Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Friday, November 20th, 2009
11:10 pm - Epiphany Caching
Sunny day and around 60°F so I decided to hit some local geocaches before returning to the endless work of packing and dejunking. The first one was Bridges of Rockland County in Sloatsburg. It's a scenic area with an old wooden bridge alongside the road bridge. There weren't many places at that street corner to hide a regular-sized cache but I must have been seriously off my game there because it took a while before I had an epiphany and found this tricky cache.
The next one was Sitting a'round' at a small park in valley Cottage. This too was a difficult cache. Checked a number of wrong spots. My epiphany this time came from watching some people who were passing through the park. I saw them looking at an object that was related in some way to the cache hiding spot and all of a sudden, I knew what to look for. Maybe this should be my new geocaching style. Forget about searching. Just observe random things until the right idea pops into my head.
After that, I stopped briefly at Palisades Center to run an errand. It's my last trip to this mall and I probably won't miss the bumpy parking garage. Then I went to the neighborhood TD Bank to get some singles for Where's George. Well, surprise! It was apparently Free Bag Day and they gave me a dark green TD Bank bag. So now I have both a Commerce Bank bag and a TD Bank bag. If this bank changes its name again, I'll be sure to stick around for another bag. :)
Sunny day and around 60°F so I decided to hit some local geocaches before returning to the endless work of packing and dejunking. The first one was Bridges of Rockland County in Sloatsburg. It's a scenic area with an old wooden bridge alongside the road bridge. There weren't many places at that street corner to hide a regular-sized cache but I must have been seriously off my game there because it took a while before I had an epiphany and found this tricky cache.The next one was Sitting a'round' at a small park in valley Cottage. This too was a difficult cache. Checked a number of wrong spots. My epiphany this time came from watching some people who were passing through the park. I saw them looking at an object that was related in some way to the cache hiding spot and all of a sudden, I knew what to look for. Maybe this should be my new geocaching style. Forget about searching. Just observe random things until the right idea pops into my head.
After that, I stopped briefly at Palisades Center to run an errand. It's my last trip to this mall and I probably won't miss the bumpy parking garage. Then I went to the neighborhood TD Bank to get some singles for Where's George. Well, surprise! It was apparently Free Bag Day and they gave me a dark green TD Bank bag. So now I have both a Commerce Bank bag and a TD Bank bag. If this bank changes its name again, I'll be sure to stick around for another bag. :)
8:40 pm - Writer's Block: The right fight
I bought a house with cash. I used to think homeownership was overhyped, especially during the housing bubble years, but I've got to admit there's nothing quite like having a place of my own and knowing that no landlord can kick me out.
I bought a house with cash. I used to think homeownership was overhyped, especially during the housing bubble years, but I've got to admit there's nothing quite like having a place of my own and knowing that no landlord can kick me out.
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
8:51 pm - Broken
The microwave oven burned out yesterday. That's good because I won't have to move it from the apartment to the house. I wish it had waited a few more days until the actual big move day though. So all meals since then were prepared in the regular oven and on the stove. Old school. One thing I'm not used to is having to anticipate mealtimes by about half an hour because that's how long it takes to heat up frozen food in the oven. Then again, I should start using a regular oven anyway. The gas oven in the house looks a lot more fun.
Also, on the way back from Delaware at a cache site, I noticed that the car headlight bulb was blown. I already had a spare bulb so I replaced it the next morning. This time, the blown bulb was on the passenger side and was much easier to access than the driver's side bulb because there aren't any engine components getting in the way there.
Aside from that, I'm still packing and getting rid of a lot of stuff. Some find it easy but for me, deciding what to keep and what to discard is very difficult. Wish I could bring everything over but that's not practical. I'll definitely have a bag of plush toys to donate to the Toys For Tots drive at an upcoming geocaching event.
