Me thinking of house repairs... 

Weekend Update :: April 1 to 3 and Today

Thursday
I stoped at Target to get an all in one remote. I was looking for the brand All-in-one but hey didnt have it. I decided to go with a buff looking remote from RCA. it turned out that It did would not control the GE-Emerson - GE-Emerson that we have. It also did not have some of DVD and TV buttons that I would have liked. I was just going to keep it but after sitting there with three remotes again ( X10-Lola to turn on the stero(its a limited learning remote and controls the PC by RF, the TV remote to switch the Display type (between game, Sports,Dynamic and standard) and the New RCA remote, i deceide I would return it and try another.


Friday
I took off Friday to take Gryphon to his Gym class. It was cool, the theme was Football. The teacher took them through the basics of football: Kicking, handoffs, spiking after a touchdown they also took turns trying to run by the other kids for a touchdown. (they used a flag instead of tackling. It was funny because the kids thougth they had to run into the circle painted on the floor to get a touchdown. Gryphon got flagged once and the 2nd time he ran up and through the ball into the hocky net like he was playing some form of quidich ball...

We stopped at target and I returned the Remote and then Skipped over to BestBuy were I got anal over remotes. I settled on a Philips Magnavox PMDVD6 Universal 6 Device Remote Control. I picked this over a slightly cheaper model as this one said it was a learning remote.



The remote turned out to perfect. It did all the basics of the TV,VCR and DVD player. The best thing was you program buttons on the Universal to do the same thing as some of the other buttons from the remote. You basicly push the button you want to add a feature to and then point the original at the universal and push the button you want the universal to learn. You can modify the device that already works and you can teach it al the buttons on devices that are not supported. basicly i taught the Universal all of the buttons to work the Stereo :o) i also added buttons for the DVD and the TV. I hide all the other controls and now only need the Lola control to work the music from the PC.


TV and stuff. 

Saturday
Ruby was coughing pretty good. She was just in Monday but her cough sounded worse so we took her in. We saw a guy Dr. who we really liked. He said that it sounded worse than it was and it would go away. He said that if it was Whooping Cough it would be a couple quick coughs and than a quick sucking in of air. Also the child would seem really sick. Ruby was happy as an ant at a picnic ;o)

Sarah and Gryphon got Shoes and Sneakers. We got a bunch of semi-aggressive fish to eat each other and annoy the Gourmi and dropped some money at Atlantic Book warehouse.





Sunday
We went to Target and got some different things. i went out later for food shopping. I got a cool watch Ill take a pic of since I cant find it on the web.

One of the days we decided to use our Rock Bottom Gift Card and my free Birthday Appitizer. yummy. I had some good Munich Gold Beer.

Today
Now the post is getting long and I just want to wrap it up.

They took the flat bottom metal peice out of the mini ramp to make it quiter other than that I didnt notice anything.

HBO: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Yea! We can watch Curb again!

HBO: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Skatepark still being Ssshhhh'ed

The workers had all of the ramps apart today. Silly me I tought they were putting them back together yesterday. It looks like a job that could take the rest of the week...ehh. Tomorrow we are takeing Adam to John Harvards Brew Pub for his "your laid off" lunch. i wonder if its ok to order beer.

Latest Lyra Mix 032905

before I forget and make room for Podcasts....

