Craigtown

Castleberry Hill is hip

2007-05-14T11:59:00.000-05:00

Good story on my neighborhood. Everything would be even better if more 'pub-like' restaurants would come in instead of the kinds of places where the food is more like artwork. . .

AJC article on Castleberry Hill

So much to be thankful for. . .

2007-04-11T10:19:00.001-05:00

We often go through life and don't take the time to thank those that have come before us for all that they have provided us. I'd like to take a few minutes to thank some of those people.

Let me start by thanking prehistoric man. He ran around killing animals and using his charm to woo the ladies. Sometimes there was a length of time between killing the animal and finding the right lady to share it with. He quickly realized that stinky meat is no way to a ladies heart so he discovered the power of snow. By packing his meat in snow, it would keep longer. By the time he located the right lady and 'convinced' her to come home with him, his meat was still nice and fresh. Little did he know he had set a path for enjoyment for all.

I would be remiss if I did not thank the Mesopotamians. Way back in the 7th millennium BC, these guys decided to get the party started right. Possibly before bread was even conceived, this fun-loving group of people invented beer. While certainly nothing like the fine beers of Sweetwater and Sierra Nevada we enjoy today, it was beer nonetheless. I could take another couple of hours to thank these guys, but alas, beer isn't beer unless it's cold, so let’s move on.

Jacob Perkins, an American inventor, was a big fan of keeping things cool. Word on the street was that his lineage went right back to the prehistoric guy I mentioned earlier. The 'natural ice industry' at the time was too large to overcome and his 1834 patent for a refrigerating machine didn't garnish much interest. Jacob eventually gave up on his grand plans of world refrigeration and went back to England to pursue other ventures. Fear not Jacob, your work will not go to waste.

Not long after Perkins' failed refrigerating machine idea, a journalist by the name of James Harrison moved to Australia to further the cause. Australia was too warm to harvest their own natural ice and was in dire need of some coolness to keep their kangaroo meat nice (I made this up). By 1856, Harrison had a working refrigeration machine and the world rejoiced. But even more importantly, he secured a contract from a brewery to build a larger machine that would cool their beer. The kegerator was born. (kinda)

Finally, we have one more person to thank: Kelly. Kelly is the person responsible for giving me the green light to secure my own piece of history. She has wisdom beyond her years and can see the immense value from owning a kegerator.

Without further ado, I present the latest item soon to be seen on the Taylor deck: The Craigerator. . .

PS - I also thank Wikipedia for all the useful information on beer and refrigeration

Big brother is watching

2007-03-20T13:03:00.000-05:00

For a long time, I would often look at google maps to see if their satellite imagery had been updated to show any progress on our rooftop deck. Sadly, it always shows the same and looks like this:

Well, we were checking the weather the other day to see how many layers of clothing would be needed to work on the deck that day. I saw a new feature of weather.com that had radar maps. As something new, I just had to check it out. I clicked and found that it's using Microsoft's Virtual Earth technology. Anytime something uses satellites for images, I just have to check out our place. To my delight, their images are more updated than google's!

Check this out:

We've finally made our mark! Now this photo shows only the framing of the i-beams of our deck. Judging by flickr, this places this photo around February of 2006. So it's pretty old, but it's very exciting to see that our changes can be seen. :)

We'll probably just have to wait another couple of years to see the completed project! Of course we'll probably be in a new place by then, but oh well. . . .

The dishes are done, man.

2007-03-19T10:22:00.000-05:00

Oh my, what a milestone. We now have all of the deckboards down!! Does this mean we're done?; no, of course not. :)

We are now working on the planters and benches that will be in the raised seating area. We will also be shopping for hot tubs, sourcing some countertop and railing materials. With all of that done, we can call our electrician back who has surely forgotten about us to get all the lighting run.

It feels like we're in the home-stretch now and I am estatic. I will love this thing when it is finished but will probably love not getting up every weekend to work on it. I envision myself laying in a lounge chair sunning myself while enjoying a nice, cold beer. These are good visions.

No, I still don't have an ETA, but think everything should be wrapped up by summer. Stay tuned for an eventual party. :)

Happy new year

2007-01-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

No comment.

Craig/Deck Update

2006-12-18T17:50:00.000-05:00

Ok, it's been forever since I updated this. We've been super-busy working on the deck. Pretty much every minute of weekend daylight has been used to get this monstosity finished.

I also learned in October that my job was going away. Well, my entire office was going away, but unless I wanted to move to LA, my job was going away as well. Since I don't want to move to LA, I decided I best find another job so that I could continue to eat.

It was good of my company to basically give us a two month notice. It gave everyone at my office enough time to look around and find some good places to go. I was able to look around and find another place where I could continue to work as a Web developer. Yeah, I said that. Despite the way this blog looks, I *actually am* a Web developer. So it's very good to know that I will officially have an employer at the beginning of 2007.

