Author Archives: Peter

Grilling, Take Two

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I am pleased to report that Grilling, Take Two was successful. This time, we used a new batch of real wood chips instead of charcoal, and used lighter fluid to get the fire started. The fire burned nice and hot, and we were able to get our burgers grilled to perfection. The weather was nice enough that we were able to sit outside and have a backyard picnic. Tonight’s menu:

Cheeseburgers (1/4 pound of 85% lean ground beef each, mixed with Worcestershire* sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, celery salt, and just a hint of sugar! Grilled and topped with jack cheese, ketchup, and tomatoes.)
Baked beans
Dill pickles
Ruffled potato chips

And to top it all off…

S’MORES!

With temperatures pushing 70F, it was a very nice dinner.

* A benefit of spending time in Massachusetts is that it’s not too hard to spell Worcestershire. 🙂

Now that’s service.

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One of our must-have PowerBook accessories is the ***RoadTools|http://www.roadtools.com/*** ***Traveler CoolPad|http://gallery.prwdot.org/grab_bag/P1020716***. This is a hard plastic pad designed to be placed under your laptop. It has a two-plate pivoting design, so that your laptop can easily be swiveled from side to side for enhanced viewing. The pad also raises your laptop to a comfortable viewing/typing angle, and increases airflow around your laptop so that it doesn’t run too hot. It comes in a slim design so that you can easily slide it into your laptop case. The Traveler also has a bigger cousin, the Podium, which is designed for more permanent fixtures like desks or presentation stands.

Recently, the pivot screw on our Traveler had been coming loose. This caused the pad to occasionally slip apart when the laptop was sitting on it. Luckily we never had any serious damage, but it was pretty annoying. Well, I decided to write in to RoadTools about it. I quickly received a response from Jim MacEachern at RoadTools, telling me that he thought I needed a new CoolPad. He said that he’d send one out the next day if I’d just provide a mailing address! Well, my ***new CoolPad|http://gallery.prwdot.org/grab_bag/P1020717*** arrived today, and I couldn’t be happier. The new model has an improved design that pivots more easily and doesn’t seem to come loose. It also has a more ***aggressive tilt|http://gallery.prwdot.org/grab_bag/P1020719*** than the previous model, allowing for better positioning of the laptop and improved airflow.

Anyway, I’m impressed with RoadTools’ customer service. Maybe there’s something about New England companies – RoadTools is located in New Hampshire, and like the Maine-based ***LL Bean|http://www.llbean.com/***, they offer lifetime warranties on all of their products. (LL Bean is known for doing free repairs on boots that are decades old. They’ll also do things like replace zippers free of charge.) I’m certain the reason that RoadTools was willing to send me a new CoolPad on good faith alone is that they wish to build a good reputation, and are counting on the fact that I’ll spread the word about them to help grow their business. And they’re right – I’ll heartily recommend their products to anyone with a laptop.

***Check out RoadTools!|http://www.roadtools.com/***

On The Vineyard

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fff|ggg|vineyard_20050529/P1020696|Five Gates|ggg|fff

Sunday and Monday were spent at the lovely cottage pictured here, in the ***MVCMA|http://www.mvcma.org/*** campground in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard. It was our first trip down, and the ‘unofficial’ start of the summer season. We spent most of our time working in and around the house, putting up wallpaper, painting, mowing, weeding, sweeping, washing, etc, etc. Generally trying to get it ready for the summer season. But there was time for relaxing, eating lunch out on the porch, walking down to the beach, and generally taking it easy. More of that to come later this summer – hooray!

I also discovered that my camera has a so-called “HDTV” mode, where it can take photos in a ‘widescreen’ format. Essentially, this is just the full-frame format, with the top and bottom cropped out on screen… but it does make it easier to take some creative photos.

Full gallery ***here|http://gallery.prwdot.org/vineyard_20050529***.

Congratulations, Zach and Andrea!

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fff|ggg|zach_andrea/P1020453|Zach and Andrea|ggg|fff

On Saturday we attended the wedding of our friends Zach and Andrea, in Cohasset, MA. We had a lovely time seeing all of the Townsend folks and hanging out with Corey, Julie, Ken, and Dianne. The reception was one of the nicest we’ve been to, and it had one of the first tolerable DJ’s in my memory. I’ve put photos from the event ***online for all to see|http://gallery.prwdot.org/zach_andrea***. Enjoy!

Lynch Park

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fff|ggg|lynch_park/P1020358|Lazy day at Lynch Park|ggg|fff

Today, we leapt at the chance to spend time outdoors in the sun and warmth! We drove to ***Lynch Park|http://www.bevrec.com/lynchpark.html*** here in Beverly, ate lunch, tossed the frisbee around a bit, walked around the park, and ***took some photos|http://gallery.prwdot.org/lynch_park***. It was great to get out there and get some sun after such a long stretch of “blah” weather.

Tonight we’re headed to a wedding in Cohasset, and then we’ll be on Martha’s Vineyard Sunday and Monday. We hope all of our friends in the USA enjoy their Memorial Day weekend, and for everyone else, enjoy your regular weekend! 🙂

Movie Meme

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I have been ***tagged by Michelle|http://mikao.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_mikao_archive.html#111695136792615966*** to do the ‘Movie Meme’. Here it is!

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video: 72
2) The last film I bought: Aladdin – I bought it as a gift for Becky last Christmas, but I enjoy it too.
3) The last film I watched: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4) Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):
Sneakers
Star Trek IV
Star Trek VI
Spy Game
Russian Ark

Ten Things I have NOT done:
1. Smoked anything
2. Drank alcohol
3. Bought a brand-new computer (amazing, huh?)
4. Bought a Windows PC
5. Had a computer system with all matching components (e.g. Apple monitor, Apple keyboard, Apple mouse, Apple computer)
6. Traveled to England
7. Flown in First Class
8. Been to “The South” (unless Florida counts)
9. Eaten in a restaurant on the top floor of a skyscraper or other tall building
10. Purchased an automobile

I tag ***Jenn|http://junefourteenth.blogspot.com/*** and ***JEREMY!!!|http://www.thebiggspicture.org/***

So…

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fff|ggg|grab_bag/P1020340|What is this?|ggg|fff

So… what is this bright stuff flooding through my window? Does this mean that spending the weekend on Martha’s Vineyard might not be such a bad idea?

ppp|forecast|ppp

Whee!

Two Sad Facts

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One: I have worn my raincoat every day for the past week.
Two: I have not worn my sunglasses for the past week.

Here’s to hoping there are some clear, sunny days on the horizon.

Update
I just had a cup of hot cocoa tonight. It was good, but… IT’S MAY 25!!! Hot cocoa?? And just what is up with having to turn on the heater??

Podcasts

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I’ll admit, I have been slow to join the ranks of Podcast listeners. Recently, though, I had heard about some good Podcasts, and decided I would try downloading a few. Turns out that I really enjoy them! To find out more about the Podcasts I’m listening to, read on.

(If you don’t know what Podcasting is, first proceed to ***Wikipedia|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting*** for a definition.)
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ConGRADulations

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fff|ggg|niagara_trip_day_2/IMG_8416|Mark|ggg|fff

Congratulations to my brother-in-law, Mark Carter, on his graduation from ***Asbury Theological Seminary|http://www.ats.wilmore.ky.us/***. Mark is taking a church job back home in Ohio, so he and Kirsten will be moving back there soon. Good luck!