The Family Site· Sun Jul 8, 10:31 PM
Just in case y’all didn’t know, www.paines.org is our current site. There lots of good stuff there for you to check out! – Nate & Jen
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Our nameless kitten· Fri Sep 1, 11:37 AM
Hey!
Here are those kitten pics I promised.
This is in the front yard about two weeks ago. A very adventurous kitten in the outdoors!
In case anyone doesn’t know already, those little tabs that you pull of the milk jug are a much loved cat toy.
There’s still not a set name for our new kitten. But we’ve been calling him Uri and Houdini at different times.
Later,
Nate
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Wedding Invitations· Tue Aug 29, 03:38 PM
Hi!
Well, the wedding invitations have gone out…and Jen and I are excited for you all to come celebrate with us!
Since you’re on this web site, you may well be interested in this one: www.paines.org. It has a few pictures and directions to the church and reception for your enjoyment.
All else is well here. Jen and I have a cute new kitten now…currently playing under my chair. We’ll put a picture or two up for you sometime.
Take care,
Nate
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Mice· Mon Aug 7, 09:47 AM
Good Morning,
Well, I’m back in the house after a year. It feels great!
And, it was only two days before a direct run-in with the local “wildlife”. I don’t use my truck much…and the bed had filled with rainwater. I dumped the water and was pulling back into my parking spot…and I saw a little pink thing on the ground.
It turned out that a mouse had made a house in the truck somewhere – maybe in front of one of the wheels? Anyhow, I hopped out of the truck to find one very scared mom mouse (so scared that she just sat in the middle of the driveway as I got within 2 inches of her) and her two very little babies. The mom then ran off and I picked up the babies and made a little temporary home for them near where she ran to. I hope she’ll come back for them.
Now that I think of it, this is probably the same mouse that built a house in my lawn tractor…causing me to have to take apart and clean out the top half of the engine cover last week. Hmm…
I snapped a quick shot for you. The babies were very cute and squeeky.
(That’s the top of a quarter for scale)
Later,
Nate
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San Francisco visit· Sat Jul 29, 08:08 PM
Hey all,
I’m in San Francisco right now checking out Jon’s new place. We had wyuga burgers (top quality beef) for lunch at the sweet place and I’ve still got a bit of protein high. Now some pics.
This is the front of Jon’s appt building. It’s in a nice spot in downtown SF.
This is a view of the south beach harbor as I went for an early morning walk (still on east coast time)
Later,
Nate
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Tesla Motors· Mon Jul 24, 02:54 PM
Driving home last night, I was just thinking that it’s about time for “the next big thing” with energy (nuclear) or transportation (cars that don’t need oil).
An aside: I’m pretty sure that the reason why the US government likes oil so much is because we need a booming oil market to prop up the dollar, extending US influence into the middle east. (Most oil that is bought and sold in the world is paid for in dollars.) I have a hunch that the US gov’t is using American oil purchase power as a component of our foreign policy. This is the opposite of what the TV says: that we meddle in the middle east as a way to get our oil fix.
Anyway, after driving and daydreaming last night, I came home to the lasest Wired magazine with an article about Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley car company startup making a battery powered car.
I don’t have any credible data to back my opinion, but I think this project could be a turning point for the transportation/petroleum industries. I’m looking forward to it.
Later,
Nate
P.S. FiOS is very nice. Soon Verizon will be offering TV over the fiber – I’ll keep you posted.
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You might have noticed...· Sat Jul 22, 12:09 AM
Hi All,
Well…no more business stuff on the plog. Gotta google clean when a sale is on the line.
Anyhow.
I have one thing to share tonight: pandora.com Very nice.
OK – one more thing: FiOS gets hooked up on Monday. 5 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up. Very very nice.
G’night.
Nate
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Wedding details to infinity and beyond· Tue May 2, 04:24 PM
We had a normal, healthy relationship…
Then, we got engaged.
Now all we talk about is wedding plans. Period.
We try to stop sometimes…to put a moratorium on wedding talk for an evening… but somehow, it sneaks back in every time!
So, yeah, that’s life for Jen and I right about now. Thankfully, we’re both pretty organized…and that makes it fun to work together on the details.
First detail, the date: Oct 21, 2006 in Devon, PA.
Now, there are a few details that we’re making decisions on right now that you southeastern PA people might have recommendations on. We’re looking for vendors who’ve given you good service and are reasonably priced.
– florist
– DJ
– photographer
– videographer
– bridesmaid dresses
– sunny sandy hurricane free honeymoon destinations
So, if you have recommendations on any of these things, we’d love to hear from you in a comment or email! Thanks!
Otherwise (ha!) life is normal! :)
Nate
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Our inside garden...a success!· Tue Apr 18, 08:53 AM
Good Morning!
