BootheNet.com

So, I was bored last weekend. So to give myself a project I decided that I needed to teach myself how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. It always seemed like something everyone that proclaims them self as a geek should know how to do.

I had always hated it as a puzzle, it can’t really be solved intuitively, it requires rote memorization of some specific algorithms to do well. Therefore, it really has nothing to do with intelligence, or spatial recognition, etc. I suppose there is some pattern recognition, in finding pieces quicker, etc.

Anyway, so I’ve gotten now to where I can solve it. I’m still pretty slow. About 1:30 to 2:00 per solve depending upon the scramble. I’m working on speeding up now, then I’ll play with some of the other methods that speed up even more.

Anyway, so my kids have seen me playing with this toy lately. I let them scramble it some while we’re watching wipeout or something and then I’ll solve it.

Last night. Olivia came in with a cube and asked me to solve it. She had found it in her room under her dresser. She has seen that I now know how to do this, and wanted her cube solved. I started to do so, and promptly got stuck. Upon further examination I found I had two white/orange edges, and looking even closer noticed I had two orange centers… There were several other anomalies as well.

I didn’t know how to tell her I wouldn’t be able to solve her cube… I instead had to tell her that her cube was broken and I had to get it fixed. Anyone know where you can buy a new set of stickers?

written by Chris \\ tags: Kids, Olivia, rubik's cube

I shot a little bit of Video this morning of the kids opening their Christmas Presents.

It’s really only of interest to those family and friends that know us. If you don’t, you’re liable to be quite bored with what you see here!
Hope you enjoy it though.

Thanks Chris.

written by Chris \\ tags: Christmas, Kids, Presents, Video

Val and I took a few pictures for Halloween. We had a couple other friends come and park their cars in our yard and trick or treat our neighborhood with us.

Link to the entire album is here.

written by Chris \\ tags: Halloween, Kids, Pictures

So, last weekend Valerie had to go to some 4H school so that she could help with the 4H Shooting Sports Program here in Oxford. Apparently according to 4H, National NRA Certified Collegiate Coaches are not qualified to teach 10 year olds how to shoot, so they have their own school certification that Valerie had to get.

Anyway, because of this, and because me and the kids didn’t have much else better to do that weekend, we decided to accompany her. I’ve always heard that Natchez was a nice town and a great way to spend the weekend.

The main draw of Natchez is apparently a bunch of Houses. We really didn’t have all kinds of Money or time to be be touring all these different houses. Plus the fact that for an adult and two kids, touring a house would cost us $26 per house for a half hour tour. I wasn’t going to be doing that all weekend. So, we decided to pick one. The most interesting one was recommended to me was Longwood.

Apparently Longwood is the largest Octagonal house in the nation. I don’t know how many Octagonal houses there are, but this one was pretty big, it would have been bigger, if it had ever been finished. Apparently after they started to build it, the civil war broke out and the workers all dropped their tools and ran away before they were done. And well, they just never came back to finish. The first floor was done, and that’s where the family lived for years, just never going to the upper floors.

I had an enjoyable time looking at the house, but really it’s just a house. I guess my practical nature just won’t get to excited about housing construction in the middle 19th century.

However, it just so happened that the day we were at Longwood, they closed early to have a Halloween Festival. Well, the kids wanted to come back to that, since this old house was all dressed up fancy for Halloween it did make for some fun pictures.

Other than that, we went on Sunday Morning and walked around Downtown, and the Natchez City Cemetary. Looked at the river, took pictures of more old houses (From the outside) and then met mom when she was finished with her school ate lunch and came home.

Not a particularly exciting weekend, but it was fun to get out, and walk around and do some things that aren’t typical of an Oxford Weekend. Maybe we’ll go back sometime when Val isn’t so busy and can walk around with us too. Or Vicksburg maybe. That sounds more interesting to me than houses. At least there you have battlefield tactics and stuff that you can look at.

Full Album link is here:

written by Chris \\ tags: 4H, Kids, Longwood, Natchez, Pictures, Vacation

I went out to Mow, and apparently Photo Booth was open on the computer when I came in, so I decided to take a look.

This album contains some incriminating photo evidence.

written by Chris \\ tags: Kids, Mac, Photo Booth, Pictures