The microwave oven burned out yesterday. That's good because I won't have to move it from the apartment to the house. I wish it had waited a few more days until the actual big move day though. So all meals since then were prepared in the regular oven and on the stove. Old school. One thing I'm not used to is having to anticipate mealtimes by about half an hour because that's how long it takes to heat up frozen food in the oven. Then again, I should start using a regular oven anyway. The gas oven in the house looks a lot more fun.
Also, on the way back from Delaware at a cache site, I noticed that the car headlight bulb was blown. I already had a spare bulb so I replaced it the next morning. This time, the blown bulb was on the passenger side and was much easier to access than the driver's side bulb because there aren't any engine components getting in the way there.
Aside from that, I'm still packing and getting rid of a lot of stuff. Some find it easy but for me, deciding what to keep and what to discard is very difficult. Wish I could bring everything over but that's not practical. I'll definitely have a bag of plush toys to donate to the Toys For Tots drive at an upcoming geocaching event.
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
1:38 am - To Northern NJ again, Third Tuesday
Did yard work this morning. Raked leaves and used the electric lawnmower on the front yard. Started heading back to Northern NJ after a late lunch. The plan was to hit the Third Tuesday geocaching event on the way back but there was plenty of time so we tackled a few geocaches, Corral and Villa, along the way. The last cache we did before the event was Rt.18 Pedestrian Bridge just a mile south of Fuddruckers in New Brunswick. This was a tough one so it was a good thing we were joined in the search by jo.b and JimmyG.
Got to Fuddruckers in time for the start of the event, more or less. In truth, I hadn't expected to be able to make it to this event. It just happened to be the way my travel schedule worked out, making the event a convenient dinner stop. I had nachos with chicken as usual.
And now I'm back in Northern NJ for my last week here. If all goes well, I should be 100% moved into Delaware by next week. (just in time to claim the free Pathmark turkey and roast it in my new and as yet unused gas oven. I can hardly wait!)
Did yard work this morning. Raked leaves and used the electric lawnmower on the front yard. Started heading back to Northern NJ after a late lunch. The plan was to hit the Third Tuesday geocaching event on the way back but there was plenty of time so we tackled a few geocaches, Corral and Villa, along the way. The last cache we did before the event was Rt.18 Pedestrian Bridge just a mile south of Fuddruckers in New Brunswick. This was a tough one so it was a good thing we were joined in the search by jo.b and JimmyG.
Got to Fuddruckers in time for the start of the event, more or less. In truth, I hadn't expected to be able to make it to this event. It just happened to be the way my travel schedule worked out, making the event a convenient dinner stop. I had nachos with chicken as usual.
And now I'm back in Northern NJ for my last week here. If all goes well, I should be 100% moved into Delaware by next week. (just in time to claim the free Pathmark turkey and roast it in my new and as yet unused gas oven. I can hardly wait!)
Monday, November 16th, 2009
10:43 pm - PA/DE Border
Another sunny day. Temperature was in the 60s. After bagging a few geocaches on in Newport and Wilmington, we went north to Chadds Ford, just past the PA-DE state line. I had actually never been there before so there were lots of geocaches to do within a short distance of each other. I'll work my way towards West Chester another time.
Stopped at Best Buy near Concord Mall (on the tax-free side of the state line, of course) to see their selection of LCD monitors because I won't be moving the big, bulky 20" CRT. I also had a Best Buy 10%-off movers special coupon but when I got to the checkout, they said that this coupon does not apply to LCD monitors. So I decided to not buy one at that time. I think I can get a better deal elsewhere. We'll see.
( The caches... )
Another sunny day. Temperature was in the 60s. After bagging a few geocaches on in Newport and Wilmington, we went north to Chadds Ford, just past the PA-DE state line. I had actually never been there before so there were lots of geocaches to do within a short distance of each other. I'll work my way towards West Chester another time.
Stopped at Best Buy near Concord Mall (on the tax-free side of the state line, of course) to see their selection of LCD monitors because I won't be moving the big, bulky 20" CRT. I also had a Best Buy 10%-off movers special coupon but when I got to the checkout, they said that this coupon does not apply to LCD monitors. So I decided to not buy one at that time. I think I can get a better deal elsewhere. We'll see.
