trying to protect ourselves from a collision.
All right boys, I know you don't want to be in the middle, but honestly I don't think it was worth all this. :-)
On a more normal note - Ryan Heki, stuck in the middle once again.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!
One of the things that I am VERY thankful for is this...
I had this picture as the background on my computer for quite some time, and thankfully at the beginning of this summer the Lord provided, and I got my very own beautiful Kawai grand piano!
PRAISE THE LORD!! He is always faithful!
One of the things that I am VERY thankful for is this...
I had this picture as the background on my computer for quite some time, and thankfully at the beginning of this summer the Lord provided, and I got my very own beautiful Kawai grand piano!
PRAISE THE LORD!! He is always faithful!
I've been tagged!
Thanks to Jessica MacDonald, I have been tagged. This means that I am supposed to share five random things about me. And then I am supposed to tag five other people. Well, here's my five random things.
1) I startle Really Easily,
2) I have an un-diagnosed need for speed,
3) I can't stand having dusty/dry/or gritty-dirty hands, however I love working with greasy things (not in a food sense).
4) I can't stand disorganization or people working inefficiently,
5) I love cold weather, and hardly function in heat.
Now for the continuation of this thing I am supposed to tag five others. I was actually going to refrain from doing this due to the fact that most people I know don't use their blogs for things like this, however there are two out there that I really want to hear from. These two people would be Luke VonHolten, and Caleb MacDonald. Not only would I like you two to post five unique things about yourself on your blog, but you're supposed to tag five others. Seeing as most people in my circles have already been tagged, I'll forgive you if you decide to opt-out of that, seeing as I'm in the same boat.
1) I startle Really Easily,
2) I have an un-diagnosed need for speed,
3) I can't stand having dusty/dry/or gritty-dirty hands, however I love working with greasy things (not in a food sense).
4) I can't stand disorganization or people working inefficiently,
5) I love cold weather, and hardly function in heat.
Now for the continuation of this thing I am supposed to tag five others. I was actually going to refrain from doing this due to the fact that most people I know don't use their blogs for things like this, however there are two out there that I really want to hear from. These two people would be Luke VonHolten, and Caleb MacDonald. Not only would I like you two to post five unique things about yourself on your blog, but you're supposed to tag five others. Seeing as most people in my circles have already been tagged, I'll forgive you if you decide to opt-out of that, seeing as I'm in the same boat.
Sweet Ride? Sweet Glide? Or...
Maybe more like Not-So-Sweet Bump, Wobble-Wobble-Wobble, Flash, Wobble-Wobble, Flash, Wobble, Flash, Wobble, Flash, Flash, Wobble, Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash...
Yep, you guessed it, I'm talking about my very own F.O.R.D., Found On Road Dead, Driver Returns On Foot, or in this case Flat On Racing Day. What is going on with my F.O.R.D.? Let us go back to 7:45pm Saturday night on the 19th of November 2005...
I am sitting in my Mustang in a dark parking lot, with three people, unable to go anywhere.
How did I get here? Let us back up again, to Friday morning...
It all started on Friday morning when Jeremy parked the car in their front yard with a "For Sale" sign on it. He had just picked me up for a day of work at his house. Around lunch time I went out to move the car over so that it would be more visible to drivers coming from the west. I opened the door, and something didn't seem right. I got in anyway, inserted the key and... nothing. The lights were left on, and my battery was dead. Jeremy went and got his truck which we then used to try to jump my car. Immediately the hazard lights started flashing, which was very odd because everything was supposed to be off, and the keys weren't even in the car! Anyway, the car still wouldn't start, and the lights were not controllable (although they would stop and start every so often), so we disconnected the battery and went back to work.
Now fast-forward to Saturday morning when I am back working at Jeremy's house, and Sara calls to us to let us know that there is someone looking at my car! I ran around front and tried to explain to the two customers (who were already all over my car, checking the oil, etc...) that the thing wasn't starting, but it seemed to be a minor problem that I'd look into, and let them know when it was fixed. After about 10 minutes they left, and Jeremy and I started diagnosing the problem. Finally we found that if we bypassed the starter relay it fired up fine! Great (I think) a $13 repair and we're fixed. I called Mom who was on her way into Harvard, and asked her to pick up a relay for me (which she did).
Now let us fast-forward to 7:21pm Saturday night. Jeremy, Sara and Caroline were at our house eating dinner, when a lady called saying that she was about one block from the car and wanted to take it out for a drive! I told her to give us 10 minutes and we'd be over there to replace the relay so that she could take the car out for a drive. We got over to Jeremy's house and replaced the relay (with her husband and daughter watching) but we got no results. I might add that the flashing lights were still not fixed, so the marker lights (along with the headlights occasionally) were flashing sporadically throughout the entire repair. Being really bummed out about this, we bypassed the relay and started it up. I asked them if they wanted to take it out for a drive since it was really fun to drive and they had been waiting long enough. They said that they would, so I shut the hood... oops it didn't latch, so I shut it again. This time, when the hood came slamming down, the Ford emblem popped off the grill. Fortunately they were in a good mood, and had a good laugh about it while getting in the car. I went with them so that in case they killed the engine, I'd be there to pop the hood and start it up again. He put the car in reverse, and (partly due to the performance clutch) killed the engine. I popped the hood got it started up, and off we went.
