The Monday Morning Epistle

And now back to your regularly scheduled Monday Morning Epistle. At some point in mid-January, my web hosting service got cyber-attacked and for a couple of weeks I couldn't post anything to www.humble-programmer.com. To my chagrin, I found having Sunday nights free again very relaxing, and selfishly decided to extend my ‘leave of absence’ for a while longer. Even so, after a voluntary two month sabbatical, my supply of drivel is thoroughly restocked and I am back at the keyboard once again.

As winter slowly recedes and spring starts appearing, we are starting to venture outdoors again on a regular basis. Our first celebration of the change in the weather was to visit Colorado Springs' largest annual Home & Garden show, where we collected business cards by the handful and scheduled follow-up visits with nearly a dozen vendors. Top of our list was fixing our decrepit garage door, as it sagged so badly that the hinges were starting to shear in half, and two people were needed to open or close it. (One to support the door, and the other to push the button.) Thanks to a promotional coupon from the show, we were able to afford a high-end replacement that is impressively quiet and has a keyless entry system so that Alex doesn't have to wait for Jacob to get home every time he forgets his house key! Next on the list are new shelves for the walk-in closet in our master bedroom, followed by a new sink and countertops for the kitchen; naturally, both projects come with ‘how much can you afford?’ cost estimates. We are also waiting on a quote for a new deck—with and without a glassed-in ‘sun room’—but expect the price tag to be exorbitant. The good news, however, is that after pricing gas fireplace inserts that cost thousands of dollars (not including installation) one vendor gave us a quote for less than $200 to convert the fireplace back to wood burning. Sold!

Back in February, I discovered that my boss was a fellow model railroad enthusiast (he models American diesels in HO while I am planning to model British steam in OO) and JR invited me to join him and his wife at a huge model train exhibition in Denver. Since Garion is still very much into Thomas the Tank Engine, I brought him along as well; thankfully, there were several kid-friendly exhibits to keep Monkey-Boy occupied, not to mention entire tables of Thomas the Tank Engine toys and accessories. His clear favorite was a 50's era Lionel O gauge layout built by a local youth group that included a control panel of industrial-strength buttons, switches, and levers deliberately mounted at the perfect height for Garion and his peers. Every button and switch caused something to happen—such as sounding train whistle, or making the crossing signal flash—and we orbited this layout like a lopsided comet throughout the day. In between impatiently looking at what Daddy wanted to see, Garion would excitedly wait in line for his turn to figure out what yet another switch or button did. After several hours of admiring the many different layouts—and pushing buttons or switches—Garion got tired of walking, so he agonized over all the Thomas the Tank Engine goodies before finally settling on a wristwatch as a souvenir, and we left in search of a late lunch. Since nobody was interested in fast food, we settled on a generic ‘brick oven pizza joint’ where Monkey-Boy charmed everyone (including the waitresses) by lecturing all present on the proper way to eat pizza…with demonstrations, where appropriate. Our final stop for the day was at Caboose Hobbies just down the street, which is supposedly one of the largest model railroad stores in the country; after nearly an hour of browsing, I managed an amazing display of self-restraint and walked out with only a $20 catalog.

Remember when I tried (unsuccessfully) to learn to ride a unicycle? Well, it's time for another off-the-wall “Humble Programmer Stunt”, so on the 6^th of April I will be a participant in the sixth annual Colorado Springs St. Baldrick's Shave-a-thon. My registration packet lists me as Shavee S-16355 and before anyone asks the obvious question: yes, my beautiful bride knows about my Lenten Sacrifice! The Gleeful Threeful do not, however, and it will be interesting to see which child freaks out the most. St. Baldrick's mission is to “…raise awareness and funds for kids with cancer.” and through nation- wide Shave-a-thons, so far this year they have raised over $7 million for cancer research. My goal is much more humble: I'm challenging all of you to collectively donate a mere $100; if you do, St. Baldrick's will post ‘Before & After’ pictures of yours truly on their web site. So, please visit my Shavee Info web page and make a donation on behalf of “Humble Programmer” and in memory of K.C. Miller. Be sure to check the same page again after Easter to see if I made my goal!

KidBit: Since Colorado Springs sits at the base of the Rockies—and at the western edge of the Great Plains— we get some very strong winds. When the wind howls particularly loudly outside our windows, Garion refers to it as ‘Halloween wind’.

PotW: Mary receiving her Boy Scouts of America Golden Bow award from Bishop Sheridan; this award recognizes adult leaders who have made significant contributions towards helping youth pursue religious medals and their Catholic faith.

Until next week…Tschüß!

,,,^..^,,,

2007.04.08-14:46