My dad and I started building a desk back in March, and I finally got around to finishing.
We started by getting a large 4′x8′ piece of wood from Home Depot and cutting it into the pieces for the desk. Next we glued it together, and glued on the veneers.
My mom put on a staining but that’s where the parental help stopped (I have to hand it to them though, they really helped). Over the last couple of weeks, I stained it and coated it with whatever you call it–polyurethane? Anyway, it’s done. Notice how I can fit both of my computers on it.
P.S. I have a large piece of wood still left over. What should I do with it? Make a table, perhaps? Anyone want it?
P.P.S. Jeff, we still need to stain your stool!
Published by Lee on 6/27/2008
in Lee.
Laura asked me to make a website. She gave no purpose, no design, nothing. So I made a completely pointless website. It’s kind of fun though. I would like to say though, that I got to figure out how to put one of my favorite sound clips on the site.
Published by Lee on 6/24/2008
in Lee.
I was reading up on some shotgun sequencing when I decided that it could really relate to some English sentences in the form of a game instead. No wait… that might not have made sense. Whatever. I made a game in a fit of mania today. It might help biology teachers teach shotgun sequencing at a basic level.
http://lskatz.com/files/php_programs/shotgunSequenceLesson.php
Published by Lee on 6/23/2008
in Lee.
My Chats site lives on!
My friend gave me what Maryanne is describing as an “ass call.” Click for details.
Published by Lee on 6/21/2008
in Lee.
While I need to have a cable Internet connection, I realize that Comcast is really sucking away my money. My cable bill is usually about $100, with the Internet service being about $50 and the tv service being about $50 as well. However, if I reduce the cable TV to the absolute minimum, it becomes $20. With the extra $30 a month, I could get much more quality programming through either:
- Netflix: get 5 movies at a time by mail, watch movies on my computer via the web
- Blockbuster: 3 movies at a time by mail + 5 in-store rentals (only $20)
- Netflix: stream movies directly to my TV (a one-time purchase of $99, which is 3 or 4 months of saving up)
- itunes: a few bucks a pop for each movie I order.
And when I mention “movie” in each of the above options, it includes tv episodes too. Like, I could watch all of Dexter or all of Frasier which is plenty more hours than I would spend watching regular Comcast television. Any input people?
Published by Lee on 6/15/2008
in Lee.
I was looking at icanhascheezburger.com, and I found a picture that represents a topic that has been on my mind for some years now. Except instead of tictacs I really want to distribute mouthwash and/or toothbrushes and toothpaste at school and other places. The drawback? It’d probably be about two dollars per person at the cheapest and I just don’t have the millions of dollars my halitosis program would require.
Published by Lee on 6/12/2008
in Lee.
My friends Brendan and Jen are in a biology lab that studies social insects. They offer this service where they remove your insects in exchange for well… your insects. So, I had two wasp nests and I asked them to come over. By the way, before I continue I just want to let all you readers know that they really want to get your wasps for you if you have any, and they will do it enthusiastically and for free!!
They showed up in the official Biology van, brought up their supplies and surveyed my patio.
Next, Brendan stood on a barstool and took one down with a container. Basically he pushed the container against the ceiling to trap the next and then pushed it aside to dislodge it. Next they went to the next nest, which was too close to the corner for the huge net to grasp it, and it was too close to the edge of the patio to safely stand on a barstool. Jen was the pioneer on this second nest.
However, it was Brendan’s inginuity that served them well when he taped a container to a broom (which he is calling dibs on a patent for as “broom/cup-on-a-stick multi-purpose tool”).
The wasps look really angry, but I really appreciated it. Thanks guys!
More pictures here.
Published by Lee on 6/11/2008
in Lee.
My dad was a hero in body and mind today.
First he got on the front page of the AJC today, and his name is is almost every other paragraph.
Every evening, instead of bringing her dinner, one of her daughters attaches a long tube to a catheter that dangles from Sabrina Holloway’s arm. A pump delivers nutrients into a vein for 16 hours, as Holloway lays in bed at home.
Holloway cannot eat or drink. She has been fed intravenously since January, when doctors removed most of her small intestine. The mother of eight needs an intestinal transplant, according to her doctor, Ian Katz, a general surgeon in Decatur. Without that surgery, Holloway likely will not live long, Katz says. “Two to three years, I’m guessing.”
Secondly today, there was a boisterous patient in a hospital wing, and my dad went to investigate. When the patient became violent and punched a nurse in the shoulder, my dad used his judo skills to pin him to the ground until security arrived. Seriously, my dad is an expert in judo and karate. Some of the staff call him a green beret at least once while I was there today. Unbelievable.
Published by Lee on 6/8/2008
in Lee.
I forgot how fun Smarterchild could be.
(18:43:06) me: what’s up
(18:43:06) SmarterChild: You know, hanging out. You?
(18:43:33) me: I am brachiating.
(18:43:33) SmarterChild: I don’t understand this fully enough to say anything smart about it…
(18:43:40) me: define brachiate
(18:43:41) SmarterChild: Definition provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Other important copyright information here.
brachiate:
Adjective
Zoology Having arms or armlike appendages.
Intransitive verb
Inflected forms: bra·chi·at·ed, bra·chi·at·ing, bra·chi·ates(-*t’) To move by swinging with the arms from one hold to another, as certain apes do.
Etymology
Latin br*cchi*tus, from br*cchium, arm. V., from New Latin br*chi*re, br*chi*t- from br*cchium ; see brachium.
Type more to see the rest of the definition for “brachiate.”
Published by Lee on 6/7/2008
in Lee.
I don’t think I had ever been to a Catholic church before today. There was an interesting part of the service where everyone turns to each person around them and says “peace be with you,” and there were other parts where they knelt down on this knee-stool. I forgot the name of it. Then there was also this part in the middle where every single person got up to eat the body of Christ, and the priest kept saying “body of Christ.” I was in a culture shock through some of it.
P.S. Congratulations, Sarah!
Published by Lee on 6/5/2008
in Lee.
When I got my picture taken for my learner’s permit, the person in front of me had a picture taken that was horrible. There was no frown, no smile, just a dumb blank look. My mother encouraged me not to have that kind of bad picture, so when my turn was up, I gave the biggest smile I could. Since then, I have given the biggest smile on every single ID card I have had: Emorycard, GA Perimeter College, Buzzcard, and most recently my CDC ID.
However, there is no way I can top this set of IDs I found online.
Published by Lee on 6/4/2008
in Lee.
Betsy has asked me a few times to submit a particular picture of her dog to the loldogs site ihasahotdog.com. I finally did it, hoping that my caption isn’t too dumb.
For you curious folk, there is a fire pit behind her dog and somehow the image is hilariously messed up.
Published by Lee on 6/4/2008
in Lee.
The highlight of my day today was in the middle of a sexual harrassment class, when my teacher said the Yiddish word schtupp.
It was in the midst of a whole lecture on how we are responsible for reporting everything we hear, even if it was told to us in confidence. There were some scary parts to the stories, some boring parts, some funny parts. But there was certainly the mention of some schtupping.
