The Martindales

Ewan's own Netflix Queue

2010-02-01T17:00:00.000-06:00

More and more Ewan has been wanting to choose his own movies to watch. He's no longer content watching the girly stuff his older sister watches or the older stuff his brother watches. Often Aspen would take Ewan to her own Netflix queue and help him pick out movies and then add them to her queue for him; however, when Ewan was gone she would either move them to the bottom of her list or remove them entirely so that they would not supersede her own movie selections.

So we setup Ewan with his own Netflix queue and today he got his first movie, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Enid tells me that "you've never seen a child so happy as when he got his own movie in the mail."

Looking for a Road Bike

2010-01-30T16:50:00.000-06:00

My new company participates in the Kansas City Corporate Challenge and I began thinking about competing in the Bicycle Road Race; however, when I saw last years results, I realized that the best in this competition are keeping a steady pace of 30 MPH on the 2.5 mile course. I'm going to need a better bike if I'm going to be even in the middle of the pack in this race. (There's not really a pack because it's a time trial event, so they space the racers out by 30 seconds.)

I also found out that my boss's boss, Phil, usually wins this race in under 5 minutes. He's also bike the entire Katy Trail... all 224 miles of it... in one day!

So I decided to look for a new bike. The main thing that I will need is a lighter bike. I may be able to sustain speeds of 20-25 MPH on lighter bike. So I'm on he search for an entry-level aluminum road bike. I searched several places and the prices range from $650-800 for the entry-level bikes. One place I went was Trek because they are made here in America at Madison Wisconson. (Interesting that I use that as a criteria for buying a bike, but not a car.) The guy was very helpful and said that he doesn't even like selling their entry-level bikes because the components are not very good.

So after not finding a bike in my price range, I've got my RSS reader watching Craigslist for a bike that meets my criteria.

Enid's Photo on Salina Journal Website

2010-01-28T09:30:00.000-06:00

Enid's dad submitted a picture that she had taken of their dog to the Salina Journal and they put it on their website.

Enid on The Pioneer Woman, Again

2010-01-20T12:58:00.000-06:00

Enid's photo (above) was featured on The Pioneer Woman's site.

The Day I Would Have Been Paid

2010-01-15T06:01:00.002-06:00

One of the interesting parts of my new job is that instead of getting paid twice a month, like at my old job, I will get paid once a month. Today would have been a pay day for me, but we are stretching our dollars to last to the end of the month. We've been planning for this since the last couple of weeks of December, so we're prepared, but I look forward to seeing that first check.

I do like the idea of paying all my bills for the entire month on the first day of the month and then not worrying about them for the whole month.

"En garbage"

2010-01-14T12:48:00.000-06:00

Enid was observing a pretend sword fight between Ora 5 and Ewan and heard Ora 5 yell "En Garde!"

Ewan responded, "En Garbage!"

Using Skype at Church

2010-01-13T21:00:00.004-06:00

Last night I finally got a chance to test using Skype to call missionaries from the church. It worked really well and I recommend it for any church that is considering a good way to talk to their missionaries.

Here's what I did:

Get Skype
I downloaded Skype and installed it on the church computer and signed up for an account.

Audio Out
Audio out is a bit of a struggle since there is a 1/8-inch-size headphone jack on a laptop and I need to get it into an XLR jack on the church audio board. I started by hooking up a 1/8-1/4 adapter to the laptop's headphone jack.

From there I attach a 1/4-inch cable. To get to the XLR size cable I hook the 1/4-inch cable into a "hot box." (A smaller version of this.) On one side the 1/4-inch cable hooks in and on the other an XLR cable.

Then from the hot box, the XLR cable hooks into one of the channel on the audio board.

Audio In
Eventually I will need to get audio from the sound board back to the laptop because we want Pastor, who will be at the front of the church with a mic, to be speaking directly to the missionary. But for the test today, I hooked up a cheap little mic with a 1/4-inch male connector, once again using a 1/8/1-4 adapter into the laptop's mic jack. Thankfully they are spaced enough apart that both adapters fit next to each other.

Start Skype
I then logged into Skype and moved it onto the church's projector screen. Our setup treats the projected screen as a second monitor to the left of the laptop, so anything I drag off the right side of the laptop monitor (including Skype) shows up on the projector screen.

Test Sound
Skype has a nice test account that you can dial to test your Skype connection. To test that sound I simply made a call to the test account. It asks you to record your message after the beep. This spoken part came over the church speakers loud and clear. I then spoke into the mic after the beep and after a few seconds Skype replayed my voice and that came over the church speakers nicely, so I knew the mic was working.