29 A Big Black Bug.wma
13 The Wheels on the Bus.wma
01 Rusty Gears Lonely Years.wma
18 Track 18.wma
07_EVANESCENCE___IMAGINARY.wma
18 Everything Turns Grey.wma
12 Daktari.wma
01 Candy Everybody Wants.wma
11 The Arrivals Gate.wma
09 Subdivision.wma
04 So What.wma
PodCasts
02 O.K.wma
05 How Much Wood.wma
Tori Amos - Lovesong (The Cure cover (live)).mp3
06 Arrow of Truth.wma
07 Fantasia on Greensleeves for Harp, Flute, & String.wma
15 Mephisto Waltz.MP3
11 London Dungeon.MP3
02 Hollywood Babylon.MP3
13 Braineaters.MP3
09 I Turned into a Martian.MP3
13 Tristan.MP3
06 X Ray.MP3
07 TV Star.MP3
05 Tiny Rubberband - Butthole Surfers-Moby.MP3
HORSE.MP3
09 Paul Revere.MP3
LYRA_SYS
04 Dive.MP3
18 Boys - Bauhaus.MP3
03 God In An Alcove.MP3
07 Old Mr. Heffer.wma
12918036.html.mp3
12918032.html.mp3
12918030.html.mp3
12918027.html.mp3
18 Where Do Ya Draw the Line.MP3
04 Hurt.wma
13 What It Feels Like for a Girl.wma
11 [Untitled].wma
12 Canto Invierno.wma
08 Boxers.wma
07 Kamikazi Dive.MP3
10 Where I Go.wma
07 Circle.wma
06 Conventioneers.wma
29 A Big Black Bug.wma
WMPInfo.xml
04 Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.wma
01 Daftendirekt.mp3
10 The Gift.wma
08 DC 3000.wma
01 Wild in the Streets.MP3
20 Glass Onion.mp3
02 Rapunzel.wma
02 The Revelation.wma
12 A Higher Place.wma
09 I Fought the Law.wma
13 Stockton Gala Days.wma
02 Grey Street.wma
07 Fantasia on Greensleeves for Harp, Flute, & String.wma
12918036.html.mp3
04 Honey [Non-LP Track].wma
MISFITS___GHOULS_NIGHT_OUT.MP3
12 Dial-A-Cliché.wma
04 The Scientist.wma
08 California Über Alles.mp3
02 Quiet.wma
06 Iieee.wma
01 Silent All These Years.wma
05 Houdini's Box.wma
02 Take Me to the River.wma
08 Track 08.mp3
11 The White Lady Loves You.wma
03 This Could Be Anywhere.mp3
08 The Righteous & The Wicked.mp3
07_EVANESCENCE___IMAGINARY.wma
04 He's Alive.wma
MISFITS___SOME_KIND_OF_HATE.MP3
01 PHD.wma
04 Out Like a Lamb.wma
04 Mercy in You.wma
08 Army Dreamers.wma
01 Puddle Stomping.wma
LYRA_SYS
04 So What.wma
06 The Lily of the West.wma

Skatepark closed for repairs...

When the park first opened and even more so in the fall, I thought "Boy these ramps can be loud." Right in back of the park just on teh other side of the small pine trees is an apartment complex. i know they have to be able to hear the ramps. these people probably enjoyed sitting on the there little decks in the Summer in a pretty quite dead end. now they probably have a constant rumble from the park on teh weekends and I know I have heard a dog start barking after a hard landing or a board hitting a ramp. So, today the park was closed. I asked the guy what they were repairing and he said they were sound proofing the ramps...hmm.

I decided to clean the car out during lunch since I just did a walk through of Microcenter yesterday.

last night I did laundry and watched Star Wars/ played SSX3. It occured to me that I have never watched Star wars on a decent TV before. Man it was crisp and clear on the new set. Sarah and Ruby were asleep on the couch so i couldn't take advantage of the Stereo.

Sarah checked out a neat little house by the river in Skipback today with Rowan who, looked at a house right next to it. It was @ $130000, that seems a bit steep for me but I guess we will see what the lady says tomorrow.

Busy weekend. TV, Easter2005,Cable again!

Notes:
Thursday
Us? Buy a house?
So apparntly Chris' sister thinks that we should be able to buy a house. I think we couod get approved but thats different than actually living the numbers that might be run by us. We will see, Wednesday.

Friday
TV, Cable
So we get out early on Friday. Before I leave I place the order for the TV (JVC 27wf35, 27" Flat Tube) from BestBuy.com. It says to wait for 2 emails before picking it up. So I wait for an hour and with out getting the 2nd email I head off away. I know they have them so I was sure there would be no problem. I got there and browsed a bit and then got the TV with no problem. They wheeled it up and it was a BIG box. the guy brought it out and we decided that the box would not be making the ride home. He cut the bottom off of the box like he must have done a thousand times. He picked up the TV and popped it in the back seat with no problems.

