The Johnson Blog

Ramblings of a geek with a few hobbies…

  • The roof (antennas part III)

    After building the antenna mount, it had to be installed. On my chimney above my second storey roof. Now, I’ve been the first floor roof several times (think Christmas decorations, etc) without any problems; but that first trip (and second…and third.. etc.) up to the second storety freaked me out. Since Jay’s such a good pal, he volunteered to attach the antenna mount to the top of the chimney. As it was getting dark outside, I strattled the peak of the roof holding a flashlight in his direction while he attached the mount to the chimney with a whole bunch of lag bolts.

    Overall installation was quite simple (photos of both antennas forthcoming). We ran the cable down the chimney and through a new hole into my basement where we hooked it up to the access point, and then stopped for a while to eat some dinner. We were almost done!

    After dinner we went to our respective houses and started a ping. It worked. For about 15 seconds. And those were the last echos we’d see for months.

    (more…)

  • antennas (pt. 2)

    In preparation for installing the antennas, we did a little research to figure out how hard it might be to aim them. Google Earth provided us the information needed to calculate the vertical angles the antennas should be sitting at. Below is a map of the two houses:

    map

    (more…)

  • transpalisades is live!

    This will probably span multiple posts, as it’s a 7+ month long saga… Enjoy!

    It all started when Jay and Katherine started looking for a house and we joked about needing to have a network between them. There was so much we could end up doing – backups, shared media, games, voip, etc.. The more we talked about it, the more serious it became, to the point of where it was obviously required. (more…)

  • Wrigley Field

    Today was my first ever trip to Wrigley Field, and I’m very glad I was able to go.  I’ve heard many people in the past tell me that it’s a must-see and they were dead-on.  It’s no-frills.  Just baseball.  The simplicity was great.

    wrigley

    We (Ana, my dad, my uncle, and I) left Springfield at around 7:15am and arrived at the stadium before 11.  We had heard the parking situation was terrible so we decided to do the park and ride thing that the Cubs put on.  We parked at DeVry and hopped on a bus that dropped us off 10 minutes later right infront of the park.  Leaving took a little longer, but was just as easy – and only cost $6 total (to park, with free shuttle service).  Sweet!

  • Baseball’s back

    After a long winter absence, baseball is back.  I’m listening to the Cardinals wallop the Phillies as I type.  Ahh spring.

    At 10am today, the Cardinals released another 45,000 tickets at the new stadium since they are ahead of schedule.  I was lucky enough to be selected to purchase tickets and I bought 3 for a game in May for Ana, my dad and I to go to.  Can’t wait to see the new ballpark.

    And finally, this annoys me every year.  We wait all winter long for some baseball, then opening day comes and goes.  Then the Cardinals get a day off.  Quit teasing us – let them play the first few days of the new season!

  • Enough Already!

    More bad weather tonight in Springfield.  My parents and I had just arrived on the west end of town when we heard the tornado sirens and the radio announcers explaining that a tornado was seen on the ground in Loami and was heading toward Springfield – putting it just a few minutes away from us.   So instead of eating, we rushed back onto the interstate and stayed in my basement until everything passed.

    That’s 3 tornadoes in the area in under a month – WTF?

  • Sun

    I think I’ll leave work after 8hrs today.  It’s 72 degrees outside with a beautiful blue sky, not the kind of weather that’s conducive to productivity.

  • IM at Work

    So at work we use Windows Messenger, the idea being that we can communicate quicker.  This should be the case, but I’ve found that the vast majority of people here (mostly those older than myself) use it for:

    Got a minute?  Stop in my office.

    or

     Got a minute to discuss X?  I’ll call.

    or

    Are you there?  I’ll be over in a second.

    Sigh.  Come On people!  Don’t be afraid to use IM.

  • Exercise

    This marks the beginning of week 3 of exercising and slightly changing how I eat.  At work there’s a decent (free) gym, but after working there for several years I’ve learned that once I’m home I’m just too lazy to drive 20 minutes to get back there for a workout.  So I purchased the cage system shown below, an olympic weight set, and some dumbells.  Jay has pitched in a tricep bar and a pair of dumbells too, so I now have a pretty decent setup in my basement.  It’s much easier to stay on track when all I have to do is walk downstairs to use it.  Also helps to have someone to work out with.
    impex

    I’ve started feeling much better already, and I’ve already lost a few pounds and gained a notch back on my belts.  Taking cues from a couple of coworkers, I’ve started eating every couple hours at work (tuna sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, oranges, etc.).  It seemed odd at first, but with the weight lifting I’ve been VERY hungry most of the time.

    On another positive note, I purchased a blood pressure checker.  Some of you may recall that about 8 months ago my bp was dangerously high, forcing me to alter what I eat.  Well it’s now in the “low” category!  Woo!

  • Here’s a first

    I just purchased a bag of oranges and actually ate one here at my desk.  I’m 99% sure that’s the first time I’ve eaten an orange.  I’ve had a piece or two from others that were eating them, but never a whole orange.

    That, combined with my first eating of eggs at a restaurant a couple weeks ago… Sheesh! What the heck’s going on?!?