Category Archives: Thoughts

Deeper than a holler

May 30, 2012Family, Fun, ThoughtsFamily, Fun, Thoughtswarren

The kids are staying with my parents in PA this week. They finished school a week earlier than Emily so it was a perfect opportunity for them to visit up in Yankee-land. So we delivered them over the weekend and spent some time with family. I always think back to my roots when I “go back home”. I live in a city now, albeit a small one. I have lived in a big city and several places in between. Cities can be fun and all but I am and always will be a country boy.

Sitting on the front porch...just catching up

Ok, so when I go back home, I get to pondering. I don’t want to sound all sappy and stuff, but it’s so simple to enjoy the simple things. It’s dark and quiet where I grew up. Most nights you can hear the whippoorwills and see more stars than you can count. Most days there is nothing better than riding around the yard on a lawn tractor doing whatever you feel like and playing in the hose (does anyone else say it like that?) or sitting on the front porch talking and napping. It is pretty hard to beat living like that I think.

Kids on the garden tractor — Abigail isn't heavy enough to keep the seat sensor depressed!

Anyhow dear friends, it occurs to me that some of you may not have ever heard a whippoorwill’s song. It’s simple but sort of an anthem to country living and you simply must hear its call. My mom and I walked around one night until we got pretty close to one singing so I could record it. Have a listen:

Being kid-less this week also makes me remember back to when Emily and I first met and fell in love (we still are of course, but those first years are so special). Anyhow, as much as I love country living, I love Emily deeper than any holler and taller than any pine tree, tall upon the hill…so, since I can’t sing with a durn, let’s all enjoy a little Randy Travis singing my thoughts to Emily

Sad but tree

April 30, 2012Family, ThoughtsFamily, Thoughtswarren

Right after Emily and I were married, we moved to KY to go to graduate school. The first year, we lived in a tiny little apartment, not much bigger than our current living room. We were given an opportunity our second year there to earn free rent in another place (which is a great story I will tell another time). It was a great apartment and allowed us to ~~collect more junk~~ finally unpack all of our boxes.

For some foolish reason, we had a fish tank in that apartment and felt that it needed an algae eater. There was a local pet store called Fishy Business…a great place to buy a fish, right? So we walked in and decided to take a turn about the store. There in the back, we found our kitten. I do not like to buy pet store animals, but she had chosen us. Emily and I looked at each other and decided to take her home. She was Madeline…Maddie the Cattie. She was a great kitten. She sucked on her tail at night, not completely over being taken from her momma too young (I guess). Imagine getting slapped in the face each night by a soaking wet cat tail. Anyhow, Maddie also played fetch as a kitten. She was our first dependent and sort of the perfect thing for this newly married couple trying to figure out how married people are supposed to be (still working on that one!)

Fast forward 16 years. Madeline has moved many times with us as we have changed homes. She has endured other cats and two kids. Madeline was old. Plain and simple, she was old and time had finally started to show itself on the poor girl. She became incontinent and we could not abide that change. Madeline was put down on Friday among many tears and memories. I guess it sounds silly but she has been a part of our family almost as long as we have been a family. She gave us something to be responsible for and she provided many hours of therapy.

To honor those memories, we decided to bury her at our place in the country and we planted a pear tree over her remains. The kids were pretty cool about it all and I think it was a good life lesson…for all of us

In the black!

April 7, 2012Awesome, Family, ThoughtsAwesome, Family, Thoughtswarren

Isaac started taking Tae kwon do a little over 2 years ago (I looked back at that picture of him when he started…*sniff, sniff* where is my baby?) and I had pretty mixed emotions about the whole deal. I mean, taking your kid to a class where they learn how to fight, and I mean seriously fight…it just sort of seems messed up to me…or at least it did. Isaac took his black belt test today and passed beautifully. He has mastered his forms and knows many good kicks. He had to break a number of boards and spar with several other students. He really demonstrated that his skills are well defined and that his training has paid off. As I watched him spar the other students, I saw Isaac take some hits and land some hits. In both cases though, he handled it. He’s not just a little kid any more. He handled a challenge, he overcame a little pain and he fought hard and with determination. He’s become such a different (and better) young man than when he started TKD.

Getting ready for the taekwondo black belt test — Getting ready...

I think the thing that made me most proud today was how he handled himself and his nerves. Of course it is a big deal to test for the black belt. What he didn’t fully know is the degree to which he was to be quizzed on everything. The instructors asked him all sorts of questions on all sorts of topics and he really made me proud. He answered with thoughtful, complete answers that were more mature than I ever expected.

