Owner: A Mad Moravian URL:http://madmoravian.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:11:35 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The musings of a weary mind. Conversations on aikido, gardening, cooking, travel and, maybe, woodworking. Site statistics:Click here
In the shop 2008-07-28 10:53:00 Well, almost. I spent some time looking for the designs for the cabinets in the shop. Once I found them, I spent some time fleshing them out some more, correcting possible problems.Now I need to work on where to put doors, drawers, etc.I also spent some time working on a design for a new entertainment center for the house. K. has asked that it be complete by Christmas, when we host 60+ people f
Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/26/08 2008-07-28 08:36:00 Aikidokas: Tim, Greg, Kim (yay!), and Trey. Ukemi: 1 air fall each side, I think. No issues.The Walk: Went ok. I counted in Czech for one iteration.Releases: With Kim. It's fun and a challenge working with her on almost anything. Our height differential, and weight differential, alter the approaches on everything. Techniques:We had a visitor for a while, so Sensei Tim went to chat with him Read more:Saturday
, Afternoon
Weekend update 2008-07-28 08:36:00 Friday: aikidoSaturday: Oil change for the pick up. Some design work for the new entertainment center and the cabinets in the shop. Aikido. Some sample painting in preparation for repainting the kitchen and living room. Joe's bar-b-cue for dinner. Hand and foot with the in-laws.Sunday: Work on the deck area, incorporating some path work we did a few years ago and had to move when the constru Read more:Weekend
At the movies: The Dark Knight 2008-07-28 08:36:00 The Dark Knight
: 4Heath Ledger does steal the show here. Christian Bale does a good job as well. The make-up for Two-Face was impressive.I'd happily go see this one again. Heath does deserve an Oscar, the movie might as Best Picture. Read more:movies
Friday Night at the Dojo 7/25/08 2008-07-28 08:35:00 Aikidokas: Sensei Tim. Ukemi: Normal warm-upThe Walk: None.Releases: None. Techniques:We worked through 14-17. We actually went to gake on all techniques. Normally, Sensei Tim limits his falls, but tonight he expanded his limits. We also worked on Kubi-garuma and Aiki-nage of the Owaza Ju Pon.He spent some time making Shihonage more difficult to achieve, countering if my off-balances were Read more:Friday
, Night
, Friday Night
F4DZ-5461705-A 2008-07-25 13:11:00 F4DZ-5461705-A? What the heck is that?It's the part number for the seat track for a '93 Ford Taurus SHO. A part Ford no longer makes or stocks. A part my dealer could not find. Well, kinda.They found a listing for the part at a dealer in Iowa. When they checked with that dealer directly, it turned out that they didn't have one.They did a search of used parts places and turned one up in Oklaho
Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/19/08 2008-07-22 08:59:00 Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Tess. Ukemi: Went ok. Didn't do any big falls today.The Walk: None today.Releases: None today. Techniques:We worked on the Nami no Waza. We managed to make it through 1, 2, 2b, 3, 4, 4b, 5 and 6.On the chain starting with the 6th release (I think) we explored whether Tenkai Kotehineri is in the chain or whether it should be Kote kajiki (I have no idea if that is the Read more:Saturday
, Afternoon
At the movies: Crank 2008-07-22 08:59:00 Crank (DVD): 3Jason Statham in the role of a hit man who discovers he has been poisoned and will die if his heart rate drops to normal levels.I don't know if this was meant to be a comedy, but it was one to me. Not a top-notch film for acting, but a lot of fun action. Read more:movies
, Crank
At the movies: Beyond the Sea 2008-07-22 08:59:00 Beyond the Sea (DVD): 3Kevin Spacey in a movie about Bobby Darin's life, mainly as an adult.A pleasant vehicle to get some of Bobby's songs on film, sung competently by Spacey. Covers his rise to fame, his time in the 60's and the problems presented by a childhood bout with Rheumatic Fever. Read more:movies
Weekend update 2008-07-22 08:59:00 Friday: AikidoSaturday:Started up the lawnmower, ready to mow the yard again. Put it into gear and it started going. Shifted into higher gear and it stopped moving. The exact same issue for which I put it into the shop 4 weeks ago. So, I needed to put it in the shop again. Went to the library and swapped vehicles, got the mower loaded into the truck and went off to Alvin.Got there and waited Read more:Weekend
