Christopher Prall

Summer is in full swing in North Carolina, and so is the barbecuing. This past weekend, we were having a party with our friends to celebrate our one year anniversary (and really, to just have a reason for a party). We had about 26 people RSVP, so this was going to be quite a crowd. For this occasion, I was going to smoke 3 pork picnics - a feat I had not done before in one go.

The results were fantastic! Taking the lessons I have learned this year (prep early, give myself plenty of time to smoke, measure the grate level temperature) and what I have found makes a difference to me (cook the whole time with hickory chunks, the advantage of using the picnic to baste), I had probably my best barbecue to date. The crowd certainly loved it too!

2008.08.16 - BBQ Party

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We finally got a approval from our HOA to build the privacy trellis (it only took them 1 month!). This project was going to be the most labor intensive and challenging one. To complete this project, I would have to:
- Pick up: 30 1x5/4x8 treated deck wood, 2 4x4x10 treated wood, 2 2x4x12 treated wood, and 2 lbs of deck screws
- Dig a 12 foot trench, 18 inches deep, and 2 30 inch deep holes for the posts
- Assemble the trellis and make the planks angled
- Recruit people to help me move the trellis the proper location
- Secure the trellis

Work began on Thursday evening when I went and purchased the materials. I then started Friday late afternoon, assembling the trellis and digging the trench. I worked all Saturday morning to complete the trellis assembly and finish the trench hole. I was able to walk around my neighborhood and recruited 6 people to help me haul the trellis to the back and place in the trench (it was a beast to move!).

All in all, the project was a great success. I'm really happy with the final product, even happier still that it's done! My body is physically exhausted from all the work I had put in to finish this in one and half days.

Some lessons learned (really more reminders to myself):
- Measure Twice, Cut Once. We hear it all the time, but have to remind ourselves to do this. The end posts were 3 inches shorter than wanted them to be because I did not take into account the 2x4 horizontal framing.
- Counter Sink, Then Drill. You'll see on the first set of counter sinks, I made a mess of it because I drilled the holes first, so the guide was bouncing everywhere when I tried to drill the countersink.
- Not all planks are created equal. You'll see in the pics what I mean here.
- Don't Assume. I had a certain method by which I was putting the angle on the board. I assumed that same method would work when I secured the other side. Not so much. I ended up being about an inch off by the time I got to the 10th board. I had redo them.

Enjoy the pics!

2008.04.12 - Privacy Trellis

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It was recently the 1st weekend in April, and I was determined to BBQ, rain or shine. Turns out, I was going to be tested with that statement - it rained all day. But no matter, we BBQed anyway.

2008.04.05 - First BBQ of the Year

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To finish up the work on the yard, I had a lot mulching and bed making still to make. I took yesterday off to do all of this.

2008.04.02 - Mulching and Bed Making

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Look, I know I drive an old pick'em truck. I accept that and I like it. However, that doesn't give anyone the right to abuse it whatever way you see fit.

I came back from my work travel to find these long deep scratches on the side of my truck when I had it parked at the airport. That's just rude.

2008.03.26 - Truck Scratch

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For the summer, there are 3 major projects for the backyard:
- Bordering the hill
- Mulching the hill
- Building a privacy trellis

Today was the bordering of the hill. We decided to use railroad ties to accomplish this - it gives a great rustic look and they are very sturdy.
Unfortunately, the camera was not charged today so I could not take pictures of the 'Before' and 'During' work. Specifically, pictures of:
- The truck loaded down with 7 railroad ties
- How I marked the border
- The shoveling to level the ground
- Chuckie and I breaking our backs to move these bastards

Here are the pictures of the final product. Looks really good and I am very pleased with the results.

BTW, according to my calculations, and assuming all the ties were made of oak (which they usually are), each tie weighed about 160 lbs.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I have recently been going back and forth on using Flickr and Picasa Web Albums.

Inspired by a recent comment left on a photo I shared, I decided to do a comparison between the two, and why I have come to selecting Picasa as my choice of sharing photos online.