Taekwondo board breaking — Getting ready to break boards

Quizzed for black belt test — Grandmaster preparing to quiz Isaac

Teaching a kid to fight is one way to look at learning TKD. I think the more important view is that TKD teaches a young man how to handle himself in many situations. I think this whole process taught me something too. My son is growing up and I am learning just how exciting it is to watch my little boy grow into a young man. *sniff sniff*

Where are you spaceman?

April 5, 2012Thoughts, TinkeringTechnology, Tinkeringwarren

So I mentioned a few weeks ago that I passed my technician class HAM radio test. It took me a few weeks to get my call sign and ticket (my paper license) but I am now on the air. While waiting on the FCC to issue my license, I researched radios and decided on getting a Handi-talkie (aka HT). Basically, it is a hand-held radio that is a typical beginner radio. I ordered a Wouxon KG-UVD1P which translates to the cheapest radio that had fairly good reviews (There is your Chinese lesson for the day).

That’s my new radio…yes, it’s on a new beehive

It took awhile to figure out what I was doing with this radio but a lot of that was really just learning how HAM radio in general works. I had to research PL tones and offsets and repeaters and then figure out how to translate that to my radio. Luckily Wouxon provides free software to assist in programming the radio from a computer…if you buy their $15 cable. It was a bargain I soon found out!

So, I have been talking to (and listening to) lots of local folks on the local repeater. A repeater is a system that “listens” on a particular frequency and re-broadcasts the signals it receives. My HT can only transmit over a fairly limited distance, especially in these WV hills. The frequency band in which I am licensed to transmit typically only works with 50 miles or so max. As I advance, I will get licensed to talk at the frequencies that people use when they communicate globally, but for now I must communicate through the repeater…mostly.

I was listening on the repeater the other night when “they” announced that the International Space Station would be passing overhead between 6:06 and 6:12 am today. My HT does ok with its stock antenna but I figured I would need to beef things up if I was going to hear the astronauts, many of whom are licensed HAMs. I searched around online and found plans to make a j-pole antenna tuned for the 2-meter radio band in which I am licensed and in which the ISS would possibly be communicating.

Close-up of my j-pole antenna — All these pipes have to be just the right length

I bought copper and connectors and a candy bar and worked on my new antenna. I even used the metric system! Anyhow, late last night in the dark, I was outside soldering copper pipe to be ready. I hooked my radio to the new antenna and tested it last night and everything seemed to work well. I could hear locals talking loud and clear.

The alarm went off at 5:45 am so I hustled outside, plugged in to my new antenna and listened…and listened…and listened. Finally at 6:20 I gave up. I was pretty bummed…mainly because of all of the sleep I missed but I am still pleased that I was able to build a nice and portable j-pole antenna. So, if you see a handsome bald man wandering the streets of Charleston looking to the sky, calling out to spacemen, it is definitely not me…do not make eye contact…take shelter immediately!

Finishing up Christmas

March 14, 2012ThoughtsThoughtswarren

We are pathetic.

Christmas was almost 3 months ago and we still have all of the ornaments from our tree sitting in a pile in our living room. We took them off of the tree so we could haul the tree out but never got a chance to actually put the ornaments into their boxes and then into the attic.

I remember as a kid that it seemed like time took so long. It was a wait until Christmas and it seemed like we enjoyed the build-up for months in school. We made paper chains and strung popcorn and sang carols and all sorts of Christmasy things. Now it seems like Thanksgiving was just yesterday and here it is almost Spring!

I read somewhere about a theory as to why that happens…when you are a kid, a single day is a much higher percentage of your life than when you are an adult. Days as an adult seem much shorter/faster when compared against all of the days that have already bee lived.

Grandpa with our magnolia tree — Grandpa

We are travelling to PA this weekend to celebrate my Grandpa’s 98th trip around the Sun. I suppose that time must really fly for him. He’s seen so many changes in his lifetime. I remember his talking about the first time he saw a car and the first time he saw a plane fly overhead. Neither were common where he lived when he was a kid. So much has happened since then.

I was talking with my kids just the other night about things. I got a shortwave radio and we were doing a bang-up job of tuning in several stations that were broadcasting static (I don’t know why so many stations broadcast static 😉 ). Abigail asked me what that noise was and it occurred to me that with digital tuners and memory buttons on our radios, she had never heard static. It started me to thinking about TV when I was a kid…we got 3 stations on good days and had to wait for the set to warm up. Channel changes were manual (and the job of the kids) and so was turning the antenna. Cell phones didn’t exist and neither did home computers. I just saw in the news that Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer be printing its volumes. These changes are no where near as drastic as those my Grandpa has seen but still, holy cow! When I think about it, my kids do live in a much different world than I did at their age.