( The caches... )
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
10:25 pm - MD/DE State Line
Nice weather on Sunday. Temperature was a bit over 70°F in the afternoon. Went out with my parents along US-40 towards Maryland. Found 15 geocaches on both sides of the state line from Bear to Elkton and had a pretty good day, all in all. Ran into some really nice people in the Glasgow area. One lady in particular started up a conversation with us and offered tips on places to go when she found out that we were moving to the area. She even invited us to her home, which was near the park, for tea, but we declined because we had to continue onwards to Elkton. I'm not accustomed to such hospitality but it's certainly different from Northern NJ.
Found two of the Maryland Municipal League Geotrail caches. I don't think I'll be traveling all over Maryland to qualify for the special geocoin just yet so I'll do these caches as individual caches whenever I come across them.
( The caches... )
Nice weather on Sunday. Temperature was a bit over 70°F in the afternoon. Went out with my parents along US-40 towards Maryland. Found 15 geocaches on both sides of the state line from Bear to Elkton and had a pretty good day, all in all. Ran into some really nice people in the Glasgow area. One lady in particular started up a conversation with us and offered tips on places to go when she found out that we were moving to the area. She even invited us to her home, which was near the park, for tea, but we declined because we had to continue onwards to Elkton. I'm not accustomed to such hospitality but it's certainly different from Northern NJ.
Found two of the Maryland Municipal League Geotrail caches. I don't think I'll be traveling all over Maryland to qualify for the special geocoin just yet so I'll do these caches as individual caches whenever I come across them.
( The caches... )
Saturday, November 14th, 2009
11:28 pm - Rainy day and a diner meet
It was a rainy Saturday so I stayed in and caught up on all the things I couldn't do while packing. I did two months' worth of accounting and got reasonably up to date with photo uploads. I also did a few more address changes online.
In the evening, I went to the diner meet at Hot Plate. It was only 2 miles from home so I probably didn't have to leave home as early as I did. Met up with Industre and The Comedian outside the diner. The servers arranged a bunch of tables together for us in one section of the diner. Then we were joined by Lupine, Luna, Kinsasha, Reaux, Genji, Aisha, Dan,![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
kitt3ns, and many others whose names slipped my mind. So it was quite a group. I had a Philly Pretzel Cheeseburger. After dinner, I opted not to go to the after-dinner party because I had to pick up some groceries at Pathmark and get home. It was a nice evening out and I look forward to more local gatherings.
It was a rainy Saturday so I stayed in and caught up on all the things I couldn't do while packing. I did two months' worth of accounting and got reasonably up to date with photo uploads. I also did a few more address changes online.
In the evening, I went to the diner meet at Hot Plate. It was only 2 miles from home so I probably didn't have to leave home as early as I did. Met up with Industre and The Comedian outside the diner. The servers arranged a bunch of tables together for us in one section of the diner. Then we were joined by Lupine, Luna, Kinsasha, Reaux, Genji, Aisha, Dan,
kitt3ns, and many others whose names slipped my mind. So it was quite a group. I had a Philly Pretzel Cheeseburger. After dinner, I opted not to go to the after-dinner party because I had to pick up some groceries at Pathmark and get home. It was a nice evening out and I look forward to more local gatherings.
Friday, November 13th, 2009
11:09 pm - Another step towards relocation
Wednesday: Took a load of stuff I didn't need over to Goodwill in Nanuet. I would've just thrown it out but it seemed a shame to waste. Then back home for more packing.