Once we started going forward there was a soft scraping sound coming from the bottom of the car ( a shh, shh, shh sound). The wife mentioned that she thought the back passenger tire was low, but I said that I didn't think so, after all I would have noticed that. We were driving very slowly and I was trying to subtly encourage him to give the guts a test. Once we left Capron I was pushed back into my seat as we accelerated to 80MPH. This was great (I was thinking). The car handled beautifully as we glided along, but as he started slowing down, I was starting to notice quite a bit of wobble! The wife (who was in the back) said that she thought the tire was flat. I didn't think so, but he stopped, so I got out to check. Sure enough the tire was flat, and both he and I had forgotten our cell phones.
At this point, we pulled into a driving range and noticed that a pick-up was there. I ran over to the club house (or whatever they call it), and noticed that the lights in the new indoor range were on! I knocked on the window, and a couple puny dogs, and a grumpy guy came to the window and told me to go around to the front door. While I was standing at the front door, I realized that I probably didn't look to good, because I was wearing my black leather jacket, and the cable that we used to jump the car was still in my hands. :-/ He came to the door and I explained our situation by yelling through the glass. After a while he let me in to use the phone. I called Dad, and he came over to pick us all up.
Surprisingly the guy is still very interested in the car, and wants me to let him know when the car is out of the shop. I told him I'd let him know, but I really didn't think that God wanted him to buy the car. He insisted, so I took down his number and we'll see what happens.
Thus ends act three of the Fast and Faulty Ford episodes. Hopefully I'll reach the last act soon, but the way things are going...
Well, all I can do is trust God and know that He's in control and had this planned from the beginning of the universe. After all, if God didn't want this to happen, he wouldn't have made me get a Ford. :-)
Yep, you guessed it, I'm talking about my very own F.O.R.D., Found On Road Dead, Driver Returns On Foot, or in this case Flat On Racing Day. What is going on with my F.O.R.D.? Let us go back to 7:45pm Saturday night on the 19th of November 2005...
I am sitting in my Mustang in a dark parking lot, with three people, unable to go anywhere.
How did I get here? Let us back up again, to Friday morning...
It all started on Friday morning when Jeremy parked the car in their front yard with a "For Sale" sign on it. He had just picked me up for a day of work at his house. Around lunch time I went out to move the car over so that it would be more visible to drivers coming from the west. I opened the door, and something didn't seem right. I got in anyway, inserted the key and... nothing. The lights were left on, and my battery was dead. Jeremy went and got his truck which we then used to try to jump my car. Immediately the hazard lights started flashing, which was very odd because everything was supposed to be off, and the keys weren't even in the car! Anyway, the car still wouldn't start, and the lights were not controllable (although they would stop and start every so often), so we disconnected the battery and went back to work.
Now fast-forward to Saturday morning when I am back working at Jeremy's house, and Sara calls to us to let us know that there is someone looking at my car! I ran around front and tried to explain to the two customers (who were already all over my car, checking the oil, etc...) that the thing wasn't starting, but it seemed to be a minor problem that I'd look into, and let them know when it was fixed. After about 10 minutes they left, and Jeremy and I started diagnosing the problem. Finally we found that if we bypassed the starter relay it fired up fine! Great (I think) a $13 repair and we're fixed. I called Mom who was on her way into Harvard, and asked her to pick up a relay for me (which she did).
Now let us fast-forward to 7:21pm Saturday night. Jeremy, Sara and Caroline were at our house eating dinner, when a lady called saying that she was about one block from the car and wanted to take it out for a drive! I told her to give us 10 minutes and we'd be over there to replace the relay so that she could take the car out for a drive. We got over to Jeremy's house and replaced the relay (with her husband and daughter watching) but we got no results. I might add that the flashing lights were still not fixed, so the marker lights (along with the headlights occasionally) were flashing sporadically throughout the entire repair. Being really bummed out about this, we bypassed the relay and started it up. I asked them if they wanted to take it out for a drive since it was really fun to drive and they had been waiting long enough. They said that they would, so I shut the hood... oops it didn't latch, so I shut it again. This time, when the hood came slamming down, the Ford emblem popped off the grill. Fortunately they were in a good mood, and had a good laugh about it while getting in the car. I went with them so that in case they killed the engine, I'd be there to pop the hood and start it up again. He put the car in reverse, and (partly due to the performance clutch) killed the engine. I popped the hood got it started up, and off we went.
