Archive for May, 2007

Morning run

Tuesday, May 29th, 2007

I have started a morning run. Since I have completed a 4 runs, I figure that I can write about it now. (I was afraid that I would do it once and then quit.) I have run the Disney Half-Marathon for 4 years now; 2008 will be my fifth year. I really didn’t do a whole lot of running in preparation for the half-marathons (13.1 US miles). (This really made Nancy upset-more from the fact that I was able to do it. She wasn’t afraid that I would get hurt.) I have put together my typical route so far using http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/.

We’ll see how long I keep this up. I started in late spring so that I could get used to running in milder weather. I am not too worried about the hotter summer weather. What I am worried about is winter. We get snow and ice in Iowa winters; I anticipate this to be my challenge.

Tags:
Posted in Personal, Running | No Comments »

X10 API source code

Tuesday, May 29th, 2007

Many years ago, I created an API for interacting with the home automation technology called X10. The API interfaced with power line modules via a serial interface. I haven’t done anything with the X10 home automation API that I created a couple years ago. I have gotten a bit sidetracked by fatherhood. 🙂

You can find the source code here. If you do try to compile this, you may get an error about a missing class. This isn’t important; you can whack away the reference and compile again. (Not very helpful, I know, but if I get more time, I may update this with some more information.)

Posted in Java, Software | 5 Comments »

Shrek the Third

Sunday, May 20th, 2007

I haven’t updated in a pretty long time. (I have been working on a Google Spreadsheet-based post. It’s a long one though.) I just got back from taking the girls to Shrek the Third.

Overall, I didn’t like it too much. It didn’t seem to have a very compelling story. (I may be biased – HUGE Disney fan here…) I liked Meet the Robinsons much better. The story seemed to be a bit predictable too.  The princesses were my favorite parts.

Again, my bias may be showing in that I liked the princesses the best. I had a princess sitting right next to me. Sydney got to bring a treat to preschool on Tuesday, since her birthday is in the summer when they aren’t in school. Nancy bought her a “Dancing Princesses” tiara. Sydney has been wearing it everywhere since. She wore it to church this morning. She wore it the movie.

The other cute thing, yeah, it wasn’t in the movie, was watching Adelaide. She was stretched out on my lap, laying with her head in the crook of my arm, her sandals bouncing on my knee. The bag of popcorn was right within arms length. She just relaxed, dropped her hand into the popcorn, grabbed a big handful, and brought it to her mouth. She would then go back for more – not looking, just reach out and grab a handful of popcorn.

This did relate a bit to the movie, as Shrek and Fiona become parents. It did make me smile as Shrek and Fiona played with and cared for the babies. But, overall, the movie wasn’t too good, but the girls had a good time – so it was worth it. 🙂

Posted in Movies | No Comments »