Precedents [s]

Renovation
I finished drywalling the 6x4 loft made accessible by the closet removal. It still needs to be patched, textured, and painted, but that's a breeze. What will it be? Storage space? Cat flat? Panic room?

I patched a couple areas on the lower terrace where the stucco had bubbled. Doing stucco sucks, so I gave thin set a try. The front wall had a couple spots where paint had peeled off, so I took care of that.



Dog
The pup may be getting over his fear of water. On our weekly run he charged through the stream crossing that recently swelled and washed away its footbridge. His display of courage emboldened Jes to do the same.

I've given him free reign of the garage now. The first day went well, the second day he learned to open the interior garage door (but didn't thrash the house).



On the third day he ate 31 (I counted) packages of Zack's Brainiac Snacks. Virtually none of it was digested. Curious how he got through so many, I gave him one and watched as he tore it apart with the grace of an intoxicated raccoon.

He's considerably smarter now.



Mass Effect 2
There are reviews everywhere, a few other thoughts:

• Darkness is totally the new pink. Empire did it. Batman did it. The sequel is much darker and seedier than the first. Fatalism dominates the mood throughout while there's an emphasis on moral ambiguity.
  
• Hooray for feedback. No planetary rovering (though it was great in doses). No endless buying/modding/selling equipment that only differs by level number. Load times have decreased appreciably.
  
• I'm worried that the number of primary characters will make their back stories either tedious or shallow. Thus far, however, I'm highly impressed that they brought back the best ME1er (Garrus). I wouldn't be the first to say the Doctor is awesome for his grim pragmatism and rapid, streamlined, multithreaded conversation style.
• The combat system is a definite improvement over the last, but falls a bit short of combat-centric games such as Gears of War and Army of Two.
• The mid-cinema interjections provide endless fun, but being ready for them is mutually exclusive with stuffing Funyons in my gaping craw.
  

More creatively, LittleThingies said,

My heart sank when i went to HMV at lunch and the guy told me they only received three copies of the special edition and they were all reserved. But he recognized me and started calling around. He managed to track down a store that had it. I went back after work and he had it waiting for me. Even God was seen to shed a tear of happiness that night.

I'm finishing up my PS3 game at the moment, hopefully will be done by tonight. I'm gonna spend all weekend playing this game in the dark, my phone will be off. My subwoofer arrives tomrorow, just in time for this game. When I was a kid and mommy told me there will be plenty of time for games when I'm grown up and making my own money. She must have been talking about THIS MOMENT.

SFS countered with:

Yesterday evening I paid CR an unexpected visit. The sight I saw was jaw
dropping: CR wearing grubby sweat clothes tucked away in a sleeping bag on
a bean bag chair playing D&D [Ed: SFS isn't "with it" anymore, he has never even been to Small Bar]. Next to him was unfinished hot pockets and cereal.

The smell accompanying the scene was "30 year old unemployed guy living in parents' basement."

As I left his house, I experienced envy for the first time in a long time.

DAMN YOU CR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Sunday
Since Players has canceled the annual Super Bowl event, we've been forced to relocate to a residence.

Feathers in the Cap - Players

• Waitresses > 0
• TVs > 1
• Draught beers > 1
  

Feathers in the Cap - House

• Entry < $75 Catered food
• Heated(?) pool > 0
• Allowed to shoot dice > false
• Nearest bed < 40ft
  
• Couches > 0
• Wait-dogs > 0
  

Axis
It looks like there may be an Axis and Allies match coming up. I set up and snapped the 1942 scenario. Here is the board in higher res, with initial funds depicted here. There's been some discussion on possible house rules that might even the field and emphasize creative strategies.

• Curt suggested ipc bonuses for quick turns.
  
• I'm thinking a roll for free tech at the outset and perhaps a few turns in.
• East African pirates.
  

Backyard greenery [s]

The painting is done. I'm quite satisfied - no more circusy color scheme. I like the look of the painted tile, it provides a subtle break from the wall texture without clawing for attention.



Of course, it was pretty ugly from weathering, so any paint was going to be an improvement.



The terraces are not so gaudy, and will work even better when something starts growing. Speaking of...





