Category Archives: Nerd Stuff

These posts relate to my nerdery (obviously). Computer stuff, games, movies, miscellaneous hobbies (nerdy, of course). Carr stuff is sort of nerdy, but I have another category for that.

I Hate Mosquitoes (The Worst Day Ever)!

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Ever had a day where everything went wrong? Well I sure did. I all started when I lost my truck keys… in Utah Lake… for the second time…

Things actually started off pretty well. On Thursday evening me and a handful of friends headed out to Utah Lake for some tubing and R&R. Everything went fine until we headed back in. When we reached the harbor in Provo I discovered that my tuck key was missing. Not necessarily a big deal, but I had already lost my other truck key (in the lake) the previous week.  A boat in the Provo harbor, no truck key, no extra key, no way to park my boat- frustrating.

We scoured the boat for my key. I had emptied my pockets when we launched and I was certain it  had to be on the boat. Needless to say the key never turned up. We docked the boat as best we could and attempted to formulate a plan. Meanwhile the mosquitoes were starting to bite…

Tom suggested attaching the boat trailer to his SUV so we could get it out of the water. The SUV was at his house so he went to get it. I puled the boat trailer off my truck and felt relieved that things weren’t more complicated. The mosquitoes were getting pretty bad. We had found some bug repellent in the boat so I doused myself again. When Tom came back we realized that we’d need to transfer the hitch over to his SUV. Sadly it was locked onto my truck. After many minutes of trying every boat key I had I realized that I was somehow missing the key I needed to unlock the hitch. Two missing keys. Nuts.

Jim called his parents-in-law and they were gracious enough to offer assistance. They were in Spanish Fork so it was about a half hour before they could come get us. I was wet, cold, embarrassed and covered with mosquitoes. Since the boat covers were locked in the truck we had to tow the boat back to Lehi without them (cringe). Since dinner had not been available dockside we stopped at Wendy’s on the back  It was closed. The freeway was also closed becuase of a rather severe accident so we took Geneva road (long and bumpy!).  When we finally made it home I showered and collapsed in bed. I felt kind of itchy, but it was going to have to wait.

Around ten the next morning I was woken up when all three of our maids came into my bedroom. I groggily opened my eyes and sat up. One of them shrieked and they all ran, giggling, from the room. An inauspicious start to the day. As I came to my senses I remembered that my truck was in Provo and I had to find some way to get it home. The itching was getting worse. I felt very sick. Allergies or a cold- they could be nearly indistinguishable. I rubbed my eyes- oh no… my contacts were still in. I pried them out but my eyes were bloodshot and stung like a wasp. My glasses were missing so I had to put my contacts back in- ouch. I made my way to work and Fran called our favorite locksmith.

They said making a new key was complicated, but possible, expensive and very time consuming. They would call us as soon as they could squeeze us in- but we had to be at their shop within 20 minutes of their call and then take them to the truck. Standby. I hate standby. I was about to each lunch when a customer came in. After the customer left I was about to eat lunch when the locksmith called. We met them at their shop in American Fork and they followed us to Provo. We arrived at the truck and our locksmith hit us with some bad news: he had forgotten something kind of fundamental to making the key- namely the key template. He had to go back to the shop. “At lest you have something nice to look at.” he said gesturing at the the lake.

I was hungry. We had some time on our hands so we went to Saigon Cafe to pick up some food. The order was wrong. My kids all decided the were hungry again (I shared). My little girl, Claire, stepped on the take out box and dumped the food out. A bee flew over and stung me. No sign of the locksmith. I was really itching. My wife had some calamine lotion, but it had dried into a chalky powder.

Over an hour later the locksmith finally came back (he’d stopped on the way down to do another job). Finally it was time to start making our key. It was going to take another hour. I sat in the grass (it was wet) and built a little house out of sticks. I wished that I lived in the little house… until my kids smashed it, that is. Anyway- the locksmith finally got the key made. He pointed out some imperfections in it (“Really hard key to make!” he said), and explained that it would “break in.” That’ll be $300. Fine by me- my ordeal was coming to an end. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel…

…but I would have the mosquito bites- over two hundred on my arms, legs, head and back- to remind me of my worst day ever…

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Boaterrific

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We took the plunge (that might be a pun- we’ll have to see). A couple of weeks ago we bought ourselves a boat. We’d been contemplating Jetskis for years, but it never felt quite right.  Then one magical day (which you can read about over here on Fran’s Blog) we decided to swing by Taylor’s Boats on the way to Ikea. A boat is like a floating living room so it wasn’t too hard to convince Fran that it was the perfect thing for family bonding  (and it is!).  We settled on a Cobalt 202, Cobalt’s smallest model. The boat is 21′ which, so far, we’ve found to be an ideal size. We’re super picky about colors and so we were thrilled that the boat we liked matched our truck and house (we’re not freaks- we just like things to be color coordinated! Okay, it’s mostly me! Fine, I’m a freak!).