Thursday: Rainy day. Headed to Delaware again with another bunch of stuff and also the laundry. There's a washing machine in the house. Might as well use it. :) Stopped in Florence-Roebling along the way and did 4 quick geocaches in the rain: Whos Playing baseball?, Cache of the Secret Place, Under the trees, Florence Soccer. It was my father's birthday, so after leaving the stuff at the house, we went to Pinang in Newark. I had java mee. Also found the Cursed of the FTF #5 (DE Edition) geocache behind the strip mall where the restaurant was. It was before-dinner entertainment. :)
Friday: Another rainy day. I went to the DMV (which was only a mile from home!) to swap my NJ driver's license for a DE driver's license. I'd done the research beforehand so I had all the documentation I needed. (Not much. 2 utility bills, SS card) It took just under 2 hours. Most of that time was spent waiting for my turn and once I got to the counter and photo booth, it wasn't long before I had a new plastic card for my wallet. Now, all I need to do is switch the car title/registration over to DE. No need to hurry though. I have 60 days. Also, I'll look into getting a New Castle County library card soon. (I'm now a property tax paying resident. Might as well benefit from that. :) )
Wednesday: Took a load of stuff I didn't need over to Goodwill in Nanuet. I would've just thrown it out but it seemed a shame to waste. Then back home for more packing.
Thursday: Rainy day. Headed to Delaware again with another bunch of stuff and also the laundry. There's a washing machine in the house. Might as well use it. :) Stopped in Florence-Roebling along the way and did 4 quick geocaches in the rain: Whos Playing baseball?, Cache of the Secret Place, Under the trees, Florence Soccer. It was my father's birthday, so after leaving the stuff at the house, we went to Pinang in Newark. I had java mee. Also found the Cursed of the FTF #5 (DE Edition) geocache behind the strip mall where the restaurant was. It was before-dinner entertainment. :)
Friday: Another rainy day. I went to the DMV (which was only a mile from home!) to swap my NJ driver's license for a DE driver's license. I'd done the research beforehand so I had all the documentation I needed. (Not much. 2 utility bills, SS card) It took just under 2 hours. Most of that time was spent waiting for my turn and once I got to the counter and photo booth, it wasn't long before I had a new plastic card for my wallet. Now, all I need to do is switch the car title/registration over to DE. No need to hurry though. I have 60 days. Also, I'll look into getting a New Castle County library card soon. (I'm now a property tax paying resident. Might as well benefit from that. :) )
2:44 pm - Writer's Block: If these walls could talk
I'm not sure it would matter. When I bought my house, I didn't know who lived here previously or what happened to them. While doing yardwork one day, I talked to a neighbor and found out that the previous owners were a family whose head of household died of natural causes. The remainder of the family lived there for quite a bit longer before they finally had to sell. Okay, I suppose if all other factors are roughly equal, I would choose the house where the murder did not take place.
I'm not sure it would matter. When I bought my house, I didn't know who lived here previously or what happened to them. While doing yardwork one day, I talked to a neighbor and found out that the previous owners were a family whose head of household died of natural causes. The remainder of the family lived there for quite a bit longer before they finally had to sell. Okay, I suppose if all other factors are roughly equal, I would choose the house where the murder did not take place.
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
10:55 pm - North Jersey - Even more packing, TwitVim lists support, Google Wave
If it seems I haven't been doing much lately, that's because it's mostly been packing up and cleaning out stuff from the apartment. In 14 years, I sure can accumulate a lot! I think we're nearing the end of it though. Also, either tomorrow or the day after, we'll take a load of toys, clothes, and kitchenware to the Goodwill donation center in Nanuet.
In the midst of packing, I snuck in a bit of work on TwitVim to add support for reading Twitter lists. Haven't written the documentation yet but it appears the lists API is still a little rough so there is no hurry. I think I'll have a bit more work to do soon to support the retweets API and home timeline. Apparently, I didn't stop having computer programming work to do after leaving the job. Funny that.
Also, I joined the Google Wave preview a week ago (mortonfox@googlewave.com) and only just started really using it today. If you need an invite, pass me an email address to send it to. Also, if you're already on Google Wave, let me know too. I'll add you to my contacts.
