Web Journal de Skyler
Date: 12/03/2009
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Woo hoo! I have decided to train for my 7th marathon!
My colleague at work, Hari, said he was interested in running a marathon with me, so I was looking around for one around May time and I found: The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon.
Not only is it pretty flat, but we get to run a lap around Churchill Downs on the course. Very Cool! |
Date: 01/28/2009
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My old Toshiba laptop had the screen's lamp burn out. This was about 2-3 years ago. I knew it was the lamp, because it started flickering and then the screen was black; you could see the image on the LCD... it was just not lit up.
So I went to some computer repair guy to see if he could fix it. I figured that replacing the CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) couldn't be more than $50, so I inquired:
Hello, the CCFL in my laptop's LCD just died. Can you fix it?
Blank stare.
The *lamp* in my laptop's *screen* just burned out. Can you fix it?
Those are usually very hard to replace, and the cost of repairing your screen will probably cost the same as a new laptop.
Um... OK.
And I left. Taking his advice, I bought a new laptop at $550. THE END.
3 years later...
We thought it would be nice to have another computer set up for all of us to use. You know for, like, casual e-mail, running simulations, etc. Especially to be used as a print server. We had been using another computer, Dusty Gazongas, but it's CPU fan as just too loud. We wanted a lower power, quiet alternative. My old laptop, huzzah!
I ordered a replacement CCFL. It was VERY easy to do. I just needed the laptop model# and the dimensions of the LCD. Once it arrived, I removed the old one and soldered in the new one. This took about, say, 2-3 hours of work. I turn on the laptop.
Voila! Computer works.
Did it cost the price of another laptop the way Mr. Computer-repair said? No. Try $20.
Now with a newly working laptop we wanted to install an OS onto it. OK cool. I had removed the hard drive and was using to store data, so it was not bootable. This should not be a problem, though. Merely select in the BIOS to boot from CD, and I will reformat and install a fresh OS.
Easier said than done.
Most system BIOS are easy to use. When the computer turns on, press [F12] or [DEL] and we get a nice set of menus on-screen. Not this laptop. Oh, no. This particular model of Toshiba Satellite has a "legacy-free" BIOS. Which is a fancy way of saying: stupid. It took us awhile to figure out how to boot from the CD-ROM drive, but if anyone can't figure out their Toshiba BIOS, here you go. Let us compare normal BIOS vs. "legacy-free" BIOS.
Normal BIOS:
1. Power on computer.
2. When screen says: "Press [key] to enter setup." Press said [key].
3. When you see BIOS menus, find boot-order, and put CD-ROM first.
4. Reboot.
5. Now you will boot from the CD.
"Legacy-free" BIOS
1. Power on computer while holding down [F12].
2. Type in system password. DON'T press [ENTER]
3. Hold [F12] and press [ENTER]
4. Now you can select a picture of a hard drive, or CD, or floppy to boot from. DON'T! IT'S A TRAP! Instead, hold [CTRL] + [ALT] + [DEL] to reboot the computer. (Why?)
5. It will reboot and say "Insert System disk and press any key..." Don't. Press [CTRL] + [ALT] + [DEL] again to reboot.
6. QUICK! Hold [F12] down while rebooting!
7. Now you have the *exact* menu as step #4. This time select the CD.
8. Now you will boot from the CD.
Thank you Toshiba. I don't know why you got rid of "legacy-free" BIOS? It is so easy to use! |
Date: 01/21/2009
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It has been an eventful week.
On Monday I dislocated my shoulder playing water basketball and had to be rushed to the ER. Of course I have been telling people:
I am a volunteer firefighter on the weekends and when I was rescuing a little girl, the burning building collapsed on my arm.
Then Tuesday, Obama officially became the President. Yay! So in remembrance of the last 8 years, I made this graph:
So far Obama has spent 100% of his days working. |
Date: 04/02/2008
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So I have decided to be Mega Man for Halloween this year and I need to get started now!
I plan on making it out of chicken wire, paper mache, and EVA foam.
So far, I have purchased a red taillight from an old Jefferson 911 and a helmet.
I will post progress as I progress. |
Date: 03/10/2008
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Saturday night me and my roommates had a brilliant idea. I had been wanting to do this for quite some time now.