Kids under the Christmas tree - a Christmas tradition

I guess when it comes down to it, our Christmas ornaments are just fine sitting on the armoire. Time doesn’t have to fly. It’s still Christmasy around our house, at least a little bit. Maybe I’ll have to ask my Grandpa how he feels about the ornaments on display…I bet he’ll just chuckle…”Well Christmas was just yesterday!”

My kids, the explorers

March 13, 2012Awesome, Family, Nature, ThoughtsFamily, Nature, Thoughtswarren

I grew up in the woods in Pennsylvania. I really only ever knew the woods as the nearest “city” of 3500 or so folks was 25 miles away. I never saw any real city until I was much older and to me, that very much felt like living dangerously. Cars moved so fast (except for when they didn’t) and then there were the people. People were louder and looked different and talked different. The city was very scary indeed but the woods were easy and safe.

Years later now, my kids are city kids. They see people and roads and city stuff as normal and safe. They like to mess around at our place in the country but they never really stray too far from where Emily and I were. I am always amazed at how they like to sit inside the shell of our cabin and read rather than being outside playing in the stream or rolling in the dirt.

So, the kids were at the place last weekend and, to my amazement, wanted to explore in the woods. “Sure” I said figuring they would take two steps into the tree line and come running back. A neighbor girl came over too and the three of them ventured off.

An hour passed very quickly, so when I looked up and they weren’t back, I was a bit worried. You see, city kids just don’t venture off into the woods for an hour. They were out of sight and hearing range so I didn’t know what they were up to. I waited and eventually they traipsed up the hill with flushed cheeks and big smiles…and mud.

It occurred to me that kids used to be gone all day and the parents had no idea where they were. Emily’s granddad talks about swimming cross the local river (with barge traffic and chemical plants, etc) before he was 10. Likewise, my grandpa hopped trains and rode around as a teenager. I can’t imagine allowing my kids to do that but I am absolutely thrilled that they struck out on their own and acted like kids in the woods should act.

There are many books and discussions on letting your kids experience a little danger. Isaac took me down to their “end-point” and I was surprised how far they had gotten and how wild the area was. There was a little danger for sure and I think they enjoyed the thrill. It worried me a little but they loved it and I couldn’t be happier to see their “country eyes” light up. The city may always be good with them, but I surely hope they come to understand and love the woods too!

Well here it is January already

February 23, 2012Family, Fun, ThoughtsFamily, Fun, Thoughtswarren

Where did December go? Wait…what? It’s the end of February? What happened to winter? Who cares?! I love a non-winter! But where did all of the time go? I have been lax in posting on here because it seems like we aren’t doing anything interesting…I guess that’s because we are so busy doing things!

Indoor soccer continues to rage so weekends are taken up with that. Work has been wild with no near hope of slowing down. I haven’t been to the place in the country for awhile…at least not to work on the house.

Ah yes, that brings me to something we did do. Isaac and I went out in the woods last weekend to do some ballistics testing…for science of course. We mainly wanted to see if gunpowder would still propel a bullet out the end of a gun. Folks, I am pleased to report that gun powder still works! In my last post, I promised that we would delve into the maths in this post.

Now I know that math freaks a lot of people out. As I do computer programming for a living, I guess I have grown accustomed to it so I often do not think of how other people think about the maths. Friends, I hope you will bear with this discussion on the topic. As part of our testing, we discovered that the gun powder worked 100% of the time. Many of the bullets obviously had anomalies though as not all of the bullets made it from the muzzle of the gun to the target as they should have. I cannot find any explanation other than bullet defects. I am going to use a technical term here but we hit the target “most” of the time. It’s hard to quantify “most” so lets’ call that the mystery of math.

Target shooting with a single action — This is an old single action revolver...lots of fun to shoot. We feel like quite the cowboys!

Anyhow, back to ciphering…we enjoyed 100% of our time shooting 228 bullets from 3 separate firearms. The maximum number of bullets we shot in a single volley was 19. The minimum was 19 also (it is so much fun emptying a clip all at once…why would you ever shoot less than the max?!)

Dear friends, it seems that the maths aren’t too hard when it comes to target practice. I am apparently suffering from being unable to count the months. I am not sure if there is a cure…besides maybe more target shooting…

Hoeing out!

January 30, 2012ThoughtsThoughtswarren

A friend of mine mentioned on facebook that he was getting rid of 75% of all of his personal possessions. There must be something in the air because we have been cleaning out this weekend in our house as well. Sometimes I get stressed out just looking around at all of the stuff that we seem to accumulate. Actually, I blame it on school as the kids seems to bring stuff home every single day. We recycle about everything and paper is one of our biggest loads each week as we haul it out.