Test Video
I had prearranged a Skype call with one of our missionaries, so I called him and he enabled his web cam. In Skype you can make the video full screen, so I did so and it filled the entire projector screen. As a nice surprise, the video controls disappear if you leave the mouse alone for a few seconds.

Everything went great and was easy to setup. There are three things that I would like to do next; two are must does and the other would be nice but not necessary:

First I would be to figure out how to cable everything up without the use of the hot box. The hot box is used by one of our guitarists and I feel it is too much setup anyway. I would like to get a cable that is 1/4-inch to XLR.

Second, I need to get audio from Pastor's mic to the laptop. This can probably be accomplished by taking the audio out from the "house" line that everyone hears into the laptop. I think that may on require using a cable that is 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch, but I need to talk to our audio guy to figure that out.

Lastly, I would like to setup a web cam at the church so that the missionaries can see Pastor as they speak to him. There's a couple of ways that I can think of handling this. One would be a wireless camera, but I need to do some research on how that works. The other would be to take a standard camcorder (with zoom) and hook it up to the laptop and zoom in on the Pastor.

BATS in the News

2010-01-13T17:00:00.000-06:00

This is good article about what BATS Exchange does and it even has some pictures. I sent it out to bunch of friends and family.

Just off I-35, a global financial powerhouse on KCFreePress.com.

Sledding

2010-01-10T15:45:00.000-06:00

I took Ora 5 and Aspen sledding this afternoon. The hill by our church is a long hill and very popular, so many people had gone down it and packed the snow down. We had a great time. The first few runs were not very long as I was getting used to sledding again. Once a remembered how to steer a sled, we had good runs that went all the way down the hills (about 250-300 yards).

Aspen saw the teenagers taking jumps over a ramp that they had built and decided that she wanted to try it. I sat as at the top of the hill and I started to get cold feet; the hill dropped quickly, got very bumpy and icy and then up the ramp. The guys who were going down as fast as they could were getting some good air on their jumps; some of them 5-6 feet. I asked Aspen if she was sure she wanted to do it and she said yes. So down the hill we went. I successfully steered us over the icy bumps and we hit the ramp well and we got air. We came back down hard and I heard Aspen, but I wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying. When we stopped she wasn't doing either and exclaimed "I hurt my bottom." Nevertheless, she wanted to do it again.

We had a great time. One of the more interesting sleds was the top half of a car-top carrier that had two skis attached to the bottom of it. They were able to take 3-4 people down at a time and took it over the ramp a few times.

Enid Explored Again

2010-01-07T17:52:00.001-06:00

The picture you see here reached #16 on Flickr's most interesting photos today.

Hello, BATS Exchange

2010-01-04T22:30:00.002-06:00

Today I started my new job at BATS Exchange. BATS is the third-largest stock exchange in the US and we also compete against the London Stock Exchange in the UK. They measure stock trades in microseconds; a microsecond is 1/1000 of a millisecond or 1/1,000,000.

I arrived today to find a new office with four monitors (two for my Windows PC and two for my Linux box). Water, pop, coffee, energy drinks are all available for free and lunch is provided every day; today was Lenny's subs. Those were among all the good surprises.

The not so good surprise: I have to study for the Series 7 General Securities Representative Exam and be fingerprinted for FINRA regulations. The study book is a few inches thick, so when I start my studies, I think that I'm going to feel like I'm back in college cramming. But it doesn't diminish my excitement for the new job and all the new things that I am learning and I know that I'll get through it.

2010 Ride Plans

2010-01-01T01:00:00.004-06:00

After reading Cousin Brad's plans for 2010 road and MTB rides as well as runs, I decided to put our own biking plans down "on paper." Last year, we had planned on doing an organized ride every other month, but didn't do it. We realized that if we don't put it down on paper, it's not going to happen. So here's our 2010 ride list:

April
Cabin Fever Challenge (April 17)

June
Amelia Earhart Ride (June 27)

July
Lenexa Midnight Bike Ride if it's not in Shawnee Mission Park (July 10)

August
Cider Mill Century (no, we won't do a century; August 3)

October
Yellow Brick Road Ride (Oct 2)
- or -
Falun Classic (Oct 9)
- or -
Maple Leaf Ride (Oct 9)
- or -
Missouri Bike Federation's Fall Foliage Ride (Oct 16)

Goodbye, Jack Henry, Inc.

2009-12-31T22:30:00.002-06:00

After 10 years, 10 months and 9 days, I have resigned from Jack Henry and Associates, Inc. I consider it my first "real" job in that it was a job that was in the career field I had chosen and my first job out of college didn't teach me anything or accomplish anything.

