Here’s a quick slideshow of this years Halloween photos. Not too many of them, but I wanted to test out this new slideshow tool I’ve discovered. (continue to see the photos) Read the rest of this entry »

Wooooo hoooo!! If you think scooting around, or even crawling is a good way to get around… you’ve got to try walking. It’s the best. I’ve been trying really hard to do it, and the other night I finally think I’ve got it figured out. I can go back and forth between my mom and dad. It’s so fun, I don’t want to stop. I’ll just keep going back and forth, sometimes I’ll just go around in a circle for a while. My dad took some video of me when I was really walking good, I mean more than just 3 or 4 steps. Now, if only I was tall enough to reach those cookies in the pantry! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve taken a side job for some extra cash, which involves some web development work, including MS SQL database stuff. Up until now, I’ve only worked on SQL databases that I have complete administrative access to… i.e., they are steps away from me and I’ve set them up personally. This means that I’m very comfortable with importing, exporting, backing up, restoring, etc…. up until this project.

Here’s the scenario: I have a .BAK file of the database that was hosted on a MSSQL Server 2005 at my previous employers data-center. I need to re-create that database on a hosted MS SQL Server 2005 system at GoDaddy.com. No worries, I thought. I will just create my new database, do a manual back up of it. Then restore it and point it to my .BAK file from the previous server. That concept is old-hat to me, as I’ve done it countless times… Read the rest of this entry »

OK, here we go. Some photos and video of our camping trip to Carlsbad State Beach. I’ve picked out some of my favorites, but you can see the lot of them here on flickr.com.

Here are Lauren and Jordyn getting some rides on the surfboard.
Both  of them did really well! I had to jump up over each wave with my camera in-hand… trying to keep it from getting splashed since I was up to my belly in the water.

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Every summer, for the past 10 years, we’ve been camping for 3 or 4 nights at the South Carlsbad State Beach. It’s our ‘end of summer’ tradition of sorts. Last year we skipTypically, you have to book your stay 7 months in advance… so, if you want to stay in August, you call on February 1st at 8am to get your spot. This is a very popular campground and the sites for the summer months usually sell out within 10-15 minutes. Somehow, we’ve always been lucky enough to get some dates booked. A few years ago, they started taking reservations online through the ReserveAmerica.com web site. We’ve had good luck with that method of booking for the past 3 years… until this year. Let me entertain you with our 2009 camping nightmare. This is a long read, but if you like feeling someone else’s pain, please take the time. Sit back, grab a beverage, and have a chuckle at my expense.

If you’re looking for photos, sit tight please. I haven’t had any time to process what shots I had a chance to take. You’ll have to check back later for those.

Day 0: Sunday

Check-in day… we’re all excited and have everything packed into the RV. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that. We usually just throw up some tents in our campsite and “rough it” when we camp there. I use the term “rough it” very loosely as there are restrooms and showers on premises, but for us, this is camping. This year, since we have Brody with us, we decided to rent an RV for the trip to make it a little more bearable for a 14-month-old. We got a great deal on a private rental from a friend-of-a-friend. We picked it up the previous night and spent the morning getting it all ready. So, back to the story: all packed up now, we’re rolling down Interstate 5 South to our destination. Read the rest of this entry »