In conclusion, the biggest factors that made me go with Picasa is the desktop tool, the value for the price (free), and the ease of use of the site and tool. Though Flickr has a lot of cool online options, I just don't prefer to use/manage photo sharing in that manner.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had yesterday off, so I decided to complete one of our house projects - building a folding workbench in the garage. I made most of comments in the pictures, so please view the pictures for details.

2008.02.18 - Workbench Project

I have an open issue with the table design, so I'm looking for input here. To secure the legs in place, I am using a 5" 3/8" lag screw in each leg, screwed in from the top, through the table, into the leg. The pro is that it secures the leg - the con is that I have to screw and unscrew it every time. Though it's not the end of the world, it's as easy as just dropping down the table.

I would rather not use the screws, but I still need a way to secure the legs in place. I am open to ideas. Bring them on!

Posted by Christopher Prall at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

As many of you know, I enjoy to cook. Well, with cooking comes a lot of kitchen smells - some good, some bad, some strong. Being that our house has a very open floor layout, the smells go everywhere, and we really don't want to smell curry or garlic for days in the house! So began the exploration of addressing the range hood problem.

We looked at 2 options:
1) Converting the current range hood from a recirculating hood to a exhaust range hood
2) Replace the current over-the-stove microwave range hood with a over the stove range hood to exhaust outside

After doing much reading online, reviews on Consumer Report, and weighing the pro's and con's of replacing the current range hood (better exhaust, loss of microwave and potentially counter space, etc.), we opted to do the conversion.

I will first say that this project was not particularly difficult, but it required significant planning because of a few things:
1) I was about to make a permanent hole in my house. No do-over on that!
2) There conveniently was a 2x4 right where I wanted to cut out the holes
3) The air duct cap was not going to be flush with the outside vinyl siding
4) Required me manufacturing a custom air duct system
5) I was about to make a permanent hole in my house. Yeah, I said it twice

The project took the weekend, over a course of 2 days. I could have completed it one day, but I didn't start until the Saturday afternoon and work had to cease after it got dark. I would say, all in all, trips to Lowes and all, it probably took me 9 - 10 hours. I spent the majority of the time on manufacturing the air duct, making trips back and forth to Lowes, and planning. The actual 'work' part didn't take that long - perhaps 2 - 3 hours in all.

I was quite proud with my custom work on the air duct. Unfortunately, I did not think of taking pictures of the project until Sunday, so you don't see the whole construction of the air duct, but trust me, damn Case engineering education at work there.

Enjoy!

2008.02.09 - Range Hood Venting Project

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Apparently I've completely embraced the idea home ownership. Two weekends ago, I decided to do the steps project on the bank in the backyard, and then on Wednesday afternoon, Anna had the revelation to create a BBQ Cove. I completed the BBQ Cove project in 2 afternoons and an early morning!

The new and improved C&A Barbecue!

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ESPN - Arrington seriously injured in motorcycle mishap - NFL

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After weeks of looking for the right pick up truck, I have finally found it and it now resides at the front of the house. I just purchased a 1998, Chevrolet K1500 Silverado 4x4, Extended cab, Short bed. It has a manual transmission, manual transfer case engagement, manual locks, manual windows, and manual mirrors - less electronic stuff to break, the better. The truck is very clean, free of rust or dents, and it had only one owner. It has approximately 104K miles and it runs great (other than a small power steering incident which we have quickly corrected).

Though the NC DMV are spawns of Satan, we finally get the truck titled and it's now the permanent vehicle for yours truly. A slight change of pace from my previous vehicle.

Oh yeah, welcome to North Carolina!

2007.05.16 - Pick'em Up Truck

Posted by Christopher Prall at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Summertime has arrived in Durham, North Carolina!
Summer is my favorite season because a lot more of this happens:

"Ya'll come and visit now, ya hear!"

Posted by Christopher Prall at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Woo Hoo! With a little luck falling our way, the Cleveland Browns will draft 3rd in this year's NFL Draft. Now, hopefully, we can do something good with this draft. Of recent years, we've historically have not done well on our 1st round picks.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Now why would Alpha-Geek be interested in something like this?

It sounds like Mr. Wismar will also have some work to do to help the Immigration lawyer in Raleigh, N.C. in getting better web presence.

