# Ace's Musing

> The blog of Technical Leader, Educator, and Architect, Ace Gayhart. Written by Ace Gayhart — Technical Leader, Educator, & Architect — from Northeast Ohio, USA. Topics include engineering leadership, software architecture, education, AI in the workplace, and personal essays.

This file follows the [llms.txt](https://llmstxt.org/) convention to help language models and other automated readers find the most useful starting points on the site.

## Site

- [About](https://acegayhart.com/about/): Background on the author — a Principal Software Engineer at SmartSense by Digi with 25+ years of experience, and an adjunct instructor at Southern New Hampshire University.
- [Follow](https://acegayhart.com/follow/): Where to find Ace Gayhart on the social web.
- [Disclaimer](https://acegayhart.com/disclaimer/): Editorial scope and limitations — views are personal, not those of any employer or institution.

## Posts

- [Fifty, Pixar, and Cheese](https://acegayhart.com/2026/05/14/fifty-pixar-and-cheese/) (2026-05-14): At fifty, I had earned at least one trip whose itinerary was “look at things I think are cool.” For my birthday, Rachel and I planned a few days at COSI. Last June we went down for the Star Wars ex...
- [Five Hours and Zero Stories](https://acegayhart.com/2026/05/08/five-hours-and-zero-stories/) (2026-05-08): Last month I took the Southwest Chief out to Las Vegas and back for SmartSense’s company summit. Flying would have taken five hours and zero stories. The train took roughly forty hours each way, wh...
- [Choosing the Uncomfortable](https://acegayhart.com/2026/05/07/choosing-the-uncomfortable/) (2026-05-07): A teammate texted me about an escape room on Sunday night, the Sunday night before our work summit started. My first instinct was to figure out how to politely decline.
- [AI Didn't Write the Manual](https://acegayhart.com/2026/04/17/ai-didnt-write-the-manual/) (2026-04-17): One thing I wasn’t expecting to use AI for was call-in support. Several weeks ago, I could hear one of my PC fans starting to die. My computer is at least seven years old, so a failing component is...
- [AI Found $5,000 I Had Missed](https://acegayhart.com/2026/04/05/ai-found-5000-i-had-missed/) (2026-04-05): I have been using AI in my work for a while now. But some of the most practical wins have been personal.
- [Even Teachers Have to Learn](https://acegayhart.com/2026/03/26/even-teachers-have-to-learn/) (2026-03-26): I recently started reading “The First 90 Days” by Michael Watkins. I am only through Chapter 2, so this is not a review.
- [What the Dashboard Cannot See](https://acegayhart.com/2026/03/14/what-the-dashboard-cannot-see/) (2026-03-14): We recently introduced an AI-powered developer metrics system across all of our engineering teams.
- [When AI Makes Fraud Look Professional](https://acegayhart.com/2026/03/08/when-ai-makes-fraud-look-professional/) (2026-03-08): This has happened enough times now that it’s worth talking about.
- [Trip to COSI](https://acegayhart.com/2025/06/05/trip-to-cosi/) (2025-06-05): Recently, Rachel mentioned that she wanted to see the Unofficial Galaxies exhibit at COSI. Since I still have challenges with taking a break and use PTO, I said let’s spend a few days there.
- [New Year's 2025](https://acegayhart.com/2025/01/05/new-years-2025/) (2025-01-05): Happy New Year! Today’s the last day of a two-week vacation. I didn’t do anything productive. But it was nice to take a break from both work and teaching. As typical, my spouse and I played a game ...
- [Anniversary Week](https://acegayhart.com/2024/12/05/anniversary-week/) (2024-12-05): Last week was Thanksgiving in the US and, for my wife and I, our twenty-third anniversary. As we did last year, we stayed home for the week and caught up on some media. This time, I made sure to ke...
- [I Choose Hope](https://acegayhart.com/2024/11/13/i-choose-hope/) (2024-11-13): The 2024 US Election was held just over a week ago. I’m disappointed that the elections didn’t go the way I preferred. Regardless of what one thinks of the President-elect, he is undoubtedly a divi...
- [The Downside of Home Ownership](https://acegayhart.com/2024/08/24/the-downside-of-home-ownership/) (2024-08-24): The last several weeks of home ownership have been challenging. Earlier in the month, intense storms came through the area. Radically changing weather is relatively common in Northeast Ohio. But wh...
- [Happy Belated Birthday](https://acegayhart.com/2024/06/08/happy-belated-birthday/) (2024-06-08): My birthday was last month. I don’t particularly appreciate celebrating it because it tends to be overshadowed or grouped with other celebrations. For example, with its closeness to Mother’s Day, t...
- [Aurora Borealis](https://acegayhart.com/2024/05/11/aurora-borealis/) (2024-05-11): Yesterday was an unusual day. I was outside refilling bird feeders when my wife mentioned that we might be able to see sunspots. While I hadn’t heard the news about that, it made sense with an earl...
- [Total Solar Eclipse](https://acegayhart.com/2024/04/12/total-solar-eclipse/) (2024-04-12): When I was in grade school, I experienced my first solar eclipse. We were told it was a total solar eclipse. Still, we either weren’t in the path of totality, or the instructor couldn’t be bothered...
- [Winter Chill Out 2024](https://acegayhart.com/2024/02/26/winter-chill-out-2024/) (2024-02-26): Rachel and I have attended Cedar Point’s Winter Chill Out for a few years. It is an opportunity to see rides up close, sample some new food, and get a first-hand look at what’s in store for the upc...
- [New Year's 2024](https://acegayhart.com/2024/01/01/new-years-2024/) (2024-01-01): Happy New Year! I don’t know if one word can describe 2023. Looking at the news, especially the political bits, the year could have been better.
- [Anniversary Week](https://acegayhart.com/2023/11/26/anniversary-week/) (2023-11-26): This past week was Thanksgiving in the US and, for my wife and I, our twenty-second anniversary. Many people travel and visit family and friends this time of year. While we agreed we could use a br...
- [Echoes of the Night](https://acegayhart.com/2023/10/19/echos-of-the-night/) (2023-10-19): In the late ’90s, my after-hours work routine was a quaint reality. The office turned into a realm of solitude where the hum of 9-track tape drives and the glow of CRT monitors were my companions. ...
- [It's Not a Tumor](https://acegayhart.com/2023/08/18/its-not-a-tumor/) (2023-08-18): A few months ago, I noticed a lump on my chest. While it didn’t feel hard, I could still feel it under my skin. I saw a slight discoloration in the area as well.
- [Vacation to Columbus](https://acegayhart.com/2023/07/04/vacation-to-columbus/) (2023-07-04): Last week, my wife and took a vacation to Columbus, OH. She wanted to see the Tutankhamun exhibit at COSI. Aside from that, we didn’t have concrete plans and ended up visiting random parks and attr...
- [Trip to Boston](https://acegayhart.com/2023/06/18/trip-to-boston/) (2023-06-18): At the end of last month, I added two more states to my visited list: New York and Massachusetts. I was visiting my company’s headquarters in Boston.
- [Spam Processing](https://acegayhart.com/2023/04/29/spam-processing/) (2023-04-29): In my last post, I talked about writing a spam processing application with the aid of ChatGPT. That code is now available on my GitHub site. While I didn’t create it to make it available for public...
- [Updates](https://acegayhart.com/2023/04/24/updates/) (2023-04-24): It has been a while since I’ve written, as I have been doing other things. I’ve been staying away from various social media platforms. While I like being in the know, these platforms often incur an...
- [All Systems Clear](https://acegayhart.com/2022/12/26/all-systems-clear/) (2022-12-26): During my last physical, my doctor mentioned that 45 is now the recommended age for most people to start getting colonoscopies. I had expected to wait until I was fifty before I had to worry about ...
- [We Can See Clearly Now](https://acegayhart.com/2022/12/16/we-can-see-clearly-now/) (2022-12-16): After living in this house for over two decades, it is way past time for some much-needed improvements. This past summer, we were able to get a new roof. Just this week, we got new windows and doors.
- [Birthday Vacation](https://acegayhart.com/2022/05/23/birthday-vacation/) (2022-05-23): Last weekend, Rachel and I took an extended break to celebrate my birthday and have a mini-vacation at Cedar Point. We stayed in a cabin at Lighthouse Point. It was nice to look out at the water ev...
- [Goodbye Tri-C](https://acegayhart.com/2022/03/19/goodbye-tri-c/) (2022-03-19): Since 2009, I have worked at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). In 2021, I decided that it was time for a change and decided to leave Tri-C. While my full-time position ended on July 30, 2021, my ...
- [New Year's 2022](https://acegayhart.com/2022/01/01/new-years-2022/) (2022-01-01): Happy New Year! 2021 (and 2020) seemed to take both an inordinate amount of time as well as no time at all. I am sure that the pandemic is the biggest concern. I cannot believe that it has been ove...
- [Soup vs. Treadmill](https://acegayhart.com/2021/12/20/soup-vs-treadmill/) (2021-12-20): I am not an overly social person. So, self-isolating during the pandemic hasn’t been especially difficult for me. Of course, I have virtual meetings throughout the day and can walk downstairs to be...
- [Giving Thanks](https://acegayhart.com/2021/11/27/giving-thanks/) (2021-11-27): With Thanksgiving this week, it is an appropriate time to give thanks. First, I’m thankful for my wife. This week we celebrated our twentieth anniversary. With the ongoing pandemic, we felt that ou...
- [Docker Tutorial Troubleshooting](https://acegayhart.com/2021/10/13/docker-tutorial-troubleshooting/) (2021-10-13): My new job doesn’t start for several days. And, while I am spending some of my time teaching and relaxing, I don’t want to be completely idle. So, I’ve been spending part of my days either learning...
- [New Beginning](https://acegayhart.com/2021/10/06/new-beginning/) (2021-10-06): Just over two years ago, I brought a jade plant into work. When we made the shift to remote work, my boss took over the watering duties. Once it became apparent that we’d be out for several months,...
- [Interviewing](https://acegayhart.com/2021/09/14/interviewing/) (2021-09-14): I am currently knee-deep into the job application and interview process. I had forgotten how tiresome and sometimes frustrating this process can be. But, I am also reminded of how much things have ...
- [Vacation to Hocking Hills](https://acegayhart.com/2021/08/13/vacation-to-hocking-hills/) (2021-08-13): Happy Friday the 13th! Recently, my wife and I returned from a five-day stay in Hocking Hills. I don’t remember the last time we took a proper vacation. But, it was nice to take time off. Last year...
- [Time for a Change](https://acegayhart.com/2021/07/30/time-for-a-change/) (2021-07-30): In October 2008, I lost my job at GED Integrated Solutions. While I didn’t relish the hour-long commute each way, I still enjoyed the work. It was a drastic change from working in the telecommunica...
