rustyredrock.com

All,

This will be my last RustyRedRock post.  I will leave the site up for a little while longer before I tear it down entirely.

As I have said, my wife and I are expecting our first child soon and I have a lot of projects to take care of before, during, and after the happy event.  Maintaining a website is not really that big of a task, but maintaining one to the level of care that I would like to give is a little tougher.  It’s sort of a “How many grains of sand are needed to make a pile?” sort of thing. I am just trying to reduce the size of the pile…  For now, anyway.

I have removed the Puzzle for Charity and halted work on Puzzle 05: The Chalice.  Don’t worry… They will be back when the new site is posted in a few months.  The Prize Pool and Charity Pool will retain (at minimum) the values they had when I took them down.  I will, however, be writing a $60 check to the current charity (Blue Ridge Food Bank Area Network) after I post this… No reason not to, really, and it’s only fair.  That will make a total of $247.25 (and three huge blankets) donated to charity since the start of this site.  Thanks again to Agmorion and Siun-Kelan for making Puzzle 03 possible.
 
When the site comes back up, I hope to have a few steady contributing writers to help me out.  I have tried that with extremely limited success in the past, but maybe next time will be different .  Also, I think I might switch from Wordpress/Yahoo to Blogger.  Easier for a number of reasons, it seems.  We will see.

Even better would be to write for someone else’s site, which is ultimately what I would like to do.  If you know anyone that is looking for a contributor for puzzle creation or the style of writing you see in the Unexpected Segue or World News sections of this site, let me know.  My contact info can be found in the Contact and FAQ link in the sidebar on the right.

Some final stuff:

I have started on a video project that I may or may not post in the future… The project was designed to be more of a historical archive rather than something for mass consumption so it depends on how the individual episodes turn out.  If they turn out decent enough, you will hear more about them.   If not, you won’t.  Either way, it will be a while before I find my feet and have a few finished episodes, as any of you that have done any sort of video editing will completely understand. 

Speaking of projects, I have finished building my scrap wood holder and nearly finished my firepit.  I built both with (mostly) leftover items from previous projects. The irony of the wood holder project is that I used a lot of my scrap wood to build it, so the problem it was designed to solve sort of dispappeared…  The design was taken from the book The Complete Book of Woodworking.  It is very, very good with lot’s of step-by-step pics.  Here is my (modified) version, front and back. 

Thanks to jimmydunes who provided many, many hours of unpaid labor to help me create a firepit in my backyard.  The exterior was made from the leftover bricks from the elevated garden project and the overall design was based on one at the DIY Network site.  If jimmydunes and I were able to do this, anyone can. Important Project Scheduling Note:  Brickyards (where you will get the fire clay and the fire bricks) typically have banker’s hours for some unfathomable reason, so plan accordingly.  Below is a pic of the first “test fire”, and the other picture is the mold for the capstones that will finish up the project this week. 

I have hung the curtains and ceiling fan in my new den, so the finishing touches of that project are done, at least.

The final sticks of furniture have been added to the baby’s room.  We are looking to add a border, hang some more art, and add a clock.   And some shelves for the closet… Hmm.  It looks like we aren’t done after all… I had better get a move on…  Here are some pics, though.

What else?  Oh, yeah.  I hate my Treo with all of the hate that it is possible to generate toward an inanimate object.  It locks up constantly, stays latched in “roaming” mode whenever I go inside and then leave a certain building at work, I can’t send pictures easily, I can’t convert the video with any tools I have, the Bluetooth connectivity is random… The list goes on and on but it is really no different than any other piece of 2008 technology: something claims to do a million things, but does none of them well. 

So what am I going to do about mine?  The only action that makes really makes sense is this: It’s just a phone, man. Don’t worry about it.  Unplug.  “The only winning move is not to play“, style of thing… Sort of Zen, dontcha think? But, as God as my witness, my next phone will not be Windows-based. 
 
After a rough start, it looks like the tobacco plants are going to make it.  I have started picking the smaller leaves off the bottoms of the plants and the top leaves are starting to grow faster.  I am storing the leaves I pick in a mason jar in my very hot garage to see what happens to them there.  I will use these initial clippings to make my own insecticide, I think.  The soy is also doing well, but the peanuts were a total failure.  Everything else is doing just fine.  Here is a photo of the garden and a close-up of one of the tobacco plants.

