Weekend of Nothingness

There are some weekends in which great things are accomplished. This wasn't one of them.

I spent entirely too much time on Saturday attempting to use one of the Linux-based video tools to create a slide show of our Heroscape game. It was extremely frustrating. Instead of doing the obvious thing and giving it up, I persevered. What a colossal waste of time!

The Ubuntu distribution comes with two or three video editing programs, but they aren't automatically installed -- you have to use the package manager to do that. Then, once you've installed them, you have to figure out how to use them.

I tried using Kino, which is a very basic editing video editing program, and it appears as though you can import the JPEG files into the project and then set the duration for each picture; but every time I tried to set them to something other than 0.367 seconds, the program would revert them to their original values. Changing to the frame perspective and attempting to make each picture endure for 11 frames (the maximum it will allow, apparently) also appeared to work, until I clicked on the next picture. Then it, too, went back to the original values.

Avidemux had similar issues. I spent a bit of time looking through the on-line forums to see if anyone else had experienced similar problems, or had come up with some kind of solution, but none of their solutions worked. In this case, not only was there a problem figuring out how to create the slideshow, there was a problem trying to export any kind of movie format because it claimed that the proper libraries weren't installed.

That's the other problem with these Linux distributions. They come with a specific, matched set of code libraries, and you have to use the applications which are matched to your particular set of libraries or things don't work right. This is synonymous with the DLL issue in Windows: sometimes when you (re)install an old game, it attempts to overwrite a common DLL with an older version. This will break all your newer games/applications. I had been hoping that Linux wouldn't have this problem, but so long as applications are written to take advantage of common libraries, and are not self-contained executable entities, we'll see this happen again and again.

I don't like going back to using Windows Movie Maker, but it is still the fastest way of getting the job done (outside of going out and buying a Mac). All you have to do, is to import the pictures into the timeline and poof! you're practically done. Then it's just a matter of adding in the music track, and you're set to go!

The music track was kind of a last-minute thing. I was warming up on my guitar and found a few cool riffs, so grabbed my 8-track recorder to see if I could make something out of it. Not the best riff in the world, but the main point was to get the slideshow done so everyone could see what we've been up to lately.

Next time a slideshow project comes along, I'm going to go out and find an open-source app that's intended to produce slideshows instead of videos. That's probably the main issue - trying to use a program that's meant for making videos to make slideshows.

And Now ... It's James!

James has an assignment to do some kind of self-portrait, so he requested some head shots he could use as models. I thought you might enjoy seeing what he looks like nowadays!

Mary as Marie

Mary's Famous Person report was done on Marie Curie.

Here's the formal pose by the fireplace.

Closeup.

The "thoughtful scientist in the chair" pose.

Closeup.

Closer Closeup.

Mary and her stylist.

Mary and her stylist. Again.

A Quiet Sunday

The pollen count was way up today, so it was a perfect day to take antihistamines and nap in the afternoon. Which I did. Mainly because my head was hurting so much this morning that it was difficult to think clearly before, during and after church.

Everything was much better after my two-hour nap.

Once the head was working again, it was time to begin the real work I'd planned for the day, which was patching the rust hole in the Subaru. I have the fiberglass kit; it was supposed to be a simple matter of removing the plastic bumper to obtain full access to the metal, then clean off the remaining loose rust and/or dirt so that the fiberglass kit could be used.

Naturally, it was more complicated than I'd hoped.

There are four large bolts which attach the bumper to the frame of the car; these are accessible through the trunk panels in the rear section of the car. They required a breaker bar to remove. Once they were out, the bumper, which consists of a plastic outer shell, a styrafoam section, and a metal interior, came right off.


The metal interior "heart" of the bumper had some bad rust spots underneath, so there was a bit of wire-brush work and rust primer painting to do. After that was completed, it was getting on towards dinnertime, so I decided to put off the fiberglass work a while longer and just clean up the rust hole a bit more, coating it with the rust primer to keep it from rusting any further until I get a chance to work on it again (which usually means Next Weekend).

Latin Road Trip

Adam and James got up early this morning to take a little road trip to the other side of the state, but they didn't seem to mind too much since (1) it was for educational purposes, and (2) the rest of the van was filled with girls.

The Latin teacher, who drove the erstwhile field-trippers, is very gung-ho about getting the kids involved and keeping them interested. Adam is certainly interested; he's been into languages since he was much younger. I'm still surprised that James wants to take Latin next year, but perhaps he has been encouraged by the enthusiasm from his brother.

They both had a good time, even though the point of the trip was a lecture on Roman archaeology and a tour of some museum pieces at the college. Apparently it was enough to keep them interested. Adam took lots of pictures, but wasn't allowed to use flash so most of them didn't turn out.