I wanted to stop for an S-Video cable (why I just didnt get it at BestBuy I dont know). I thought i would pass by a RadioShack on the way home. Nope, even after takeing a longer way home I still didn't pass one.

i got home, Sarah and the kids (wierd) were not home yet. I cleared some room on the floor and then went to get the TV. Wow, this sucker was heavy. 95 bounds of awkward to carry heavy. I grabbed it and forced it out of the back seat and onto the ground. I moved a couple more feet and thought of giving up. I made it to the bottom of the 5 stairs. I felt the TV up alot before all of a sudden I felt a good grip and lugged it up the stairs.I got it in the house and then dreaded trying to take it to the Living Room. My fingers felt like they were broken...I grabbed my skateboard and put the TV on and rolled it through the house.

I got to work unplugging the VCR,oldTV, PS2 and Stereo. I pulled the DVD player out of the closet and layed out the wires. I Hooked everything up. It has this as far as A/V connections:

Video 1 > (audio)R|L|(video)V|S-Vid
Video 2 > (audio)R|L
Video 3 > (audio)R|L|(video)V Component Video> RGB (this is the best connection you can have)
Composit > Where you would connect to cable.

I hooked up the DVD to the VID 1 using the regular Video since I didnt have the s-video calble yet. The PS2 went to the front jacks and I wasnt sure how to put video into the TV from the VCR yet.

With that stuff I hooked it up and man it was beutiful and sounded great. Istill needed to get the VCR hooked up. I thought the key was the s-vid cable that I will get Sat.

Sat
Ikea
We looked around Ikea for TV furniture. They had some decent stuff price wise and look wise. i also noticed that you could get a whole living room set up for @1200. you get couches, chairs, tables and tv stuff for that. we decided to wait and grab a coffee table that we had sitting at my parents for @7 years...

I picked up the S-Video cable and also noticed that you could get Component cables for the Ps2. I guess newer DVDplayers have the Component outputs on them but ours does not.

later that night I was reconnecting everything and decided to give the old cable line a try to see if i could get the reception in better (we do not subscribe to cable). Not only was it better reception but our free cable was back! Again I did not docter the cable up, i just simply plugged it in to better the reception.



Sunday
Easter, all kinds of house advice, tv cabnit

Whew, ok this is getting long....

Easter was nice...kids, family, good, great.


Great shot of G hunting for eggs. 

we snagged up the Coffe table. When we got home and everybody went to sleep I unloaded the old entertainment center and moved it out of the way. I put all the media under the table and the stereo next to the tv. The DVD, VCR and PS2 all went on top of the Stereo. I connected every thing up and we were set. Still not satisfied I was able to get the PC connected to the TV and stereo and the new wireless mouse can actually be used from the coffee table. If we had a wireless keyboard and you made the fonts big you could do web surfing on the big tv :o)

Monday
Paying bills
DSL?

I got all Cashers checks that we needed today plus payed a bunch of smaller stuff.
I wish we could switch over to Verizon. For @10 more a month we could get DSL... We owe Verizon some money from long ago so I dont know if switching would cause a problem.

I picked up the Component Cables for the Ps2 and hooked them up. I think it makes a difference. it also frees up the front AV jacks.

Gryphon said he didn't know how to pose for pictures very good. On the other hand his friend Sage was hamming it up :o) 

Skateboarding and Falling.

Most of the time when you fall while skateboarding, you know its coming and you learn to fall "softly". Then there are times when you are just rolling along headed for a ramp at speed or just checking things out and then ... WAP...Slam...next thing you know your lying limp on the ground hoeping that when you decide to move that every thing still works.

i had the park to my self yesterday and I was just fooling around trying some fun stuff. Every time I went up to this one ramp I noticed a very small rubber washer on the ground. I would go around it or at least make sure my wheels didn't hit it. So I did this @ 3 times. As i approached it the 4th time I decidded to ignore it. Take note in the picture of the washer on the left and the skid mark behind it. The skid mark is @ 1 foot.

Skid mark. 

I hit the washer and the world stopped. I however did not stop. Actually I flew for about 3 feet right in the transition of the ramp. its sort of like running and jumping head first into a wall but you have some curve to smash into and you end up in a heap on the ramp. I actually remember letting out an "Arrrgghhh" as I flew at the ramp and then thought "Did I just AARRGGHH? out loud?" I hit my head on the ramp, not hard just a tap. And then lay there for a couple secounds. I looked at the washer and thought about how many times I went by it with out moving it... The music was still playing in my headphones(which only budged slightly, there ugly but they stay on good) so i just chilled for a minute. I noticed the reflection my board was making in the puddle that it had rolled into and went to get the camera.