Once we started going forward there was a soft scraping sound coming from the bottom of the car ( a shh, shh, shh sound). The wife mentioned that she thought the back passenger tire was low, but I said that I didn't think so, after all I would have noticed that. We were driving very slowly and I was trying to subtly encourage him to give the guts a test. Once we left Capron I was pushed back into my seat as we accelerated to 80MPH. This was great (I was thinking). The car handled beautifully as we glided along, but as he started slowing down, I was starting to notice quite a bit of wobble! The wife (who was in the back) said that she thought the tire was flat. I didn't think so, but he stopped, so I got out to check. Sure enough the tire was flat, and both he and I had forgotten our cell phones.
At this point, we pulled into a driving range and noticed that a pick-up was there. I ran over to the club house (or whatever they call it), and noticed that the lights in the new indoor range were on! I knocked on the window, and a couple puny dogs, and a grumpy guy came to the window and told me to go around to the front door. While I was standing at the front door, I realized that I probably didn't look to good, because I was wearing my black leather jacket, and the cable that we used to jump the car was still in my hands. :-/ He came to the door and I explained our situation by yelling through the glass. After a while he let me in to use the phone. I called Dad, and he came over to pick us all up.
Surprisingly the guy is still very interested in the car, and wants me to let him know when the car is out of the shop. I told him I'd let him know, but I really didn't think that God wanted him to buy the car. He insisted, so I took down his number and we'll see what happens.
Thus ends act three of the Fast and Faulty Ford episodes. Hopefully I'll reach the last act soon, but the way things are going...
Well, all I can do is trust God and know that He's in control and had this planned from the beginning of the universe. After all, if God didn't want this to happen, he wouldn't have made me get a Ford. :-)
My first road-worthy car.
Today I got a 1990 5.0L Ford Mustang as a trade for the Dell laptop that I had for sale on my blog before (it wasn't an entirely even trade, so don't expect me to sell it for the same price as the laptop) .
The person that I bought it from was supposed to show up today around 11:30am-12:00 to make the trade. He had said that he'd give me a call as he was leaving Chicago around 10:00am. Well, 10:00am came and left, and so did 11:30am-12:00. Still no word from him. Finally around 1:30 I get a call apologizing for not making the appointment, and saying that he had over slept and consequently hadn't left yet (he works a night job). He decided to leave right away to make the two hour trip out to our house, planning on taking the 4:35 train back into Chicago. At around 3:15pm I received a call saying that he thought he was lost, I confirmed his location as about 15 minutes from our house (right where he was supposed to be), and gave him further directions for the rest of the trip. 3:30pm came and went... At about 4:00 we got another call from him... yup, he was majorly lost. And again, at about 4:30pm we got a call from him asking "if I hit Crystal Lake on Rte. 14, have I gone to far?". Well, Crystal Lake isn't too far, it's about 30 minutes the wrong direction. Now it is quite clear that not only is he going to miss his train, but we're going to get to see it in the dark, and in the rain (which was just beginning to fall). So he turned around, and we decided to meet him at Wal-Mart, (which is closer to the train station, thus enabling him to make the 5:35 train). At about 4:55pm he pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and we were finally able to take it out for a test drive.
Let me tell you something, a car this small, with a 5.0L High Output engine, with high speed cams, dual exhaust,, and a performance clutch, has a LOT of power! Anyway, if you are looking for a early 1990's Mustang in pretty good shape, let me know because this one is for sale.
Front
Side
Back
Yep, sweet sounding dual exhaust :-)
Now we're down to the heart of the matter. Ha, Ha, Haaa...
The person that I bought it from was supposed to show up today around 11:30am-12:00 to make the trade. He had said that he'd give me a call as he was leaving Chicago around 10:00am. Well, 10:00am came and left, and so did 11:30am-12:00. Still no word from him. Finally around 1:30 I get a call apologizing for not making the appointment, and saying that he had over slept and consequently hadn't left yet (he works a night job). He decided to leave right away to make the two hour trip out to our house, planning on taking the 4:35 train back into Chicago. At around 3:15pm I received a call saying that he thought he was lost, I confirmed his location as about 15 minutes from our house (right where he was supposed to be), and gave him further directions for the rest of the trip. 3:30pm came and went... At about 4:00 we got another call from him... yup, he was majorly lost. And again, at about 4:30pm we got a call from him asking "if I hit Crystal Lake on Rte. 14, have I gone to far?". Well, Crystal Lake isn't too far, it's about 30 minutes the wrong direction. Now it is quite clear that not only is he going to miss his train, but we're going to get to see it in the dark, and in the rain (which was just beginning to fall). So he turned around, and we decided to meet him at Wal-Mart, (which is closer to the train station, thus enabling him to make the 5:35 train). At about 4:55pm he pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and we were finally able to take it out for a test drive.
Let me tell you something, a car this small, with a 5.0L High Output engine, with high speed cams, dual exhaust,, and a performance clutch, has a LOT of power! Anyway, if you are looking for a early 1990's Mustang in pretty good shape, let me know because this one is for sale.