Whilst they were gone, Cheryl and I attended a landscaping 'seminar' held at the community center here in our development, sponsored by a local church. We were looking for advice on keeping our plants alive in the dense clay soil which is prevalent in the area. They had cookies and coffee and tea. They had plastic baggies for each of us with free pens and candy. They gave out door prizes. We walked out with a new saw, a dwarf pine tree, and a carpet sample (perfect for cats to scratch up).

We learned that there are plants that can thrive in clay soil, but the local builders didn't put them in the landscaping they provided because those plants aren't very appealing. And we learned that the reason our current trees aren't thriving, is because they were basically dropped into a shallow bowl carved out of the clay, then mounded up with a thin layer of topsoil and bark, which left the lower roots flooded and the top roots exposed.

Additionally, we learned that it will be necessary to add massive quantities of sand and mulch to our soil in order to get it to the correct ratios for supporting most edible vegetation, should we decide to put in that 'Victory' garden.

All in all, a very cheery time, meeting some nice people with whom to commiserate over our landscaping dilemma.

Afterward, I attempted to work on a little rust spot on the Subaru. It appeared to be a badly patched dent or hole in the rear driver-side wheel-well. I was hoping it was a metal patch or weld since it rusted up quickly when I sanded it lightly a couple weeks ago, but today when I attacked it with the wire brush, it crumbled like toasted bread.

Before

After

Ooh, this is going to be fun to fix!

Spring Break Travels

First up, we just gotta brag for a minute or so. Our son, Adam, received a special award tonight for scoring very highly on the National Latin 2 Exam. He got a very nice piece of paper (which will be framed) and a gold-colored medal.

We're so proud of him, we could bust!

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Frankenmuth

We had been debating for a couple of days as to our Spring Break destination. We knew we had to go somewhere; we just weren't sure where.

Our original idea was to head towards Mackinac Island, which is only a six hour drive north, and spend the night so that we could visit several interesting sites, including the Sault Ste. Marie locks and the Maritime Museum at Whitefish Bay, but there were financial considerations which prevented that plan from being implemented.

Then there was the weather. Most of the week was cold, and it started raining on Thursday, and the rain kept up through Friday. So we didn't go anywhere until Saturday. And by that time, we'd come up with an alternate plan.

We used to enjoy visiting the Bavarian village in Leavenworth, Washington; it's quite a popular venue for people wishing to enjoy hiking, mountain climbing, skiing, and German food and drink. Michigan has their own version of this in the city of Frankenmuth, which is just a few miles south of Saginaw, and only a couple hours from Grand Rapids. Frankenmuth is famous for restaurants which feature Bavarian-style family chicken dinners, a big wooden covered bridge, and a huge Christmas store which is open year round.

It made for a good day trip.

Being so early in the season, we were a bit surprised at the number of people who were there, but the extra crowds may have been due to some sort of Pirate convention which was taking place. We never saw the actual convention, but there were lots and lots of people in costume wandering around - men dressed as Jack Sparrow or Blackbeard, women dressed as barmaids or female buccaneers. It was fun seeing them all over the place.

We walked through quite a few shops, finding some bakery items to sample and some jewelry for the girls; then we had lunch at the local brewery/pizza place. We decided not to do the chicken dinner thing because (1) we weren't really that hungry, and had been warned that the Bavarian family dinners were quite huge; (2) those restaurants were back down at the other end of town where we'd started, and the pizza place was right in front of us when the kids started complaining of hunger pains; and (3) given the choice, we knew the kids would choose pizza over chicken dinners.

After lunch, we turned around and headed back down the other side of the street, taking a little detour to go over the wooden bridge, and stopping for fudge (for all), ice cream (for the kids) and mocha (for Cheryl).

Then we drove a bit further north to Bay City to see what Saginaw Bay looked like.It wasn't very exciting.

Actually, the most exciting thing we saw, was this bird which was nesting in the middle of the open grass.We almost walked right on top of the stupid bird. She was sitting on her eggs, which were laid right out there in the middle of the grass, and she puffed herself up and started cawing at us when we got close. Not sure how she expects to defend those eggs from predators. All it would take is one big raccoon to make short work of that nest.

We took a walk out on the beach, but it was kinda slimy due to a lot of algae growth on the sand. And there was a bit of trash (which we dutifully picked up). We were not impressed.

Afterwards, we hopped back in the car and drove back home, listening to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on CD-ROM. Great way to make the trip feel shorter.

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Chess Redux

Chess has been staging a comeback in the house lately.

