field marshall hrádek

I've embarked on an unknown round fight with ol' Sadie. It's been sitting for what, five years now? The last time I started that car it ran for 10 minutes and then quit. I came out to it and tried to start it again and nothing. Just a disappointing rotation with no spark.

What was it? Fuel? Spark? Shifted distributor? Blown coil? The possibilities are endless but fortunately there is a fairly good (although probably) expensive path to fixing it.

Today we all went out to the car and I cleared it from all the junk my dad has piled around it. Opened the hood, attached the battery cables, and gave it some cranks. Seriously, after sitting for over 2 years the battery still held a good charge. That was at least some good news.

Then I went off to the car parts store and picked up a $20 multimeter. It was wonderful to get into all the different parts of the ignition and try and figure out what was running current. The battery was at around 10 volts.

Anyway, I figured the ignition coil was bad since it was returning about the same from the what was coming out of the battery. That made no sense. The fast that it looked 20 years old and has a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty tells me it should have been replaced long ago anyway. So I replaced it. Still no spark. I am afraid it may even be bad fuel. Not sure.

The cap and rotor are basically brand new. I'll probably replace the wires next and work my way through the ignition system and then into the fuel system. I'm hoping to get it fixed so we can use it as a Sunday car since it will easily fit 5 of us. I suppose I'd rather have this initial challenge than another loan. Besides, if this gets fixed I would love to get it fixed up and partially restored.

All in good time.

My posting intervals have fallen dramatically but for lame reasons. I've been regularly visiting Facebook and getting my fair share of meaningless updates from random folks I barely know. The ones that do matter I keep up on but I think with the postings there and just generally busy.

Since taking the position of Lead Web Developer I feel like my days at work are solidly occupied. I can't measure my productivity in terms of lines of code but it is assuring the management sees my steps in helping my team succeed in its goals and assignments.

Helen and Henry are both doing well. Helen has started to emulate our sounds and I am pretty sure we have a solid yes and no sound. The yes sound is more of a yelp with an upswing and the no is either a growl or a downward sounding ugh.

Henry is really into going for walk, parks, and playing Lego Batman on the 360. We've been making an effort to get them outside to play but with it being the rainy season...

Henry is learning quickly and his drawing has shown increases in complexity. Both kids have been getting on a better schedule going to bed around 10 and waking around 9. It's really been a blessing.

I went to Byrnie Utz's Hats shop here in Seattle on 3rd and Union and oh my gosh I am so glad I went. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. I will definitely make it a habit to buy more hats there!

The hat I got can be seen at the John B. Stetson Hat Company's website. It's the "Temple" model. I am very happy they had a size that fit me. What an experience! I wanted to spend less than $100 but I ended up paying a little more.

I have been tire shopping for the car and have settled on the Yokohama YK520. I really wanted the Michelin Pilot or Goodyear F1 but the prices were almost $50 more a tire. The Continental DWS was a comparable tire but the warranty on the Yokos was better. Apparently my front tires were about to come apart.

We've been working really hard on Flicka and have made some excellent progress. It's been an excellent learning oppurtunity for me getting some really good experience with Eclipse, Android SDK, Java, and the sorts of things that come with that. We're still working on the details for our company but we have a name: MokaSocial, LLC.

This last weekend wasn't all that fun. Had a sore throat and generally feeling fatigued.

Been working a lot. Since Fife voted to join the Pierce County Library System we can now finally make use of a library! I was a bit shocked about the matter but it makes sense. A valley like Fife is perfect for farms and now (albeit stupidly) warehouses. Who'd want a library around here anyway?

It was a fabulous break. We got some great time in with the kids, playing games, visiting family, cooking, and eating.

I picked up my guitar, restrung it, and have started playing it. My inspiration is obvious. Finding the time is the challenge.

Bleh, MySpace bought the non debt parts of Imeem and basically broke it all. It was bad enough that Imeem reduced clip lengths to 30 seconds. Now they're out of the picture. So please, forgive the horrid AT&T and other stupid ads in their stay.

This song has been running through my head for months. This song, while we're talking about music, has been in my head for months:

What it means to me is that it's harder for me to share music with you all. For now I am relegated to Youtube which is fine but I'm not always interested in sharing the video part.