After I slamed I sat on the ramp for a minute. I was looking over at my board which had rolled into a puddle. I liked the reflections. 


I found another huge chunk of wax and tossed it down with the other one.


I threw another hunk of the evil wax down here. 

Ever since I have started skateing again I have re-developed my dislike of rain. I know we need it and all but...it keeps me off my board. 

Designs reveled : Schuylkill River Skatepark Project

Hmmm.. the two designs for the Philly skatepark. I thought maybe it would be more skatepark like and less sreetskate plark like. I guess its good for the city. If skatebaording hits a lull they dont have a space of massive bowls just sitting around.

Schuylkill River Skatepark Project

Bush - 3-Bay Wall Entertainment Center - Honey Oak - AV31450

This is nice and we were looking for something like this. Also, I found a discount at BestBuy. The deal is get $10 off every $100 spent plus %15 off the Entertainment Center. I can pick both up in KoP. The catch? The sale on the JVC is over on Saturday... come on Refund!

So far my price is $398 w/tax which is $100 under budget!!

Bush - 3-Bay Wall Entertainment Center - Honey Oak - AV31450

Great Review on JVC AV-27F704 27 in. Direct View Flat Screen Television at Epinions.com

Now according to the guy here the modle number BestBuy has does not match the description. There description is for the better model number which, if true, is a great deal.

Compare Prices and Read Reviews on JVC AV-27F704 27 in. Direct View Flat Screen Television at Epinions.com

TV Research : Top choice so far >>> JVC - 27" Flat-Tube Stereo TV - Silver - AV27WF35

I have an obsession with getting a new TV. We decided to to go with a Flat 27".

Whew...I get weird with these type things...I have to reseach what ever I buy like crazy. Its good to get it all in one place.

Ok, when you look at reviews you have to remember that happy people generally don't comment on how good something is. Most posts you will find are from the people who have had problems with something. So far in the JVC vs Philips search, I find that the JVC reviews are generally good with people commenting on what they like about the TV whle Philips seems to be getting slamed with all kind of complaints.

I think maybe we will hit BestBuy up for the JVC if not that then the Magnovox from Circuit City. I have read enough bad reviews from Philips that I think I will just stay away.

I am going to keep my research here ( I will consolidate the posts at some point to make it easier to see). Even if we don't end up getting a TV I will have learned alot more about them.

JVC - 27" Flat-Tube Stereo TV - Silver - AV27WF35 : on sale for $279 (was $329).
JVC - 27" Flat-Tube Stereo TV - Silver - AV27WF35: "AV27WF35"

The competition from Circuitcity.com

I could not get BestBuys Comparison feature to work.
We see here that the phillips is slightly better with features but, the Magnivox has better reviews. i would go wit the Magnovox here based on the ratings.
The phillips with bad reviews from here is 27PT6442 which is different from the BestBuy and Walmart models.

I still think the JVC from bestbuy is the leader so far.

circuitcity.com- Product Comparison - Conventional TVs

Walmart
Philips 27" RealFlat DVD-Ready TV, 27PT6441 : $278 (best buy has this for $299)

Not bad worth a look. Walmart seems like a good place to start before going to BestBuy.

Wal-Mart - Electronics - Philips 27" RealFlat DVD-Ready TV, 27PT6441 : "27PT6441"

(info on this from best buy: Philips - 27" Flat-Tube TV with Component Video Inputs - Silver - 27PT6441: $299 Philips - 27" Flat-Tube TV with Component Video Inputs - Silver - 27PT6441)

Silky Smooth Skateing to Randomness...

Well the playlists worked out great. I was listening while skateing today and at one point it went from The Misfits to 5 Little Ducks Went Out One Day and then I chilled to some Jonie Mitchell...sweet. You cant even rely on skipping past a song because you may just get to something else you may not want to hear so, you are forced to listen to every thing...I love it.

Ohh...the coping was silky smooth today. Nice and slick but you could feel the slides and grinds. When it was first waxed it was like ice, no control at all. The wax wore of the ramp too so you can make cuts and pump coming off of the lip with out worring about sliding out.