That’s about it.  Thanks to all of the readers of this site.  I had a lot of fun doing this and look forward to re-starting it when I can. 

Cheers!

 unplugnow

I have gotten some feedback that my hints… umm… draw vacuum.  Do I need to post another hint for the Puzzle for Charity or should I let you enjoy the challenge?

Answer using the poll in the sidebar.  I will leave it up for a week.

Also, I am thinking of ditching this site altogether… at least temporarily - baby on the way, you know.   I think I would rather focus on building the Puzzles for Charity and write for someone else’s site.  I am not sure yet what I will do.  If you know someone looking for a news/humor writer and has a like minded attitude regarding the power and potential of small charities, let me know.

I will put up a poll regarding that as well.

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately.  As you may have guessed, getting stuff ready for a new baby has sort of been trumping my perceived importance of telling you all what I think about Christmas decorations, reviewing bad local restaurants, and mocking people who go to my gym.

Go figure. I doubt you are heartbroken, though.  :)

But here is the Cliff’s Notes version of stuff I would have written about in the past week in a less busy alternative timeline:

• There are now over one million Priuses on the road.  I have been getting 53MPG lately, and expect even higher as the weather warms up.
• Over 50% of our Incentive Check will be spent offsetting over-the-top gas prices.  Check out my previous post on the topic here.
• GTA4 has the best co-op version of any game I have ever played. The noticeably smarter and tougher cops are now sort of a cross between low grade Terminators and 007-School dropouts.    
• I believe that forests aid in randomizing weather patterns.  By chopping down huge (and not-so-huge) areas to make room for housing developments, the now chaotically smooth areas allow for stronger straight-line winds and weird hurricane-like weather patterns to develop over land.
• I don’t watch soap operas, but I am really getting tired of listening to Spinelli.  No one talks like that outside of a Renaissance Faire.
• The news angries up my blood.  The world is doomed, celebrity news, the world is doomed, puppy dials 911 to save master, the world is doomed… Etc, etc, etc.  Do what you can to fix stuff locally, and the bigger stuff falls into place a little easier.
• My tobacco plants are coming in nicely.  I hope to be able to use some of the crop as insecticide for next year.
• Today is Bike-to-Work day.  It got me thinking of all the places between my house and work (about 25 miles) where bike and/or pedestrian traffic is prohibited by law (bridges, tunnels, certain Interstate portions, and whatnot).  Is it actually illegal for some people to get to work without involving a car? Wow, if true.

The Puzzle for Charity is now up to $55.00!  You can get to it by clicking the corkboard image in the sidebar on the right.  Good Luck!

Also, a new poll has been added.  Every vote counts - this topic: Who would you least like to see own a real, working Light Saber?

Congrats to jimmydunes on the purchase of his new motorcycle.  Enjoy, dude, and may you find all the Sweet Jumps you desire.

I have writer’s block.  I am not getting any inspiration from recent non-political news, other than this:

The Puzzle for Charity Prize Pool is now $48.50 (and the corkboard).  There are 3 hints posted.  The puzzle is in the sidebar on the right.  Good Luck!

I have re-started attempting to solve the Khan’s Cons puzzle at PuzzleMonster.com.  Still no luck, but I nearly accidentally ordered “pink wine” at the drive-through at Wendy’s recently…

The Puzzle for Charity Prize Pool is now at $45.00 (and the corkboard).  Three hints are available and the puzzle in in the sidebar on the right.  Good Luck!

A new poll has been posted.  Every vote counts (consider it practice for this November).  It, too, is in the sidebar on the right.

Well, I guess it’s time for another hint…

Hint #3 [Posted 031008 1912EST]: The message contains the word “wine”.

You can click on the image to go to the Puzzle Page.  Good Luck!

Also, the Poll has been updated - it’s in the sidebar on the right.  Every vote counts!

There were four OFNOGs in the locker room today.  This is really getting unbelievable.  I think maybe the problem is the first “O” in the acronym.  To that end, I am coming up with an easy quiz you can take to see if you belong to that not-so-exclusive group.

What am I talking about?  Click the OFNOG in the sidebar on the right.