I finally had my two rolls of pinhole developed, I shot them at the draft. Games. Drinks. Decor. Dog.

Nevergreen terrace [s]

R, Dan and Dave came down this past weekend. Besides the requisite Halo, Winner, surfing, and tasty food/drink, we were on a mission to clear the rocks out of the second terrace. It's difficult to describe the size of the task. But I should add that Dan cleared out the three juniper stumps that confounded the other two a year ago. Also the pier for the late satellite dish was hammerdrilled down to size.

The surf session at Fletcher's was pretty exciting. Cleanout sets in September, E says he had an overhead. Warm water, too.



Now that the lower portion of the wall is exposed, I'm inclined to give it a fresh layer of paint since that light blue and tile is ugly. I'm inclined to go very dark green to match the house/deck trim and work well with the red brick.

We planted some grass seeds and I'm keeping it very damp. Out front I've set up the drippers - keeping them pretty close together. They do a good job of wetting down the whole area. I just need to partially bury them, though the grass will do a good job of that.

I red myself [s]

For whatever reason I decided to do the fences this weekend. Well, I decided to start the fences. I'm maybe half done.



Same thing as the deck, and it matches pretty well with the red brick. For prep, I diluted the Behr finish stripper and pump-sprayered it on. Then I hit it with a brush followed by the hose. It worked pretty well but took some serious effort.

Some areas are a bit dark and will need a second coat of stain. I was getting about sixty planks (one side) out of each gallon. I estimate seven gallons for a single coat.

Many thanks to Jessica and her gymnastic painting abilities, Jessica Lee Pool House looks good next to Rob Queenin Memorial Pool and the D. Lane Juniper Stump Grove.



The deck can now be walked on for the opposite-angle view. I need to start thinking about sweet outdoor lighting.



I've spent some time organizing the storage room. I swapped out two flourescent fixtures, one broken and the other an unnecessary 100w. The replacement fixtures illuminate such areas as the paint/chemicals alcove on 50w.

Backyard work [s]

Okay let's get started. Chris? Present. Okay, item one: paint the deck. Behr redwood semi-transparent. Two gallons coated it twice (barely) with each coat taking a couple hours.





Item two: sauna. Why anyone would build wood straight onto concrete I cannot imagine, but that meant the sauna had to go.



Item three: hill behind the fence. Jon wreaked excellent havoc with the sawzall, I simply raked the vertical foot of branches and leaves to the bottom of the grade. I'm hoping the scotch grass I planted will fare well.

And Scotty sent me a bunch of photos from the animal park last week.





Connie's darkroom work, or in her words, 'I gots it in my flickrs!' In fact, I'll leave you with one more quote from the excitable one...

i want an A. i want an A. i want an A. i already calculate getting
docked points for assignment 2 since i turned in one out of two prints
required. that's a C right there. assignment 1 all turned in, but images
not impressive.. at least not compared to yours and curts of solarized
car parts. so that's a B. i need two A+'s to counteract assignment 1 and
2. assignment 3, my metering is all over the place..
.docked points right there!!! I won't get an A!!! i wont get an A!!!!

Last of the painting, start of the flooring [s]

The hallway, stairway, and unnamed area adjacent to the kitchen is ready to be primed. And that will be the last of it.

I bought the flooring for the entryway, living room, dining room, and hallway. Installation will probably be this weekend, as the trim pieces make their way down from Oregon.

Renovation limbo [s]

Another day, another few photos. The kitchen is now cleaned up, real renovations (cabinetry, counters, sink, etc.) are planned for a later date. But tonight was the first real meal thanks to finally having a selection of appliances. That would be chicken and waffles, delish.


The kitchen at purchase.


Behind the wallpaper, cabinet fronts, and appliances.


Hours of scrubbing and paint prep later.


The cabinets still need to go on, but all the major organs are there. It's aesthetically barren but produces food and cold beverages so I'm not going to complain.


The living room prior to today's texturing.


The master bedroom is a low priority now that it's painted.

Free at last [s]

I finally did it. I finally peeled off the piece of masking tape the painters left on the wall next to my office that has been my bane for almost a month. I would not have survived til Monday when I move to the adjacent hallway. Every day it mocked me with its disorder, its implications of unfinished work.