Front
Side
Back
Yep, sweet sounding dual exhaust :-)
Now we're down to the heart of the matter. Ha, Ha, Haaa...
Random Photo of the Random Moment - Uncle Don's Harley
This is a photo from a few days ago when Uncle Don stopped in for a surprise visit with his new Harley Davidson motorcycle. While he was here he took a few of us out for some rides. I was told that it was really neat. Josh even said that he thought having a motorcycle would be a lot of fun.
Unfortunately I was gone working on a job site with Jeremy when he came, so I didn't get a ride.
New Bio Picture
Due to the fact that my previous bio picture could have been misleading to those who don't know me (I do not wear glasses), I have removed it.
Although the new bio picture may not be currently accurate, at least it won't be (or shouldn't be) misleading.
Although the new bio picture may not be currently accurate, at least it won't be (or shouldn't be) misleading.
Insanity Test: Am I insane? Or... ARE YOU???
You just read the title of this blog post, and your mind is running as fast as can be. You are thinking...
Am I insane? Oh definitely not! I mean... Of course not actually! Like, I can flat-out tell that I'm not insane! Wait, if I was insane, my family would tell me, and I'd probably be locked up somewhere. Oh, but wait... what if my whole family is insane! No, that certainly couldn't be. If we all were, we'd all be locked up in some sort of insane asylum with a whole bunch of others who were crazy like us, but no, because... And your thoughts run on...
Now, please step out of your thoughts for a second and read what I am about to tell you. One of the symptoms of being insane, is that you think you're perfectly normal! This is really scary because now there's no method of self diagnosis!
But be not dismayed! Thanks to an ingenious person on the web somewhere, there is now a way that you can find out for yourself if you are insane or not! Isn't this the best news you've heard today!
Just click here now to find out for yourself just how insane you are!
_____________________
Also, if you'd like to see pictures from our recent trip to SanAntonio, please check out my family's blog by clicking here.
Am I insane? Oh definitely not! I mean... Of course not actually! Like, I can flat-out tell that I'm not insane! Wait, if I was insane, my family would tell me, and I'd probably be locked up somewhere. Oh, but wait... what if my whole family is insane! No, that certainly couldn't be. If we all were, we'd all be locked up in some sort of insane asylum with a whole bunch of others who were crazy like us, but no, because... And your thoughts run on...
Now, please step out of your thoughts for a second and read what I am about to tell you. One of the symptoms of being insane, is that you think you're perfectly normal! This is really scary because now there's no method of self diagnosis!
But be not dismayed! Thanks to an ingenious person on the web somewhere, there is now a way that you can find out for yourself if you are insane or not! Isn't this the best news you've heard today!
Just click here now to find out for yourself just how insane you are!
_____________________
Also, if you'd like to see pictures from our recent trip to SanAntonio, please check out my family's blog by clicking here.
The Latest News 10/22/05
Hello from Texas!
I am typing this from our car as we drive between Oklahoma City and the Northern Texas border. There are a few things that I mentioned in previous posts that I would like to take this time to post about. The first thing I was going to post about is the beautiful laptop that I am temporarily in possession of. I found it for sale on www.Craigslist.org for such an extremely low price that I couldn't help but buy it. Now of course I am wanting to sell it (that's the whole reason I bought it), so if anyone wants a really nice laptop at a fairly decent price let me know.
It is a Dell Latitude D810, and the specs are:
Intel Pentium M CPU at 1.73GHz,
128MB ATI Radeon X600 video card,
512 MB DDR Ram,
CD-RW/DVD Combo drive,
40GB 7200 RPM HDD,
Beautiful 15.4" Widescreen SXGA Display,
Windows XP Pro. SP-2
I have been getting about three to three and a half hours of standard use off of each battery charge.
It also comes with the original box, and all the original software etc...
When I got the laptop, I was told that it was brand new, and had only been turned on once. Well, I'm pretty sure that this is true because the power supply, and power cord was still in it's original sealed packaging. Here's a picture so you can see it for yourself.
So anyway, if you're interested let me know and I'll give you a price. You can email me at my email address in "My Profile".
_____________________________
Now on to my new camera. There are many good sides to this story, and a few bad sides, so I'll start with the bad so that the good will be last.
Starting with the bad... The reason that I had to get a new camera is because my Olympus c4040z was stolen by the banquet wait staff at the Radisson Hotel in Valley Forge while we were on the Faith and Freedom Tour with Vision Forum. More bad news is that they stole it with a 128MB SmartMedia card, and my best set of AA Rechargeable batteries. These are quite minor inconveniences compared to loosing the camera, but none the less they are an inconvenience.