- [Happy Independence Day](https://acegayhart.com/2021/07/04/happy-independence-day/) (2021-07-04): I hope you have a safe and happy Independence Day.
- [Huel](https://acegayhart.com/2021/06/25/huel/) (2021-06-25): I am far from a picky eater. I’m just as happy eating junk food as I am eating healthier options. However, I have challenges with both portion control and motivation.
- [Cedar Point](https://acegayhart.com/2021/06/08/cedar-point/) (2021-06-08): Since I was on vacation on Monday, we decided to go to Cedar Point for the day. Actually, we planned to go over the weekend. But, with the current pandemic restrictions in place, we had to make res...
- [Memorial Day](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/31/memorial-day/) (2021-05-31): Happy Memorial Day! I am thankful for those who have served in the military to protect our freedoms. I’m particularly grateful for my dad, who happens to also be celebrating a birthday today.
- [On Vacation](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/24/on-vacation/) (2021-05-24): One thing I do not do an excellent job is using all my vacation days. I receive about fourteen holidays with federal holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. On top of that, I re...
- [No Hello](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/17/no-hello/) (2021-05-17): With the pandemic, more people are working remotely. This leads to more conversations via technology instead of in-person discussions. While I’ve gotten more emails than usual, there has been a not...
- [Doorbell Cam](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/14/doorbell-cam/) (2021-05-14): Recently, I switched to SimpliSafe for my alarm system. But, I had an issue with the doorbell buzzer: it was always buzzing. I was able to disconnect the transformer, which stopped both the buzzing...
- [Happy Birthday](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/13/happy-birthday/) (2021-05-13): I turned forty-five today.
- [Passing](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/11/passing/) (2021-05-11): Today marks the first anniversary of my mom’s passing. I’m not quite sure how I feel, but I’m missing a lack of closure.
- [Fully Vaccinated](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/10/fully-vaccinated/) (2021-05-10): Today, my wife gave me another early birthday present: a t-shirt that reads “fully vaccinated club.”
- [Moss Ball Pet](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/07/moss-ball-pet/) (2021-05-07): Even though my birthday is about a week away, Rachel decided to give me an early present. We were in the living room when she received a delivery notification. Even though I knew she was buying me ...
- [Alarmed](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/07/alarmed/) (2021-05-07): In 2006, we put an alarm system on our house. While the system worked fine for several years, it was well overdue for an upgrade. Many of the sensors were battery-powered. As the sensors aged, they...
- [Pi-hole](https://acegayhart.com/2021/05/04/pi-hole/) (2021-05-04): I’ve been a fan of small computing devices such as a Raspberry Pi. At one point, I wanted to have a display mounted to my office door where passersby could see my schedule at a glance or schedule a...
- [Clear as a Bell](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/30/clear-as-a-bell/) (2021-04-30): This morning, I attended a free, monthly webinarhosted by Ratliff & Taylor. They provide services such as career transition and executive searches. I first ran across them in 2014 when I starte...
- [Remote Reboot](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/26/remote-reboot/) (2021-04-26): When I’m done with the workday, I like to reboot my work computer. This gives me a clean slate to start the day. It also makes it easier for the networking team to push out workstation updates duri...
- [Vaccinated](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/26/vaccinated/) (2021-04-26): This morning, I received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Just like the first dose, it was a quick and easy trip. I spent longer in the waiting room after the shot than it took me to regist...
- [Excel Extract](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/23/excel-extract/) (2021-04-23): I just completed a recent project where the lynchpin was sending data to another entity. My preference is to use an API or web service. This setup makes it easier for instant feedback. However, if ...
- [Google Analytics for Subdomains](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/20/google-analytics-for-subdomains/) (2021-04-20): Adding Google Analytics to a site is relatively straightforward. You create an account, get the tracking code, and add it to your site. I know that my site is a low-traffic site. So, tracking page ...
- [Old Blog Entries](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/16/old-blog-entries/) (2021-04-16): I was finally able to migrate my old blog entries. Well, as much as I cared to. I pulled much of my blog from archive.org. But, it didn’t archive all the posts. For some of the posts, I only have t...
- [Index Cards](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/10/index-cards/) (2021-04-10): One of my ongoing struggles is how to keep track of everything that I need to do. I’ve tried different systems such as Trello and bullet journals. Currently, I’m keeping most of my stuff in Asana.
- [Return to Work](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/08/return-to-work/) (2021-04-08): A “return to work” was recently announced. Since I’ve been working remotely for more than a year now, it is really a return to the office. I last worked in the office full time in mid-March 2020. I...
- [Vaccine](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/05/vaccine/) (2021-04-05): Today I received the first dose of my COVID-19 vaccine. I could have received it a bit sooner. But, since my wife and I are still in isolation, it wasn’t critical that we received it immediately. W...
- [Fancy Zones](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/03/fancy-zones/) (2021-04-03): At home, I have a dual-monitor setup. When writing software, I have my IDE (integrated development environment) full screen on one monitor and the resulting website or application on the other. Whe...
- [Registration](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/03/registration/) (2021-04-03): My birthday is coming up. That means it is time to renew the registration on our vehicles. I was able to renew mine online. But, my wife’s vehicle needs an e-check first. Since the start of the pan...
- [Removal from Archive.org](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/03/removal-from-archive-org/) (2021-04-03): I like the Wayback Machine. It has saved me multiple times when researching an issue only to find that the website is defunct. But, after deprecating my old site, silverjaguar.com, I wasn’t sure if...
- [In Progress](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/02/in-progress/) (2021-04-02): I am still working on my blog. In fact, my to-do list keeps getting longer:
- [Hello (Again) World](https://acegayhart.com/2021/04/01/hello-again-world/) (2021-04-01): I started blogging back in 2003 after moving from Northern California to Northeast Ohio. Since I was suddenly working from home, I felt the need to fill the time spent commuting. Of course, it didn...
- [Changes](https://acegayhart.com/2019/10/01/changes/) (2019-10-01): When I started my Toastmasters journey five years ago, I did not quite know what to expect. I started on June 1, 2014, when an impending work presentation left me riddled with anxiety. Write a comp...
- [Pharaoh's Curse](https://acegayhart.com/2011/01/08/pharohs-curse/) (2011-01-08): After nearly a quarter century, I have beat Pharaoh’s Curse! But, I am getting ahead of myself.
- [One Wish](https://acegayhart.com/2011/01/08/one-wish/) (2011-01-08): If you could be granted a single wish, what would you wish for? For some reason, this thought popped into my mind a few weeks ago as I was drifting off to sleep. I have yet to find a good answer.
- [Happy New Year 2011](https://acegayhart.com/2011/01/01/happy-new-year-2011/) (2011-01-01): It has been quite a while since I have written on my blog. With everything going on my life, it has been difficult to sit down to write a few paragraphs. And, much of what I would like to write is ...
- [How To Not Repair A Street](https://acegayhart.com/2010/04/21/how-to-not-repair-a-street/) (2010-04-21): On Friday, April 16, my wife and I captured an event that inadvertently became a media sensation. One of our security cameras captured a road construction accident. While attempting to cut the stre...
- [With Spring Comes Changes](https://acegayhart.com/2010/03/31/with-spring-comes-changes/) (2010-03-31): It is difficult to believe that another month has already passed. Fortunately, we did not experience too many problems. As usual, we had our ups and down. But, it averaged out in the end. For examp...
- [Short Month](https://acegayhart.com/2010/02/28/short-month/) (2010-02-28): I know that February is a short month. However, it seemed to go quicker than usual. As typical, we had a bunch of snow. Once weekend, the snow almost prevented us from leaving the house. I am still...
- [New Year's 2010](https://acegayhart.com/2010/01/31/new-years-2010/) (2010-01-31): Every start of a new year, it is a weird feeling to write a different year on documents and such. It is even weirder to write years in a different decade. As with most years, the prior year seems t...
- [Merry Christmas 2009](https://acegayhart.com/2009/12/28/merry-christmas-2009/) (2009-12-28): I hope that everyone had a good Christmas. They say that this is the time of year we get together with friends and family. However, most of my friends out of state, getting together can be difficult.
- [Wicked](https://acegayhart.com/2009/11/24/wicked/) (2009-11-24): To celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary, my wife and I went to see Wicked at Playhouse Square. Both of us had read “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” (which parallels ...
- [Valentine's Day 2009](https://acegayhart.com/2009/02/14/valentines-day-2009/) (2009-02-14): Whew! Things have been crazy here. My main computer at home had problems a few weeks ago. I ultimately had to wipe the hard drive and start over. I did not lose any data; I have good backups. Howev...
- [Inauguration Ceremony](https://acegayhart.com/2009/01/20/inauguration-ceremony/) (2009-01-20): Rachel and I went to the Lorain Palace Theatre to watch Barak Obama’s Presidential Inauguration Ceremony. I am not really a political person. However, I had never been to that theater. In addition,...
- [New Job](https://acegayhart.com/2009/01/15/new-job/) (2009-01-15): I started working at Tri-C (Cuyahoga Community College) last Monday as a Programmer/Analyst in the Distance Learning department. So far it has been a fun and interesting experience. The first day w...
- [New Year's 2009](https://acegayhart.com/2009/01/01/new-years-2009/) (2009-01-01): I hope everyone had a good holiday. Unlike most years, Rachel and I actually dressed up and went out to celebrate. It is the first time since our wedding since she has worn a dress! She looked wond...
- [Merry Christmas 2008](https://acegayhart.com/2008/12/29/merry-christmas-2008/) (2008-12-29): I hope everyone had a good Christmas or whichever holiday your family celebrates. It has been a crazy past couple of weeks. Pizza Hut finally contacted me about our past dining experience. They sen...
- [Anniversary Couple Of The Day](https://acegayhart.com/2008/12/11/anniversary-couple-of-the-day/) (2008-12-11): Recently, Rachel and I received mail stating we won a contest. Considering the recent problems with our bank account, we initially thought it was a fraud. But, after doing some research, we found t...
- [Weekly Update](https://acegayhart.com/2008/12/08/weekly-update/) (2008-12-08): It has been a busy past few days. On Wednesday, I started my next school term. This term I am taking IT350: SQL, IT274: Intermediate C#, and EL205: Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) II. The PLA class...
- [How To Meet The Chief Of Police](https://acegayhart.com/2008/12/04/how-to-meet-the-chief-of-police/) (2008-12-04): On Monday, I was reviewing transactions on my bank’s website. I noticed two charges at a local gas station that totaled over $540! I knew that they did not belong to me. I know gas is expensive, bu...
- [Thermal Shock](https://acegayhart.com/2008/12/02/thermal-shock/) (2008-12-02): On Sunday night, I was upstairs programming when I heard Rachel call me from downstairs. I hurried downstairs to see what the problem was. She pointed to the candle warmer on the living room table.
