The Super Chalktendo has a home on the web...

I finally finished the last step of the Super Chalktendo project... a home for it on the web. Most people who create these projects put together a website documenting their progress. This allows people "in the community" to learn what works and what doesn't as they attempt their own projects.

I think it is a pretty interesting read, as it goes throw the process of turning one of my dreams into a reality :-). I also wrote it... and built the Super Chalktendo... so I am incredibly partial.

Without further ado, the project webpage:
http://superchalktendo.googlepages.com/

And finally, an interesting aside. I made this website with Googlepages... basically if you have a Gmail address, you can log into Googlepages.com and create a website with pictures and links for *FREE*. It hosts up to 100 Megabytes of pictures and was EXCEPTIONALLY easy to use.

See http://www.googlepages.com for more information. My only word of advice is that if you use post the page somewhere (like I did), create a separate GMail account for the webpage. This is because your GMail account becomes a part of the page name. I created SuperChalktendo@gmail.com so that I could have "superchalktendo.googlepages.com".

If you want a GMail account, just let me know and I'll send you an invite with instructions to get started. It's without a doubt the best EMail interface on the web... better than hotmail, yahoo, or anything else! It's free, but it's by invitation only, so I can give you an invite.

Deck Stained!

While artfully dodging raindrops (it drizzled for about 3 or 4 minutes with no warning today!!!) We completed staining the deck today. Below are several pictures of the completed project as it dries in the hot afternoon sun. We'll touch up a few boards tomorrow, and then move everything back onto the deck probably on Thursday.

We decided that if sweat equity adds value to a house, that by staining the deck on the 2 hottest days of the year so far meant that we added a lot of sweat... and value... to the house!

Holly did a tremendous job helping out, and we managed to keep the stain from going anywhere but on the deck :-). All-in-all, a successful project. Click the various pictures below for a closer view of the deck.

Viva Mexico!

Just got back from Mexico! We had a wonderful time at Aventura Spa Palace... located just South of Cancun in the Mayan Riviera. Like any vacation that we go on, we tried to keep busy! A list of things of note that we did:

1. Chichen Itza--Wow... imagine Rome in North America and this is what you have. I wish I could have spent more time here! It was amazing!
2. Swam with Dolphins at XCaret--A great experience... the Dolphins were very well trained and very tolerant of us dumb humans (So long and thanks for all the fish!)
3. Snorkeling in the Caribbean--never gets old!
   
4. 4-Wheeling through the Mexican "jungle" (more like huge brush fields). Much of Mexico is very remote and desolate, and it was neat to see so much of it up close.
5. Speed-boating in the Caribbean. A 2 person fiberglass hull and a speedboat motor made for a LOT of fun!!!
6. Enjoying time with family... priceless! (Or Price-ful... depending on how you look at it).

So that was our vacation in a nutshell. What!? You want more pictures? Look here for more pictures...

Paging Dr. Chalk...

Ok... ok.... not yet, but almost...

Holly completed the second-to-last major requirement to graduation today... Officially completing her dissertation by passing her oral defense.

Holly picked a wonderful day to defend her dissertation... our anniversary. Now we will always have 2 reasons to celebrate June 26th!

Why is this day a big deal? Well, even though she has her internship (1-year) starting in August (yes, she still walks in June '07), Holly says that "People fail their defense... No one fails internships". So... I think we can call this one officially "in the bag".

Send Holly your congratulations. She no doubt deserves it after all of the hard work over the past 5 years. Today is truly a crowning achievement in her career and one that I am very proud of. It takes a special person to become a PhD, and Holly is no doubt deserving in every single way. I love you dear!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

On June 17th, we went over to Indiana to "surprise" my Grandma with a ??th Birthday party at one of their favorite local restaurants. (I'm not one to say my Grandma's age... but if you are curious, take a look at the cake picture...) Of course the "surprise" was leaked (thanks Mom and Jenn), but it still was a lot of fun. It also marks the 1 year anniversary of the Chalk Family Cruise. While no such extravagant getaways are planned this year, we might have to start thinking about one the following year??? (Or the year after that at least!)

Below are some of our favorite pictures. Click on them to get the larger versions.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!

Sunny Bunny!

Yes, we are completely obsessed with our ADORABLE bunny rabbit! If you ever wonder what it's like to be a spoiled house bunny, watch this video of Sunny getting his morning carrot. Notice how he stands on his hind legs and runs in circles with excitement. :)

It's like having a child!

Here is Jason demonstrating his skills as a magician. As you can see in the picture, he is making smoke from his breath. You give the boy a block of dry ice and he thinks he's David Copperfield :)

Memorial Day!

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! Sunny celebrated the beginning of summer by playing in the yard with his Aunt Jill. We're so glad that Jill and Price could come visit us this weekend! We love you guys!

Holly's Research

As many of you know, I am wrapping up my dissertation. To read about my findings (in real English), visit my results website for participants:

http://msresearch.dyndns.org

Cross Country to Indiana

Holly and I completed a cross country flight to Indiana to visit my Grandparents on Saturday. We also recently purchased a new digital camera, so I put both of these together to come up with some great in-flight pictures of lots of stuff that we flew over... enjoy!!!

Holly and I in the Cessna 150 that we flew to Indiana

The back of our house...

Grandma, Grandpa, and myself in front of the airplane.

The Mort Family Farm

My home in Indiana... I lived here from 4 until 10. My Dad architected this home, and I've always liked the way it looked.

My Grandparents' home in Columbia City.

These pictures are just subsets and lower quality than the full-size pictures. If you'd like to look at ALL of the full-size pictures, download all of the images by clicking HERE. It's a zip file, so you'll need Winzip to open them. It's a 15meg file so it's a little large.