Now for the good news, my searching for a new camera brought me to the Konica Minolta Z10. An awesome camera at the price I paid for it. It is a 3MP camera with an 8x optical zoom. On top of that it has a start-up time of .5 seconds, a flash range of 16' (which is very good for a built in flash on a point and shoot camera), a nice lens, and an incredible battery life. So after deciding that this was the camera that I wanted, I headed to eBay to try the one for me. To my great surprise I found a refurbished one for only $99! I also bought a service plan that includes a three year warranty with a "free" annual cleaning. Even after adding this plus shipping, my total still came out to only $150! I really didn't like that my camera was stolen, but now I must admit that I'm glad that I have a new camera. Here are a few pictures of the camera. I must say that I don't care for the looks of it, but it doesn't look nearly as bad in real life.
_____________________________
Lately much of my time has been spent with Jeremy on an edition that he is putting on a house. It is a one room edition on the back of the house, so it has been nice not to need to work with plumbing. The people that we are doing the edition for are very nice warm hearted Italians. They have been wonderful to work with, and consequently the edition has been a breeze, and has gone up very fast. Oops, I take that back. Although the people have been great to work with, we have the greatly feared, overpowering, tyrannical, and socialist CITY OF LINDENHURST. Yes the city is about as scary as the name sounds. From the start they have been difficult to work with. They didn't even approve the building plans for a long time, thus delaying the start of the edition three long months (by which time, I might ad, the edition should have been complete).
Just a couple days ago we had the structural and mechanical inspection. Which we didn't pass for a couple reasons. One reason was that they said that we had to have OSB patches between the studs at every seam in the sheeting. We're still not sure why this is (the inspector didn't even know) but those had to be in place. And, for every reason that I can see, that is actually detrimental to the whole edition. Next they said that there needed to be caulking between the base plate on the walls, and the sub flooring! This was said to be needed to stop air flow from entering through the crack. Well, I'm not going to get into how stupid this is, just because. But anybody who is in construction will tell you that air doesn't flow there if it is caulked or not. Well, I could go on with the craziness that the city has sent us through, but I think I'll stop because I don't want this to ruin my day, and I can tell already that my temperature is rising.
Here is a picture of the edition as it was a couple weeks back. From the outside, the main difference now is that the edition is sided, and there is lateral bracing that goes across the rear posts to stabilize the addition.
It is now 1:37pm, and we have finally reached the Texas border. So I am now going to sign off, and settle in for a one hour episode of Roy Rogers. Happy Trails!
I am typing this from our car as we drive between Oklahoma City and the Northern Texas border. There are a few things that I mentioned in previous posts that I would like to take this time to post about. The first thing I was going to post about is the beautiful laptop that I am temporarily in possession of. I found it for sale on www.Craigslist.org for such an extremely low price that I couldn't help but buy it. Now of course I am wanting to sell it (that's the whole reason I bought it), so if anyone wants a really nice laptop at a fairly decent price let me know.
It is a Dell Latitude D810, and the specs are:
Intel Pentium M CPU at 1.73GHz,
128MB ATI Radeon X600 video card,
512 MB DDR Ram,
CD-RW/DVD Combo drive,
40GB 7200 RPM HDD,
Beautiful 15.4" Widescreen SXGA Display,
Windows XP Pro. SP-2
I have been getting about three to three and a half hours of standard use off of each battery charge.
It also comes with the original box, and all the original software etc...
When I got the laptop, I was told that it was brand new, and had only been turned on once. Well, I'm pretty sure that this is true because the power supply, and power cord was still in it's original sealed packaging. Here's a picture so you can see it for yourself.
So anyway, if you're interested let me know and I'll give you a price. You can email me at my email address in "My Profile".
_____________________________
Now on to my new camera. There are many good sides to this story, and a few bad sides, so I'll start with the bad so that the good will be last.
Starting with the bad... The reason that I had to get a new camera is because my Olympus c4040z was stolen by the banquet wait staff at the Radisson Hotel in Valley Forge while we were on the Faith and Freedom Tour with Vision Forum. More bad news is that they stole it with a 128MB SmartMedia card, and my best set of AA Rechargeable batteries. These are quite minor inconveniences compared to loosing the camera, but none the less they are an inconvenience.
Now for the good news, my searching for a new camera brought me to the Konica Minolta Z10. An awesome camera at the price I paid for it. It is a 3MP camera with an 8x optical zoom. On top of that it has a start-up time of .5 seconds, a flash range of 16' (which is very good for a built in flash on a point and shoot camera), a nice lens, and an incredible battery life. So after deciding that this was the camera that I wanted, I headed to eBay to try the one for me. To my great surprise I found a refurbished one for only $99! I also bought a service plan that includes a three year warranty with a "free" annual cleaning. Even after adding this plus shipping, my total still came out to only $150! I really didn't like that my camera was stolen, but now I must admit that I'm glad that I have a new camera. Here are a few pictures of the camera. I must say that I don't care for the looks of it, but it doesn't look nearly as bad in real life.