Who knew the Internet marketing was more than just paying for ads on Google and Yahoo.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If one was to 'rank' the importance of a chinese dish during for the New Year, I would say it would be Longevity Noodles.

A wish for good fortune -- Good Luck, Prosperity, Longevity, Happiness and Abundance -- is central to the Chinese way of life.

This was also pretty straightforward to make and it was mighty tasty too. One note - the type of noodle you use cooks very quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on it when you do cook with it. I had to ask in the Grand Asia Maket which noodles I was to use.

Continue reading "Longevity Noodles" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

To go along with the vegetables, I also made a traditional chicken dish.

It's traditional to serve a whole chicken, including the head and feet, for Chinese New Year. The white meat symbolizes purity, and serving the entire bird represents unity.

Preparing and cooking this dish wasn't as hard as I thought it may be, but I had real issue carving the bird and dicing it up how you'd typically see it at a Chinese restaurant. If you try to make it yourself, I hope that you had better luck than me. It did come out very juicy though.

Continue reading "White-cut Chicken" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As some people may know, it was Chinese New Year this past weekend, so I decided to cook a traditional Chinese meal (beyond fried rice).

For a vegetable dish, I made Braised Bok Choy and Shittakes:

Continue reading "Braised Bok Choy and Shiitakes" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, the second project was kind of unscheduled. Do you know how much damage an 1/8" drill bit can do? Well, it turns out it can do a lot.
After having a very productive day of organizing the garage and doing some outdoor work, I tasked myself to put a simple eye hook in the shower wall to hold the shower caddy from slipping forward off the shower head. Simple, straightforward fix. As I was drilling the hole, the bit slipped into the wall much faster than I expected and went through quickly, then hit 'something else' and continued. Deep down inside, I already knew what happened, but I pretended that nothing happened at all. I continued by screwing in the hook, mounting the caddy, and turning on the shower. The caddy worked great, the waterfall inside the wall, did not. When I turned on the shower, you could hear water splashing inside the wall and beading starting on the top edge of the shower unit. Two minutes later, there was water coming out from the baseboards. Yup, as you might have already guessed, I hit the shower pipe.

So began the 2nd project - painting and upgrading the bathroom hardware. You'll see in the pictures, the mess I had to make to fix the 1/8" hole in the pipe. But, the end results are fantastic. I think the bathroom looks great and I suppose I was glad I got the 'push' to move the project up.

BEFORE (THE DAMAGE) . . .

2006.12.15 - Project #2, Fixing the Shower Pipe and Painting the Bathroom

AFTER . . .

2007.01.07 - Bathroom Project Results

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It was just a matter of time before we started doing some house improvement projects. Actually, two projects started about the same time due to a plumbing error on my part (posting shortly).

We first decided to talk the easier project, painting the foyer. Currently, the whole house is painted this off white eggshell color, aka a canvas ready to be painted and personalized.

Attached are the before and after pictures of the project.

Before . . .

2007.01.02 - Foyer Project - BEFORE

After . . .

2007.01.02 - Foyer Project - AFTER

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We got our digital camera back, so here are some clearer pictures of Gabi, our new puppy. As you can see, she's made herself quite at home now.

2007.01.02 - More Gabi Pics

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, the cute period of having a new dog has quickly vanished to thin air. As of one week we are:
- Short a kitchen rug
- Have a hole in our kitchen blinds
- Without a crate door as she ate through it
- Less one leash
- and as of tonight, down 1/2 of one of my shoes

She is great when you're around her, but she needs constant entertainment or she finds her own. I guess I'll be buying new shoes now.

UPDATE:
As requested, here are a few more pics of Gabi. Again, quality not great due to using a camera phone, but the next ones will be better.

Gabi at Home

Posted by Christopher Prall at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

And no, we are not parents, but we are proud new owners of a 7 month old golden retriever mix, that we picked from the Orange County Animal Shelter.

Her name is Gabi and this is her 2nd day at home. I apologize for the picture quality, but we are temporarily without a digital camera and this was taken with a camera phone.

2006.12.14 - Our New Puppy Gabi

No 'accidents', and she's been very well behaved - she's a little shy at first, but once she gets comfortable with new things, she's fine.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We have been in our new home just under 3 weeks now and you realize you have to create a priority list of items you'll need. The first was the washer and dryer. Boring, but necessary. The 2nd, however, got to be the grill.