So, anyhow, the junk-induced stress hit a peak on Friday night so I started piles…a pile to donate, a pile to keep and a pile to throw in the can. I am honestly not sure which pile was bigger. It was excellent therapy at any rate. The kids sort of avoided the whole process until, in my hoeing-out frenzy, I strongly urged them to make piles with their stuff. Isaac fussed a little until I started into his stuff making the piles for him. His ideas did not match mine and I think he caught on.

I remember a family in my home town when I was growing up. They seemed to let things just completely go for awhile and then they would clean in a frenzy, pitching every thing in sight. It was pretty hilarious but their place went from one extreme to the other in the course of a day. I remember the mother of the house saying that she was going to “red up the house” Is that Pennsylvania phrase? I think most people know what I mean when I say we are hoeing out so that must be pretty common…but redding up the place?

Things are calmer at our house and my blood pressure is much better. I know most people like the therapy of redding up the house. I am not sure why collecting stuff is so easy yet causes so much stress. You would think that we would be better at avoiding the stress of junk but it just doesn’t seem natural. Maybe it’s called redding up because when your face finally gets red with stress, you gotta de-junk!

Warren and Betty

January 16, 2012Food, ThoughtsFood, Thoughtswarren

It just doesn’t have a ring, does it? We watched Julie and Julia the other night and it just has a ring that makes it perfect. But forget the ring. I really really liked the movie. Now don’t tell my guy friends but I might even buy a copy of the video for my collection. I am not sure what made me like it so much but I have been walking around the house talking like Julia Child.

There were all sorts of neat things that Julie and Julia made in the movie but one thing in particular stood out to me. I guess I needed to shoot for my something in my ability range but I really liked the scene when Julie was trying to make poached eggs. Unlike Julie, I have eaten a lot of eggs in my life but never have I had a poached egg. Julie struggled cooking poached eggs so I thought the challenge would be fun for me. So, I consulted Betty Crocker and followed her recommendations.

Betty and I are like peas in a pod I guess. We even had the exact same custard dishes that she used in the pictures in the cookbook. Perhaps I channeled Betty but the steps seemed pretty simple. I boiled 2 inches of water, cracked my eggs into custard cups and poured the eggs (quickly..that’s the secret) into the water. They foamed a little bit but I let them boil for 4 minutes and scooped them out with a slotted spoon.

I didn’t have any trouble like Julie did and I am so glad. Poached eggs are a lot like hard boiled eggs without the shell except they aren’t quite hard boiled and they do seem to taste a little different to me. I am not sure why but it was a good taste and I will definitely make them again!

So, after eating my poached eggs, it occurred to me that there are probably other things that are kinda well known but that I have never cooked or eaten. I started making a list but I would really like it if you, my friends, could suggest some stuff that I should cook and eat that are sort of famous…I am going to make Eggs Benedict next.

Yosemite Sam always used to say, “Sufferin’ succotash” and it occurred to me that I have never had succotash. And then I got to thinking about fancy stuff that people are supposed to know about…like bananas foster and cherries jubilee. I have never made ratatouille either…it’s a cool movie for sure but I have no idea what it tastes like…not like the rats/mice in the movie I hope but I am willing to try.

Anyhow, I promise I won’t go down some cooking-blog-road (not that there is anything wrong with that) but can anyone help me with some more things I need to make? I am not trying to find myself or escape from my job like Julie was, but I could probably use a new excuse to sample a little wine and eat too much. Help!

Welcome Spring!

December 21, 2011ThoughtsThoughtswarren

I get these streams of consciousness in my head sometimes so it may be tough to stitch my thought pattern together but I was listening to XM radio the other day. The WWI-Snoopy-Red-Barron song came on and it made me think about time.

I got to thinking about how time flies and the Snoopy song made me realize that my Grandpa, who is 97, was alive during WWI. My paternal Grandpa fought in WWI. I suppose it doesn’t seem quite like yesterday, but with the rate at which time is flying for me, I can imagine it might not seem like such a distant past to my Grandpa.

This scene was quickly followed by a headlock and noogie!

Isaac turned 12 and Abigail is going on 9. Where did that time all go? Why am I spending time at work? Wouldn’t it be nice to just enjoy every minute of their fleeting childhood? Hmmm…well, maybe not every moment. Isaac is a pre-teen now and showing his colors very well.

Anyhow, I got to thinking about why time flies so fast and it is all about retail, I am convinced! I was in the local grocery store the other day and noticed that they have Easter candy out already! It’s not even Christmas! I get building up for a holiday but really? Easter in December? Time flies though so it will be here soon enough.

Easter candy is almost gone...in December?

We received a catalog in the mail from a big outdoor clothing place. They were advertising their end of Winter sale…it wasn’t even Winter yet but it’s over already?!

I don’t want time to fly as a general rule. I do enjoy (almost) every moment with the kids and with Emily and I want those times to slow down. But Winter? Nope…come on Spring!

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!