_____________________________
Lately much of my time has been spent with Jeremy on an edition that he is putting on a house. It is a one room edition on the back of the house, so it has been nice not to need to work with plumbing. The people that we are doing the edition for are very nice warm hearted Italians. They have been wonderful to work with, and consequently the edition has been a breeze, and has gone up very fast. Oops, I take that back. Although the people have been great to work with, we have the greatly feared, overpowering, tyrannical, and socialist CITY OF LINDENHURST. Yes the city is about as scary as the name sounds. From the start they have been difficult to work with. They didn't even approve the building plans for a long time, thus delaying the start of the edition three long months (by which time, I might ad, the edition should have been complete).
Just a couple days ago we had the structural and mechanical inspection. Which we didn't pass for a couple reasons. One reason was that they said that we had to have OSB patches between the studs at every seam in the sheeting. We're still not sure why this is (the inspector didn't even know) but those had to be in place. And, for every reason that I can see, that is actually detrimental to the whole edition. Next they said that there needed to be caulking between the base plate on the walls, and the sub flooring! This was said to be needed to stop air flow from entering through the crack. Well, I'm not going to get into how stupid this is, just because. But anybody who is in construction will tell you that air doesn't flow there if it is caulked or not. Well, I could go on with the craziness that the city has sent us through, but I think I'll stop because I don't want this to ruin my day, and I can tell already that my temperature is rising.
Here is a picture of the edition as it was a couple weeks back. From the outside, the main difference now is that the edition is sided, and there is lateral bracing that goes across the rear posts to stabilize the addition.
It is now 1:37pm, and we have finally reached the Texas border. So I am now going to sign off, and settle in for a one hour episode of Roy Rogers. Happy Trails!
Heading to Texas!
I was planning on making a post about my new camera, my new laptop (which I bought to sell), and about the construction project that I am doing with Jeremy. However in preparation for the trip that our family is about to take to Texas, all the time for my blog was lost. Hopefully I'll be able to post about these things from my laptop on the way down, but don't get your hope up.
Until next time, this is Jonathan Erber signing off for...
for...
for myself of-course!
Until next time, this is Jonathan Erber signing off for...
for...
for myself of-course!
Faith & Freedom Tour Links.
WOW, WOW, WOW, and WOW! Jessica Erber and Tim Horn have both done extremely good jobs at reporting the 2005 Faith & Freedom Tour. I dare not attempt to try to show them up. But, if you all want to take a look at them, you can visit the Erber family blog by clicking HERE, or you can check out Tim Horn's 70+ pictures from the Faith & Freedom Tour by clicking HERE.
Oh and while I'm at it, please check out my Faith & Freedom Tour post (the first one on the web I might ad :-).
PLEASE NOTE: Half way through my post you will see some bold text. I have been corrected on some of my content, and the bold text is the new text correcting what was in error.
Happy Blogging!
Oh and while I'm at it, please check out my Faith & Freedom Tour post (the first one on the web I might ad :-).
PLEASE NOTE: Half way through my post you will see some bold text. I have been corrected on some of my content, and the bold text is the new text correcting what was in error.
Happy Blogging!
Faith and Freedom Tour / Alliance Conf' / HSLDA Conf'
Well, here I am blogging from the Radisson Hotel in King of Prussia, PA. We have just finished up a wonderful week with state homeschool leaders from all across the continent (as well as Hawaii, New Zealand, and Germany), and are now in the middle of Vision Forum's Faith and Freedom Tour. The first conference we attended was the Alliance Conference near Baltimore MD, this conference lasted Sunday night through Wednesday around noon. The next conference was the Home School Legal Defense Conference (HSLDA) in Cherry Hill NJ, this conference lasted Wednesday night, through Saturday night (or as some might correct me, extremely early Sunday morning :-). We stayed up until around 2:00am the last night of the HSLDA conference and sang hymns around the piano in the lobby. One interesting thing is that the piano that they had there is the same exact model as my new Kawai Piano (I must interject that mine is in much better shape mechanically, and acoustically).
Now, on to the Faith and Freedom Tour. There is so much to be said, and so little time (I've got to run and start helping with the making of the meals...) BTW: Did I ever tell you how we got to come on this tour each year? Well, it's a long story, but basically the deal is that if we provide the lunches for all 160 people each day, we get to attend (of course we would have to attend in order to be there to give them lunches).
Oops! I got off on a rabit trail, anyway I will not be able to give you the full story due to lack of time, but instead I'll put up a few pictures with captions No promises on this, but maybe I'll be able to get a longer story up later on.
___________________________
Here I am at a park with the Back family durring the HSLDA Conference attempting to walk the whole length of the swing support bar.
With the help of Vision Forum's intern class of 2005, and Tim Horn, the making of the lunches has been a breeze. THANKS SO MUCH INTERNS, AND TIM HORN!
Monday night we were treated to an excellent meal at the City Tavern in Phillidelphia.
While eating at the tavern, we were treated to some great entertainment by Charlie Zahm.
Here pictured on the steps of the Second National Bank is our whole tour group.
In this picture Mr. Phillips gives the tour a lecture as we relax on a lawn after eating lunch.
This week Joshua has been recording, and amplifying the lectures that are being given by Mr. Phillips, and Mr. Potter.
Here is Mr. Phillips talking at the place where George Washington crossed the Delaware.
BTW: I'm still not sure why he didn't use the bridge. :-)
More entertainment by Charlie Zahm at the Battlefield of Brandywine.
One of the greatest things about the Faith and Freedom Tours, is all the great people that we meet. Here is a picture of Justice Parker, with Nathan, Jeanine, and Corrine.
Yesterday I saw this, and I couldn't help but take a picture. I think that just about everyone on the tour is feeling this way, but only some are actually showing it. :-)
Well, now I've really got to run, so I'll have to write more later.
Now, on to the Faith and Freedom Tour. There is so much to be said, and so little time (I've got to run and start helping with the making of the meals...) BTW: Did I ever tell you how we got to come on this tour each year? Well, it's a long story, but basically the deal is that if we provide the lunches for all 160 people each day, we get to attend (of course we would have to attend in order to be there to give them lunches).
Oops! I got off on a rabit trail, anyway I will not be able to give you the full story due to lack of time, but instead I'll put up a few pictures with captions No promises on this, but maybe I'll be able to get a longer story up later on.
___________________________
Here I am at a park with the Back family durring the HSLDA Conference attempting to walk the whole length of the swing support bar.
With the help of Vision Forum's intern class of 2005, and Tim Horn, the making of the lunches has been a breeze. THANKS SO MUCH INTERNS, AND TIM HORN!
Monday night we were treated to an excellent meal at the City Tavern in Phillidelphia.
While eating at the tavern, we were treated to some great entertainment by Charlie Zahm.
Here pictured on the steps of the Second National Bank is our whole tour group.
In this picture Mr. Phillips gives the tour a lecture as we relax on a lawn after eating lunch.
This week Joshua has been recording, and amplifying the lectures that are being given by Mr. Phillips, and Mr. Potter.
Here is Mr. Phillips talking at the place where George Washington crossed the Delaware.
BTW: I'm still not sure why he didn't use the bridge. :-)
More entertainment by Charlie Zahm at the Battlefield of Brandywine.
One of the greatest things about the Faith and Freedom Tours, is all the great people that we meet. Here is a picture of Justice Parker, with Nathan, Jeanine, and Corrine.
Yesterday I saw this, and I couldn't help but take a picture. I think that just about everyone on the tour is feeling this way, but only some are actually showing it. :-)
Well, now I've really got to run, so I'll have to write more later.
New Post Coming Soon!
Hey Everybody,
I have been trying to get Hello (the program for uploading pictures) to work on Josh's new laptop. Once I get it to work, I'll have some pictures up from our trip.
Stay Tuned!
Jonathan
I have been trying to get Hello (the program for uploading pictures) to work on Josh's new laptop. Once I get it to work, I'll have some pictures up from our trip.
Stay Tuned!
Jonathan
Random Photo of the Random Moment: Caleb MacDonald
Hey Caleb, I would have thought that an earring like this one would be slightly out of your character, but as they say, seeing is believing!
Actually, in absolute honesty (for those who weren't there), this was a bit of trick photography on my part. Caleb was telling a very interesting story, and Joseph was twirling the chain. Meanwhile, I was standing there with my camera, and just so happened to snap the picture just at the right (random) moment!
Sorry Caleb, I just had to post the picture. It was great seeing you last weekend, and hopefully we will meet up with your family again sometime soon.
More to come about last weekend's trip to Houston later.
Six Flags Great America!
September eighth found most of our family (Dad, Joseph, Joanna, Josiah and I) at Great America for their annual Homeschool Day. There were also a few of our friends from our church there. These included the Webb, Englund, VonHolten, and Carlson Family. Below are a few photos from the day.
The first ride of the day was Super Man! The lines are reputably long for this ride, so we hit it right away. I rode it with Aaron Englund who waited back with me in the line for the front row. Luke VonHolten, Dustin Webb, Anna VonHolten and Joanna Erber decided the wait was too long, and jumped the rope and headed for the back rows.
Next was Raging Bull! I only hit this one three times, but I got some pretty cool video footage on the last time. I might be able to post that later.
Throughout the day got my nerve up for the Giant Drop. This ride is just a tall pole that drops your bench about 250 feet free fall, and then grabs you for the last 50 feet. Aaron Englund was the one responsible for getting me to ride this.
Well, I didn't think I'd survive that ride, but I did. As a matter-of-fact I went three more times, and brought Mrs. Webb and Dad along two of the times.
Stay tuned as I'll try to get some video footage from Raging Bull up later.
The first ride of the day was Super Man! The lines are reputably long for this ride, so we hit it right away. I rode it with Aaron Englund who waited back with me in the line for the front row. Luke VonHolten, Dustin Webb, Anna VonHolten and Joanna Erber decided the wait was too long, and jumped the rope and headed for the back rows.
Next was Raging Bull! I only hit this one three times, but I got some pretty cool video footage on the last time. I might be able to post that later.
Throughout the day got my nerve up for the Giant Drop. This ride is just a tall pole that drops your bench about 250 feet free fall, and then grabs you for the last 50 feet. Aaron Englund was the one responsible for getting me to ride this.
Well, I didn't think I'd survive that ride, but I did. As a matter-of-fact I went three more times, and brought Mrs. Webb and Dad along two of the times.
Stay tuned as I'll try to get some video footage from Raging Bull up later.
ICHE's 2005 Father/Son Retreat
Lately I have been very busy working with Jeremy on an addition that he has just started building on a customers house, practicing the Piano, selling various items via ebay, and also (best of all) ICHE's 2005 Father/Son Retreat held at the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Kentucky.
Here are a few pictures from the retreat last weekend.
For those of you who have seen the Trunk Monkey Commercials - We Were There!!!
Walking through the Museum you've got to keep your eyes out for ravenous monsters lurking around every corner.
Joseph even found one to ride, and we had some high-speed racing action there for a minute.
I walked into one room, and there was someone's pet Dino that had gotten loose.
Friday Morning/Early afternoon found us moving 160 yards of mulch into the islands in their main parking lot.
Oops... Was this Supposed to happen? No It Was NOT!
At one point during the morning the people in charge at AIG started getting optomistic that we could finish the first 70 yards of mulch by 2:00pm. Well, we had it all done by 11:30am, so they ordered another truck load of mulch while we were eating lunch. It came in, and as you can see, dumped the mulch in the less-common way. We were able to get the trailer empty, and the mulch distributed by mid afternoon.
Hmm...
Ken Ham gave a teaching to us on Friday Night. I even got to shake hands with him (or a picture of him).
Here is a picture of our group that was taken by Ken Ham himself, immediately following his address.
Wrestling was the activity of the evening. As you can see, there was some stiff competition between some of the participants. The next morning, many woke up even stiffer with bruised backs that were slowly seeping out clear... Maybe I won't mention the details. Needless to say, the ground was bumpy and hard, and the bruises didn't come in their sleep.
Some matches were so even, and SO LONG, that the spectators lost their interest.
Saturday some of the crew helped with the Irrigation Systems, and the Waterfall. Meanwhile, others helped staff the AIG Staff picnic. I got to Ref' a few volleyball games, including the one shown above that featured a "Big Ball" (this is a totally different game, even though the only difference is the ball).
Saturday night we enjoyed Pudgy Pies around the fire before we headed off to hit the hay.
Here's a picture of the whole crew. Over 75 guys!
You can read about the retreat from AIG's perspective at the AIG Museum Blog.
You can also watch a video there, that we are in.
Here are a few pictures from the retreat last weekend.
For those of you who have seen the Trunk Monkey Commercials - We Were There!!!
Walking through the Museum you've got to keep your eyes out for ravenous monsters lurking around every corner.
Joseph even found one to ride, and we had some high-speed racing action there for a minute.
I walked into one room, and there was someone's pet Dino that had gotten loose.
Friday Morning/Early afternoon found us moving 160 yards of mulch into the islands in their main parking lot.
Oops... Was this Supposed to happen? No It Was NOT!
At one point during the morning the people in charge at AIG started getting optomistic that we could finish the first 70 yards of mulch by 2:00pm. Well, we had it all done by 11:30am, so they ordered another truck load of mulch while we were eating lunch. It came in, and as you can see, dumped the mulch in the less-common way. We were able to get the trailer empty, and the mulch distributed by mid afternoon.
Hmm...
Ken Ham gave a teaching to us on Friday Night. I even got to shake hands with him (or a picture of him).
Here is a picture of our group that was taken by Ken Ham himself, immediately following his address.
Wrestling was the activity of the evening. As you can see, there was some stiff competition between some of the participants. The next morning, many woke up even stiffer with bruised backs that were slowly seeping out clear... Maybe I won't mention the details. Needless to say, the ground was bumpy and hard, and the bruises didn't come in their sleep.
Some matches were so even, and SO LONG, that the spectators lost their interest.
Saturday some of the crew helped with the Irrigation Systems, and the Waterfall. Meanwhile, others helped staff the AIG Staff picnic. I got to Ref' a few volleyball games, including the one shown above that featured a "Big Ball" (this is a totally different game, even though the only difference is the ball).
Saturday night we enjoyed Pudgy Pies around the fire before we headed off to hit the hay.
Here's a picture of the whole crew. Over 75 guys!
You can read about the retreat from AIG's perspective at the AIG Museum Blog.
You can also watch a video there, that we are in.
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