What's New With Mick

Tag: yard work

  • Vital Statistics

    Aches & pains: shoulders, sciatica, balls of my feet, fingers on right hand

    Current reading: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide

    Recent listening: Radiolab, This American Life, The Partially Examined Life, Waking Up with Sam Harris, Chris Cornell (various incarnations)

    Recent viewing: The Young Pope, Bloodline, The Crown, Dark Net, Game of Thrones

    Recent playing: n/a

    Recently accomplished: The Daily Bowie, 7000 steps a day for 2 weeks, refinished deck, colonoscopy, finished Neil Young liner notes, mailed CDs (Kent, Kelly), trimmed three arbor vidas, cleaned up all yard debris

    Imperative To Do: Get a job, walk 9000 steps per day or 2 weeks, paint house

  • Vital Statistics

    Aches & pains: none

    Current reading: The Big Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons

    Recent listening: Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Jane Siberry, Sam Cooke, Donovan, Nanci Griffith, John Frusciante, Deadmau5, Florence & the Machine, Earth, Wind & Fire

    Recent viewing: Dexter, Twin Peaks, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, Winnebago Man, NFL Playoffs

    Recent playing: DropZap, Words with Friends, Temple Run

    Recently accomplished: Mowed lawn to remove most leaves, taxi service, Christmas tree recyling

    Imperative To Do: Finish Neil Young “liner notes”, finish 2011 FY for Troop 820, clean office, pay bills, call DirecTV, Troop 820 can recycling

  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 2443
    Van odometer: 152791
    Weight lost (in pounds): 5
    Aches & pains: Left wrist, right ankle, left knee
    Current reading: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk, CSS: The Definitive Guide (O’Reilly) by Eric A. Meyer, Profiles In Courage by John F. Kennedy
    Recent listening: This American Life, Jimmy Buffett
    Recent viewing: The Borrowers, Celtics at Lakers, U.S. Open (golf)
    Recent playing: Chain Factor, Sporcle
    Recently accomplished: Mowed and trimmed lawn, assembled and mounted bike rack, paid bills, helped fix Thomas window, cat boxes
    Imperative To Do: Sell G4, get rid of junk (couch, vacuum cleaner, mower, bed), buy trailer for van, activate new Tivo, oil change for van, weeds, clean garage, moss, new muxtape, re-assemble bathroom door frame

  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 2423
    Van odometer: 152328
    Weight lost (in pounds): 4
    Aches & pains: left achilles tendon, sciatic
    Current reading: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman, My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk, CSS: The Definitive Guide (O’Reilly) by Eric A. Meyer
    Recent listening: This American Life, Chrome Dreams II by Neil Young
    Recent viewing: Medium, NBA Playoffs, The Colbert Report, Mary Poppins, The Simpsons, Doctor Who
    Recent playing: Virus 2, Multitasking
    Recently accomplished: Sent Xbox in for repairs, cleaned cat boxes, haircut, best Mother’s Day ever, mowed lawn
    Imperative To Do: Sell G4, get rid of junk (couch, vacuum cleaner, mower), buy trailer for van, activate new Tivo, oil change for van, GPS rebate

  • More than a million roses bloom

    Thomas’ term came to an end on Friday and he still had unfinished homework. Homework has been an ongoing concern all year and the frustration level for everyone involved is high. We’ve been working on getting him organized and learning to break big projects into smaller chunks, but he still becomes overwhelmed and fails to factor in his busy schedule. He was originally scheduled to join his Boy Scout troop on a campout this weekend but we made him stay home and finish this project that had been due on Friday. He was lucky that his teacher allowed him until Monday morning to finish it before she submitted his final grade. Still, it’s been a struggle all weekend to keep him focused on the task and he’s still working on it even now. A few weeks ago we addressed these issues with him and his teachers during conferences and he said he had a good plan going forward. Since that plan has failed it’s time for our plan. More on this as it develops.

    Aside from that, it’s been a very nice weekend here. The sun has been out and we even left our windows open last night. We spent this morning doing some yard work and then we let the kittens out but not for very long. It’s too hard tracking all three at the same time!

    Thanks to Kathy Sue, we also have been enjoying a Starz Preview Weekend on DirecTV. My Tivo is overflowing with movies now and I’ve made most of them green (“Keep Until I Delete”) so we’ll need to watch some movies this week. We’ve already watched several including a really scary one with Luke Wilson called Vacancy. Tina kept squeezing my fingers when we were watching it and then claiming that I was squeezing hers!

