8 October 2001

Wow! A lot has happened since June. We've been awfully busy trying to keep up, as we have been trying to buy a house since early July. It looks as though we've finally found "the one" and will be closing within the next few weeks. We'll have pictures and details once the deal is done.

It appears that it is no longer safe for us to walk in to a pet store together. While picking up some cat food at the Canine Commisary, a 13 week old grey tabby snagged us and demanded we take her home. Jalapeño (Holly, or mabe even Hollypeño) is the most recent addition to our spice cat line-up and appears to be settling in nicely.

20 June 2001

Oops. Forgot to post updates again.

In the news this week, Amanda just passed her Technician exam and should have her amateur radio license soon [She was granted KD5OYG and applied for vanity call W5WNC]. She's relaxing at home for the summer and looking forward to teaching biology at Williams High School this fall. She's also studying for her General Class license and learning Morse code.

I passed my Extra Class exam last weekend after much blood and sweat (fortunately, no tears). I'm hoping to get an HF (high frequency) station set up this week (probably tonight) and start working the world.

We're both going to be attending Field Day, a big event for North American amateur radio operators. Plans call for lots of radio, lots of food and lots of fun. We'll post pictures and stories after the event.

11 March 2001

Technology update: After only 9 months of anticipation, we picked up an UltimateTV unit at Best Buy. It was a quick install, and we had our programming after a 5 minute phone call to Pegasus, our "rural" satellite provider for DirecTV service.

It took a 15 minute phone call to get the UltimateTV service activated - no one at Pegasus understood what I was talking about. Tip: Be persistent. Tell them you already have the hardware and that DirecTV said they just need a pre-authorization to add the service to your account.

The guide is much easier to navigate than any ReplayTV or Tivo product I have encountered. Setting a show to record takes an ever perfect one button press from the program guide. Channel changing is quick, and the picture-in-picture function works well.

I must say that I thought the dual receiver function was overkill last July, a good idea last December, and fantastic the first time I saw it in action. In the first 6 hours of operation, we've recorded two programs at once several times, and are currently *watching* a pre-recorded program while two others are recording. Absolutely fantastic.

Look for a full review once I finish building my "Cool Technology" site. If you're a DirecTV subscriber and thinking about personal TV, UltimateTV is ready for you.

18 February 2001

We finally placed our very own geocache today. If you'd like to find it, details are here. Wickett had great fun with us at the park where we placed the cache. While there, we saw a lizard-like critter (Lauren isn't so good at identifying critters and Amanda didn't see it). We also saw a falcon in a tree while we were placing the cache. It watched us fairly intently pretty much the whole time we were there. Neat.

We also found a cache today. It was in a small park in East Plano. It's been really fun to explore parts of town we've never been in before.

11 February 2001

I've been monitoring a different amateur radio repeater most of the time lately - the WB5TVI repeater in Keller, TX. Frequency is 444.025 Mhz with a positive offset and a PL tone of 110.9. Say hi some morning.

Things are still progressing with Greenbriar's move to Centura Tower. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm certainly glad I'm not the one doing the construction.

21 January 2001

It's been a week. We have a new president. We went in search of our first geo-cache. We got our oil changed. The earth shattering impacts of those events don't necessarily rank in the same order as the items were presented.

If you haven't yet been bitten with the geo-caching bug, head on over to the website at www.geocaching.com. Unfortunately, we took everything but our camera along with us, so the only photo record of our journey rests in the second half of the cache we visited. We're trying to pace ourselves since there certainly aren't an abundance of nearby caches yet. Maybe next time out we'll place one of our own.

If you'd like to visit the cache (and pick up a VHS copy of "Sneakers"), you can find the details here. Don't forget your frisbee. Seriously. We spent several hours tossing our Aerobie about.

In re-reading the updates, I noticed that I completely forgot to mention that I became a licensed Amateur Radio operator on November 28^th and was granted the call sign KD5MJY. I applied for a vanity call shortly thereafter and it was granted on January 3rd. You can catch me on Dallas area repeaters (usually 147.18 or 444.025MHz) during drive-time during the week as W5WNC. If you'd like more information on obtaining your own amateur radio license, have a look at the ARRL New Ham page. If you're in Plano like us, you can also find information on the Plano Amateur Radio Klub page. Or join us for breakfast at (gulp) 7:00 am most every Saturday morning.

Amanda has been substituting away with considerably frequency. It also looks as if she'll have a full-time placement soon. She has the "official" interview next Thursday.

The sailboat is progressing slowly but steadily. I'm filling low spots in the keel fin and bulb with epoxy. Since my shaping skills are not necessarily world-class, I'm on attempt #3 for perfection. It may turn out this time. Just a little more sanding work and it will be ready for paint. And more sanding. Sounds like I'm in a rut.

14 January 2001

Well... it's been a long time, but not a lot has happened. Amanda is now certified to teach high school biology in Texas. She's currently working as a substitute for the Plano Independent School District.

Amanda bought me a model sailboat for Christmas. I've been carefully assembling it and am presently awaiting some clear warm weather outside so I can paint the hull. I'm anxiously awaiting some sailing

We finally got a chance to launch our kites today with the JOTS group in Richardson at Breckinridge Park. The weather was great. It was nice to see the sun and wind at the same time.

30 October 2000

OK, not insane. And not quite certified, yet. But she's getting really close!

I'm proud to say that Amanda has passed the ExCET exam. She'll be finishing up student teaching in early December and should be recommended for certification shortly thereafter. We're proud. We're ecstatic! Congratulations, Amanda!

You can see images of her score reports here and here.

22 October 2000

We moved our site (in case you didn't already notice the change in the address bar) to wickett.org. Some dogs get pedicures. Some dogs get gourmet meals. Ours has his own domain. We're very proud. Our new web host is fantastic (and cheap) and has finally given us a source of reliable e-mail.

The rains are still upon us, but are a welcome sight. It's been awfully dry here. Fortunately, the ground is still sponging up water nicely in our area. There has been some flooding in more urbanized areas (yes, I know – more urbanized than Plano is a scary thought for those of you back home in North Carolina), but thus far the ground and the excellent runoff planning have kept us well within safety.

21 October 2000

Since returning from South Texas we haven't managed a single day of kite flying. Between still air and rain, we've been thoroughly grounded.

The rain however, is a truly welcome site. The soil here once again resembles soil. It's not the soft, pliable stuff we're used to from North Carolina, but at least you can poke it with a stick.

15 October 2000

We're back from Camelot!

We got in some great kite flying and got to visit Texas' premier kiting shop, Windchasers, on South Padre Island. Jeff won't mince words about tourists, noisy neighbors or farting kites, but he's got a great selection of kites and will be delighted to tell you about them if you visit him.

The bikers were having their convention on the island while we were there, so it's too bad we forgot our ear plugs.

And, wouldn't you know, weather on the island pretty much reeked the whole time we were there. If it wasn't raining, the red tide made it difficult to breathe. At least while keeping our eyes open.

We did get in some great kite flying inland in Harlingen. Thanks to all the people at Camelot for smiling at us while we flew around in their yard.