After getting the garage door fixed, we made our way out to the Fort Worth Zoo. The weather got a little warmer than we liked, but Reese had a good time. We spent a lot of time in the new MOLA (Museum Of Living Art) exhibit checking out the snakes and insects. From there we went and checked out the cats and then spent a bunch of time in the parakeet enclosure feeding the greedy little birds. The heat took its toll on Reese, so we took the train back to the entrance and headed home for some dinner and Wii.
Author Archives: Pat
Garage Door Repairs
The guy from Overhead Door came out first thing in the morning and got to work fixing everything up. He was fast, courteous, and friendly with Reese, which is always a plus. New springs, new rollers, a little grease, and a realignment later and it’s working better than it ever has.
Major kudos to them. If you’re in need of garage door repairs, they’re the ones to call!
Tartan Night At The Rough Riders
Reese, Heather, and I headed out to Frisco to meet up with some people who put together a tartan night at the Frisco Rough Riders opening night. We snacked at The Irish Rover Pub and then did a kilted walk, with a piper, over to the park to watch the game. The seats were great, Reese had a good time, and the Rough Riders won. What more can you ask for? Pics after the jump…
National Scouting Museum
Reese and I spent a few hours at the National Scouting Museum today. It’s really well done, though we were the only people there, which is a shame. The exhibits start out at the beginning of Scouting and go all the way to today, and include both displays of artifacts and memorabilia as well as interactive stuff. We spent some time racing pinewood derby cars and playing in the shooting gallery before working on his trivia worksheet. He got everything right and earned his Cub Scout pack a unit award. After that we checked out the Norman Rockwell paintings and watched the film. Finally we spent a little money in the gift shop and headed out.
Broken Garage Door
On the way out to dinner the main spring on the garage door broke, leaving it stuck half way down and the top panel hanging off the track. We messed with it when we got back and got it to shut completely by taking the cables off the bottom. It’s shut and locked, with zip ties keeping the top panel in place. I’ve got a call in to a repair company and they’ll be out on Friday. Reese wanted to go to the Scouting Museum more than the zoo, so we’re putting the work off a day. Updates once the work is complete.
Lego Discovery Center
We got moving early today and got over to Grapevine Mills to spend some time at the Lego Discovery Center. It was a little smaller than I expected, but it was still a lot of fun. When we got in we went through the “factory” where they make Lego bricks. From there we looked at the exhibit of models of local buildings and landmarks. The builders did a great job on them! After that we spent a bunch of time building cars and testing them on the tracks as well as trying to knock down buildings on the shaking tables. Then we went over to the 4D theater and watched a fun movie. To cap it off, we hit the store and picked up some kits to build.
Volcanic Fermentation
We got up this morning to get ready to go to the Lego Discovery Center over at Grapevine Mills, but before leaving I decided to show Reese what the fermentation looked like. It was a good thing that I did, because the airlock had clogged and popped off. The inside of the chiller was filled with foam and it was continuing to pour out of the carboy. No worries about infection! I hunted around for the right tubing and parts to make an emergency blow-off tube setup and scored, but I had to cut up the tubing from my Auto Siphon to do it. It’s now bubbling furiously into a jug of water and we’re on the way to play with Legos. Photos are after the jump…
Brewing With Reese
Reese and I brewed up the first batch of Rick’s Barleywine today. It was nice having a helper around, and a good time was had by all. After we got it chilled and in the carboy, Reese pitched the yeast then helped me button up the chiller. O.G. Is 1.093, so definitely a big beer!
Motorcycle Day
Reese and I took the rear wheel off of the BMW this morning and then loaded up it and the new tire and took them down to Cycle Gear to get it mounted. While we were there we picked out some boots, gloves, armor, and a helmet so that he can come riding with me and his uncle. After we got done with all of that we came back, had some dinner, and played a bunch of Wii.
The Peshawar Lancers
Vulpine gave me a copy of [amazon_link id=”0451458737″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=””]The Peshawar Lancers[/amazon_link] for Christmas and thanks to school and work I haven’t been able to read it as quickly as I really wanted to. It was a very well written book, and I really wanted to read it faster, but responsibility won out.
It’s an alternative history story about the world as it exists after most of Europe and America are wiped out thanks to massive cometary impacts in the late 1870s. The British Empire has relocated to India and now rules about half of the world, though elements that make up the other half aren’t happy about that. There’s a lot of well written action, good political intrigue, and just a great, believable story. If you’re a fan of S.M. Stirling’s other works, or if you like the alternative history genre, you should check it out.