Fabien Cousteau’s one-man shark sub for swimming with the fishes - Engadget - www.engadget.com

I wonder what Jacque would think of this...I wonder if this is his son?

Fabien Cousteau’s one-man shark sub for swimming with the fishes - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Sync'n with the Lyra.

I read that you can hook an iPod ,or a iPod Shuffle maybe it is, to iTunes and have it set that it will just pick random songs and fill it up. I find taht when I go to load up the Lyra It takes forever for me to pick out songs, digging through folders and such. Sometimes I like to load it with all one group but most of the time I like to mix it up. So, I looked around Windows Media player and found these auto-playlists. there are some that , say, play all songs never played before, songs played at tnight, favorite songs, new songs etc... Well you can make your own auto play lists. Cool! Since the Lyra has 128mg internal and the 256mb external, I set up two lists. The first I set up to find 120meg worth of songs that have been played more than once and the other finds 250mb of songs that have never been played. Then you hit the sync button and it converts them to lower bit rates and copies them to your deveice. Now, I have to look into why it converts some of them to .wma and keeps others as .mp3's.

Anyway here is what It picked for me last night. I dont even know what group some of these are...I have 6006 song at home so I get a very wide mix from Kids songs to Punk to Holiday Songs to Stuff I dont even like...



256mb play list
10 Master and Slave.wma
09 Charlotte Sometimes.wma
03 Sexual Revolution.wma
02 Femme Fatale.mp3
04 You and the Mona Lisa.wma
18 Twinkle.wma
09 Weather Experience.mp3
01 The Way.mp3
16 Six Little Ducks.wma
11 Suspension Without Suspense.wma
24 The United States.wma
07 Track 07.mp3
03 Pax Deorum.wma
01 BND.wma
02 Play for Today.wma
MISFITS___ATTITUDE.MP3
02 Pantala Naga Pampa.wma
01 Oceanside.wma
07 Whenever.wma
03 Miserable Lie.wma
06 Four Leaf Clover.wma
01 Watermark.wma
03 Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon).wma
08 Feel It.wma
09 Who Killed Marilyn- [#].MP3
07 Shameless.wma
04 Frozen Charlotte.wma
03 Right Hand Man.wma
05 Another First Kiss.wma
08 A Flea and a Fly.wma
11 Forest Hymn.wma
13 Do the Slag.MP3
08 Animal Serenade.wma
11 We Walk.wma
04 One of the Three.wma
04 Live as You Dream.wma
06 Frosti.mp3
02 Shake the Disease.wma
05 Magics in the Makeup.wma
01 All the Pretty Little Ponies.wma
13 Roly Poly.wma
09 Break So Easily.wma
10 Waiting for Wednesday.wma
18 No One Is Innocent.mp3
10 Sometimes.wma
14 Dark Blue.wma
03 Wash My Hands.wma
01 Banquet.wma
07 Hard Times.wma
06 Peaches.wma

128mb playlist
09 Candy Everybody Wants.wma
01 Puddle Stomping.wma
Tori Amos - Lovesong (The Cure cover (live)).mp3
09 Subdivision.wma
05 Gepetto.wma
18 Boys - Bauhaus.MP3
11 London Dungeon.MP3
06 Arrow of Truth.wma
11 Anticipate.wma
02 Hollywood Babylon.MP3
07 Fantasia on Greensleeves for Harp, Flute, & String.wma
12918036.html.mp3
13 Stockton Gala Days.wma
09 Paul Revere.MP3
06 FREEDOM.wma
08 Watch Your Step.wma
04 So What.wma
02 Take Me to the River.wma
03 God In An Alcove.MP3
07 Old Mr. Heffer.wma
16 In Here.wma
12918032.html.mp3
BAUHAUS___INDIGO_EYES__98.MP3
05 How Much Wood.wma
15 Mephisto Waltz.MP3
11 The Arrivals Gate.wma
02 O.K.wma
HORSE.MP3

Stinking Cigs on the side of the road... 

Green Drink!

My Green Drink 

After the SGG ritual, Rebecca "juiced" up a bunch of leafy greens and made these green drinks. I have had other green drinks but this one was really base. Kind of smelled like wet cut grass but tasted like the different kinds of greens.

Bottoms up!

Close up baby eyes are wonderful...