Step 1:
Go to Ross and buy some ugly clothes off of the clearance rack. We actually ended up on buying all the SAME outfit for lolz
Step 2:
Learn a dance. We each made up a move to last 4 counts and then we do them and repeat. Not rocket science, but it is a dance.
Step 3:
Go to a dance club and do the dance. We chose Cantina, because we *thought* it was "Ladies and 80's" night. We were sorely wrong. I was just regular ol' rap and hip-hop. But whateve', we coo'.
Here is our final result:
CLICK HERE! (links to YouTube)
Enjoy!
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Date: 11/11/2007
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So I wanted to verify the claim made on Wikipedia regarding the flavor bubblegum, that is:
The most common flavor is the distinctive one also known as "bubblegum", which is a combination of wintergreen, peppermint, and cianin, a type of cinnamon.
So here is the experiment:
That is, peppermint + wintergreen + cinnamon = bubblegum.
I. PURPOSE
To verify the claim that the flavor known as bubblegum is a combination of wintergreen, peppermint, and cianin, a type of cinnamon. (I feel like I have already said this, but I am trying to stick to the scientific method)
II. HYPOTHESIS
Combining things that have the flavors of wintergreen, peppermint, and cinnamon should approximate the flavor of bubblegum if chewed simultaneously.
III. MATERIALS
1 package Extra peppermint gum
1 package Big Red cinnamon gum
1 package TicTac wintergreen mints
1 mouth (to mix the flavors)
IV. PROCEDURE
First rip off about a one-third piece of peppermint gum. Then rip off about one-fourth a piece of cinnamon gum. See picture here:
Now place one wintergreen mint atop the peppermint gum. Cover the mint with the cinnamon gum and MASH it together like so
Next, simply thoroughly mix the combination by chewing the concoction
V. OBSERVATIONS
Holy Moley! Those guys were not lyin'!
This actually tastes like bubblegum! HOWEVER: it does NOT taste like the Extra branded bubblegum flavor depicted in the picture. It tastes EXACTLY like that Dubble Bubble that you have as a kid. You know, the stuff in the yellow wrapper? Yeah; tastes just like that.
VI. CONCLUSION
My conclusion is that Wikipedia is a liar! Not really, but it is misleading. When I think of the flavor bubblegum, I usually think of that fruity/unnatural flavor. But I do have to say that as soon as I chomped down on that peppermint/wintergreen/cinnamon mix, I had flashbacks to every Halloween as a kid when I was chowing down on that pink gum in the yellow wrapper. In short, Wikipedia should instead read:
The most common flavor is the distinctive one also known as "bubblegum"***, which is a combination of wintergreen, peppermint, and cianin, a type of cinnamon.
THE END
*** "bubblegum" here refers to the old-fashioned bubblegum flavor like Dubble Bubble, not that new fruity stuff. No one knows what that is. |
Date: 08/27/2007
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So we got hobo spiders in our house. They be scary.
What's that? You think we be wusses? *ahem*
OK, see what I am talking about. These suckers are about two inches long and run like the dickens! Worst of all, hobo spiders are totally poisonous. If they bite you then you will have an open sore for about six months. Gross! (Don't believe me? Google it!)
So here's the deal: before you start freaking out that maybe you have these guys keep in mind that ALL of the following must be true for you to see these guys in your house.
1. You must live in the Pacific Northwest
Check! We live in the Pacific Northwest. These guys are also in Europe, but they don't enter houses there. Only here in the States. Why? you ask? Skip ahead to #3.
2. It is August or September
Check! So apparently hobos only live for two years and they all start mating during those months. Truth be told, they don't want to be in your house. They are looking for mates, they only find you by accident then CHOMP CHOMP you get headaches and blurred vision.
3. It is actually a hobo spider
This one is tricky to gauge because there are two spiders that look identical: the hobo and the giant house spider. Convenient, I know. So apparently the two species are very closely related except hobo spiders are super poisonous and the giant house spiders aren't. Hobo spiders prefer to live in large open spaces and live under wood and stuff. The giant house spiders like to live (guess where) more in houses. This turns out to be awesome because the GH spiders eat the hobos. Nice work GHs.