I joined Jack Henry as a single young man and in my time there I was married and had three children. When I joined, benefits like medical insurance and 401K were not something that even crossed my mind. Jack Henry stood beside me through a growing family and medical complications with the birth of all three of my kids; gave me many opportunities to grow as a programmer; good friends and a lot of good memories.

But there comes a time when you realize that your opportunity to grow and advance your career doesn't exist where you are anymore and I reached that point. So after more than a decade with JHA, I start a new year and a new decade in a new place. More on that later.

The N word

2009-12-29T23:50:00.002-06:00

We were reading Tom Sawyer tonight and reached the chapter that introduces Huck Finn and he refers to a black man using the N word. I was so shocked to see it that for a moment I hesitated to read it. I decided that Ora 5 would hear it someday and better that he hear it from me so that I can explain it to him. I read through several lines of dialogue that contained the word several times and then stopped and asked Ora if he knew the word. I was thankful that he did not and I explained what it meant and that we never use that word.

It reminded me that I first heard that word and learned what racism was when watching Driving Miss Daisy as a kid and I learned the word suicide from Star Wars (Han Solo: "What good is a reward if you ain't around to use it? Besides, attacking that battle station is not my idea of courage. It's more like, suicide.")

�There�s nothing on it.�

2009-12-29T09:10:00.000-06:00

Ewan has an interesting way of telling us that he wants to color:

He hands his mom a piece of blank paper and says �there�s nothing on it.�

Lots of Snow

2009-12-28T15:18:00.002-06:00

We left Wednesday for my in-laws where we spent Christmas. The forecast had called for rain turning into ice by 9pm, so we were trying to get out as early as possible. The first half hour was heavy rain; I took it slow and worried that it was only going to get worse. However, the rain cleared off and did not return for the rest of our trip. The worst we had was heavy fog in the flint hills. At one point the fog was so thick that cars' tail lights would disappear within seconds of passing me.

We had some snow at the in-laws, but not much. We heard that Kansas City had a lot; enough that many churches canceled Sunday services. When we came back into town today, we found that the roads were very clear right up until we got onto the street to our house, but it wasn't too bad. Our driveway was covered and I had a bit of trouble getting up it.

The first order of business was to scrape the driveway, but before I did I measured 5.5 inches of snow on it.

Tom Sawyer, Satirical, not Obnoxious

2009-12-27T23:36:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure why, but Ora 5 wanted to read Tom Sawyer. I wasn't very enthusiastic, but I didn't want to dissuade his interest in a classic. My only knowledge of Tom Sawyer is from movies, so the only impression that I have of him is an obnoxious brat; However, in reading to Ora, I'm discovering an amazingly witty book with plenty of satire. Last night we read of Tom negotiating his way into getting a free bible in Sunday School and the admiration of Becky's father. Today we read about the main service. I thought these paragraphs were telling how good Twain's satire is and how much churches haven't changed:

After the hymn had been sung, the Rev. Mr. Sprague turned himself into a bulletin-board, and read off "notices" of meetings and societies and things till it seemed that the list would stretch out to the crack of doom�a queer custom which is still kept up in America, even in cities, away here in this age of abundant newspapers. Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.

And now the minister prayed. A good, generous prayer it was, and went into details: it pleaded for the church, and the little children of the church; for the other churches of the village; for the village itself; for the county; for the State; for the State officers; for the United States; for the churches of the United States; for Congress; for the President; for the officers of the Government; for poor sailors, tossed by stormy seas; for the oppressed millions groaning under the heel of European monarchies and Oriental despotisms; for such as have the light and the good tidings, and yet have not eyes to see nor ears to hear withal; for the heathen in the far islands of the sea; and closed with a supplication that the words he was about to speak might find grace and favor, and be as seed sown in fertile ground, yielding in time a grateful harvest of good. Amen.

10-Year Wedding Annivesary

2009-11-08T19:06:00.004-06:00

We delayed our 10-year wedding anniversary because we were busy helping with the Church Missions conference during our anniversary.

We had a B&B in a small town on the Missouri river all to ourselves. Our first day we biked on the Katy Trail in the morning, came back to rest at the B&B in the afternoon and then went to Hermann. We bought some candy at a store on the main street, walked buy the shops in town and then went to the waterfront. Enid took a few pictures there:

Then we went to the Stone Hill Winery for dinner. Before dinner we took the tour; it was one of the last tours of the day, so it was just the tour guide and us. Enid took more pictures:

Finally, we went to dinner. The wait was long, but we were given a large booth and we enjoyed our meal thoroughly. Since Enid has German heritage and we were in Hermann, we both had very German meals.