Wow, we’ve had a week of awesome weather here in PA! Today or tomorrow, I’m going to be over at my house mowing the lawn and doing some general outdoor spring cleanup – I can’t wait! What a great time of year!
I think I’ll also transplant some of the vegetables that Jen and I started from seeds. Some have gotten big enough to cause their own demise… Like the bean plant that attached itself to my towel. Its grip on the towel as I walked off was stronger than its stem. Too bad. So, it’s time to give these plants some proper space.
I have to say though – the inside garden was a definite success. It wasn’t much work, it was fun & educational to watch, and it saved us a few bucks on our vegetable garden!
Here’s a bean bloom:
Have a great day!
Nate
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Engaged!· Wed Apr 12, 11:09 AM
Hey everyone! I’ve got some great news!
Yesterday, Jen and I got engaged!
Yep, after almost two years of dating, and 7 months of me being overseas, it was time!
The day was wonderful! The weather was perfect! And we had such a good time! I asked the big question on a little island at The Willows park in Newtown Square at around 10:00 in the morning. Jen said YES! and we spent the rest of the day celebrating with fun stuff and dinner in Philly.
Here’s some pictures to give you the feel:
Quite happily,
Nate (& Jen)
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Just for fun· Mon Mar 27, 10:42 AM
Morning!
Well, I’ve been busy…up on Long Island and down at the Jersey shore. I had a fabulous time all around and now I’m back and ready for a productive work week.
But…in the spirit of time off…here’s a few links, courtesy of my sister Kate, for your use and enjoyment:
1) In these days of petrol-gluttony, Microsoft’s come up with a nice little tool to find the cheapest local gas prices. MSN Gas Prices.
2) Monk-e-mails I don’t know how many people can watch this before it expires…but give it a try. :)
Later,
Nate
P.S. The beans are about 18” high after 14 days. Tomatoes about 4”. Peas and peppers, 2”.
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Something green for St. Patty's Day· Fri Mar 17, 09:29 AM
Morning!
Well, Jen and I can heartily recommend the peat pellet method…due to a hearty response from our little green plants. As of day 6, we have 27 signs of life…the first ones popping up after only 3 days. I guess it’s amazing to me because I’ve never started plants inside (at least not since the 3rd grade science fair…which is somewhat of a faded memory). Inside, you’re right there to marvel at the progress!
See for yourself:
And here’s their sun:
So, there’s your St. Patty’s Day green.
Take care,
Nate
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2006 Vegetable Garden· Sun Mar 12, 03:19 PM
It’s a bit rainy here after a beautiful, warm Friday and Saturday. Hope you’re all enjoying the day! Just two items:
1. Happy Birthday Jon! I just let two helium balloons go out of the back door…hopefully a good gust will end them in Huntsville before day end.
2. Jen and I started our 2006 vegetable garden yesterday…inside. We used peat pellets for the first time – funny looking little creatures. In 7 to 14 days, hopefully, I can post a pic of some very small peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Gardening is fun.
See ya,
Nate
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Cleansing Spring Greens· Fri Mar 10, 08:41 AM
Morning!
Well, Jen and I had a fun night last night! We went to our first ‘Basics to Whole Foods’ class – ‘Cleansing Spring Greens’. Jen found out about the class from her nutritionalist who is one of the chefs.
We learned tricks and techniques on how to buy and prepare some of the healthier greens out there…and why they are healthier. There were six recipes that we watched and then tasted. And a pretty thick stack of info to take home. It wasn’t natural nutso at all – just good practical info to help you feel comfortable cooking with some of those odd items in the produce isle.
So, if you’re interested, you can check out Gretchen’s web site, Journey2wellness. I think that the classes are around $50/ea and they’re held at “Viva La Chef” near Villanova U. It was a nice, laid-back time – about 10 women and 1 guy (yeah, me). And, for COS people, we saw Ilona there too! That was cool!
Here’s the blurb on last night’s class:
And here’s April’s blurb:
Later,
Nate
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Video Bonanza and XML· Wed Mar 8, 10:44 PM
There are two things to be said:
First, check out the Video Bonanza, my last post for a while on the Travel Log. I just put up 41 videos from various points on my world trek. Pick one and watch it!
Second, some of you may have noticed the little orange “XML” over on the left. It’s a bit nerdy, but I’ll explain. It’s a syndication feed for the site. (sometimes known as RSS) If you like to keep tabs on a bunch of blogs and news sources, you might want to follow the link and sign up for an aggregator like Google Reader. An aggregator will pull all of your electronic subscriptions into one place and show you only the new postings from each source. In any case, that’s what the “XML” is.
g’night,
Nate
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