Friday Night at the Dojo 7/18/08 2008-07-22 08:58:00 Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Mea. Ukemi: 1 air fall each side. Left side was good, right side pinged the left calf a little.The Walk: Went ok.Releases: With Trey. Techniques:We worked through 6-10 for him and 11-16 for me, all from Ju Nana Han Kata. Spent some time on Oshi-taoshi and Ude-gaeshi exploring pivots and such.Spent some time on Shihonage for me and Sumi-otoshi.Aftermath: None of no Read more:Friday
, Night
, Friday Night
Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/12/08 2008-07-16 13:48:00 Aikidokas: Tim, and Richard. Ukemi: Went ok. Didn't do any big falls todayThe Walk: Went ok. We're altering one of the stones, the footwork thereof, and that's requiring a little adjustment. Although I have done that footwork when Sensei Mike has suggested it.Releases: None today. Techniques:We worked through 1-12 for both Richard and me, both sides. We worked far slower than I'm used to an Read more:Saturday
, Afternoon
Friday Night at the Dojo 7/11/08 2008-07-16 13:45:00 Aikidokas: Tim, and a new student whose name I did not catch Ukemi: We went through basic slaps and started to work on forward rolls with the new studentThe Walk: Went through this a few timesIt's amazing how much time introducing a new student can take. I hope she sticks around.Aftermath: None. Read more:Friday
, Night
, Friday Night
Weekend update 2008-07-16 08:12:00 Friday: aikidoSaturday: Grocery shopping and then Weed-eating for two hours in the morning. Riding mower is still in the shop.Aikido in the afternoon.D&D in the evening. First time I've had room in my schedule for that in several months.Sunday: not much. Grilled chicken, steak and sausage out on the grill for dinner. Made a Peach Pie, too. Read more:Weekend
Accomplishments during the days off 2008-07-07 09:05:00 Here's the list of stuff I had hoped to get done over my days off, with the ones marked that got done.Done - Wait for the AT&T guy to fix the DSLDone - Mow the lawn (1 acre) with a push mower. The riding mower is in the shop.Not ready - Pick up the Taurus from the shopNope - Go blueberry pickingNope - Go up to the in-laws?Done - See Wall*EDone - See WantedDone - See Hancock95% done - Finish assem Read more:Accomplishments
Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 7/5/08 2008-07-07 09:05:00 Aikidokas: Tim, Greg, Trey, and Tessa.Ukemi: I worked on extending my legs through the falls some more. I took a Big Fall. Without Pain. Yahoo! Now to continue the tradition.Nami No Waza:We worked on the first 4 chains. They are based off of, respectively, releases number 1, 2, 2, and 3.Kogueri Double Hand Grabs:We did the first 4 of these as well:Two-hands to the chest.One hand to the chest Read more:Saturday
, Afternoon
At the movies: Wall*E 2008-07-07 08:54:00 Wall*E: 4A Pixar movie. Really, what else needs to be said?I enjoyed the heck out of this one. Got consistent laughs when Wall*E recharged and made the MacOS boot sound. Only have one quibble. I think they messed up the scale of the two ships. The one that lands on Earth with Eve seems much smaller in space when compared with Axiom than when you compare their footprints on Earth. A minor qui Read more:movies
At the movies: Hancock 2008-07-07 08:54:00 Hancock: 3Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman star in a film about a superhero who's not as much of a poster boy as you would hope for.Fun special effects and a decent story line. I just don't think I'm terribly interested in seeing it again. I can't think of any specific reason why not. Read more:movies
, Hancock
At the movies: Ronin 2008-07-02 18:56:00 Ronin: 2Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Sean Bean, Jonathan PryceA suitcase is desired by Russian and Irish agents. Much mayhem arises from the quest for said suitcase.You'd think that this high-powered cast would be able to pull off a decent movie, but I guess the script was sorely lacking, or the director was horrible. The movie was not that good. It felt very low budget.This movie has an interesti Read more:movies
, Ronin
