qpmarl blog

This is an image of Tim's keyboard. It has a power button which actually shuts down the computer. There doesn't seem to be any way to disable it (other than physically disabling the button). And if you accidentally hit it, there's no way to stop the shutdown.

Who ever decided that a power button on a keyboard was a good idea? It doesn't work to turn the computer on - then it might actually be useful. It only provides the function of shutting the computer off - which is just as easy to do with the mouse from the start menu - it's not like you have to reach all the way down to the computer to hit the power button on the case.

I took the keyboard apart and removed the rubber insert from the button, effectively disabling it.

My little sister started her own blog. I hope she keeps it updated regularly. Anyways, just follow the link to read it.

I started a sci-fi blog - it's a story that I'm writing myself and publishing here. It probably won't be very interresting to most people. The main characters are mining robots in deep space - they're just automating mining machines. They don't have personalities or dreams or anything like that. They're not even intelligent, they just do what they're programmed to do.

I just wanted to take a minute to say Merry Christmas to everyone.

Almost all of my immediate family members are together. We're only missing Thomas, who's back in Washington State - Safely back in the US after nearly a year in Iraq.

Uhm, I use uploadyourimages.com to store the images that I use here. I like UYI because it doesn't require a login account, there is no limit on the number of images you can store there, it's pretty reliable, they don't modify the images at all, and it's fast and easy(for me) to use.

The only problem is that images are likely to be deleted when they're no longer viewed very often. It's not much of a problem as long as the post with the images is on the main blog page, but all of my older images have been removed. So if you like any of the pictures that I post and want to save them, you better do it before they get deleted. You can always ask me if you want an image that was on the blog, but has been removed. I'll send you a high-res version if you want.

Some day, maybe I'll be able to afford to operate my own web server and then I'll be able to do lots of crazy things with my blog and not worry about stuff being deleted because it's rarely accessed. Hey, I might even let all my family members host blogs there for free.

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while.

It's been pretty crazy down here in Orlando. Work has been pretty inconsistent. We've spent a lot of time waiting for trucks to arrive with the slide pieces. Everything keeps getting delayed. So we've spent a lot of time inventing work and making what preparations we can. So we've been getting familiar with the area, learning our way around, trying out different restaurants, checking out all the sights, etc.

The slide we're building is huge. We've assembled some pieces of the tube and it's fairly massive. Standing inside, you can't reach the top of the tube. I'll get some pics, I promise.

I have some pics of some much smaller slides we built in Michigan. Here they are.

These are from Michigan, not Florida. And they're much smaller than the one we're building down here.

The Slides after (near) completion.


We had some snow the night before.

Now I'm down in Orlando to build a slide at a waterpark down here. We left Michigan Thursday night, drove straight through, and got here Friday afternoon.

We checked out the location and things aren't quite ready to start putting the slide up. But we should have some work to keep us busy until it is ready.

Tim and I have been visiting with Marie, Scott, and Maggie. We went to MGM Saturday night, rode the Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster. We also saw the Osborne Spectacle of Lights.

Today we went to the waterpark and rode all the slides.