Gradin.com was established in 1998 to grant an Internet presence to Gradins’ throughout the world. Since that time, in which the primary use was for email, the site has undergone many changes.

The latest of these changes is a new design, incorporating the four seasons into an ever-changing theme. Until the wheel should turn again, enjoy Summer’s fine palette.

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Musings for the week of 2010-08-30

August 30th, 2010
  • Follow @GADJWonderbread to see what DJ Wonderbread is putting in his cranked music sandwich. #

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Musings for the week of 2010-08-23

August 23rd, 2010
  • Balthazar thinks any song that ellicits an emotional response from him must be a "Monster Ballad." #
  • A Meetup was scheduled for The Hall County Drum Circle. http://meetup.com/u/PvR #
  • What fortune! Coffee finished brewing right before the power went out! #
  • FYI: it has been raining all morning (at least), and the power just went out in northeast Gainesville. #

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Musings for the week of 2010-08-16

August 16th, 2010
  • First day of school for our 2nd-grader is here! He is so excited, he woke up instantly this morning at 6am. *That* won't last! #
  • Partying at the "Back-to-School Bash" on Roosevelt Square in Gainesville. DJ Wonderbread is on the scene (me)! #

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It’s been a good weekend

August 15th, 2010

On Saturday, I finally captured the chipmunk that has been living in our house under the nose of two cats and a dog. The little bugger was able to go into my live trap three times and clear out the bait before I finally captured him with pure ingenuity. I think he was avoiding the trip-plate that would set-off the trap, so I put some junk mail on the bottom of the trap in such a way that it had to push the plate down if it got within half an envelope from it. I’m sure he was just as happy as we were to be out of the house, though time will only tell if the cat manages to bring it back in.

I am also in the process of demolishing a shed in the backyard that has steadily been collapsing. It was poorly built and sitting on four stacks of cinder blocks to hold it level over the ground. Problem is, the stacks are situated at each corner putting pressure only on the joist plates. Needless to say, these points have rotted and now the shed is falling at the rate of wood-rot. At this point, I’ve broken down to simple skeleton walls, and in fact removed one of them altogether. I anticipate rebuilding it again up closer to house, and on a much better foundation.

Back from Williamsburg

August 5th, 2010

We visited Williamsburg, Virginia recently to get a little more vacation time in before the 2010-2011 school year began. While there, we hit Busch Gardens and Water Country using their Summer “Discovery Pass.” It gives you seven consecutive days to visit both parks at your leisure. Aside from $13.00/day/park, the value was tremendous. You can definitely take many days to enjoy everything both parks have to offer. We visited Busch Gardens three times over three days, but still hadn’t seen everything or done it all. We only went to Water Country once, but Balthazar and I really took advantage of the time we had and rode as many slides as we could together. This was his first big water park, and he really enjoyed it. Indeed, my favorite moment thinking back was riding a *big* slide with him on his first trip. He was pretty nervous about it as we scaled dizzying heights, but when we at last plummeted down the shoot and ended in a shallow pool at the bottom, he was elated! Boy was I glad he was not overly scared. We went on to ride every slide we could – even the very biggest ones there. Unfortunately, he’s not quite big enough to do the roller coasters at Busch Gardens yet. Perhaps in another year or two he’ll be big enough to take those beasts on.

And Williamsburg will probably be a location we visit again in the future. There is lots to do there and it seems to span the ages well. In a year or two, Balthazar may also enjoy Colonial Williamsburg more than he would at 7.

League of Legends Shout-Out

July 6th, 2010

Several people on the freely available game, League of Legends, have noticed that my username is actually a nudge to my website. So for all of you fellow champion-slayers out there, this is my hello! See you on the battlefield. Before you go – leave a note in the comments so I’ll know you were here.

Musings for the week of 2010-06-28

June 28th, 2010
  • Rain = break from 70mph to 20. Arrrgh! #

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Musings for the week of 2010-06-21

June 21st, 2010
  • Screen on the Green on a cool summer night? You couldn't ask for a more relaxing evening. #
  • Top 10 Mac Applications that Should Be on Windows [Lifehacker Top 10] http://bit.ly/bezq4X #
  • Top 10 Windows Applications that Should Be on Macs [Lifehacker Top 10] http://bit.ly/dm0bcu #
  • Happy Father's Day to all those 'dads' out there that are providing for a better life for a child, whether yours or not! #

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Musings for the week of 2010-06-14

June 14th, 2010
  • Looking forward to tonight's jam session at House of Blues. #
  • Recommend a Powershell Twitter client that supports SSL, please. Otherwise, just an SSL Windows Twitter client. #
  • Recommend a Powershell Twitter app that uses SSL. Otherwise, just a Windows Twitter client with SSL… #
  • The "Zen of Architecture" by Juval Löwy is a compelling presentation #TechEd #
  • I left the rest of the crew in New Orleans doing gods know what. Good thing they're not sober enough to use a Twitter client! #
  • Check this video out — BP Spills Coffee http://youtu.be/2AAa0gd7ClM #

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Musings for the week of 2010-06-07

June 7th, 2010
  • Just bought Mort: Discworld #4 (Unabridged) by Terry Pratchett on Audible.com. http://soc.li/MwH6M6M #
  • This time tomorrow, I'll have been in New Orleans for more than 13 hours. TechEd, here I come! #

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