At the movies: Wanted 2008-07-02 18:56:00 Wanted: 3Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and others star in a movie about an everyman who discovers he has the genetics of the best assassin in the world. This everyman is then trained and welcomed into the brotherhood of assassins.A fun movie with lots of bang of lots of chases. I did not spot the twist coming but I think my wife did.The end scene pushed a bit of dialogue too far. I found mysel Read more:movies
At the movies: Munich 2008-07-02 18:55:00 Munich: 3A Spielberg movie about the Munich Olympics and the Israelis taken hostage during that time. It then follows the retribution taken against the planners of the hostage crisis.A good movie. I suppose I need to see how much of the retribution is factual.This movie has an interesting tie-in with the film "Ronin". There's a role in this movie, "Papa", that almost exactly matches a role in " Read more:movies
, Munich
Plans for the week 2008-06-30 14:06:00 I'm going to be off work for 6 consecutive days, and there are a number of things that should get done during that time. Let's see what I've come up with and then see what actually gets done. Wait for the AT&T guy to fix the DSLMow the lawn (1 acre) with a push mower. The riding mower is in the shop.Pick up the Taurus from the shopGo blueberry pickingGo up to the in-laws?See Wall*ESee WantedSee
Weekend update 2008-06-30 14:00:00 Friday: aikidoSaturday: work for 12 hours trying to get a release out the door. No aikido. durango's for dinnerSunday: work, again, for 12 hours. Watch baseball (Chicago/Chicago) in the evening.Rest of the week? Work Monday and then off until July 7th!!!!! Read more:Weekend
Friday Night at the Dojo 6/27/08 2008-06-28 08:46:00 Aikidokas: Tim, Trey, and Brad. Ukemi: No air falls. While waiting for Trey to show up, I had a little extra time to run through reps. Got about 3x normal number of rolls in. Spent a little time after each one checking for things that might be issues on an air fall. Might upgrade to air falls again soon.The Walk: Went ok.Releases: With Trey. We found something to correct in each release. T Read more:Friday
, Night
, Friday Night
At the movies: Syriana 2008-06-25 11:01:00 Syriana: 3George Clooney, Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, Robert Foxworth, Christopher Plummer, Jeffery Wright, Amanda Peet combine in a story of oil, the Middle East, Texas, the CIA and corruption.Some violence, some torture and good acting. Read more:movies
Weekend update 2008-08-11 09:50:00 Friday: aikidoSaturday: Mow the lawn. Work in the shop on the cabinets. Aikido. Dinner out with a friend. Olympics in every spare minute.Sunday: Olympics. Lunch out with the in-laws for m-i-l's birthday. Painting the living room. Cards with the in-laws. Read more:Weekend
In the shop 2008-08-11 09:50:00 Got in the shop for a few hours on Saturday.I managed to get the backing plywood cut and attached to the cabinets. I then moved them into their assigned spots where they fit like they were supposed to.Now, I need to finish the design, and build, the final cabinet section. Then I can attach them all together, level them, and work on face frames, doors and drawers.
Armadillocon prep 2008-08-11 09:50:00 Final preparations are underway for Armadillocon. On my list of things left to do are:Charge my phoneLoad more CDs into iTunes and sync up the iPodOrganize the 3-ring bindersEmail the artists whose artwork has arrived over the past few daysPut the hotel confirmation in my organizerPut the 3-ring hole punch in the art show containerGet some more shipping tape for mailing packages back out to the a
Olympics 2008-08-11 09:50:00 I'm impressed with NBC's coverage this year. It's much improved. Far fewer puff pieces of War-and-Peace length. A greater variety of sports shown.The sports I've seen so far:BoxingSwimmingTrapsArcheryWeightliftingRoad RacingBeach volleyballIndoor volleyball DivingRowingBasketballSoccerEquestrianSome of the improvement is because I now have access to multiple stations on which they're being broa Read more:Olympics
Saturday Afternoon at the Dojo 8/9/08 2008-08-11 09:49:00 Aikidokas: Tim, Richard, and Trey. Ukemi: No air falls today.The Walk: Not today.Releases: With Trey. Worked on Nami no Waza. We spent about an hour working through these, making tweaks, Correcting incorrect progressions. Went well.Techniques:We then spent the last minutes of the session working on getting initial off-balances. For that, we chose Aigamae-ate. Over and over and over.I also Read more:Saturday
, Afternoon
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