The next morning it was time to go home, but we stopped and got some pictures on our way out of town:

We're looking forward to the next 10 years.

Another of Enid's Photos Gets some Attention

2009-10-30T18:39:00.000-05:00

Enid's photo got some attention from one of the Flickr groups that she participates in:

http://365-community.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-all-gone-orange.html

Enid's Photo on Flickr Explore

2009-10-25T14:16:00.001-05:00

Enid has been doing a lot of great work with her photography. Today was a validation of how skilled she has become when her photo became the main photo of Pioneer Woman's photography blog. Pioneer Woman is a very popular blog and she recently won several webby awards. Click the photo below to see a bigger picture of Enid's work on Pioneer Woman:

"Laptop"

2009-09-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

The family picked me up from work today and as I walked out the door, I thought of something that I had forgot and walked back in. The kids asked Enid why I went back inside. "He must have forgot something," she explained.

Ewan replied: "Laptop."

I didn't know he could say that or that he was perceptive enough to notice that I had taken my work laptop with me everywhere we went all weekend.

Home School Starts Today

2009-09-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

Enid begins homeschooling Ora 5 and Aspen today.

Update: Enid reported that they had a good day of school. The kids were excited and very engaged. Aspen didn't show signs of having lost any of her reading skills over the summer. (We read to them so often that we sometimes forget that they should be reading to us!)

We also began new reading books this evening. Enid read chapter 1 of the first Box Car Children book to Aspen and I read an Aesop fable to Ora 5 and a Newbury Honor book called Red Sails to Capri. It was a great first chapter to end a great first day of school.

Tour of Missouri 2009

2009-09-13T18:29:00.001-05:00

So, we didn't bike as much this summer as we wanted to. And we didn't watch the Tour de France (didn't want to watch Lance). But we certainly weren't going to miss the Tour of Missouri.

We left church early and headed downtown. This year the Tour finished in KC instead of St. Louis, so we would get to see the end of the Tour. That also means that it ended on a Sunday, so there were more people and more kids. They even had a kids' race.

I dropped Enid, Aspen, Ora 5 and the kids bikes at the event and then drove 15 minutes before I found a parking space 4-5 blocks away. Then Ewan and I raced down the Start line so we could see Ora and Aspen race.

For the kids' race, each age ran in a different heat and they started them 50-100 yards from the finish line on the race course and let each heat go. Every kid got a medal. Here's Aspen and Ora 5:

After the kids' race, we went to see the vendor booths. We always bring a wagon because they give you so much free stuff: bottles, noise makers, helmets, etc. The Jelly Belly booth is always a must because they give free Sport Beans. The kids spun a game wheel and the prize was a free jelly belly, but you couldn't tell if it was going to be Blue Berry or Toothpaste flavored; Popcorn or vomit; vanilla or rotten egg. They even had a bucket to spit the bad-tasting ones out.

Soon the race was beginning. The other difference in this year's race is that it started and ended in Crown Center instead of the Plaza and the circuit was longer. This meant we could see the first lap finish in front of the fountains at Crown Center. Then we moved into the link and watched the riders go under us as they finished the second lap. Then we took the link over to Union Station and watched them go by while we stood at the fountain in front of Union Station. Then we crossed the street and watched several laps from the hill in front of Liberty Memorial:

Last we went back to Washington Park and walked up Grand street until we found a good spot to watch the race finish. Zabriskie of the Garmin Slipstream team won the entire Tour!

Ewan is 3

2009-09-12T20:23:00.001-05:00

Ewan's birthday is tomorrow, but we're partying today. Family came over to celebrate with an amazing Thomas the Tank Engine cake. It is actually shaped like Thomas! My wife saw a picture of it and ordered it via phone, but never asked how much it was. When I went to pick it up and they asked me is it the "$44.99 signature cake?" In my mind I thought I hope not. But it was. LOL. Happy Birthday Ewan.

Discovery Home School Academy Starts Today

2009-09-08T09:00:00.002-05:00

The kids' home school academy starts today. Once a week they go to classes at a local mega-church where they can interact with kids their own age and get some of their extra-curricular classes (spanish, PE, art, etc). Plus it gives Enid a day off.

This is Aspen's first year and she will have the same kindergarten teacher that Ora 5 had. She is very excited. She picked out a Tinkerbell backpack to carry her stuff.

I have the day off work today, so it is one of those rare times that I will get to drop them off and pick them up from school.