Joe's Personal Blog

We needed a dog barrier for our living room to keep out doggie visitors.  Here's what we built from PVC pipe. This is about a 6 food wide opening. The piping is press fitted together.  We didn't use any glue. This is short enough that anyone can step over yet tall enough to imply a barrier. The important part is the hook that we made that semi-locks the barrier into place. We can take the barrier down by just twisting off this lever/catch.  They come out easy if they aren't glued. We take the whole thing down when we have guests  or when the Mah Jongg crowd comes over.

I had problems with my hands about 12 years ago.  My right elbow and shoulder hurt and my hands had a dull ache.  I was able to fix my right arm by moving the mouse from the right hand side to the left hand side of my keyboard.  This brought it in closer because the left hand side of the keyboard is closer to the user because it doesn't have a numeric pad on that side. It still wasn't perfect.I wanted to fix both my hand and shoulder worries with a balanced keyboard and trackpad approach.  The keyboard fix involves using a keyboard designed around the movement of human hands and arms. In my case this turned out to be the Kinesis Advantage keyboard with the Cherry mechanical key switches.  Keyboard snobs really like the mechanical switches. I understand why after 10 years on my original keyboard. They have a great feel.  The Kinesis Advantage moves some of the most common keys from the weak pinky fingers to to the more powerful thumbs.  Kenisis spl...

Merriweather Post Pavillion is an outdoor music venue in Columbia Maryland. http://www.merriweathermusic.com/ Merriweather Post Pavillion has more food and refreshment options than a lot of venues we've been too. This sign shows the types of food and where they are located.  The next picture shows the other half of the billboard with a map to each of the locations.  I forgot to take picture of the lower right of the directory. Folks looking for beer, mixed drinks, frozen drinks and other alcoholic beverages will have to do their own scouting. Merriweather Post Pavilion Food and drink map.

A trip to The Hamilton is the latest in our "experience more of DC" experiment.  This place is run by the Clydes Group and should be getting more positive buzz. It has a lot going for it.  The restaurant is spacious.  The bar is big with several sections.  The downstairs entertainment venue is one of the nicest in the area.  The upstairs loft is small but has the advantage of often having live entertainment. They also have a small sushi bar.The food is delicious. Location The Hamilton is located on 14th street between F and G. The main entrance is in the center of the block on F.  You can use the Metro.  Get off at Metro Center and come out the 13th and G exit. Walk the 1/2 block to F Street.  There is a bar entrance on the corner at F and 14th.  Walk past that to the the entrance on the middle of the block if you are going for the restaurant, basement entertainment or the Loft.  You can walk through the bar from the corner entra...

I recently attended the 2014 Washington DC area Awesome Con,  http://awesomecondc.com/  , a comic-con event at the Washington DC convention center.  My wife and I had never been to this type of event and had no idea what to expect. We purchased one day tickets that were a bit pricey at $30 each. We had a fun afternoon even though we didn't plan ahead or allocate enough time.   It wasn't too crazy while still being whimsical enough to be different and fun. Awesome Con had a comedy night, a party and a concert. We missed all of those so I have no information to offer about them. About 20% of the folks were dressed up in costume.  They got lots of attention posing for pictures with other attendees. The kids really liked the costumes. Awesome Con is primarily aimed at fans of comics, science fiction and fantasy print and visual media. This event was mainly made up of 4 parts, Artists , Famous People, Sessions and Vendors.   Artists occupie...

This is an easy evening snack that uses stuff you might have in your pantry.   We came up with this snack as something tasty we can make by raiding the pantry.  I originally stuffed the cheese inside the olives but the clams taste better. You'll need one can of extra large pitted Black Olives, one can of chopped clams some cheese and a toaster oven. Don't cut yourself opening the cans! We tend to pick up canned goods at Costco because they have good quality products and because they keep well as our "stuck in the house" supplies. Somehow they tend to work out in almost the exact proportion.  Drain both cans and dump out their contents.  You want them reasonably dry. Stuff each olive with some of the minced clams. Its a lot easier than it sounds. The clam pieces tend to be small. Sometimes there are big clam bits.  Chop them up or eat them when no one is looking. Lay the olives out on a piece of aluminum foil.  The wire rack in ...