The Superior Igloo

The Giant Pumpkin (Carved)

Bob — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:30:58 +0000

The giant pumpkin has been carved. Jackson opted for a traditional Jack-O-Lantern design from a greeting card we received.

After using a Saws All to remove the top we discovered a 3″ thick skin that was actually quite soft. I used 10″ serrated knife to do the carving.

The pumpkin was pretty sparse inside. I’ve seen more guts out of a pumpkin a third its size. The seeds are definitely giant. We plan to dry them and see if we can get them to germinate for next year.

Iron Chef Jackson

Bob — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:39:33 +0000

Halloween scones ready to go into the oven.

Fresh out of the oven.

The IPhone 4s

Bob — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:57:12 +0000

I’m writing this from my new IPhone 4s. I am a recent convert from Droid and am loving the Apple I devices.

So far I’m as impressed withy IPhone as I am with my IPad.

Setup was a breeze and syncing it with my iTunes resulted I’m ally IPad apps with me on phone.

The Giant Pumpkin Weigh-In

Bob — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:27:02 +0000

Our first giant pumpkin weighed in at 81.6 pounds.

Frost has come & the Giant Pumpkin has been picked

Bob — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 17:25:30 +0000

Well, a frost came yesterday morning and by afternoon our garden was quickly transforming from a vibrant October producing garden into what appeared to be a lifeless plot settling down fornthe winter. But it is only early fall and underneath the ground our garden is still teaming with life and will provide us with root veggies for a bit longer.

Excitement came as we realized that it was time to pick our Giant Pumpkin. We don’t have a weigh in yet (I can’t pick it up alone) but it is 21″ tall and 64″ in diameter. It is flat on one side which is probably due to my lack of experience growing giant pumpkins.

Steve Jobs has passed away

Bob — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:05:48 +0000

AP just reported from Apple that Steve Jobs passed away. Very sad news.

The Concrete Table

Bob — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:54:18 +0000

Some of you know the story of the “Cement Table”. For those that don’t here is the short version. I wanted to make a table for our patio. At some point I landed on the idea of a cement table, I’d seen cement countertops and thought why not. Long story short… I was just about to rent the cement mixer and decided to “double check” my cement calculations. I was WAY OFF. My 120 lb table was actually going to need 450 lbs of cement.

So after running this problem by family and friends (and getting lots of laughs) My brother Tom suggested a tile table. Thanks Tom.

The table is almost done and looks awesome. It took a bit of reworking from the original cement table idea but it was well worth it.

Family History

Paul — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:44:29 +0000

I would like to see this section dedicated to exploring and expanding the knowledge base of the Fred and Virginia McCool lineage. Our trip to Ireland this Summer, finding the “McCool lands” in Cashelard and meeting Sean and John McCool there really energized my determination to dig deeper. I hope this venue will help all visitors to the site learn more about our family and contribute what they can to our historical recording.

Germanium and You (By Loren E. Bollinger)

Bob — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 02:14:44 +0000

This article was with Dad’s papers. Loren E. Bollinger is the author and co-wrote Beyond the Speed of Sound with Dad. I can only assume that this was written for “Science and You.” The article is very interesting and talks about the development of the transistor! Where would be today without that!

Click here to read Germanium And You byLorenEBollinger

Time for some wing clipping?

Bob — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:38:10 +0000

When Daryl and Jackson arrived home they noticed one of our new Leghorns had found a nice new perch about 5 feet off the ground! Good thing she doesn’t know that the garden is much greener on the other side!