January 3,2011

Well, happy new year! The world has once again surprised me and not destroyed itself. I've neglected to post any updates here for months, but I feel like I should start, again.

First, the changes to my links:

• All the software link pages were updated. This mostly included removing links no longer available and updating those that had changed.
• I shuffled around the comics links. Several hadn't been updated in years, so I dropped them onto the archived section. I also added two new links: Shortpacked! and Girl Genius.
• For the people section, I removed all the MySpace pages, since they seem to have vanished (MySpace changed their link formats?). I also added a new link to my mother-in-law, Genealogy Dragnet. Mrs. splorp! created her header image.
• The interesting sites section also saw some changes. One of my old favorite sites, morons.org, is no more. I also added a new link, Vid to MP3, which can be used to pull MP3s from YouTube videos (non-copyright only, of course!).

Going all the way back to August (when I last posted here)... let's see... We bought some window tinting and I used it on the alarm clocks and the stereos in the bedroom to bring down the light level even more. Unfortunately, it only comes in monster huge rolls, so we have plenty more to darken anything else that annoys me.

On August 23, I replaced all the internal doorknobs in the house. The old ones were a mishmash of ugly:


The new ones are spiffy, brushed nickel handles:

A few days later, I hung up a stained-glass piece I bought Mrs. splorp! for her birthday several years ago:

We never really had a good place to put it, until now. It's in the kitchen:

On September 1, I bought a bicycle to ride to work. I rode it pretty consistently (I'm only a mile and a half from work), until it started raining and getting all cold. WTF! I thought this was southern California? What's the deal with sub-40 temperatures?

When we moved in, the garage wall where the washing machine sets had water damage. Dave and I ripped it off and put in a new section of drywall. Unfortunately, we got 1/2" instead of 5/8". We mudded some of it, but never finished. Mrs. splorp! finally got sick of waiting and did it herself on September 5 & 6:

While she was working on that, we also took care of something else that had been bugging us. The attic access panel in the walk-in closet in the master bedroom had a corner broken off when we moved in. I had Dave cut me a piece of plywood he had lying around to the correct dimensions. Mrs. splorp! and I bought sandpaper and some large drawer pulls. I sanded the board and drilled holes for the drawer pulls and Mrs. splorp! primed it. The next day, she painted it and, after drying, I installed the hardware. I then used liquid nails to glue an inch and a half of rigid foam to the backside. Fits like a glove and improves the insulation. The closet no longer has a draft I can feel.

Also on September 6, I put up a wall mount attachment (with Dave's help) for the big TV in the living room. Yay! Seriously!

Lizard and her family came to San Diego in September, too. Mrs. splorp!'s Aunt Judy got us all into the San Diego Zoo for free! Yay Aunt Judy v2! We got to hang around with Lizard and my nephews. Me and Max: .

Mrs. splorp! and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary by driving around in circles in San Diego until we were way too hungry.

We had some serious heat in late September. On the 27th, it was 100 degrees outside and 80 degrees in the house (withOUT the air conditioning turned on). I do so love my dual pane windows. :)

At the end of October (27th), I went to the doctor (remember by sore elbow from way back in July?). My eblow has been killing me for months. Turns out I have bursitis in my shoulder and tendonitis in my elbow.

My Halloween costume:

Mrs. splorp! and I saw this online. It's a small DVD player showing through the hole in my shirt and a digital camera tied to my belt. It makes it look like I have a hole in my gut. Sorta. :)

Aaaaand, back to the doctor in mid-November. Last time, he gave me some (crappy) meds and told me to wear a tennis elbow strap. I moved up my appointment because my arm was worse. I got X-Rays and it turns out I have a pinched nerve in my neck. Got new drugs (one to kill the pain, one to help with the pinched nerve/knock me out) and a referral for physical therapy. Ow.

Christmas Eve = steak and lobster cooked on the grill by me. We also watched Iron Man 2 on pay per view. Christmas Day = why am I awake at 5:15am? We have no kids (though you can't tell that based on my gifts :) - Force Unleashed 2, for one).

New Year's Eve breakfast: bacon, french toast (made with cinnamon bread) and OJ. I cooked on the grill on my griddle so the kitchen won't smell like bacon for 2 days. I was planning on steak and lobster for dinner, but... I forgot to take it out of the freezer, so we had that on New Year's Day.

Today, I returned to the doctor for my shoulder and elbow problem (bursitis and tendinitis) and got cortisone shots in both shoulder and elbow. I had some temporary loss of dexterity in my right hand. Typing involved a ton of backspacing for a few hours.

Below is Harley Quinn, our Green-Cheeked Conure


Harley Quinn in November 2005

Below is D'Artagnan (Dart for short), our Chihuahua mix. He was Mrs. splorp!'s Valentine's Day gift this year. He's about a year and a half old and weighs in at a massive 7 pounds of tail-wagging fury.

To the left, you’ll see Drusilla,
the Vampire Parakeet, named after
a character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
because she bit like a vampire.
She passed away on 12/20/04.