Now, this is grill is not for the casual griller - she's a charcoal grill with 830 sq. in. of cooking surface on the main grill, and an additional cooking area in the fire box. She can be a grill and/or a BBQ smoker. No gas here - only charcoal or wood for this man. She required assembly, of couse. And I actually polyurethaned all the wooden boards so they would last longer and have a nice finish.

My friends know how much I love to cook, and getting a grill was something I was really looking forward to when owning my place. Thank you mom and dad for the great housewarming gift! This is something I am really going to enjoy!

I took her on her maiden voyage this past weekend, and she is going to require a few tries to tame the beast. She eats up a lot of fuel, which I was not prepared for, and she is a whole lotta grill to control. Because of the cast iron grates, she will also require a little more attention so she does not rust, but it's all worth it for that optimal grilling taste and experience.

We're open for business!

2006.10.14 - New Grill

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So, I finally got to watch the game on local television yesterday and I must say, damn it was disappointing. I don't even want to go through the statistics anymore of why the Browns sucked yesterday.

Charlie Frye, stop with the interceptions!
Romeo, where is the run defense?

Damn, it's frustrating to watch.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, I didn't get to watch the game on Sunday, but judging by the score, 17-34, we got a good whoopin'.
Here's the recap of the game.

Nagative Highlighted stats to note:
2 INT
1 Fumble (Lost)
244 YDS of passing, no TDs
57 YDS of total rushing

One bright note was to see that we had 3 sacks and 1 INT.

Our next game is against the Ravens - another tough matchup for the Browns.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here is another reason why I'm looking forward to having my own place - my very own grill.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, the game was close at the end, but The Browns just couldn't pull out a W this week.
I am glad to see that we did look much better in the 2nd half of the game - the 1st half was awful! We couldn't get the ball moving down field at all except for punting - and I can't believe we pitched 3 times in a row on 3rd and short!

Positives of the game:
- Red zone defense. Held the Saints to 3 FGs in the 1st half
- Charlie Frye's ability to scramble and be an offensive option on the ground
- Kellen Winslow shows signs of some real potential
- Improved secondary coverage - Joe Horn was held to only 2 receptions

Negatives of the game:
- Where's the QB pressure? No sacks for the game
- Receivers, hold onto the ball!
- Poor run defense
- And seriously, did we have to make Reggie Bush look that good on his debut game?

Posted by Christopher Prall at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Though not quite the same as last year, we'll be watching the last preseason game of the year against our good ol' friends on the other Lake. And to my two Bears friends, "Here we go Brownies, Here we go! Woof! Woof"

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Apparently I can actually win a contest for my creativity in the kitchen! There is a chicken recipe contest every year, and intend to submit as many recipes as I can before the deadline. I hope everyone likes chicken because they're going to be eating a lot of it these next couple of months.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have now joined the millions of Americans in living part of the American dream – I’m buying a house! Though we have only been in North Carolina a few weeks, after our 2nd outing of looking at houses, we find the one. The goal of the first house purchase was that it should be a good investment and have great re-sale value. This house met all our criteria:
- 3 bedroom
- 2 Bath
- 1 car garage
- In the best school district
- In a hot subdivision
- In our price range
. . . and most importantly, we loved it!

Here are a few pictures of the house

08.26.2006 - The New Home

Aug 25, 2006 - 6 Photos

Buying the house is the easy part. Now begins the process of applying for a loan, getting a house inspection, a termite inspection, a property survey, creating a rapairs list, doing a final walk through, and then meeting with all parties (buyer agent, seller agent, and lawyers) to sign 97,000 documents to officially own the house.

This week, I went around different banks and lending institutions to compare programs and rates. I created a rather elaborate workbook to analyze all my options (Note: I am going to post the workbook once I clean it up a bit and add some more automated calculations). After I calculated which program was best for me, I called the bank and said ‘Let’s do it’. I gave them all the personal information they needed over the phone, however, that’s just the beginning. Yesterday, I received a package from the bank requesting EVERYTHING (W-2’s, bank statements, retirement account numbers, employment history, proof of employment, my zodiac sign, etc.). On top of that, I have to get house insurance before I even buy the house.