As always, more pictures at flickr.

Progress

2006-10-11T15:41:00.000-05:00

Ok, work on the deck continues. We've mostly finished the raised seating area, finished the kitchen area and are now working on the area between the two breaker boards.

We're taking care to make sure no boards stick up to be tripped over. We're also taking care to make sure all the boards line up properly. So it's time-consuming, but will worth it when it's all done.

Speaking of all-done, not sure we're going to make our Dec 31 deadline anymore. This breaker board area is just taking so long to get right. . . .

More pictures at flickr.

Castleberry Hill Loft Tour

2006-10-03T15:37:00.000-05:00

Whoa, three posts in one day. . .

Everyone should know about the Castleberry Hill Loft Tour this weekend. It's my neighborhood and it's a pretty cool event. You'll get to see at least eight lofts of different sizes and taste. There are generally scores of other lofts to see that are currently on the market as well.

Tickets are 12 junior cheeseburger deluxes in advance and 15 regular fries the day of the event. Tickets can be purchased online.

Sigh

2006-10-03T15:26:00.000-05:00

Well, looks like my "Driving for Dummies" post hasn't spread to the masses yet. . .

First, someone stopped in the road at a green light this morning to look around. Later, someone decided that the right turn lane was not good enough for them so they decided to make the turn from the middle lane.

Of course I was in that particular right turn lane with my blinker on waiting for an old lady to cross the street. When I began to proceed, I was almost side-swiped by the dumbass turning illegally. I honked my horn loudly and continuously, but am not sure he heard it through the headphones he had on. . .

Driving for Dummies

2006-09-13T09:25:00.000-05:00

There obviously needs to be refresher courses for people after they pass thier driving tests. People are just plain retarded when they get behind the wheel of their vehicle.

My three miles to work every day usually involve me using my horn at least once. Three miles people, it's not that far.

I've come up with some common things I see to help all you guys along.

1. Traffic light out: This means treat the light as a 4-way stop. This does not mean go when the car in front of you goes. And if you do, and if the guy in my car is already proceeding into the intersection legally; don't stop your stupid car in the middle of the intersection.

2. Flashing yellow: This means "proceed with caution." It does not mean stop. Stopping is for red lights. When you stop at a flashing yellow, the guy coming in my car in the lane beside you is at risk. I know the law, so I approach slowly. When you stop, people with the red think it's ok to go.

3. Turning: I could write a whole separate book on this, but will hold these comments to two main issues I see with turning. When turning, there is no need to "swing out" to make the turn. If you're in the left lane turning left, just keep the car straight and turn when you are at the street. There is no need to swing right in order to make the turn. Yes, that is why I'm honking my horn at you. Stay outta my lane. Point two: I don't care that you have no idea where you are going because this is your first trip to the 'big city.' Turning onto a side street should occur from the lane nearest that turn. You are not allowed to turn left from the center or even far-right lane. As in #1 above, if I'm coming at you while you're being all retarded, just mosey along, stopping in front of me and all the rest of the oncoming lanes is not necessary.

4. Rubbernecking: Yes, the city is exciting. If you want to look at it, pull your car over and get out to get a better view. I'm late for work as usual and don't want to wait behind you as you take in the sights.

I imagine I could go on and on, but those are the things I see the most. Seriously, learn how to drive.

11-hour car rides suck

2006-09-05T13:28:00.000-05:00

Had to go to Ohio this past weekend. Plane tickets on such short notice were in the neighborhood of $1400, so we packed into a car for the journey. Going there wasn't that bad as Kelly's parents picked us up at 4:30AM. I rolled into the car and went to sleep for a good part of the trip. Coming back was a different story as we didn't leave until 11 or so.

I did get some good studying done for some Microsoft certifications, but as a whole, the car ride sucked.

Furniture

2006-08-29T01:00:00.000-05:00

Furniture began arriving late last week for the deck. We received two loungers and a table. Six chairs are being delivered tomorrow to go with the table. So now we essentially have all of the furniture, but no deck to put it on.

We're estimating the deck at about 50% completed right now. You may not think so from the pictures, but check out all the steel and joists that already had to go in. Most of the recent work has taken tons of time to do, but doesn't add much to the overall completion percentage.

My neighbors think I'm insane

2006-08-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

So I'm pretty sure my neighbors all think I'm crazy. My AC went out on my golf back in March on a return trip to Charleston. The past couple of years, my AC got kinda weak during the summer months, so I would top it off with more freon; good as new! Well, that plan didn't work this year. It was getting pretty hot and since Kelly didn’t enjoy being all sweaty when she got to work, I got to drive it all the time.

I quickly discover that my cooling fan isn't working. The dealership wants $600 for it, a local import parts place wants $200. I spend the $200. After replacing that, I still have AC troubles. I give up and take it to Tune Up Clinic so they can see what's up. They tell me it's the compressor. Dealership wants $1000 for it, local parts place wants $400. I spend the $400. Now, I generally do all my own repairs, but I decided this time I would leave it to the pros to install. They install it, charge it back up with freon, and return to me.

Ah, happy days. (well for two days at least) AC stops working again. I take it back and they find a line that looks to be leaking. Dealership wants $150 for it, Internet parts place wants $100 for it. I spend $100. Again, I let TUC do the repairs so I don’t have to worry with it.

Ah, happy days. (for one day at least) I failed to get to TUC before they closed on Saturday, so they locked it up in their shop until Monday morning. By the time I got it, the AC worked for one day. Back to TUC. This time they tell me the evaporator is bad. No problem I think, let’s just replace the evaporator. "Well, the evaporator will cost about $200 but the labor will be another $800." Whoa. At this point I have spent $1000 getting the AC fixed with parts and labor and decide enough is enough. Famous last words?

Long story-short, I do the work myself (twice actually), and it takes about 10 hours and you basically take the entire inside of the car apart. My neighbors would walk by me in the garage and wonder what the hell I was doing. To quote one: "That's what mechanics are for." I think they are actually surprised now when they go to their cars and don't see me with my car apart. Another neighbor even asked me "This for fun, or is something broken?" Believe it or not, there are better things I would like to be doing instead taking my entire car apart.

Not my car, but this is basically what the interior looks like when you're halfway through:

Then this past weekend, I had to replace the cooling fan I already replaced because it was defective. Front of car off all over again.

Ah, happy days. AC is nice and cold now. Parts replaced?:
1. Cooling fan (x2)
2. Upper AC hose
3. AC Compressor
4. AC Evaporator
5. Heater Core
6. Misc AC specialty fuses

Well, I like to do as much as I can myself to gain knowledge and to save money. This is one of those times where I accomplished both, but never really want to do it again. Now on to my foglights, cruise control, rear brakes, center console light, side molding, blown subwoofer, coolant hose leak and seat adjusters. . .

Is it contagious?

2006-08-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

So I went to the doctor today. I've been experiencing a sharp pain right below my left ribcage for a couple of days now. The first night I felt it was two nights ago. It hurt a bit while I was being lazy on the couch. I re-adjusted and it went away. Got up the next morning and couldn't hardly breathe without it hurting pretty bad. Was seriously considering going to the emergency room at this point. I consider breathing pretty fundamental to my survival.

Being the stubborn retard that I am, I took half a 'happy pill' left over from my knee surgery and went about my day. It didn't quite hurt to breathe anymore, but would if I really took a deep breath. Most of the day was uneventful except when I had to get up out of my chair to do anything.

Some of my co-workers convinced me that I should really have someone check it out. I started looking around on the Internet so that I could be my own doctor. Found lots of scary stuff about spleens rupturing and what-not and decided that my co-workers might be on to something.

I called a 24-7 help line provided by my health provider when I got home. They didn't think it was quite serious enough to go to the emergency room, but thought I should make an appointment as soon as possible to get it checked out. Now feeling like I wasn't going to die in my sleep, I took another pill and felt better. :)

Called this morning and got a 9:30 appointment. Had to quickly put my car back together (more on this in another post) so that I could make it there. The doc takes x-rays of my lungs, hooks me up to an EKG and takes blood samples. Turns out my lungs and heart look ok and the blood work will be done in a couple of days. She tells me she thinks it's costochondritis. "Costo-what?" It's basically a big word for saying something got pulled. I made her write it down so that I could repeat this later. Apparently Advil is the solution to this problem.

I must have hurt myself working on the deck or something. Maybe I'll come up with some cool story about how I was jumped by a gang and fought them all off. "No real injuries to report, except for a pulled muscle." Hopefully it will feel better by next deck-building day.

Here I am

2006-08-15T11:01:00.000-05:00

Ok, now that everyone and their mother now have blogs, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Whether I have anything to say that is worthy of reading is yet to be seen.

So step one was to come up with a witty blog name. Much like my gmail account, all of the names I wanted were already taken. "Craig.blogspot, taylor.blogspot, craigtaylor.blogspot, ctaylor.blogspot"; all taken. Even "giarc.blogspot" (craig backwards was taken) Hell, even my website name of "Craigtown.com" has already been claimed. I figured I would be writing about my deck pretty frequently as it is all-consuming right now but I didn't want to be limited by a name like "craigsdeck" or something stupid like that. "Blog of Craig" seemed to work ok.

I figure step two is figuring out how to use Blogger. I'd like to make my actual homepage at http://craigtown.com/ the blog. It's been an eon or two since I used it for anything, so it's about time to use it for something more than e-mail now. It was a flash site used to show off my web development awesomeness, but my awesomeness of old is now very old and not so awesome.

Step three is going to be writing content and actually keeping this thing updated. Blogger makes it pretty easy to post updates, so it should be easy to keep it updated.