  • Vital Statistics

    Van odometer: 151601
    Weight lost (in pounds): 6
    Aches & pains: sciatic, right ankle
    Current reading: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman, My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
    Recent listening: News from Lake Wobegon, Go Tell It On The Mountain by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Fruitcakes by Jimmy Buffett
    Recent viewing: The Colbert Report, Are We Done Yet, Mystery Men, 10 Things I Hate About You, Vacancy
    Recent playing: Guitar Hero III
    Recently accomplished: Rynosoft.com archives, mowed and trimmed lawn, paid bills, cleaned van, groceries, cat boxes
    Imperative To Do: Join gym, finish 401k rollover, sell G4, get rid of junk (couch, vacuum cleaner, mower), buy trailer for van, activate new Tivo, renew prescription

  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 2332
    Weight lost (in pounds): 35
    Hours of sleep last night: 9
    Hours billed last week: 44
    Aches & pains: sciatic (when I stand too long), right shoulder (when I extend my arm away from my body), left achilles tendon
    Current reading: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein
    Recent listening: Velvet Goldmine: Original Soundtrack, Come On Christmas by Dwight Yoakam, Wolfmother by Wolfmother, Kid Rock by Kid Rock
    Recent viewing: Countdown, Suns vs. Jazz, Steelers vs. Patriots, Raiders vs. Packers, Ravens vs. Colts, Wired Science
    Recent playing: foosball, Guitar Hero III (Wii)
    Recently accomplished: hosed off walkways and deck, stored hoses for the winter, groceries, gorilla shelf parts on Freecycle, paid bills, cat box, email to Curt N.
    Imperative To Do: Sift through inbox, post office (Sunleafs, Seagate, Kent, Sue), sunglasses, InstantCake, phone calls, vacation planning, packing list

  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 2268
    Weight lost (in pounds): 40
    Hours of sleep last night: 6
    Hours billed last week: 24.5
    Aches & pains: right knee, sciatic, right hand, left wrist
    Current reading:: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, The Rolling Stones by Robert A. Heinlein
    Recent listening: Chrome Dreams II by Neil Young, Coverville, DrugMusic, Pure Pod For Now People
    Recent viewing: The War, The Simpsons, Eagles at Patriots, Dolphins at Steelers
    Recent playing: Guitar Hero III (Wii)
    Recently accomplished: cat boxes, raked front yard, cardboard recycling, fixed sitting room speakers, paid bills, called Kent
    Imperative To Do: RMA old Tivo drive, sift through inbox, post office, freecycle gorilla shelf parts, sunglasses

  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 2061
    Weight lost (in pounds): 40
    Consecutive South Beach days: 10
    Hours of sleep last night: 7
    Hours billed last week: 41
    Aches & pains: low on energy (lack of carbs)
    Current reading:: 2107 Curious Word Origins, Says & Expressions by Charles Earle Funk, The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, Death By Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Tin Prayer by S.H. Semken
    Recent listening: This American Life, The Mixup by Beastie Boys, In Rainbows by Radiohead
    Recent viewing: Planet Earth, The Daily Show, Larry King Live
    Recent playing: Guitar Hero II (XBox 360), foosball
    Recently accomplished: Can & bottle recycling, cardboard recycling, mowed/edged/trimmed lawn, cleaned and swept garage, cleaned catboxes, lubed & cleaned bike, unstopped kitchen drain
    Imperative To Do: RMA old Tivo drive, sift through inbox, post office, freecycle gorilla shelf parts, sunglasses, groceries, clean gutters and downspouts

  • Vital Statistics

    Bike odometer: 1932
    Weight lost: 36 lbs.
    South Beach days in the last week: none
    Hours of sleep last night: 8.5
    Hours billed last week: 40
    Aches & pains: none
    Current reading:: 2107 Curious Word Origins, Says & Expressions by Charles Earle Funk, The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees, Death By Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson
    Recent listening: This American Life, News from Lake Wobegon, Coverville, DrugMusic, NPR Story of the Day, Science Friday
    Recent viewing: My Name Is Earl, Heroes, World Series of Poker, Countdown
    Recent playing: Guitar Hero II (XBox 360)
    Recently accomplished: Trimmed shrubs, paid bills, rescheduled birthday party
    Imperative To Do: RMA old Tivo drive, sift through inbox, post office, finish garage, freecycle gorilla shelf parts, sunglasses, update resume