You see, my gym changed locations to a newer (notice I did not say “better”) facility on January 1st… So for the next month or so the place was packed to the rafters with people who 1) got gym memberships for Christmas 2) are “turning over a new leaf” regarding exercise for their New Year’s Resolutions or 3) are impressed new equipment of any kind.

The locker room is bigger than before, but that  does not mean it is any roomier - it just means more OFNOGs can be crammed in there.  As a matter of fact they tend to pack themselves in the locker aisles pretty much like Marshmallow Peeps are packaged.  Gross.

It got to be so bad that I stopped going for a month.  I figured this would give many of them enough time to fall off the Cheesy Poofs wagon and and decide that TiVO-ing stuff is probably plenty of exercise after all.  I was right, for the most part, but it is still pretty crowded in there.

You know, I mentioned before they should get rid of the TV in the locker room to cut down on the slack-jawed clustering in the main aisle.  In the new locker room they replaced the 13-inch tube TV playing the financial channel with a 42″ LCD playing ESPN.  And they added a couch and a recliner.  You could air-drop bale upon bale of cash onto my front yard, and it would still never be enough to make me sit there for even a moment.  Feel free to pick any reason you wish while I go throw up a bit.

The OFNOG Tracker in the sidebar on the right has been updated.  Their number now stands at 30, and that is a conservative estimate, believe me.

Ok, it’s been a couple of weeks since I have posted anything.  Sorry about that.  I stick by my usual excuse: I’ve been busy.  Over the last couple of weeks I have been beta testing software for Agmorion, editing video for a side-project (I will let y’all know about that one later), re-purposing a couple pieces of furniture (pictures forthcoming), and repair work around the house.

The Prize Pool and Charity Pool have been appropriately updated.  A new hint will be posted in the next couple of weeks.  Good Luck!  I am also reconsidering the format of the Prize and Charity pools… basically because I am broke.  This might be the last puzzle that has cash tied to it…  Who knows?

My next post will be about the recovery of Scooba (yeah!) and the demise of the Tassimo (it basically overheated spectacularly on the countertop) and my progress in getting it replaced (it has been 5 days since they said they were going to ship out a box to mail it back in).

Hunter’s Stock Picks will be off line for a while.  For those of you that have not been keeping track, trading was stopped once he dipped below 20% down.  It should be up again soon.

 I am considering a number of changes to the site (getting rid of the Haiku section, etc.).  I will be asking for your opinions as I go.

See you tomorrow!

The Prize Pool is up to $30.25.  There are two hints posted.  You can see the current puzzle in the sidebar on the right.  Good Luck!

Hunter’s Stock Picks have been suspended!  Why?  He has reached (once again) the negative 20% mark… I will leave the portfolio up there just to see how it does between now and the next time it is re-started.

New RustyRedRock poll!  It’s in the sidebar on the right.

Consider it practice for November…

Wow.  What a beating.

Not too much more to say about last week’s performance, other than On Tuesday he was actually up 5%.  The fraud charges against WCG and KRY’s tax problem with the Venezuelan government obliterated those gains and as of close of market on Friday he was down nearly 15%.

As you can see, Hunter and the Dow swapped places once again as they continue on their do-si-do death spiral.

The problem I have with all of this is that Hunter’s advisor (dad) is really kicking butt in both Wall Street Survivor (sitting around place 180) and StockQuest (up $150k for the year) , but this portfolio is really, really terrible.  Why?  He seems to think it is because I only allow Hunter to trade on the weekend instead of whenever he feels like it.  Ok, fine.  I actually agree that might be a problem.  We will keep going with this set of rules, though, until -20% or 4 months has been reached.

You can see Hunter’s virtual portfolio by clicking on the graph.

Once again, six-year-old Hunter is beating the Dow.

Actually, he had a monster couple of days at the beginning of the week and was actually positive by 5% at one time while the Dow was -5%!

The rest of the week was a disappointment for his virtual portfolio, ending up slightly worse than last week.  Although he is doing significantly better than the Dow at this point, he is doing significantly worse than just burying money in an old coffee can in the back yard.

FYI: The Dow has dropped over 1500 points over the past 6 weeks.

You can get to his portfolio by clicking on the graph.

I woke up this morning to find my computer had shut down from thermal overload.  It seems to be operating fine for now, but if I don’t post for a while or update the Prize Pool for the Puzzle for Charity, you will know what happened.