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bill@geektrap.com
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Welcome to my little corner of the web. Put your feet up and relax for a bit.
| Entry | 15 February 2010, 1:33 UTC |
I've never played. I don't even know all of the rules. But I ran across a web page about it recently, and became somewhat fascinated with it. Fascinated enough, in fact, to embark on engraving my own set of tiles. Sure, anybody can go slap down $80 or $100 at Toys'r'Us for a set of plastic Mah Jongg tiles, but what fun is that?
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| Entry | 21 January 2010, 5:37 UTC |
I've been meaning to get this scanned and posted for fellow "classic computer" buffs to enjoy, and I finally got around to it today. It's the Tandy Computers 1978 catalog, containing photos and information for dozens of different computer systems and peripherals available from Tandy at that time. Enjoy.
P.S. - It's about a 656MB file, so I'd recommend a fast connection! There's a "reduced size" version which is best suited for viewing. It's about 55MB and is available here.
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| Let the Games Begin! | 4 January 2010, 14:50 UTC |
Now that winter is truly upon us, the greenhouse project is buttoned up for the winter (we ate the first couple of radishes grown in the greenhouse last week - they were delicious!), and the garden is under two feet of snow, we've been looking for something to pass the time. Some time ago, we picked up a copy of the card-based word game "Quiddler," and we still enjoy playing it. For some variety, AJ taught us how to play dominoes (Yes, they really are meant for something other than lining up to knock down! Who knew?) using the set at the coffee shop a couple of nights ago. Now I think I may have to take a stab at making a set of my own for us to use at home. Searching for other games we can enjoy playing together, the criteria for which seem to be minimal setup, straightforward rules, easily portable (or improvised, or no) playing pieces, maximum mental stimulation, minimum adrenaline levels, repeat playability, and civilized play, I've come up with the following:
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| It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a... FROG??? | 31 August 2009, 2:26 UTC |
 One of our cats, Squirt , was really concerned about something outside the window a couple of nights ago. Usually it's something like a bug, and she loses interest pretty quickly. This was different, though; she kept staring up and running back and forth trying to get a good look at whatever it was, so I finally had to go outside and investigate.
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| Milling About | 27 July 2009, 16:24 UTC |
The latest insanity around here is Chris's "new" CNC milling machine (made in 1984). I learn so much being around him - like how to find somebody who can transport an 8,000 lb machine from Wichita to Lincoln. I used "uship.com" and I have to say it worked out pretty nicely. Got several bids and found a reliable, pleasant guy to truck it up here for us. The seller loaded it with a forklift, and we ended up renting a "tele-handler" (basically, a really, _really_ beefy forklift on balloon tires, with a fork that extends out and/or up about 20 feet). Our 16' auto trailer couldn't come close to carrying the tele-handler, which apparently weighs 24,000 lbs (!!!), so I had to drive it out here on the highway from the rental place 5 miles away. At 15 mph. That was fun. I had to keep resisting the impulse to slide the forks under the vehicle in front of me and surprise them by lifting their car high in the air... :-/ We got the monstrosity unloaded, and had to slide it into the garage on 2x4 skids, since the forks held it up too high. Even then it only cleared the door by 1/4" - I watched it brush past the weatherstripping. We're going to tear it down in the garage, and Chris is going to convert it to run with a PC and EMC software, while I tear off all the sheet metal bodywork, strip off the old, ugly, peeling, baby-puke green paint and then prime it and repaint it some less hideous color. After it's all back together, we'll (try to) roll it through the double-door into the workshop on steel rollers.
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