If it seems I haven't been doing much lately, that's because it's mostly been packing up and cleaning out stuff from the apartment. In 14 years, I sure can accumulate a lot! I think we're nearing the end of it though. Also, either tomorrow or the day after, we'll take a load of toys, clothes, and kitchenware to the Goodwill donation center in Nanuet.
In the midst of packing, I snuck in a bit of work on TwitVim to add support for reading Twitter lists. Haven't written the documentation yet but it appears the lists API is still a little rough so there is no hurry. I think I'll have a bit more work to do soon to support the retweets API and home timeline. Apparently, I didn't stop having computer programming work to do after leaving the job. Funny that.
Also, I joined the Google Wave preview a week ago (mortonfox@googlewave.com) and only just started really using it today. If you need an invite, pass me an email address to send it to. Also, if you're already on Google Wave, let me know too. I'll add you to my contacts.
Monday, November 9th, 2009
9:18 pm - Writer's Block: Just another manic Monday
Nearly 3 months after leaving work, I have to say this: I don't dread Mondays any more. :)
Nearly 3 months after leaving work, I have to say this: I don't dread Mondays any more. :)
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
12:07 am - Friday Five
From![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
thefridayfive:
1) Which one is more irritating- being too hot or being too cold?
Too hot. If I'm too cold, I can wear more clothing so it's fixable.
2) Were you born in the winter or the summer?
Early autumn.
3) What are your favourite foods to eat when you need to warm up and cool down?
Curry and butter pecan ice cream.
4) Which one are you more likely to suffer from- hayfever or flu- and does it run in your family?
Flu. I don't have a pollen allergy.
5) You are granted a day of perfect weather whenever you like. What day do you place it on and why?
Sunday is the most useful day on which to have perfect weather because of free parking in the city.
From
thefridayfive:1) Which one is more irritating- being too hot or being too cold?
Too hot. If I'm too cold, I can wear more clothing so it's fixable.
2) Were you born in the winter or the summer?
Early autumn.
3) What are your favourite foods to eat when you need to warm up and cool down?
Curry and butter pecan ice cream.
4) Which one are you more likely to suffer from- hayfever or flu- and does it run in your family?
Flu. I don't have a pollen allergy.
5) You are granted a day of perfect weather whenever you like. What day do you place it on and why?
Sunday is the most useful day on which to have perfect weather because of free parking in the city.
Friday, November 6th, 2009
11:35 pm - Back from Delaware and more packing
Wednesday was the day Lowe's delivered the washing machine. It's a big front-loader. Perhaps a little cramped at the back of the house -- the washer door opens up a bit into the kitchen -- but that'll do. All the dirty laundry was at the house so we ran two loads right away and hung the laundry up on an indoor clothes line in the 3rd bedroom. (which will probably become a storeroom) Did a lot of yardwork while waiting for the laundry to be done. Mostly raked leaves and pulled weeds. There wasn't much of a lawn yet to mow in the backyard.
Traveled back to North Jersey on Thursday. It was a rainy day but there wasn't any rain around Bordentown so I did 4 geocaches, all near US-130: IN A JIF, LINK 2, Lickety Split, Creepy Crawler. Hit some bad traffic on US-1 and the Parkway but I think it's normal for rush hour traffic. Nearly had an accident because someone cut out from a gas station right into my lane with very little room to spare.
Did a lot more packing on Friday. Also got rid of a lot of books, mostly computer books about obsolete software and hardware. While we were carrying those books out, a neighbor came to inquire about our activity. Apparently, she wanted to move to my apartment because it is bigger. Funny. I wasn't even aware there was rental demand for a place like this that is falling apart. Informed her that she may have to wait a month or two for the landlord to do a complete renovation because I've stayed here for 14 years and not much maintenance ever gets done in this apartment complex. (one of the reasons I'm moving out)
Wednesday was the day Lowe's delivered the washing machine. It's a big front-loader. Perhaps a little cramped at the back of the house -- the washer door opens up a bit into the kitchen -- but that'll do. All the dirty laundry was at the house so we ran two loads right away and hung the laundry up on an indoor clothes line in the 3rd bedroom. (which will probably become a storeroom) Did a lot of yardwork while waiting for the laundry to be done. Mostly raked leaves and pulled weeds. There wasn't much of a lawn yet to mow in the backyard.