Today, we did a walkthrough the house with our buyer agent and the house inspector. Though not required to buy a house or borrow money, it is highly recommended to get a house inspection. This person was very thorough and pointed a few key issues that a regular person (namely myself) would not find.

So, what are the costs of buying a house? Well, a lot more than one would think, and the costs are just starting. The running tally as of today:
- Buyer’s Agent: FREE If you’re buying a house, get a buyer’s agent. Absolutely no reason not to. They are helpful, know the area, can give you guidance, and they cost you NOTHING.
- House Inspection: $315

Costs still to incur:
- Termite inspection
- Lawyer fees
- Hazard, house, and tax insurance
- Closing costs
- More to come . . .

Posted by Christopher Prall at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

For the last 2-3 years, I have been a Flickr Pro Account user. I was with them pre-Yahoo purchase and when it was in Beta form. Since then, I have seen the functionality grow and grow to where it is a very versatile online picture sharing application. However, 2 things that sort of has been a draw back for me: 1) I cannot manage my pictures easily offline and share online, and 2) most people don't view your pictures, you just do, so why continuously upload them all online.

Here comes Picasa - Picasa has been around for awhile, but I have just most recently found out that they do websharing now. So, I'm going to give Picasa a try and see how I like it. It seems to have similar functionality as Flickr, but I have just begun playing with it.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The weather in Cleveland finally hit the 60's and that meant getting the motorcycle out for her first ride of the season! Though it took a few tries to get her started (about 8 times up and down the hill), she started up and ready for hours of riding pleasure . . .

It's good to be one with the road again.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I ran my first 5K race this weekend. I ran in Cruise for Critters at Treemont, OH.
Why I am so proud of my run was because:
- Completed the course
- Ran the whole time (no walking or taking a break)
- Never ran for exercise before
- Finished the race just under 32 minutes

I felt very good about myself after I finished it. I'm looking forward to trying another one, though I'm not going incorporate running as part of my frequent exercises - it's not my passion.

Next race, Race for the Cure!

Posted by Christopher Prall at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

. . . or at least I think that's what you should call it.

As I am downloading all my music on CDs I have come to a bit of a dilemma on how to categorize the music. Do you I go by genre? Artist? Era? Favorites? Tagging has resolved some of this dilemma as you can identify an article with several tags (Tagging is currently not available on Windows so that doesn't help me); however, there is no structure around it. I think that solution is limited because it looses the tree structure of a filing system or groupings. My solution: Dynamic Directory.

I, the user, would define a tree structure of how I want my folder (tag) directory should be, and through those paths, I could get to the same articles without having duplicate articles.

So, for example, at Level 1, I could have Genre, Era, Band.

Genre could then go: Genre > Band > Song or Genre > Era > Band > Song or Genre > Band, Era > [Band > Song], [Era > Song]

You get the idea. By the tagging of the article and defining my tree structure, I could navigate through my groupings as I see appropriate and still reach articles that should be within those groups (tags), even if they are in multiple groups.

This concept could be applied to any application which requires directory structures.

Addendum:
Actually, now that I think about it, as long as you define the next-to relationship and the Level 1 tags, the directory structure could create itself, rather than you defining the paths. The user could have the flexibility to define multiple next-to relationships on one tag.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Don't let living in Michigan hold you back.
I got this from a forward:

A recent graduate of Ohio State moved to Dearborn, Michigan after accepting a great job. After becoming a citizen of Michigan she felt almost as if she betrayed her Ohioan background and ancestry. She had an apartment with a Michigan address and she winced whenever she looked at her Michigan driver's license. When she registered her vehicle she had an idea. When her personalized license plate arrived for her car she beamed while she affixed them to her car. She was so proud she sent an instant message to her father right away. He was a proud Ohio State alumnus as well.

She typed, "Daddy I get my new personalized plates for my Mini today. They are University of Michigan plates!"
WHAT?" he replied, "You have to be joking"
"Nope, I'm totally serious. Let me send you the image.

Posted by Christopher Prall at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |