Thursday, June 26, 2008

progressitude

after solving some slight issues related to plumbing and structure inherent in a 100+ year-old house...things are starting to look up.


the man (still not my brother) hard at work.


the semblance of a wall.


hey look, a floor!


my contribution.

Monday, June 23, 2008

updation

mike and i are NOT brothers.

mighty putty does NOT seal a pressurized leak.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

so it begins

the brave warriors suit up.

before the major demo began, we uncovered some of the forgotten treasures in the house. check that wallpaper.

bye bye, drop tile ceiling.

mike gets in the first shot.

"progress."

and click here for a nice feel for the before/during of the bathroom demo.

more soon.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

in preparation





Monday, June 09, 2008

thanks, mr. barnes

we all had THAT teacher.

the one that not only made you enjoy the classroom despite the subject matter, but also (as a friend of mine wrote) "got people to use brains they didn't know they had." the kind of teacher that cultivated such a safe and supportive environment in the classroom that you never thought twice about going to them with any problem, whether school-related or not.

and to a certain degree, the kind of teacher who would go to see pink floyd at arrowhead stadium and subsequently miss 3 days of school.

well, at olathe south high school, we had keith barnes. he was every bit that teacher and more. he taught biology and was never without a funny neumonic or story. he made us care about studying. he was the perfect balance of fun and challenging and people scrambled to land a spot in one of his coveted, college-prep classes.

frankly, he was the very definition of a beloved teacher.

i just received word last night, that mr. barnes passed away on friday.

there are other teachers that i had in high school that have died. i suppose the time for such things is inevitable. but, this one hurts. mr. barnes wasn't just a teacher. he was an icon. his "chicken lab" projects and year-end house parties were the stuff of legend.

there will never be another like him. the school was at a loss when he retired several years ago. now, the rest of the world shares that loss.

goodbye, mr. barnes. and thank you. you will be missed.

Monday, June 02, 2008

cade grades the trip to paris

weather (in general): B+
weather (while we attended the french open): D-
iberia airlines: C+
barcelona airport: F
hotel: B+
paris metro: A
perfomers on the paris metro trains: B (the guy with the puppet show really picked the rest of you clowns up)
4-day museum pass: A+
museé du louvre: C
museé d'orsay: A
museé rodin: A-
museé du l'orangerie: B
pompadou center: B-
the "1€, 1€" guys and the "excuse me, do you speak english?" girls: F
the eiffel tower: A
our lonely planet paris "encounter" book: A
the risto pizza romano restaurant on rue marbeuf: A+
night cruise on the seine: A
our pictures from said cruise: D or A; depending on your sense of humor
notre dame: B
sacre coeur: B-
promenade plantée: D
seeing james and brooke: A
parc asterix: INC
the head cold i came back with: F

more to follow.