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You can tell it's Spring time in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.. All the 16-year-old's are out pushing their baby strollers.

COMMENTS

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alixaryon
15:48 Jan 16 2008

HA HA!

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PAGAN
19:04 Nov 09 2010

we call them 'pram-face' in the UK

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I'd rather be Cleopatra than Mocha any day.

It's gotten a little warmer this weekend. We're in the mid-fourties.



Spring is my least favorite season. People say that living in the north, the winters are tough. Winter is a piece of cake. It's Spring that's hard.



The 200+ inches of snow we've had this season is starting to melt. By next week, all of the rivers will crest and there will be isolated flooding. Also, there's the mud. You haven't experienced mud until you go somewhere that has hundreds of inches of snow per season. The ground becomes extremely saturated... Take a wrong turn off of a paved road and your vehicle may sink to its car antenna. I've accidently stepped into a mud hole and sank to my waist.



But the real evil are the insects. The flies and the mosquitos. Some of the flies here are the size of a silver dollar. The mosquitos are worse. They will overpower you.



I ran out of firewood so I went out into the woods to cut some to get me through the next several weeks. The mosquitos were already active. I can only hope that it dips below freezing the next several nights...

I haven't been on Vampire Rave a lot this past week. I needed a break from writing updates. But my to-do list is now piling up...



I've been busily building furniture for my home theater setup. I've completed the movie/CD rack, entertainment rack, projection screen, and elevated seating for the second row. All that is left is the projector mount (hung from the ceiling) and a new kitchen table (not really for the home theater, but my dining area shares the same space). I should have both of these things done this weekend.



I've ordered a projector:



http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=25173&Sku=O66-1076



It should be here by Tuesday.



I'm having a bunch of my cousins over next Saturday. This time it's taco's and Harry Potter 3.



My grandmother will be returning home in about a week and a half.

It's official. No more brain activity. My great uncle has died.



My great aunt is having a hard time with this. It wouldn't surprise me if my Grandmother moved to Sacramento permanently.

I just got off the phone with my Grandmother.



Yesterday, at 7am, my family got a call from the hospital that my Great Uncle had died. The family gathered and went to the hospital about 1-2 hours later. Once at the hospital, the family was notified that he wasn't dead.



Apparently there is still some minor brain activity. It is very minimal. He's in a deep coma.

I was going to post this on my profile, but I thought a journal entry might be more appropriate.



This is an old clip... Almost 5 years old now I think. It's Scarlett waxing my chest.

There has been another death. This time my great uncle Allen.



Last night he unexpectedly collapsed. He was taken to the hospital and fell into a coma. He didn't wake up, and he died this morning. He was 76.



My grandmother has been staying at his house this past month in Sacramento, California. She was scheduled to return home on Monday, but will now be postponing her return.

Friday I am planning on making a day trip to Rhinelander, Wisconsin. I'm only expecting to work a half-day, so I'll leave around noon.



It's 88 miles one-way. I need to go to Menard's and get some lumber. Prices in this town are just too high. I'll probably save $100 - $150 by making this trip.



I've decided to buy a video projector. The parts I need to complete mine are difficult to find. It may be several months before I have it assembled. So, I plan to buy one in the next week or so. When I finally finish my projector project, maybe I'll give it to my little cousins.



I need to remodel the family room, and that's what I need lumber for. I also need to make a dining room table... I've been putting that off for too long.



It should only take me a few days once I get the materials I need.

Death has taken another friend.



Tonight I was notified of the passing of Art Craner. He wasn't that old. I would guess late 50s to early 60s. I do not yet know how he died.



Art was a friend of my family. He was involved with the Fenton Village Players - a theater group in Fenton, Michigan. I left the FVP as an actor about 15 years ago, but I still go to performances when the opportunity arises (if I am in town). My mother continued acting and directing with the group up until her death last year.



Art was a great actor. He gave many memorable performances. His best was perhaps as the King of Siam in The King and I. The last FVP show I attended was Annie. It was last summer. Art played the role of Daddy Warbucks. It would be his last performance and I am glad I got to see it.