Traveled back to North Jersey on Thursday. It was a rainy day but there wasn't any rain around Bordentown so I did 4 geocaches, all near US-130: IN A JIF, LINK 2, Lickety Split, Creepy Crawler. Hit some bad traffic on US-1 and the Parkway but I think it's normal for rush hour traffic. Nearly had an accident because someone cut out from a gas station right into my lane with very little room to spare.
Did a lot more packing on Friday. Also got rid of a lot of books, mostly computer books about obsolete software and hardware. While we were carrying those books out, a neighbor came to inquire about our activity. Apparently, she wanted to move to my apartment because it is bigger. Funny. I wasn't even aware there was rental demand for a place like this that is falling apart. Informed her that she may have to wait a month or two for the landlord to do a complete renovation because I've stayed here for 14 years and not much maintenance ever gets done in this apartment complex. (one of the reasons I'm moving out)
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
10:32 am - Parental Visit
Saturday night, I went to Newark Airport to pick up my parents. They're visiting for a while and helping me to pack up, clean up, and move. The airport was annoying as usual. I thought my parents were late but they actually got the wrong directions to passenger pickup so they were waiting on the wrong level for a while. Apparently, there is another level for airport taxis that I can't get to. On Sunday, we did a lot of packing. It's going a lot faster with 3 people working on it. Continued packing on Monday and then loaded essential stuff into the car and drove out to Delaware.
On Tuesday, we did a lot of shopping. I had a 10% off moving special coupon from Lowe's so we got a lot from there, including a washing machine and a vacuum cleaner. The latter was sorely needed because of construction dust in the carpet and it was on sale and with the extra 10% off, it was a deal. We noticed later at Best Buy that this model was what the store itself used even though they don't sell it. Makes ya think. Also went to Walmart for some bathroom and room fixtures and checked out an Asian grocery in Wilmington. The latter was a bit of a disappointment because they didn't have soy milk. We'll have to go to Philadelphia Chinatown at some point.
On Tuesday night, we put up the curtains. Privacy at last! It's a bit of a hack though because we used tension rods instead of proper curtain rods. The reason is I don't have a working drill to make holes and put in screws. In fact, all the hooks and hangers I've put up so far were no-tool installations. We'll see how long those last.
Saturday night, I went to Newark Airport to pick up my parents. They're visiting for a while and helping me to pack up, clean up, and move. The airport was annoying as usual. I thought my parents were late but they actually got the wrong directions to passenger pickup so they were waiting on the wrong level for a while. Apparently, there is another level for airport taxis that I can't get to. On Sunday, we did a lot of packing. It's going a lot faster with 3 people working on it. Continued packing on Monday and then loaded essential stuff into the car and drove out to Delaware.
On Tuesday, we did a lot of shopping. I had a 10% off moving special coupon from Lowe's so we got a lot from there, including a washing machine and a vacuum cleaner. The latter was sorely needed because of construction dust in the carpet and it was on sale and with the extra 10% off, it was a deal. We noticed later at Best Buy that this model was what the store itself used even though they don't sell it. Makes ya think. Also went to Walmart for some bathroom and room fixtures and checked out an Asian grocery in Wilmington. The latter was a bit of a disappointment because they didn't have soy milk. We'll have to go to Philadelphia Chinatown at some point.
On Tuesday night, we put up the curtains. Privacy at last! It's a bit of a hack though because we used tension rods instead of proper curtain rods. The reason is I don't have a working drill to make holes and put in screws. In fact, all the hooks and hangers I've put up so far were no-tool installations. We'll see how long those last.