So now to answer why in Europe there is no hobo problem (the spiders, anyway). The GH spiders live in everyone's houses so the hobos stay far away. When the hobo and GH spiders came to the Northwest the hobos got here first (ironic since GH spiders are considered the faster of the two as far as running along your floor goes) and claimed a whole bunch of territory. The GH spiders are on their way to claiming all of the houses in the NW, but they are not quite there yet, so hence the problem.
How do you tell the difference if you see one in your house?
The easiest way to do this is to set out a 10ft course and time the spider. If it can run it in 2 seconds then... just kidding.
STEP 1: CAPTURE THE SPIDER
Check it out. We totally caught the spider in a Tupperware and slid a piece of glass under it and placed it on some CDs. A mirror then allows us to view the bottom of the spider.
NOTE: be careful when you slide the glass under. At this point you have probably irked the spider into a biting frenzy, and you don't want to identify the spider by whether your vision blurs or not. We waited for the spider to crawl on the wall and go to sleep.
STEP 2: LOOK AT THE UNDERSIDE OF THE SPIDER
Look at the bottom of the spider where its legs come out of its body. Cross your fingers and hope for spots.
If you see those two crescents made of of little spots then you are excited because you just caught yourself a cute little giant house spider. If it is instead a pure solid shaded area then you might have a hobo spider. I say *might* because it works like this:
ANY spots proves this is NOT a hobo.
NO spots DOES NOT not necessarily prove NOT a giant house spider. (cuz the spots could be very faint).
So here is the little mnemonic aid I made for you:
If it has SPOTS
hobo is it NOT...s
If is just one COLOR
spider you should SMOTHER (and by smother I mean SMASH)
So in the end we had a captive giant house spider we named Frederick Douglass (no relation). Once we found out that this spider did nothing wrong, we couldn't keep him against his will. Then we wouldn't be any better than George W. Bush for keeping a spider detained without due process. So we let the spider go in the back yard. I hope he is still out there. Mating, eating hobo spiders, and pursuing happiness.
If we see anymore of these guys in the house we will capture them, identify them, and release them (or SMASH them, depending).
By the way, Ortho Home Defense Max, doesn't work. Save your money and buy some hot dogs instead. |
Date: 08/26/2007
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So yeah, who keeps on messin up my comments? I'm sure its some comment bot, but seriously.
I would like to take this time to tell you two things that are awesome.
1. Shauna is AWESOME
2. Hot dogs are AWESOME
Granted, Shauna is about ten billion times more awesome than hot dogs, but I think they are still worth a mention. She totally was like
Have some hot dogs, Skyler!
and I was like
OK, I will try these things.
Turns out, Shauna is genius. Hot dogs are awesome. In the last three days I have eaten 12 hot dogs. I like them with Dijon mustard and some sharp cheddar cheese. Yum.
My girlfriend is awesome. |
Date: 05/17/2007
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Guess what everybody!
Shauna and I have decided to go on a quest, in fact we have called it:
The Quest for the Best Burger in Corvallis
You know how sometimes you get in that mood and you really need a burger? So where do you go? I don't know!? We are on the trail to find the answer to that question, and when we do, we will report our findings there. |
Date: 02/27/2007
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Last night I came home from school and was hungry. So was Brendan. We decided to make up some food and have it ready for when Kiley got home.
What can we make?
We start rummaging through the cupboards and the freezer looking for something to make.
Let's marinate something in BEER!!! we decided.
We looked online for some sweet recipes, but no dice. With a little engineering spirit we decided to make our own food and our own recipe. It was pretty tasty, so I am putting it here for all to see and copy.
SKYLER AND BRENDANS BEER-CHEESE-MEAT-RICE
Here is what you need:
1 bottle Wolaver's Organic IPA
1 bottle Guinness
2 cans Busch Light
2 boxes Zatarain's Dirty Rice
1 package Johnsonville Brats
1 hunk of Velveeta "cheese"
1 spoonful of minced garlic
Preparation:
1) Freeze the brats for about 1.5 years.
2) Defrost brats in microwave.
3) Pour beer in big pot (leaving 0.5 cans) and bring to boil.
4) Cut brats into small slices.
5) Using leftover beer, sauté brats with garlic.
6) Once beer is boiling, dump in the dirty rice mix and brats.
7) Let simmer for about 20 minutes.
8) Drop in a big hunk of Velveeta and stir until melted evenly.
9) Serve in bowls and eat up! |
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