For nearly a decade, my family (well, mostly my wife and I) have struggled with an issue over our family structure. When we dated, and were first married, we both worked; she as a lawyer, and me as an intern…
Homemade Laundry Soap
Several years ago, when my oldest (born in 2007) was little, we found that baby skin didn’t do so well with standard (ie. Tide) laundry detergent. We started using Dreft, which is formulated for sensitive skin. It’s not cheap though…
Discernment’s Lack of Discernment
It’s a new season, spring is coming to an end and summer is being ushered in. With that, yet another discernment ministry controversy that shouldn’t be. It’s not my purpose here to discuss the scandal-of-the-month. Rather I wish to address…
Our Summer Home Buying Experience, Part 4: Wait, There’s More!
After over a year of getting our house ready to put on the market, and a summer of Real Estate process, we had two signed deals. We had a new house to look forward to moving into, and our old…
Our Summer Home Buying Experience, Part 3: What I Learned
After a summer of Real estate searches and dealings, I learned a lot. We had bought a new house, and had just gotten a deal signed to sell our old one. Here’s what I would do over again, and what…
Our Summer Home Buying Experience, Part 2: Selling Our Old House
We spent our summer deep in Real estate; selling one house and buying another. It had been the culmination of more than a year’s worth of work, preparing our house for the market. In the first post, I described the…
Our Summer Home Buying Experience, Part 1: Buying a New House
Over the course of last summer, we went through the process of selling our house and buying a new one. Our family is growing, and the house we had was closing in on us. We also had a healthy amount…
Why I Plan to Vote for Jill Stein (Green Party) on Tuesday
A couple weeks ago, I wrote why I’m not voting for Donald Trump. The big question that evokes is: who AM I voting for then? I’ve decided to vote for Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for President. Here’s why: As…
The Electoral College and Why I’m Not Voting for Donald Trump (But Maybe You Should)
It’s that time again: Presidential election season. Every four years, I’ve endured an onslaught of lectures about why I need to vote for the GOP candidate. Aside from a single lapse in judgment, I’ve never done it though. It sure…
Thwarting Telemarketers
I’ve posted before about Asterisk, the computerized phone system I’ve been using in my home for about a decade now. One thing I love about it is kicking calls over to special functions based on Caller ID. Known telemarketers get…
Favorite Podcasts
I love podcasts! I’ve been listening to them for about 10 years, and am always finding new ones that I like. I started podcasting in 2008 myself because I liked listening to them so much. I’ve pondered getting satellite radio…
Bitten by the Home Automation Bug
Not quite two years ago, I wrote about a little timer I made using an Arduino microcontroller and a simple relay. The purpose was to turn a couple lamps on in my living room automatically at sunset, and off around…
Securing Asterisk with IPTables
I’ve been running my phone system through Asterisk on Debian (Linux) for a number of years. I’d consider myself a novice to intermediate user of Linux, even though I’ve been tinkering with it for over a decade. I also don’t…
My Reality Show Idea
It seems I’m the only guy in America that doesn’t have a reality show. So I came up with an idea to get one. A little background is necessary. My reality show would be food-based. I’m not the pickiest eater…
HTPC: Revisited
Almost two years ago, I posted of my transition away from cable/satellite TV to using only internet & over-the-air and a Home Theater PC. Since it has been almost two years, I thought it a good time to update how…