We're not sure where this came from, but the girls have lately been playing a bizarre version of Chess called Suicide Chess. The winner is the first one to lose all his/her pieces. The girls seem to like it because it can be played quickly, and doesn't require a lot of strategy. In fact, players who don't think too much, seem to do better. Maybe that's why Dad keeps losing.

The boys still prefer regular Chess. They can't wait to see cousin Bob at the reunion so they can play him again.

Spring Break - Thursday

It's getting close to the end of Spring Break, and the kids are scrambling to get the last bit of fun out of it. They haven't been able to go outside as much as we had hoped, since the weather turned cold and rainy, so most of the time they've spent indoors.

Here's a sampling of the kinds of things they're doing.

Mary Plays Video Games
Mostly on-line games - the kind we parents have approved - like Barbie dress-up stuff, simple 2D fairy-tale games like they have for Nintendo. Hmmmm...she seems to be awfully close to the monitor. Guess it's time to get her eyes checked again.

Deb Plays Legos
This is what happens when we try to put the Legos away during Spring Cleaning. The kids "discover" them again, and now they're all over the floor again. Well, at least she's not playing the drums. Yet.

James Cuts Up Cardboard for Recycling
I actually don't know what he was doing for fun. This is the only time he was spotted outside of his room, and it happened to be while he was doing chores. And I'm afraid to go in his room. It's got that 'teenaged boy' smell. But I'm going to sneak in later and open up his windows so we can get some fresh air in there. While holding my breath.

Adam Works On His Dice Tower
He's using the jigsaw here to cut the sides of his dice tower. I can't wait to see how he puts it all together. The cardboard dice tower he built a few years ago has gotten a bit 'used' and needs replacing. This one will be much larger and capable of handling the abuse. I hope.

And Now the Rains

The warm spring air we've been enjoying these last few days got into an argument with some leftover cold winter air (Canadian, I think), scattering black clouds all over the place and dropping precipitation everywhere. Naturally, this is the day that James and his best friend were planning on going to Craig's Cruisers. I hope they don't mind sticking with the indoor activities; I'm not sure if they open the outdoor ones (miniature golf; gas-motor go-carts) in the rain.

With so many people gone on vacation this week, it's difficult to get anything done at work. I'm not very well motivated when the office is so ... empty. My mind tends to wander onto other, far more interesting things. Like ... what are the kids doing now? Is the house still standing? Is there a flood in the backyard? Do I need to start building an ark?

Many of the regularly scheduled activities have been postponed this week. Music lessons. Scout meetings. Teen devotionals.

The high school and junior high groups at church arranged other activities to take the place of the normal devotionals. Tuesday, the high school kids are getting together at the teen minister's house for food & games. Wednesday, the junior high school kids are going bowling.

We were hoping to go on an overnight family trip to the Upper Peninsula this week, but due to financial restrictions - and the need to save for future trips - we may have to put it off for awhile. It's a bit spendy for these kinds of trips when the family is so large. Besides, the cats would miss us.

Those Warm Spring Days

Ah! Warmth at last. Spring is really here. The air feels like a warm blanket.

The best part of a warm day is opening the garage doors and letting the warmth flow over me as I wander around my little kingdom, gazing with longing at the tools scattered across my workbench, thinking of all the projects I'll soon be working on. The cars are sitting out in the driveway, sunning themselves, and there is so much space in the garage, space to walk around without bumping into things, space that feels like a Museum of Natural History: here's the paint that dripped from Adam's brush when he was painting that school project; here's the oil that dripped from the Corolla's engine as it sat here, patiently waiting to be driven; here's the overspray from the diorama James was working on; here's scattered sawdust from those boards that were cut to expand the loft. It's all a glorious mess, just waiting to be cleaned and organized and made to look beautiful again.

The bikes have come down from their perch high in the loft overhead. Some of them have been taken out on the road to limber up for the summer season. Now they sit in the third bay eagerly waiting for another excursion, lined up like eager racehorses.

The tools need to be put in some kind of order. The leaves which have blown in over the course of the day need to be gathered up. The cardboard from all the boxes we no longer need must be cut up for recycling. The gardening tools need to be put someplace where they can be accessed easily.

I wish to spend the entire day just standing around in the garage and thinking of the possibilities, but that would be very unproductive, and now is not the time for hesitation. The basement is the first priority today - gathering up all the things we no longer need or have time for, bringing them up into the garage for final sorting and disposal (which includes carting the old electronics off to Appliance Heaven). After the basement is done, it will be time to go through the garage to sort all the remaining items and find a new home for them, which may include the attic above.

Spring cleaning, indeed.