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We’ve gone out at least twice each week so far.  We generally launch from the American Fork (AF) Harbor. It’s a little annoying that we can’t get a yearly membership because we don’t live in AF. In Provo anyone can get an annual pass for $75.  But the AF harbor is more convenient (and relatively nice) so we deal with it.

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We’ve taken out some of our friends nearly each time we’ve gone and I think it’s a fun way to spend time together.  So far the only thing I can do is tube. Not to hard to flop onto a big pillow and hold on. Well, no- it’s gets really hard to hold on when some people drive. I’ll probably get skis this week, but save wakeboarding until next year. The kids love the boat. Mike wants us to stop every few minutes so he can jump in the water (the lake must seem like a never ending swimming pool). Claire sits up front in the bow and rocks back and fourth to the music while we cruise. We had a boat picnic the other day too. And I’m finally getting a tan.

As always Utah Lake has claimed a bunch of our stuff. Two pairs of sunglasses and some truck keys so far. Last year we lost a pair of sunglasses, a contact lens and a shirt. I wish the lake was a smidgen less muddy- then maybe we could find some of our stuff.  I know a lot of people who don’t like Utah Lake much but it’s really pretty nice.  The water temperature is generally upwards of 70 degrees this time of year. And the dirt washes right off….

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So far the neighborhood reactions have been positive, which is nice since we’ve had to park the boat on the street (a no no!)  for the last week while our driveway extension dries.  Since I generally leave the truck hitched to the boat people notice that the boat is about twice the size of the truck. Inevitably everyone’s’ first question is, “Can your truck pull the boat okay?” I’ve got an ’06 Toyota Tacoma– I’m not a big truck kinda guy.  That was one of my first questions too. Despite it’s small size the Tacoma can haul 6500lbs (surprise!) and pulls the boat with only some minor picketing and threats of a strike.

We’re planning to rent the boat out a few times each week. We’re just going to keep it local and provide drop off and pick up services at Utah Lake. If we’re do this right we’ll end up with a free boat and some gas money! If we do it wrong we’ll have a sweet underwater hideout. We were hoping to get our rental operation off the ground this year, but I think we’re going to have to shoot for next year instead. Ah well.

A big thanks to Tom Allen who showed us that the nautical life was the life. Tom’s rabid sexism, testosterone fueled spirit and and unquenchable urge to speak his mind have made him a Hughes family favorite.

The Perfect Spot

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Fran’s parents are in town. For those of you not in the know, this is a big deal. They aren’t exactly from around here (they hail from Reunion Island). Since they have to travel half way around the world to visit we only get to see them every few years. In order to achieve maximum togetherness everyone here in the USA related to Fran’s parents gets together and goes camping.

I am not a camper. I don’t like camping and I don’t pretend to. The fun many people seem to have while absent from all forms of human comfort baffles me. Anyway- I went in the name of love. We went up to a camping area near one of the Payson lakes. It’s quite pretty and the temperature was nice. And we found…

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…the perfect spot. There was a large grove of trees and right in the middle was this perfect spot to pitch a tent. Up it went. Full shade, a good deal of privacy and when it rained our spot stayed almost completely dry. It was kind of like being in a fort.

I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy camping, but everyone had a good time. Maybe we can go again in three or four years.

The Biggest Pain

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This post has been a long time coming… I’m guessing most of the world’s population is familiar with Facebook. And I’m guessing most of the Facebook users have heard of an annoying little game called “The Biggest Brain.” My brother, Greg, actually turned me onto the game a few months back.  “Check this out.” he said in a way which belayed the fact that my life was about to change forever.