I've just got gripes with the whole system, fair use, and DRM. I will gladly buy music that's worthwhile. Money is not the issue. The problem is all the suckers that have bought into iTunes and other controlled media and what it all means. Control and profit.

Now I am not on any soap box here evangelizing one way or another. I am simply sharing how sick I feel when I think about all this and how pervasive the idea of remotely controlling everything. I feel like there is a full on assault on freedom and expected fair usage. I get pretty depressed about it all. Sometimes I feel like moving to the country and raising cattle for a living.

But alas running away from things isn't an answer for me either.

We're making some great progress on our side project. I can't wait to announce it.

Well I've accepted (and been entrusted with) the lead developer position at my employer. I am a bit anxious and hope I can fulfill the added responsibilities. It's been really fun and interesting working somewhere that is really using PHP and the corresponding systems to most of their potential.

The holidays have been very hectic. We're trying to get things for the kids, things for each other, and manage a schedule making sure we visit with the grand parents. I still have to tell my dad we're expected a third. He's the type of ass hole to make comments about the cost and whether or not I've heard of condoms.

But then again he may surprise me with a sudden burst of happiness and actually congratulate me.

Nanna came over and watched Henry and Helen Wednesday while Crystal and I enjoyed a night out. It's so crucial for a husband and wife to spend quality time away from the kids to keep the relationship in a state that encourages a loving home. Everyone wins!

It was actually our company holiday party which started on a party bus. It was a bit tacky but once we got to Acme Bowl in Tukwilla things got much more fun. We ate, drank (well I did but Crystal had a few virgin drinks), and bowled.

I actually loosened up enough to relax. Our CTO found the worst bowlers (well, I think it was just about all of us) and gave $100 bills to those that made a strike when he called it and was watching. Crystal and I both managed to do this (although I wasn't able to repeat it again the entire night). The temptation to drink wasn't all there. It was unlimited hard liquor, wine, and beer... but I simply have too vivid of a memory of a party recently where a coworker and I tried to finish off a pony keg by ourselves.

We ended the night with a quick game of Deal or No Deal and drove home. We thought about going to a movie but by the time we got home we were done. The kids were asleep and we both got a great night's rest.

Thank you nanna.

Message to guy sitting next to me on the train: Stop picking your nose. It's gross. It's unsightly. Your attempts to disguise it are failing.

This weekend Jerry came over and we picked up an Xbox 360 Elite to replace our old and dead one. I guess I'll be putting in those exhaust fans a little sooner than I expected. This is a good thing because it gets pretty warm beneath our television set. What was meant to keep the most destructive force in nature (our children) out of our electronics is actually destroying them as well.

It came with a couple free games one of them being Lego Batman. It's actually pretty fun to play and allows a game better suited for kids to watch then say... Wolfenstein. I'm not so sure watching zombies and people explode into chunky bits and pieces spewing unbelievable amounts of blood and fluid is healthy for their little minds.

We visited with my parents a little. It had snowed a little; maybe half an inch. Henry loves the snow and was playing outside in it while I dropped off a couple things.

I need to finish up my Christmas shopping this week. I am excited about all the good food to look forward to. Visiting will be nice especially with friends. Family tends to be more stressful than anything. Is that normal?

I've lightened my backpack by 5 or so pounds and it's because I've just finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I'll miss my daily commuting companion but I won't miss the weight.

First off, I thoroughly enjoyed this book which isn't a surprise given that the book has a decent level of popularity. My mistake in reading the book is also what kept me going: the author's forward which explained some of the the reasons the book's five member books seemed disjointed. The characters were somewhat unique and interesting.

I guess one of my few gripes is the ending. It makes sense and it was fairly predictable... but it doesn't give you any closure.

I am looking to reread William Manchester's The Arms of Krupp or some other wholesome historic goodness. After having put my head through an egg beater with Hitchhiker's Guide I need to ground myself.

During my travels across the wild and uncharted Internet I came across this interesting jewel. It's a 10 year anniversary video from latex clothing designer Polymorphe out of Toronto. Titled Embryo, it's put together by Dominic Vincent who does similar artsy and fetishy type things.

They've got some other mind bending stuff if you care to check it out. NSFW and all but really interesting. This isn't anything terribly new but since I like it I thought I'd share it.