- [Happy Thanksgiving 2008](https://acegayhart.com/2008/11/28/happy-thanksgiving-2008/) (2008-11-28): Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! Still being unemployed, it is difficult to be thankful. However, I understand that times are tough for everyone. I am optimistic that I will be employed again shortly ...
- [Happy Anniversary](https://acegayhart.com/2008/11/26/happy-anniversary/) (2008-11-26): On Monday, Rachel and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. Actually, “celebrated” is probably not accurate. With our current situation, it does not seem appropriate to celebrate. But, we d...
- [Squirrel Vs. Kelly](https://acegayhart.com/2008/11/20/squirrel-vs-kelly/) (2008-11-20): On more than one occasion, our beagles have caught a squirrel. Yesterday, we let the dogs out to go the bathroom. I looked out a minute later and Kara and Kelly were playing tug-of-war with a squir...
- [I Have A Pounding Headache](https://acegayhart.com/2008/11/13/i-have-a-pounding-headache/) (2008-11-13): One of the benefits (if you can call it that) of being unemployed is that I can sleep in. Of course, I cannot goof off all day, but I no longer have to wake up before 5:00 AM. This morning Rachel d...
- [Election Results 2008](https://acegayhart.com/2008/11/05/election-results-2008/) (2008-11-05): So, it looks like we have a new President. Considering how yesterday was Election Day, it is not that surprising. It is also not surprising that Barack Obama won. Looking at just the popular vote, ...
- [Happy Halloween 2008](https://acegayhart.com/2008/10/31/happy-halloween-2008/) (2008-10-31): I know that today is Halloween, but it does not feel like it. It is probably because Rachel and I did not buy any candy this year to hand out (or for us). With me being unemployed, that tends to pu...
- [First Snow?](https://acegayhart.com/2008/10/27/first-snow/) (2008-10-27): It is bad enough being out of work. Being sick is only worse. Over the weekend, I had major breathing problems. It felt like my chest was in a vice. Fortunately, I am feeling much better. At least ...
- [Last Day At Ged Integrated Solutions](https://acegayhart.com/2008/10/20/last-day-at-ged-integrated-solutions/) (2008-10-20): I go in to work today like normal. But, it was taking an awful long time to log into the network. I got down on my hands and knees to trace my cable back to the switch. Everything was connected as ...
- [Waiting In The ER](https://acegayhart.com/2008/10/14/waiting-in-the-er/) (2008-10-14): I need a break. A few Fridays ago, Rachel started feeling sick. A few days later, I was also sick. I was out of work from Monday through Wednesday of last week. As I spent the majority of my time e...
- [Sitting In Traffic](https://acegayhart.com/2008/09/25/sitting-in-traffic/) (2008-09-25): On the way to work, I hear about an accident on the radio. The accident must have been a big one as officials blocked three of the traffic lanes. Sure enough, traffic halted once I was a few miles ...
- [Hurricane Ike](https://acegayhart.com/2008/09/15/hurricane-ike/) (2008-09-15): Yesterday, Rachel and I were relaxing. The weather started okay, but quickly became quite windy. Apparently, remnants of hurricane Ike was passing through. A number of small branches and twigs came...
- [Race For The Cure](https://acegayhart.com/2008/09/15/race-for-the-cure/) (2008-09-15): Recently, Rachel asked if I would like to volunteer for the 15th Annual Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure. Other coworkers of Target were going to help and she wanted to help too. Having frien...
- [Short School Break](https://acegayhart.com/2008/09/12/short-school-break/) (2008-09-12): On last Saturday, I turned in the last final for my classes this term. I am happy to state that I received an “A” for all three classes this term. This means that I will continue to maintain my 4.0...
- [Jury Duty](https://acegayhart.com/2008/09/10/jury-duty/) (2008-09-10): A few days ago, my mom called to say I received some official-looking notice via the mail. She forwarded over to me. It was a form to determine my eligibility for jury duty. While I would not mind ...
- [Sunrise, Sunset](https://acegayhart.com/2008/09/08/sunrise-sunset/) (2008-09-08): Rachel and I wanted to get out of the house for a while. The only problem is that we do not have a lot of money. Therefore, any overnight trip is out of the question as it is expensive to board our...
- [2008 Crystal Achievement Award](https://acegayhart.com/2008/09/04/2008-crystal-achievement-award/) (2008-09-04): Recently, Window & Door Magazine awarded my employer, GED Integrated Solutions, the 2008 Crystal Achievement Award for “Most Innovative Machine.” It was for our i3 Smartload Welding System.
- [Flour Power](https://acegayhart.com/2008/08/25/flour-power/) (2008-08-25): I have been baking bread recently. After doing the math, I found that it is not cost-effective to bake your own bread. At least if you buy the ingredients in small quantities. Unfortunately, the se...
- [Mmm Cornbread](https://acegayhart.com/2008/08/12/mmm-cornbread/) (2008-08-12): Not to be outdone by my recent bakery prowess (all of four loaves of bread), Rachel made some cornbread last night. It was very good. We have been trying to eat healthier. This means that now we ac...
- [The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread](https://acegayhart.com/2008/08/04/the-greatest-thing-since-sliced-bread/) (2008-08-04): Lately, I have wanted to make some bread. Rachel and I used to own a bread machine. However, I did not like having a gaping hole in one end of the loaf. As such, we sold the machine around the time...
- [The Detour](https://acegayhart.com/2008/07/24/the-detour/) (2008-07-24): I live in Lorain, OH and commute to Twinsburg, OH (about an hour away) each day. For those familiar with the area, I take 611 to 90 to 176 (Jennings) to 480. On Monday, I was on 90 near the 176 exi...
- [The Dark Knight](https://acegayhart.com/2008/07/24/the-dark-knight/) (2008-07-24): Rachel and I went to watch “The Dark Knight” yesterday afternoon. The movie was great. Heath Ledger did an excellent portrayal of “The Joker.” I was a bit concerned that we would not make the movie...
- [Off To The Races](https://acegayhart.com/2008/07/14/off-to-the-races/) (2008-07-14): After a few months of being without my treadmill, it is finally up and running again. My mishap a few months ago fried the main circuit board. Last week a replacement board arrived. I think it took...
- [Independence Day 2008](https://acegayhart.com/2008/07/04/independence-day-2008/) (2008-07-04): So far, today has been a quiet day. I imagine that as it gets darker outside, it will become louder. Several of my neighbors have been setting off fireworks for the last few months. I enjoy firewor...
- [Microsoft Certified Professional Developer](https://acegayhart.com/2008/06/27/microsoft-certified-professional-developer/) (2008-06-27): Last week, I was supposed to take my Microsoft 70-548: Designing and Developing Windows-Based Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework exam. On Monday of last week, I had finished with my...
- [Slinkity](https://acegayhart.com/2008/06/20/slinkity/) (2008-06-20): “What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, And makes a slinkity sound?” A Slinky of course! At my desk at work I have a small slinky collection (about a dozen). Last night Rachel and were browsing...
- [American Diabetes Association Tour De Cure 2008](https://acegayhart.com/2008/06/08/american-diabetes-association-tour-de-cure-2008/) (2008-06-08): Rachel and I recently go back from the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure. This is the third year that we have done the bicycle ride. Like last year, it was at Blossom Music Center. And, ...
- [I Am Now Microsoft Certified](https://acegayhart.com/2008/06/04/i-am-now-microsoft-certified/) (2008-06-04): Last Wednesday, I took the Microsoft 70-536: .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation exam. I was a bit nervous. The testing center is located at the Lorain County Community College. I...
- [Memorial Day](https://acegayhart.com/2008/05/27/memorial-day/) (2008-05-27): I hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend. I did not do too much. I mostly stayed inside and worked on school work. I am off of work for the next couple of weeks. So, I am hoping that things will ...
- [Can You Hear Me Now?](https://acegayhart.com/2008/05/19/can-you-hear-me-now/) (2008-05-19): I switched to Vonage several months ago. It is about half the cost of using the local land line provider. Since voice mail is a free feature, I no longer have to use an answering machine. Of course...
- [Time Marches On](https://acegayhart.com/2008/05/13/time-marches-on/) (2008-05-13): This past week has been relatively quiet. So far, my schoolwork has been easy; I do more complex stuff at work. Rachel and I recently finished The Simpsons Game on the Wii. I am still working on Su...
- [Wii Have A Problem](https://acegayhart.com/2008/05/04/wii-have-a-problem/) (2008-05-04): Recently, the US Government approved a stimulus payment to us taxpayers. The payment schedule was based on the last two digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security Number as well as if the taxpayer’s ...
- [Gas Shortage](https://acegayhart.com/2008/05/02/gas-shortage/) (2008-05-02): I know that gas prices are steadily increasing. The only solution is to stop using gas. One could use a vehicle that uses an alternative energy source (such as electricity or human power).
- [How Easy Is It To Ignite Gasoline?](https://acegayhart.com/2008/04/23/how-easy-is-it-to-ignite-gasoline/) (2008-04-23): I do not normally think about how easy it is to ignite gasoline. I know that flame (as from a match) or a single spark can ignite gasoline. Anyway, as I was standing at a gas pump, I started to con...
- [Back From The Hospital](https://acegayhart.com/2008/04/16/back-from-the-hospital/) (2008-04-16): During a routine checkup, our veterinarian noticed that Kara’s teeth needed cleaning. As all three dogs have the same routine, we are not quite sure why her teeth were significantly worse than the ...
- [Everything Is Coming Up Aces](https://acegayhart.com/2008/04/14/everything-is-coming-up-aces/) (2008-04-14): I finished my two classes, “Introduction to Web Design” and “Networking Concepts,” last week. Today, I received my official grade report. As typical for technical/computer classes, I aced both clas...
- [To Everything Turn, Turn, Turn](https://acegayhart.com/2008/04/07/to-everything-turn-turn-turn/) (2008-04-07): As the weather is starting to turn, it is time to change the direction of our fan blades. However, I can never remember which way it should be blowing. So, I figured that I would write it down now....
- [Going Green](https://acegayhart.com/2008/04/01/going-green/) (2008-04-01): As Kermit the Frog often said, “it ain’t easy being green.” Isn’t that the truth? Yes, I try to recycle and such, but it is not enough. A blogger mentioned that her calculated carbon footprint is a...
- [Running Into A Wall](https://acegayhart.com/2008/03/31/running-into-a-wall/) (2008-03-31): I know that runners occasionally talk about “hitting a wall.” This usually means a sudden loss of energy. Yesterday, I “hit the wall” while jogging on my treadmill. I know I am in poor shape (right...
- [Jaguar Faucets](https://acegayhart.com/2008/03/28/jaguar-faucets/) (2008-03-28): I have been noticing a number of people reaching my site who are looking for “Jaguar faucets.” At first, I was wondering if the famous car maker was branching out. I might not be able to afford a c...
- [The President's Challenge](https://acegayhart.com/2008/03/19/the-presidents-challenge/) (2008-03-19): The two most popular days to start an exercise regime are “tomorrow” and “Monday.” Tomorrow kicks off the National President’s Challenge. The goal is to get the nation up and moving. We (mostly me)...
- [Led Controller: Digg The Digg Button](https://acegayhart.com/2008/02/15/led-controller-digg-the-digg-button/) (2008-02-15): I was looking for some side projects when I ran across an ad on craigslist. The name sounded familiar, but I could not place it at first. Little did I realize that it was David Randolph of Systm an...
- [American Diabetes Association's Tour De Cure](https://acegayhart.com/2008/02/15/american-diabetes-associations-tour-de-cure/) (2008-02-15): It is that time again to start accepting donation for the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure. It is essentially a cycling fundraiser for Diabetes. The 2008 event will be our third time. R...
- [Keyboard Changes](https://acegayhart.com/2007/11/28/keyboard-changes/) (2007-11-28): As a software developer, I spend an inordinate amount of time pounding away at my keyboard. Recently, my wrists have started to bug me while at work. Several years ago, I got a couple of natural ke...
- [I Can't See The Tv](https://acegayhart.com/2007/11/05/i-cant-see-the-tv/) (2007-11-05): I just received the following e-mail from Dell about a TV we had purchased from them a few years ago:
- [Drinking And Driving](https://acegayhart.com/2007/11/01/drinking-and-driving/) (2007-11-01): Today was a good day at work. One of our vendors bought lunch for a few of us. In addition, he asked us out to dinner. I typically refuse dinner requests. They are usually 15-20 minutes out of my w...
- [Halloween Costumes](https://acegayhart.com/2007/10/25/halloween-costumes/) (2007-10-25): Rachel and I have been invited to after Halloween party at my boss’s house in a few weeks. Costumes are not required, but they are preferred. I am not much of a party person; I generally prefer a s...
- [Keep Your Own Trash](https://acegayhart.com/2007/10/18/keep-your-own-trash/) (2007-10-18): Rachel found some pizza in our back yard. Apparently, the people who live behind us were throwing pizza over into our yard. Our dogs, of course, find the food, eat it, and get sick. I have been tem...
- [Credit Card Company Conundrum](https://acegayhart.com/2007/08/24/credit-card-company-conundrum/) (2007-08-24): Due to lack of income, I have been behind on my bills. Consequently, I receive a number of phone calls from credit card companies, banks, and whatnot looking for money. This, of course, is understa...
- [Lack Of Entries](https://acegayhart.com/2007/08/23/lack-of-entries/) (2007-08-23): I guess if I actually read my own blog, I would realize that there had not been any entries this month. I am not sure if anyone really reads this on a regular basis, or at least there have been no ...
- [Back To Pa](https://acegayhart.com/2007/07/17/back-to-pa/) (2007-07-17): I am back in Pennsylvania this week on business with a few coworkers. We left yesterday. Since we’re staying at a golf resort and motel, my coworkers are planning to do some golfing this week. Anyw...
- [Back To Work](https://acegayhart.com/2007/07/09/back-to-work/) (2007-07-09): After not being in the office since June 14, it was weird going to the office today. I will have to get used to waking up early again. Falling asleep at 1:00 AM and getting up at 4:00 AM will not l...
- [Independence Day 2007](https://acegayhart.com/2007/07/05/independence-day-2007/) (2007-07-05): As always, I hope that everyone had a safe holiday yesterday and that you did not lose any fingers and toes. When I was in Pennsylvania last week, I was tempted to bring home some fireworks. But, w...
- [Heat Wave](https://acegayhart.com/2007/07/03/heat-wave/) (2007-07-03): Okay, it is not quite that hot. But, with an air conditioner that is not currently working, it seems like it is. The compressor stopped working yesterday. As I am currently having financial problem...
- [Statistics Finals](https://acegayhart.com/2007/06/30/statistics-finals/) (2007-06-30): Being on the road for the last two weeks did not give me a lot of time to study. Consequently, my homework and exam grades for the last two weeks suffered. At least I passed the course and I have a...
- [The Long And Winding Road](https://acegayhart.com/2007/06/29/the-long-and-winding-road/) (2007-06-29): Day 1
- [Travelin' Man](https://acegayhart.com/2007/06/24/travelin-man/) (2007-06-24): Starting last Tuesday, I was away on business. As typical, the trip did not start out as smoothly as hoped. My coworkers and I were supposed to leave by 9:00 AM. Unfortunately, we left closer to no...
- [Digg The Digg Button](https://acegayhart.com/2007/06/16/digg-the-digg-button/) (2007-06-16): I don’t know if anyone of you watches systm. Anyway, on the last half of Episode #10, they showed an LED panel that reflects the number of Diggs a particular website has received. My program was lu...
- [Tour De Cure 2007, The Aftermath](https://acegayhart.com/2007/06/11/tour-de-cure-2007-the-aftermath/) (2007-06-11): Yesterday, Rachel and I rode in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure 2007. We signed up to do the 10K ride. We had a good time, but we should have done more preparation. Last year, 10K ...
- [Timber](https://acegayhart.com/2007/06/08/timber/) (2007-06-08): Last night, we heard a large crash and went outside to investigate. Well, we tried to go outside. A large branch from one of our oak trees had fallen. It fell on the roof, the awning over our back ...
- [Work Shift](https://acegayhart.com/2007/06/05/work-shift/) (2007-06-05): Recently my employer instituted a policy that would let employees work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days. At first, I was against it. My days seem long enough as it is; I certainly did ...
- [Time In A Bottle](https://acegayhart.com/2007/05/08/time-in-a-bottle/) (2007-05-08): I suppose that the title of my last blog post, “Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is,” is rather appropriate. My last post was in March. I generally like to do at least one post a month. Anyway,...
- [Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?](https://acegayhart.com/2007/03/14/does-anyone-really-know-what-time-it-is/) (2007-03-14): I hope that everyone (in the US and Canada) “sprung forward” their clocks on Sunday. I did not have any computer problems; all of the computers’ patches were up to date. But, I got a bit tired of c...
- [Taxes](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/25/taxes/) (2007-02-25): I got most of our taxes filled today. Well, at least I thought I did. Shortly after I had sent in the returns electronically, I got an e-mail that they were rejected. It turns out that I had mistyp...
- [Code Monkey](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/22/code-monkey/) (2007-02-22): I am still enjoying work. I keep thinking, “I can’t believe that they are paying me for having fun.” It is good to have a job that you enjoy. At any rate, I think that most of my coworkers like hav...
- [Mp3 Mania](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/19/mp3-mania/) (2007-02-19): I am an eccentric music lover. At last count, I had about three thousand songs in my collection of MP3s ripped from CDs. I could listen to my collection twenty-four hours a day for over a week befo...
- [Valentine's Day Blizzard 2007](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/15/valentines-day-blizzard-2007/) (2007-02-15): I can finally say that I have experienced my first blizzard. On Tuesday, the snow started coming down heavy in the afternoon. By the time it was time to go home, the roads had lots of snow. Rachel ...
- [Sitting On The Tiger](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/09/sitting-on-the-tiger/) (2007-02-09): Rachel and I went out to lunch today. I had received a gift card to a local restaurant. Unfortunately, they were closed today. But, it was okay. Rachel and I had a good meal at a different restaurant.
- [Domain Switch](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/07/domain-switch/) (2007-02-07): I finally got my domain name, silverjaguar.com, switched to a new web-hosting provider. I liked old provider, but as they did not offer discounts for multiple domains, I needed to switch. I like my...
- [Super Sunday](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/04/super-sunday/) (2007-02-04): Today was the Super Bowl. As I am writing this entry a few days late, I cannot remember who was actually playing. (My wife, who must have a good memory, said it was the Colts vs. the Bears.) At any...
- [Chipotle](https://acegayhart.com/2007/02/02/chipotle/) (2007-02-02): Rachel and I went to Chipotle (or as we like to say, “chip-poodle”) for the first time. It is kind of like a fast food restaurant in that you stand in line to order your food. Imagine if Subway was...
- [Parents Visiting](https://acegayhart.com/2006/06/12/parents-visiting/) (2006-06-12): Recently, my mom Ellen, step dad Fred, and nephew Cody, flew out to California to pay Rachel and I a visit. While they were only here for a few short days, we did manage to have some fun. We visite...
- [Tour De Cure 2006](https://acegayhart.com/2006/06/04/tour-de-cure-2006/) (2006-06-04): Before I talk about our ride, I just want to say thank you for all of your donations! Rachel and I raised $675.35 for our team (Team Beagles). The American Diabetes Association has already raised $...
- [Birthday Party Remix](https://acegayhart.com/2006/05/20/birthday-party-remix/) (2006-05-20): This week was a bit more exciting than the previous week. Of course, exciting does not necessarily mean enjoyable. On Tuesday, I had two filling replaced. Even though half my mouth and tongue were ...
- [Birthday Blowout](https://acegayhart.com/2006/05/13/birthday-blowout/) (2006-05-13): This week was quiet. I recently replaced the faucets in the bathroom. The downstairs bathroom faucet was a pain. I ended up having to remove the sink just to disconnect the water lines. After spend...
- [Please Support Us In Tour De Cure!](https://acegayhart.com/2006/05/10/please-support-us-in-tour-de-cure!/) (2006-05-10): Rachel and I recently accepted the challenge of cycling in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure fund-raising event. We are taking part in this event because we believe in and support th...
- [Galleries Galore](https://acegayhart.com/2006/05/04/galleries-galore/) (2006-05-04): I just finished putting up a new photo gallery. I still have a bit of tweaking to do. But, it is done for the most part. The new gallery can handle more pictures and has a better slideshow feature....
- [Moving Down The Road](https://acegayhart.com/2006/04/28/moving-down-the-road/) (2006-04-28): Now that Rachel and I got our bikes back from the shop, we are back to riding. The repair shop did a good job with our bikes. Rachel is able to shift again, and my brakes are much smoother now.
- [Breakout](https://acegayhart.com/2006/04/23/breakout/) (2006-04-23): Two brown, black, and white dogs were last seen in the vicinity heading eastbound. After several attempts, the escapees were finally apprehended.
- [Born Again](https://acegayhart.com/2006/04/14/born-again/) (2006-04-14): A week or so ago, I left my dinosaur plant by the window for some much needed sunlight. Unfortunately, for the plant, I left the window open all night. When I checked on it the next day, it had shr...
- [Upgrades](https://acegayhart.com/2006/04/07/upgrades/) (2006-04-07): I have wanted to have a security system at the house for a while. But, with estimates into the thousands, it was way outside our price range. Recently, Rachel picked up a coupon that waved most of ...
- [Spring Forward](https://acegayhart.com/2006/04/02/spring-forward/) (2006-04-02): I hope that everyone remembered to “spring forward” his or her clocks an hour for Daylight Saving. We changed all of our clocks last night. Therefore, after turning off this morning’s alarm, I “fel...
- [Have Your Cake And Eat It Too](https://acegayhart.com/2006/03/23/have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too/) (2006-03-23): Boy am I stuffed! I just got back from Don Tequilas (a local Mexican restaurant). The last time Rachel and I went there, I dropped my business card into a box for a free lunch. I was not expecting ...
- [Pickles And Sour Cream](https://acegayhart.com/2006/03/17/pickles-and-sour-cream/) (2006-03-17): Rachel and I like to tease our dog Emily. In fact, we have vanity plates with her two favorite phrases: “Treats” and “Car Ride.” Of course, the teasing is all in good fun. My father-in-law Ken gave...
- [Dinosaur Plant](https://acegayhart.com/2006/03/06/dinosaur-plant/) (2006-03-06): I have wanted a plant for my home office for quite awhile now. However, as I do not have much of a “green thumb” I decided to get something simple. I found a “dinosaur plant” online. It only grows ...
- [Valentine's Day 2006](https://acegayhart.com/2006/02/17/valentines-day-2006/) (2006-02-17): Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day! Rachel and I did not do anything extremely exciting. However, we did go out to dinner with some family members. I got Rachel a necklace and some earrings. She got m...
- [Snow Day](https://acegayhart.com/2006/02/12/snow-day/) (2006-02-12): We have not had a lot of snow here lately. I was a little depressed because this is the first year that I am well prepared. Each winter season, I add a bit more to my winter weather wear collection...
- [Heavy Lifting](https://acegayhart.com/2006/02/05/heavy-lifting/) (2006-02-05): One of my resolutions for this year was to ease back into my exercise program. This week I added strength training (weight lifting) and started with the lightest weights that I have. I can easily l...
- [Mixed Up Drinkers](https://acegayhart.com/2006/01/30/mixed-up-drinkers/) (2006-01-30): Lately Rachel and I have been experimenting with some mixed drinks. Last week we tried some strawberry-rum-vodka concoction. The drink tasted okay, but we had a heck of a time trying to make it. If...
- [Happy Birthday Rachel](https://acegayhart.com/2006/01/23/happy-birthday-rachel/) (2006-01-23): Last Friday, we celebrated Rachel’s birthday at Yanni’s (our favorite restaurant). There were probably a dozen or so people there. We ate dinner and cake. I did not take many pictures, but I did ge...
- [Beware Of Programmers Carrying Screwdrivers](https://acegayhart.com/2006/01/16/beware-of-programmers-carrying-screwdrivers/) (2006-01-16): Last weekend was very quiet especially compared to the prior weekend. Rachel and I slept in late on Saturday. Around 10:00 PM, we finally got out of the house to do some much-needed grocery shoppin...
- [A Visit To The Emergency Room](https://acegayhart.com/2006/01/09/a-visit-to-the-emergency-room/) (2006-01-09): Last Saturday was supposed to be a relaxing day. I had planned to sleep in late and work ahead on my schoolwork. Of course, things do not always go according to plan. Around 1:00 PM, Rachel woke me...
- [New Year's 2006](https://acegayhart.com/2006/01/03/new-years-2006/) (2006-01-03): I hope that everyone had a better New Year’s celebration than I did. Rachel and I spent New Year’s Eve at my mother-in-law Pam’s house. We spent the time watching movies and removing Christmas tree...
- [Abcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz](https://acegayhart.com/2005/12/28/abcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz/) (2005-12-28): Hi, I hope that everyone had good Christmas or whatever holiday (or holidays) that you celebrate. This year’s holiday season was dampened both by the recent loss of my father-in-law Ken and the the...
- [Media Bonanza](https://acegayhart.com/2005/12/14/media-bonanza/) (2005-12-14): The recent theft of our outdoor Christmas decorations has set off a minor media bonanza. Shortly after the theft, we noticed a letter to the editor of The Morning Journal (a local newspaper. The wr...
- [Tigger Theft](https://acegayhart.com/2005/11/27/tigger-theft/) (2005-11-27): Yesterday, we took down our inflatable turkey and put up our inflatable Christmas Tiggers. They did not last long. Sometime between midnight and 6:00 this morning, someone stole them. We, of course...
- [Happy Thanksgiving](https://acegayhart.com/2005/11/24/happy-thanksgiving/) (2005-11-24): I hope that everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Rachel and I slept in most of the day. Around noon, we decided to get up and do something. We met Rachel’s mom, brother, and grandmother at l...
- [Sleep Paralysis, Anniversary, And Beans](https://acegayhart.com/2005/11/23/sleep-paralysis-anniversary-and-beans/) (2005-11-23): A few weeks ago, I received a ham from the HoneyBaked Ham Company. After removing as much meat as I could, I was still left with a rather large ham bone. Instead of tossing the bone, I decided to u...
- [First Snows](https://acegayhart.com/2005/11/18/first-snows/) (2005-11-18): Yesterday, we got our first snows of the cold weather season. While the Snow Belt just east of us got six to eight inches, we only received flurries. Rachel kept bugging me to write something about...
- [Durango Despair](https://acegayhart.com/2005/10/25/durango-despair/) (2005-10-25): Recently, we took our Durango for its first oil change. Even though we had some issues with Wal-Mart before, we took another chance and had them do the oil change. Rachel dropped the Durango off an...
- [School Daze](https://acegayhart.com/2005/10/24/school-daze/) (2005-10-24): Today I started my last class for the year. It is another English class. As English is not my favorite subject, I usually dread the classes. Fortunately, the class is only eight weeks long. So, if ...
- [Catching Up](https://acegayhart.com/2005/10/14/catching-up/) (2005-10-14): I am still trying to catch up from my recent vacation. I had several pages of material to write for my blog. I had written a number of entries on the trip to the West Coast, but somewhere along the...
- [Back From Vacation](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/26/back-from-vacation/) (2005-09-26): Four train rides, one bus ride, and one car ride later, and Rachel and I are back home. It was a long trip. Maybe next time we go back to the West Coast we will either fly or take a longer vacation.
- [Waiting In Chicago](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/25/waiting-in-chicago/) (2005-09-25): When we woke up this morning, Rachel and I did not feel like having breakfast (we were still full from last night’s dinner). So, we skipped breakfast, took our showers, and got all of our stuff rea...
- [From Utah To Colorado](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/24/from-utah-to-colorado/) (2005-09-24): Today’s journey on the train was uneventful (read relaxing). Rachel and I got up around 6:30 and headed down to breakfast. I do not remember what she ate, but I had a light breakfast. All of this r...
- [On The Train Home](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/23/on-the-train-home/) (2005-09-23): The taxi ride from the hotel to the train station was interesting. The station was only two or three blocks away. But, with all of the traffic and with half the streets being closed, it took us at ...
- [Last Day In A Hotel](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/23/last-day-in-a-hotel/) (2005-09-23): Today is the last day in a hotel room before Rachel and I get back on a train. We are eager to get back home after being on vacation for so long. But, at the same time, we do not want our vacation ...
- [Let The Gambling Begin](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/23/let-the-gambling-begin/) (2005-09-23): Rachel and I woke up later than we normally do; we were on vacation and did not really have anything important to do. We started our morning with wonderful breakfast delivered by room service. An h...
- [On The Road To Reno](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/22/on-the-road-to-reno/) (2005-09-22): After another restful night in our hotel and a filling breakfast from the local cafe, Rachel and I packed up our belongings and prepared to travel again. We stopped back by mom and step dad’s house...
- [Working On Vacation](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/21/working-on-vacation/) (2005-09-21): Rachel and I again had breakfast at the local cafe before I headed to the office. I spent four hours there working and talking with my coworkers. Around lunchtime, I said that I would treat the off...
- [One Last Reunion For The Night](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/20/one-last-reunion-for-the-night/) (2005-09-20): After a brief rest at the hotel, Rachel and I headed to my mom Ellen and step dad Fred’s house for dinner. My mom told my younger half-sister Megan that she should come over for dinner, but she did...
- [Back To Work](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/19/back-to-work/) (2005-09-19): Just after 1:00 PM, Rachel and I decided to grab some lunch and head towards my office. We made a quick stop at a nearby Taco Bell / Pizza Hut express before journeying to the office. As the office...
- [More Reunions](https://acegayhart.com/2005/09/19/more-reunions/) (2005-09-19): Around 10:00 AM, I called my mom, Ellen, to see how things were going. We talked for a while before I told her that I was busy and that I would have to call her back. She said that she would be at ...
- [My Tattoos](https://acegayhart.com/2005/08/18/my-tattoos/) (2005-08-18): For those observant people who check my photo gallery, you may have noticed something: I had my body tattooed, not once, but twice! The people who have seen my tattoos have asked many questions abo...
- [The Tattoo](https://acegayhart.com/2005/07/03/the-tattoo/) (2005-07-03): My wife Rachel is diabetic. She is supposed to advertise that fact with a medical alert bracelet or necklace so that paramedics would be better able to treat her. However, while she had some items ...
- [Truck Returned And No Solicitation](https://acegayhart.com/2005/01/23/truck-returned-and-no-solicitation/) (2005-01-23): We finally got our truck back on Friday. The first thing that I noticed was that the truck was a lot cleaner; there was no salt or other road grime plastered to the body. The total repair cost was ...
- [Rachel's Birthday And Emily's Graduation](https://acegayhart.com/2005/01/21/rachels-birthday-and-emilys-graduation/) (2005-01-21): On Tuesday, Rachel and I decided to do some shopping. I had run out of paper in the midst of a printing job. Also, we decided to spend the gift cards that we received during Christmas. We went to B...
- [Accident And Trees](https://acegayhart.com/2005/01/10/accident-and-trees/) (2005-01-10): After sliding off the road less than a month ago, on Saturday Rachel managed to duplicate her performance. Fortunately, she was not hurt this time either. However, the truck did not fare so well. T...
- [Happy New Year](https://acegayhart.com/2005/01/04/happy-new-year/) (2005-01-04): I hope that everyone had a fun and safe holiday season. With the exception of large amounts of snow, everything was quiet here. Since Rachel and I knew what we bought each other, I was not too surp...
- [Lots Of Snow](https://acegayhart.com/2004/12/23/lots-of-snow/) (2004-12-23): I do not mind shoveling snow, however today was a bit of a pain. It had been snowing quite a bit yesterday. We had shoveled our driveway twice as well as shoving my parents-in-law’s driveway twice....
- [First Day Of Winter](https://acegayhart.com/2004/12/21/first-day-of-winter/) (2004-12-21): Today is the first day of winter. Surprisingly, today has been warmer than the last couple of days. Yesterday, the temperature dropped to seven degrees and it never got higher than twenty degrees. ...
- [Let It Snow](https://acegayhart.com/2004/12/13/let-it-snow/) (2004-12-13): Last night when Rachel and I were watching TV, the wind started to howl. I think that we were getting gusts of up to fifty miles an hour. In addition, the temperature dropped at least five degrees ...
- [Overflow](https://acegayhart.com/2004/11/20/overflow/) (2004-11-20): Well, I thought I was done writing for the night, but I have another entry. Our upstairs toilet overflowed. I was able to shut the water off to the toilet, but not before water started to run throu...
- [Back From Vacation](https://acegayhart.com/2004/11/20/back-from-vacation/) (2004-11-20): I have been on vacation this past week. Rachel and I went up to Casino Windsor to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. The trip there took about four hours. The major delay was the route we too...
- [Busy, Busy, Busy](https://acegayhart.com/2004/11/06/busy-busy-busy/) (2004-11-06): (This is a long entry so please bear with me). This week has been extremely busy. But, as it is nearly midnight, the week is fortunately almost over. On Sunday, Rachel and I handed out candy for Ha...
- [Graduation, Lunar Eclipse And Long Lost Relatives](https://acegayhart.com/2004/10/28/graduation-lunar-eclipse-and-long-lost-relatives/) (2004-10-28): Yesterday was Kara and Kelly’s last day of advanced training classes. They both got diplomas. Like last time, they got their pictures taken as well. The upper-left corner shows Rachel and myself ho...
- [Vacation And School](https://acegayhart.com/2004/10/27/vacation-and-school/) (2004-10-27): The company that I work for doesn’t allow me to carry over vacation years from one year to the next. Consequently, I am taking Wednesdays off for the rest of the year just to burn up my vacation da...
- [Id Tags And Inflatables](https://acegayhart.com/2004/10/22/id-tags-and-inflatables/) (2004-10-22): When we got our dog Emily, we had problems seeing her in our backyard at night. She has a dark coat and at the time we didn’t have much lighting in the back yard. So, we picked up a flashing ID tag...
- [Long Overdue Update](https://acegayhart.com/2004/10/14/long-overdue-update/) (2004-10-14): I guess I’m overdue for a new blog entry. So, here goes: As you may (or may) not have noticed, autumn is upon us. Keeping with the season, I’ve changed the background of my web site. Leaves on a we...
- [Stitches Removal And Birds](https://acegayhart.com/2004/09/29/stitches-removal-and-birds/) (2004-09-29): I know that beagles will eat most everything; lately I have caught one or more of the dogs eating acorns, cicadas, dragonflies and other miscellaneous bugs. Yesterday, however, Kara caught herself ...
- [Stitches](https://acegayhart.com/2004/09/20/stitches/) (2004-09-20): I was supposed to have a nice and quiet weekend. I was relaxing in bed on Saturday morning when I got a call from Rachel at work. She said that she had cut her hand and that she was coming home so ...
- [Locked Out Of The House](https://acegayhart.com/2004/09/15/locked-out-of-the-house/) (2004-09-15): Yesterday, after work, I was sitting outside with the dogs. When Rachel came home from work, I asked if she wanted to take the dogs for a walk. She said that she did not mind. She went inside to gr...
- [License Reinstated](https://acegayhart.com/2004/09/13/license-reinstated/) (2004-09-13): Rachel got her driver’s license reinstated on Thursday (though we didn’t find out until I called the BMV on Friday). This means that I no longer have to spend two hours of my day (one hour in the m...
- [Course Catalog](https://acegayhart.com/2004/09/08/course-catalog/) (2004-09-08): I was going through some online documents at Saint Leo. One of the documents that I found was the course catalog. Unfortunately, the document was over a hundred and seventy pages long making it a b...
- [Suspended License](https://acegayhart.com/2004/09/05/suspended-license/) (2004-09-05): This has been a rather long weekend. Rachel got a notice from the Ohio BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) on Friday saying that her driver’s license is suspended. After some investigation, I found the ...
- [Back To School](https://acegayhart.com/2004/08/30/back-to-school/) (2004-08-30): Today was my first day at Saint Leo University. My first class is an orientation class. The class is progressing fairly smoothly; I’ve already completed my second (out of eight) week of assignments...
- [A Good Weekend](https://acegayhart.com/2004/08/22/a-good-weekend/) (2004-08-22): On Thursday, we picked the pictures of Kara and Kelly. It was hard to decide which pose to take out of all four, so we ended up taking all for poses. In fact we ordered more prints of each pose. I ...
- [Puppy Graduation](https://acegayhart.com/2004/08/10/puppy-graduation/) (2004-08-10): Yesterday was Kara and Kelly’s last class of basic puppy training. Their final command is BOW. When they bow, they lay down on their front two paws while keeping their rear in the air. So now, in a...
- [Back From Vacation](https://acegayhart.com/2004/08/04/back-from-vacation/) (2004-08-04): This past weekend, Rachel, Pam (my mother-in-law), Lynn (Pam’s sister), Nana (Pam’s mom) and I took a road trip to Kentucky. We were going to see some of Rachel’s relatives and to do some sightseei...
- [Diploma](https://acegayhart.com/2004/07/21/diploma/) (2004-07-21): Well after working for four years I’m finally finished with my two-year degree. My diploma and final transcript came in the mail yesterday. I’m glad that it’s over. I am, however, a bit annoyed wit...
- [School And Weight Training](https://acegayhart.com/2004/07/13/school-and-weight-training/) (2004-07-13): After a couple of years of working on my Associate’s Degree, I’m finally finished! The school received my final project last Friday and I got my grades yesterday. I earned a 100 percent on my final...
- [Reading, Cleaning, Rearranging And Exercising](https://acegayhart.com/2004/07/12/reading-cleaning-rearranging-and-exercising/) (2004-07-12): In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been doing a lot of reading recently. To that end, I’ve created a web page that tracks what I’m reading, what I’ve read, and what I’m about to read. If you’re curi...
- [The Dryer](https://acegayhart.com/2004/07/09/the-dryer/) (2004-07-09): Our dryer conked out on us; it still heats, but it no longer spins. Consequently, one of our comforters got slightly burnt/melted. Fortunately, the house didn’t burn down. So, until we got a new dr...
- [Central Air](https://acegayhart.com/2004/07/06/central-air/) (2004-07-06): We recently got central air installed. Previously we had two window units; one was in our bedroom and the other was in my office. The upstairs one worked great. Unfortunately, since it was close to...
- [Happy Belated Independence Day](https://acegayhart.com/2004/07/05/happy-belated-independence-day/) (2004-07-05): I hope that everyone had a safe Fourth of July. I spent the afternoon and most of the night at my parents-in-law’s house. Since we were going to be away from the house for more than a couple of hou...
- [Out Of The Hospital](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/21/out-of-the-hospital/) (2004-06-21): Kelly’s doing much better. When we took her to the hospital, she just sat on our laps, hardly moving. When we picked her up this morning, she was moving around a lot. She was even wagging her tail ...
- [Happy Father's Day](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/20/happy-fathers-day/) (2004-06-20): Last night I received a card and the first season of A-Team on DVD from Rachel. That should last me a few days. Today, from my dogs, I received a new shirt and a box of chocolates (which probably w...
- [Strawberry Popcorn And A Computer](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/17/strawberry-popcorn-and-a-computer/) (2004-06-17): Since it’s summer again, Rachel decided to plant some strawberry popcorn again. Out of four seeds only one plant survived. That is until very recently. Kara had decided that it must have been food ...
- [Pet Training](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/16/pet-training/) (2004-06-16): Rachel and I decided to enroll Kelly and Kara in an eight-week basic training course at PETsMART. They’re slowly learning with us. But it would probably be more beneficial for them (and us) to have...
- [Home Again](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/11/home-again/) (2004-06-11): We brought home the dogs from being boarded yesterday. The person at the front desk said that they were good, for the most part. Apparently Kara and Kelly managed to crawl underneath the barrier se...
- [Shopping](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/09/shopping/) (2004-06-09): Since we had some free time last night, Rachel and I decided to do some shopping. We got a cover for Kara and Kelly’s crate (just for when we need to transport them). Of course we got them another ...
- [On Vacation](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/08/on-vacation/) (2004-06-08): Me, on vacation? No, not really. Rachel had to recertify in food safety. Since they were holding the recertification at the Cuyahoga Falls Target and since she had to be there for a few days, we de...
- [Data Recovery](https://acegayhart.com/2004/06/07/data-recovery/) (2004-06-07): I had one of my hard drives crash on me. Since I had some information that I couldn’t reproduce by any other means, I sent my drive into a data recovery place called DTI Data. I chose them because ...
- [Bad Day](https://acegayhart.com/2004/05/17/bad-day/) (2004-05-17): Well, my day had been going good. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. The hard drive on my home computer died on me. Most of what I lost isn’t a big deal. However, I did lose all my digital p...
- [Dog Updates](https://acegayhart.com/2004/05/04/dog-updates/) (2004-05-04): It’s been over a month since our two new additions. We had been treating Kelly for tapeworm, but she is now clean. Also, both Kara and Kelly have gained some weight since their last vet appointment...
- [A Year In Ohio](https://acegayhart.com/2004/04/19/a-year-in-ohio/) (2004-04-19): Well, it’s been just over a year since my wife and I moved from California. So far, most everything has been going great. There have been the occasional problems, but that’s to be expected. It’s be...
- [Reinstalling](https://acegayhart.com/2004/04/08/reinstalling/) (2004-04-08): Grr… I’ve got a Windows 98 SE machine that I’ve used for several years. I have only had one problem with it that is until now. Lately, it has been locking up and the most inconvenient spots. It’s g...
- [Fencing And Wiring](https://acegayhart.com/2004/04/08/fencing-and-wiring/) (2004-04-08): Well, it’s another rainy day in Lorain. Of course, that’s not too unusual. Fortunately, we got most of the cement work done around our new gate. We still have to do a bit of patching though. Since ...
- [Digging A Hole](https://acegayhart.com/2004/03/30/digging-a-hole/) (2004-03-30): My father-in-law and I spent the weekend on a new gate. We spent Saturday measuring, buying supplies and digging holes. Well, we tried to dig holes anyway. Unfortunately, the concrete and the fill ...
- [Relaxing On The Bed](https://acegayhart.com/2004/03/26/relaxing-on-the-bed/) (2004-03-26): Well, it has been nearly a week and the new dogs are starting to settle in nicely. They’re still not quite housebroken, but they haven’t made a mess in the house within the last few days. Of course...
- [Puppy Pics](https://acegayhart.com/2004/03/23/puppy-pics/) (2004-03-23): As promised, here are a few pictures of our new babies. Kara and Kelly are tri-colored (brown, black and white) Beagles. Kara has a darker back and the white patch on her head goes to the right. Ke...
- [Counting Calories](https://acegayhart.com/2004/03/22/counting-calories/) (2004-03-22): I’ve been exercising for several weeks, but I wasn’t getting the results I had hoped for. Sure, my blood pressure has dropped from the Stage 3 Hypertension range down to the High Normal range and I...
- [New Additions](https://acegayhart.com/2004/03/22/new-additions/) (2004-03-22): After trying for some time, my wife and I have a new addition to the family. Actually, we have two new additions. Their names are Kara and Kelly. When things settle down, I’ll post some pictures.
- [Wind And Relics](https://acegayhart.com/2004/03/05/wind-and-relics/) (2004-03-05): Today has been extremely windy. This morning the wind blew a picture off of our staircase and ended up shattering a drinking glass. We had hoped that was extent of the damage, but as you can see in...
- [New Monitor Cable](https://acegayhart.com/2004/02/20/new-monitor-cable/) (2004-02-20): I can see! I can see! For a few months, the color on my monitor kept changing. Some days the white would be blue, red or yellow. Sometimes, it would keep changing. It was getting very annoying not ...
- [Valentine's Day](https://acegayhart.com/2004/02/16/valentines-day/) (2004-02-16): I hope that everyone had a good Valentine’s Day. Due to some work conflicts, my wife and I weren’t able to go anywhere exciting, but we still had a good time. I bought her a bear holding a vase tha...
- [House Fire](https://acegayhart.com/2004/02/11/house-fire/) (2004-02-11): I was working upstairs yesterday (like I do everyday) when I heard a siren. It sounded fairly distant so I didn’t think anything of it at first. A few minutes later, it sounded a bit louder, but st...
- [Walking](https://acegayhart.com/2004/01/28/walking/) (2004-01-28): Lately, I’ve been taking walks around our block. It helps me get away from my desk. Also, it’s good exercise. My wife has been voicing her concerns though. She doesn’t like me going outside when th...
- [Faucet, Wrong Number And Cotton Candy](https://acegayhart.com/2004/01/25/faucet-wrong-number-and-cotton-candy/) (2004-01-25): Since my wife had to work Friday night, I thought that would be a great time to install the faucet. I turned off the water to the house and let the remaining water in the lines drain out. The hot w...
- [Happy Birthday Rachel](https://acegayhart.com/2004/01/20/happy-birthday-rachel/) (2004-01-20): My parents-in-law and I celebrated my wife’s birthday yesterday at the Texas Roadhouse. This was my second or third time there (I don’t remember). The place is a bit nosy and the atmosphere is a bi...
- [Snow, Ice And A Faucet](https://acegayhart.com/2004/01/19/snow-ice-and-a-faucet/) (2004-01-19): It has been a fairly cold couple of weeks. I couldn’t see out the side mirrors of my truck because they were coated with ice. Fortunately for me since I work at home my wife does most of the drivin...
- [Stress Ball And Exercising](https://acegayhart.com/2004/01/05/stress-ball-and-exercising/) (2004-01-05): One of the gifts that I received this Christmas (and probably one of the most used) is a yellow stress ball. The ball has several error messages and annoying phrases that could stress people out. H...
- [Happy New Year](https://acegayhart.com/2004/01/01/happy-new-year/) (2004-01-01): I’d like to say happy New Years to everyone out there. I hope that everyone had a safe time last night. My wife and I had a nice dinner with my parents-in-law at our house. We had some turkey (left...
- [Mmm... Turkey....](https://acegayhart.com/2003/12/19/mmm-turkey/) (2003-12-19): My wife and I were planning to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving, but our schedules didn’t allow for it. So, for Christmas Eve we’re going to cook a turkey. Actually, we already cooked the turkey last...
- [Frozen Bushes](https://acegayhart.com/2003/12/16/frozen-bushes/) (2003-12-16): Yesterday was an interesting day temperature-wise. The temperature would go a few degrees above freezing for a bit and then drop back down below freezing. The nature result was icicles. Along the r...
- [Christmas 2003 Letters](https://acegayhart.com/2003/12/14/christmas-2003-letters/) (2003-12-14): This week we got our Christmas letters out in the mail. If you don’t receive a letter within the next few weeks (and would like to receive a letter), just send an email with your mailing address. I...
- [Advanced Search](https://acegayhart.com/2003/12/10/advanced-search/) (2003-12-10): I’ve added an advanced search feature to my website. I was getting tired of not having the ability to sort the results. I’m still testing this feature, so use at your own risk.
- [Printer Problems](https://acegayhart.com/2003/12/10/printer-problems/) (2003-12-10): I was trying to print out some letters yesterday on my printer (I have an Epson Stylus C80) and I was having some problems. After printing about a dozen letters, I noticed that I started to get som...
- [Shoveling Snow](https://acegayhart.com/2003/12/05/shoveling-snow/) (2003-12-05): Well, today was the first day that I had to shovel snow. About half of the driveway had about an inch or two of power. The remainder of the stuff (what I’m shoveling in the picture) is mostly slush...
- [Cell Phone Invoice](https://acegayhart.com/2003/12/04/cell-phone-invoice/) (2003-12-04): After living in Ohio for over six months, I finally decided to change my cell phones from California phone numbers. Since I didn’t want to pay the early termination fees and since I couldn’t afford...
- [Snowballs](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/29/snowballs/) (2003-11-29): After watching the rain all day Thursday, it was kind of nice that the weather changed to something else on Friday. As you can see from the picture, we got just enough snow to coat the ground. I th...
- [Happy Thanksgiving](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/27/happy-thanksgiving/) (2003-11-27): My wife and I spent the afternoon at my father-in-law’s parents’ house for Thanksgiving. I spent some time helping to rewire their television setup. Afterwards, we had a nice and very filling dinne...
- [Anniversary Continued](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/26/anniversary-continued/) (2003-11-26): On Monday night, my parents-in-law took my wife and I to Olive Garden. I think that’s the first time that I’ve ever eaten there (I don’t remember). Anyways, the food was great. I had their Tour of ...
- [Icicles](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/24/icicles/) (2003-11-24): Well, we’ve got our first icicle, three of them actually. Okay. So they’re only about a quarter inch in length. But they’re still our first. It was about 60 degrees this morning. Then it dropped to...
- [Popfile Continued](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/24/popfile-continued/) (2003-11-24): I’ve been using a mail-sorting program called POPFile for the last couple of weeks. So far it’s been great. Since I last reset the statistics (on 11/16/2003), it has been 98.66% accurate. Out of ju...
- [Anniversary](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/24/anniversary/) (2003-11-24): Since my wife and I were both unable to take time off this week (due to the Thanksgiving holiday), we decided to take vacation time last week to celebrate our two-year anniversary (today). We were ...
- [Popcorn Popper](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/15/popcorn-popper/) (2003-11-15): My parents-in-law recently got back from their vacation. They drove through Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia. Anyway, when they came back, they gave me a few souve...
- [Snowing](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/13/snowing/) (2003-11-13): The snowfall is starting to get a bit heavier. It doesn’t seem like snowflakes though. The consistency is somewhere between snowflakes and hail. It’s similar to Dippin’ Dots. Oooh. Now I want some ...
- [Windy Day And Night](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/13/windy-day-and-night/) (2003-11-13): It has been a very windy day and night. Last night, we came home to find that our garbage can (and the trash inside it) was missing. We walked up and down the street but we couldn’t find it. We did...
- [First Ornament And Karoke](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/10/first-ornament-and-karoke/) (2003-11-10): We put our first ornament on our tree. It says “First Christmas In Our New Home 2003”. I think that this was very appropriate for our first ornament. The rest of the ornaments, however, will most l...
- [Outlook Problems](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/10/outlook-problems/) (2003-11-10): Lately, I’ve been having problems with Microsoft Outlook. I wanted to modify Outlook today (the startup page). However, each time I clicked on the Customize Outlook Today button nothing happened. A...
- [Lunar Eclipse?](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/08/lunar-eclipse/) (2003-11-08): There was supposed to be a lunar eclipse tonight. However, due to the thick cloud cover, I didn’t get to see any of it. Fortunately, there will be two more next year. After that, there will be a “d...
- [Popfile](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/03/popfile/) (2003-11-03): I’ve been using a great program lately called POPFile. It’s a free program I found on SourceForge.Net. Basically, it’s a POP3 proxy server that sorts e-mail into buckets. You go through and tell PO...
- [Final Grades](https://acegayhart.com/2003/11/02/final-grades/) (2003-11-02): After waiting more than two weeks, I finally got the results on my final exam. I passed. I got 100% on all of the exams except for one (I only got a 90% on that one). I haven’t gotten my exams back...
- [Happy Halloween](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/31/happy-halloween/) (2003-10-31): Well, my wife and I spent two hours handing out candy. It had been a few years since we’ve handed out candy before. It was nice handing out candy again. In the city of Lorain, candy is only handed ...
- [Vcds](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/24/vcds/) (2003-10-24): I’ve been trying to make a VCD (a CD that’s playable in some DVD players) lately. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much success. My parents (back in California) wanted to see a video of my house. I did...
- [Finals And Bambi](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/16/finals-and-bambi/) (2003-10-16): I had a pretty good day yesterday. I spent most of the morning taking final exams. Now, I just have to finish my final project to get my degree. I would like to get it all done before the end of th...
- [Windy Evening](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/14/windy-evening/) (2003-10-14): Well, after spending the other day picking up leaves, I’m a bit sad to say that there’s more on the ground today. Of course, this was expected. We’ve got five oak trees on our property. Plus most o...
- [More Leaves](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/12/more-leaves/) (2003-10-12): We spent most of the afternoon cleaning up leaves. It wasn’t as bad as it was last week. We filled up ten small pumpkin bags and three large trash bags. We put the pumpkin bags in front of the hous...
- [New Anti-Virus Engine](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/10/new-anti-virus-engine/) (2003-10-10): I’ve decided to use the AVG Anti-Virus software from Grisoft. I choose it because it is free and uses less resources than my prior anti-virus software.
- [No More News Feed](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/10/no-more-news-feed/) (2003-10-10): I use CenturyTel as my internet provider. A few days ago, I noticed that I stopped getting posts on their news server. I sent them an e-mail asking what was up. Here’s their response:
- [Governor Schwarzenegger](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/08/governor-schwarzenegger/) (2003-10-08): Well, Arnold won the governor recall in California. I can’t help but laugh everytime I think about it. The movie Total Recall keeps coming to mind. I also wonder if the reference about Schwarzenegg...
- [More Winter Preparations](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/05/more-winter-preparations/) (2003-10-05): My in-laws came over today to help remove two air conditioners. Also, my father in law helped to repair my staircase railing. A few weeks ago, I had a nasty fall down the stairs that made the raili...
- [Autumn Cleaning](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/04/autumn-cleaning/) (2003-10-04): My wife and I spent most of today cleaning. We did the inside of the house, then we did some yard work. We ended up with about a dozen trash bags filled with leaves and other yard debris.
- [No More Blogger?](https://acegayhart.com/2003/10/02/no-more-blogger/) (2003-10-02): I’ve decided to stop using blogger.com. I have nothing against blogger.com. However, I wanted to see what it would take to write my own blogging software. I feel that this would give me greater con...
- [Out Sick](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/26/out-sick/) (2003-09-26): Ugh. I’ve been sneezing all day. I think I’ve got a cold. Hopefully it goes away for the weekend. I don’t want to be stuck in bed all weekend (even if I do need the sleep).
- [Fastrak Is At It Again](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/25/fastrak-is-at-it-again/) (2003-09-25): Awhile ago, I got my fourth FasTrak violation. The violations, of course, were not my fault. Apparently FasTrak didn’t like my explanation for the fourth violation (or more likely, they never recei...
- [Virus Alerts](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/22/virus-alerts/) (2003-09-22): I get the occasional spam and virus-infected attachment in my e-mail box everyday. Normally, that’s not a big problem as I have software that filters out that junk automatically. This morning, howe...
- [National Dog Week](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/22/national-dog-week/) (2003-09-22): Since this week is National Dog Week, I’ve decided to post a picture of my puppy dog. Her name is “Emily Jean”. though we usually call her “Emmy”. As I’ve mentioned before, she’s a Beagle/Spring mi...
- [The Hurricane](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/19/the-hurricane/) (2003-09-19): Well, we’ve been getting a lot of rain due to Tropical Storm Isabel. The funny thing is that we’re getting more rain now then when a flood watch was declared in my area. I love the rain. Fortunatel...
- [Office Updates](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/17/office-updates/) (2003-09-17): After getting all of my Windows computers updated with the latest Windows service packs, I decided to update my copy of Office. I went to the Office Update site to download the latest patches. Afte...
- [Resume](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/16/resume/) (2003-09-16): I added my resume to my site. It isn’t much, but at least it’s a start.
- [Rough Morning](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/15/rough-morning/) (2003-09-15): Ugh. I’ve got a single-cup coffee maker. I put it on a timer so it makes my coffee about a half hour before I get up. Usually, it works great. I had some problems with my system yesterday. Apparent...
- [Last Exam](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/14/last-exam/) (2003-09-14): I just finished my last exam for my MIS class. Now, I only need to do my lab project(s) and my final exams and I’ll be done with my degree! It’s about time.
- [Black River Reservation, Day's Dam](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/13/black-river-reservation-days-dam/) (2003-09-13): Today, my wife, dog and I went to Day’s Dam in the Black River Reservation. It is one of the local parks. We walked for about two miles. We wanted to walk longer, bug the park closes as dusk, so we...
- [Six Exams Down, Two To Go](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/13/six-exams-down-two-to-go/) (2003-09-13): I just finished my sixth exam in my MIS class. At this rate, I’ll be done by the end of the month!
- [Google Toolbar](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/12/google-toolbar/) (2003-09-12): I downloaded the Google Toolbar a few days agod. So far, it’s very nice. I love the pop-up blocker. :)
- [The Squirrels Are Driving My Dog Nuts](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/12/the-squirrels-are-driving-my-dog-nuts/) (2003-09-12): I’ve got a cute dog (Beagle/Springer mix) that just loves to chase the squirrels in my back yard. She’ll walk out very slowly. Sometimes she almost crawls on her belly. She only moves when the squi...
- [Search Bug](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/12/search-bug/) (2003-09-12): There was a bug in the my blog search tool. Sometimes the results would be duplicated. This has been fixed.
- [Halfway Point](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/11/halfway-point/) (2003-09-11): After finishing the fourth exam in my MIS class, I’m now at the half-way point!
- [School Update](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/11/school-update/) (2003-09-11): I just finished my third MIS book, Computing Resources For MIS, and the exam. I only have five more book(lets) and exams before I’m done with this class. Whoo hoo!
- [Blogger.Com Changes](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/11/bloggercom-changes/) (2003-09-11): Blogger.com recently announced some new features for free accounts (like mine). The biggest feature (or at least the one I’ll probably use the most) is the ability to spell check each post. Very cool.
- [Search For A Game](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/09/search-for-a-game/) (2003-09-09): I’ve been looking for a Commodore 64 video game. But, I don’t remember what it was called. It’s been over ten years since I’ve played it. The plot was to go into a pyramid (tomb?) and navigate from...
- [Fastrak Violations Aren't My Fault](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/09/fastrak-violations-arent-my-fault/) (2003-09-09): FasTrak, for those that don’t know, is California’s Electronic Toll System. Basically, you can pay in advance for tolls, and your vehicle will be tracked automatically at the toll plazas. It’s nice...
- [Morning At The Doctor's Office](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/09/morning-at-the-doctors-office/) (2003-09-09): Well, so far it has been a long morning. I went with my wife to see the doctor (she’s a Type 2 Diabetic). Anyway, it’s the first time we’ve been to a doctor’s office since the move from California....
- [Relaxing Weekend](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/08/relaxing-weekend/) (2003-09-08): Ugh. It’s Monday, again! Ah well. I had a pretty good weekend. I don’t think I accomplished anything in particular though. I did get to eat at Mr. Hero. I hadn’t eaten there in quite awhile. I also...
- [Php And Xml Update](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/05/php-and-xml-update/) (2003-09-05): Well, my blog now stores all of the information as XML files and then uses PHP to render the file. Again, there wasn’t a need to switch from HTML to PHP & XML except as a learning experience. O...
- [Formatting Change](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/04/formatting-change/) (2003-09-04): I decided to use PHP and XML for my Blog. I didn’t have any good reason other than wanting to learn. So, there may be some occasional problems as I work on the new format. Sorry for any inconvenience.
- [Oracle](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/04/oracle/) (2003-09-04): Okay. So I spent about an hour downloading Oracle 9i Lite. But, was that what I needed? Nope. D’oh! Now I’m downloading Oracle 9i Enterprise Edition for Linux/IA64. This looks a bit more promising.
- [About Page](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/04/about-page/) (2003-09-04): I just added an about page for anyone who is curious about me or my site.
- [Burning Cds In Linux](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/04/burning-cds-in-linux/) (2003-09-04): After downloading a copy of Oracle 9i Lite, I decided to burn it to a CD. I didn’t feel like waiting through another hour-long download if I could help it. So, I put in a blank CD-R into the burner...
- [Web Server](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/03/web-server/) (2003-09-03): Well, I finally got Apache running on the Linux machine. It took me quite a while to get it running; I kept going around in circles. I suppose that it would have been easier if I had just read the ...
- [Management Roles](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/02/management-roles/) (2003-09-02): I just finished the third chapter (Management Roles) in my MIS book (Introduction to MIS). It still isn’t the most fun subject, but I’m glad that it’s getting done. Hopefully, if I get through a ch...
- [Happy Labor Day](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/01/happy-labor-day/) (2003-09-01): I hope that everyone had a good Labor Day. Hopefully, you didn’t have to work (well, not too much anyways). I didn’t do too much of anything. I tried watching TV, but there wasn’t much on. I ended ...
- [Linux Online](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/01/linux-online/) (2003-09-01): I finally got the laptop connected to the internet. In fact, I’m posting this entry from the laptop. It wasn’t too hard. Basically, I had to move the laptop closer to my hub. After plugging in to t...
- [It's Raining; It's Pouring...](https://acegayhart.com/2003/09/01/its-raining-its-pouring/) (2003-09-01): But I’m not asleep (though I do snore). :) The National Weather Service recently issued a flood watch for my area. A flood means lots of rain, right? We’ll you’d think so. But at the moment, it isn...
- [Linux Documentation](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/31/linux-documentation/) (2003-08-31): I’m not normally the type of person to read a manual when starting on something. I like to first get my hands “dirty” and then go back to the manual. Now that I’ve started to get my hands dirty wit...
- [Linux is Installed](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/31/linux-is-installed/) (2003-08-31): Hi. The Linux install went rather smoothly. The only problem was that I had was a lack of a network connection. I didn’t have a cable long enough to reach from my hub to the laptop. So, if anyone w...
- [Tivo Rocks](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/30/tivo-rocks/) (2003-08-30): I recently got a Tivo unit that supports DirecTV. I must say that this is a must have item. You can pause live TV, record two different channels while watching a pre-recorded show at the same time!
- [Linux Installation](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/30/linux-installation/) (2003-08-30): Finally, after spending a day or so trying to get the installation discs downloaded, I am ready to install. Since this is my first Linux installation, I decided to use Red Hat’s version. I figured ...
- [PayPal's Back and my Linux Download](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/30/paypals-back-and-my-linux-download/) (2003-08-30): Well, I logged on to check to see how my Linux download was doing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I tried downloading it again, but it said the server had too many connections. sigh I’m trying from a di...
- [Linux on a Laptop?](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/29/linux-on-a-laptop/) (2003-08-29): Well, I’ve got this laptop that I’m not using, so I figured why not put Linux on it? Anyways, I’ve got about another nine hours left on the download, so I guess I’ll have to install it another day.
- [Starting a New Class](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/29/starting-a-new-class/) (2003-08-29): Well, I just started my Introduction to Management Information Systems (MIS) class. I think that this is my last class before I get my degree. The class is a bit on the boring side. I think I would...
- [PayPal Gone?](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/29/paypal-gone/) (2003-08-29): Where did PayPal disappear to? I noticed that it has been unreachable at least since this morning.
- [ValueWeb Rant](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/28/valueweb-rant/) (2003-08-28): I use ValueWeb as my web hosting company. Normally, I don’t have any problems with them. This week is different:
- [Return of Netscape vs. IE](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/28/return-of-netscape-vs-ie/) (2003-08-28): Okay. Maybe it was just my IE settings. Anyways, I do like the “framed” look. And now that it’s working with IE, I’m happy.
- [Netscape vs. IE](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/27/netscape-vs-ie/) (2003-08-27): Wow! There is a big difference between posting in Netscape vs. posting in IE. I think that I like the Netscape version better. However, it would be nice if it looked the same (or at least similar) ...
- [Done Formatting](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/27/done-formatting/) (2003-08-27): Okay, I think that I’m finally done with the formatting of my Blog. I must admit that it took quite a bit to make it look like part of my site. But, it does look a lot better now. Let me know what ...
- [Let the Blogging Begin](https://acegayhart.com/2003/08/27/let-the-blogging-begin/) (2003-08-27): Okay, I know what you’re thinking (actually, I don’t, but you could let me know). Why create a blog? Well, why not? I’ve got some free time. Maybe someone finds my life interesting. :)

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- [Year archive](https://acegayhart.com/years/): Posts grouped by year.