A game of Biggest Brain consists of four rounds which test different portions of your brain. You get a score for each round based on how well you did. Once you finish all four rounds you get a cumulative tally and are then assigned a brain type based on that tally.  Looking over the brain type list you immediately notice some undesirable brains sizes like “snail” or “cat. The brain type that caught my eye belonged to a cute little fellow called “Calcubot.” His face consisted of mathematical signs-adorabley alluring. So that was my goal- 3100 points to get a Calcubot brain.  One happy day I made it. It was over. And then…

An upgrade came along. The game developers added new brain types and shifted the scoring requirements for the Calcubot brain. I needed another 200 points. Not fair. But for $10 I could get four exciting new mini games and a “practice” mode. I am such a sucker. I forked over the $10 and away I went. Embarrassingly, it’s taken a good amount of effort and time, but just a few days ago I reclaimed my Calcubot brain. Thank you.

If you haven’t already, give the game shot. It’s fun, it’s free, and it may just keep you from getting Alzheimer’s (or make you furious and give you a stress headache)..

Kids! What’s the Matter With Kids Today? Nothing.

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You can always tell when markers are scented (you don’t get the full effect unless you shove them up your nose). Berry blue, green apple, black licorice, cotton candy pink- truly irresistible! I’ve got many a happy memory involving scented markers. I’m not sure what brand we had when I was in grade school, but I’ve idealized them in my mind as the pinnacle of perfumed pen perfection.  I think I may have licked a few.

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When I was little my Mom and Dad used to tell me bedtime stories. Dad’s adventures usually involved Chip & Dale, “boom juice” and trips to outer space in a tree rocket. Mom’s stories were about Shiny, a little robot who lived in our house. Since he’s fascinated by robots, I’ve been telling Mike stories about Shiny. I also mentioned once that Shiny’s had a brother – Rusty – who did mining work on the moon.  Mike has become obsessed with these two robots. We’ve talked endlessly about them, drawn them, and now, more recently, made them out of Legos.

Obviously I’m thrilled that Mike likes Legos. He’s made a bunch of cool things that I wish I’d taken pictures of, so this time I seized the opportunity. I had told Mike that Shiny was painted green and so he collected a bunch of little green Lego parts and whipped up the robot above. The piece next to Shiny’s head is his “treasure shelf.” Mike told me to make Rusty and I obliged. Claire helped us build a fortress for the robots and Gabe threw up on it.

Speaking of Claire and Gabe. Fran got Claire a tea set and we’ve had several tea parties together. She’s quite the little hostess. And Gabe finally stared walking! Who would have thought that these little people could bring me so much joy?

Almost Done with the Freaking Store!

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 After four months of steady work we’ve got the shelves, counters, lightning and tweaking done for most of the store. It’s quite an upgrade from our first storefront (you can a more detailed version of our remodeling progression and new storefront over on BladeHQ). There’s plenty of room for customers now and with the counters lining the store our inventory doesn’t get ransacked.

Speaking of counters- I know it may be hard to tell from the pictures, but our counter fronts and tops are glass to glass. This is a big deal for us, actually. When we went looking for displays one thing we noticed was that there was always a bar of some kind on the front blocking the view. With glass on glass the customer has complete visibility (these cabinets were custom made). We also lit the cabinets from the side so the view would not be blocked. The lightning was a big project, but Ikea came through for us).

 We still need to get the watch section of the store finished up (I mean real watches- check out our new online watch store), hang up our signs, LCD TVs, and get the entrance area polished a bit. We’re pretty excited about everything. Let the customers come!

Cam on Commerce

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camoncommerceopenimage1.jpgMost of you are probably familiar with Joel on Software. The guy is a blogging champ and often comes up with some great ideas and philosophies I’ve applied to my own business. Yeah, he writes about software and his software company so not everything he says applies to what I’d doing. And then I got to thinking, “I wish someone would do a blog specifically geared toward commerce.” And then I thought, “I could do that. Cam…. Cam on commerce.”  So there you have it- the origin story.

Maybe I’m not the best guy to do it. Maybe I can’t write with the wit, clarity and stunning charisma of people like Joel. Maybe, maybe, maybe- but the domain is registered and I’ve set up the blog and I’m on my way! Maybe one day someone will read the other blog and find something useful. That would be really cool. One in awhile I may say something helpful. Plus it’s a nifty was to organize my thoughts on business. Go there now!