I'm use to only cooking for myself... At least nowadays. Last night I made my regular spaghetti, which is a little spicy. I wasn't thinking when I made it...



So my youngest little cousin who is 4 took a bite and whispered, "Hot... hot..."



I didn't get it at first, because I was careful to not make the food to warm. Then my other little cousin who is 8 said, "It's not hot, it's spicy."



So I fed them ice cream instead.

When the dead come to you in your dreams, listen to what they have to say.

I was suppose to drive to Ironwood over the weekend... Covering for a friend.. But it is going to be pretty cold and stormy, so it's all been cancelled. Which is good - I could use the time off.



I fried one of the circuit boards on the LCD for my video projector. It's going to take forever to get replacement parts...



Tomorrow I am taking 2 of my little cousins for the evening. I'm making them dinner and then they want to watch Spiderman 2. Lori (their mother, my 1st cousin) needed a sitter.

Looks like I am working all weekend. A friend asked me to fill in for him on Saturday and Sunday (at a different job).

Since I was 18 (at least) I have wanted a video projector. Back then they started at around $5000 for a low-end unit.



Today units are cheaper and better - but they're still pricey. A low-end unit runs about $1000. The real expense is the bulb. They're only rated at around 2000 hours. Replacement bulbs run between $250 - $500 depending on the manufacturer.



Why a video projector? I love movies. Besides, what guy doesn't want a 100" screen?



Today, after collecting parts for the past several months, I began building my own unit. I have about $500 into the parts. The real difference however, is the light engine.



In my design I use a metal halide 400 watt bulb. They're rated at about 20,000 hours. Replacement bulbs cost $20 - $30.



I didn't get as far as I wanted to today. I was hoping to get most of the construction done. It was a lot slower going than I thought it would be. I took my time with the electrical so I wouldn't fry myself.



I figure I am a little past half done. The light box is wired and for the most part finished. The ballast fired up nicely in my first test. It's really bright. I'm confident my final unit will rival $2000+ machines.



What's next, is stripping the LCD screen, fitting the fresnal lenses, and mounting the projection lens. I really hope to finish this by Saturday. My little cousins have been waiting patiently. They want to come over and watch Spiderman 2.

So I was looking at my Profile, deciding what to change.... And I don't want to touch anything.



It seems perfect. At least the color scheme.. Very captivating.



There are some things I can add to the description area, but outside of that I'm very happy with the page... Which is weird, because I am NEVER happy with any web page I build. I'm always looking to improve upon it.

Well, Premium Memberships have been launched. Writing the new features had been taking up a lot of my time as of late...



I know it's not done. Bugs will pop up that need to be fixed. And there will be other things I will need to add.



However, tomorrow I plan to do very little VR site work. I want to start building my video projector.



Hopefully I won't break or fry any parts.

One of the new features of Premium Memberships is Lurking. You can sign into Vampire Rave and not show up in Friend Lists, or on the Who's Online page.



My Profile hasn't been rated in 3 days. I finally figured out why. I've been lurking in all of my online time during the past 3 days. It's obvious people mostly rate profiles of people on the Who's Online page.

Yesterday at work a piece of machinery exploded. It is fortunate that no one was killed.



The area in which the explosion took place was an area in which I am frequently in.



The company is scrambling to get new equipment, so that production can resume. I had thought I would have a week off, but now it looks like I will be returning to work on Wednesday. This is fortunate for me. It'll allow my ankle to almost completely heal (I'd rate it at about 65% at present). I should be able to complete Premium Memberships by Wednesday. And, I should be able to complete another project I am working on, building my own digital video projector.



I'm probably going to go to Houghton today to see a couple of movies and do some shopping. I want to at least see Million Dollar Baby and if I have time I want to see Be Cool.

My ankle is getting better. I can put about half my body weight on it, so I am off the crutches and using a cane.



I go back to work tomorrow.

My ankle has improved 500%. My magnet-therapy is working. I can almost put weight on the foot.