http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum recent pleonast.com entries by user carpecollum en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=602993 My yellow platty died two days ago. He had been struggling for several weeks. He mainly rested on the bottom of the tank and did nothing because he had been damaged by a high ammonia concentration. I didn't have the heart to kill him, so I let him live out his last few weeks hoping against hope that he'd get better... Alas, it was not to be. As I fished his corpse out with a net, my boys discovered that I was doing something. "What are you doing, Dad?" Si asked. "One of my fish died, and I have to get him out of the tank," I replied. I could see this information sink in. His eyes started watering up. He shook his head vigorously, "No...no, I don't want the fish to die," he said. "Son, he's already dead. He got sick. That's what happens to fish sometimes." But Si was already crying. X seemed to be doing okay as I took the fish to the toilet. I asked if he wanted to flush it. He shook his head and ran out of the room...but then came back in a rus... 2008-11-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=599788 I just finished putting in a new floor in our house. We ripped out all the old carpet (which includes pulling up all the tack strips around the edges of the room and all the staples which hold the carpet padding down). Then we installed laminate flooring - a floating floor, which means it's not nailed or glued down. It just locks together and looks good. Pluses: easy installation, looks good, cheap. Minuses: hard to repair a piece in the middle of the room... Here are a few pictures of the finished result: Living Room and Kid's Room Hall and Closet Floor And, for those of you who know us, here are a couple of recent photos of our family... Cheers. 2008-11-15 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=597437 I got three new fish today, and I'm stoked. When I first put together my 10-gallon tank a couple of months ago, I stocked it with... 2 black-skirt tetras, 2 blood fin tetras, 2 plattys, and 2 serpa tetras. This is my first time to have a tank, so I have been learning a lot about how to take care of these little guys. One of my blood fin tetras died on the second day after I bought him. I did not change the water like I should for a couple of weeks and the ammonia level got too high, which damaged one of my plattys. He's still alive, but he sinks like a rock and spends most of his time resting on the rocks at the bottom - not good behavior for a platty. Today I talked with the guy at the FISH PEDDLER just around the corner from my house. I asked about getting an algae eater, because I thought that might help with some of the waste management and food that didn't get eaten. He recommended I get a couple of cory catfish instead. Corys are tiny things that eat food off the bo... 2008-11-09 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=592831 First, let me say I didn't mean to offend anyone with my last post. I realize there were some of my readers who felt it was gossiping to post that video about the lawsuit filed against Obama. I respect that point of view, so I removed the video. It made me start thinking about all the JUNK out there flying around from both sides. One of the problems is that every election year we see plenty of negative campaigning - Republicans trashing the Democratic candidate and vice versa. Then we see shouting matches between the party supporters. Then Christians start going at it...as if we should take part in the fighting and bickering! The cold, hard facts are: Neither candidate upholds Biblical morality; Neither candidate is interested in true Biblical Christianity; Neither candidate will bend his will to our God in heaven, as he should. So, the question has been raised for years: Should a Christian vote? I have many friends who don't plan to vote...and I respect that. I do plan to vote. My ... 2008-10-29 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=592110 I hope this doesn't remind you of anyone... 2008-10-27 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=585368 Where will the government actually STOP giving away money? Where is the limit of it's bail-outs, loans, and interest-rate reductions to "stimulate" and "save" the economy? I'm thinking if I lose my job, I'll just call up Washington and tell them there are FIVE individuals who would be directly affected by my job-loss, and could I get some money so we could make it a while before I got another job? Maybe I could get a little extra cash if I could prove to the government that I had been dishonest in my business dealings. Oh - so you don't think FIVE people would be enough to get a bail-out package from the government? What is the number limit? How many people must an entity (business) affect before it qualifies for a bail-out? AIG got a nice $37.8 billion loan today. It qualified, I guess. I wonder where the government is getting all the cash to bail these guys out. Oh yeah...from you and me. Is this the way redistribution of wealth is supposed to work? We take mon... 2008-10-09 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=582231 I was not happy with President Bush's push for the "bail-out" package. I WAS happy when Congress vetoed the bill. This is the way I see it... I work hard (okay, so "hard" might be subject to interpretation) to support myself and my family. I go to a bank and take out a loan to buy a house. They check my credit, run me through a series of tests, and decide I'm a good risk, so they loan me money. Now, what if I lose my job for several months and find myself unable to pay my mortgage each month? Is there any possible way I can call up Washington, D.C. and ask them to bail me out of my little situation? "President Bush, I made some mistakes in judgment, and my family is about to suffer because of what I did. Could you pass a bill that could bail me out of this little financial situation?" I also have the option of loaning some of my money to companies and individuals. It's cool to be able to lend. I'm letting someone else use my money for a specified period ... 2008-10-01 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=578278 I figure turning thirty is like getting your first black belt. Those who have never obtained their first black belt (in the martial arts) tend to view anyone with a black belt as having attained the final goal of all fighters. This is simply not the case. In many systems of the martial arts the first degree black belt is just the beginning. It means you are have obtained some sense of the art and should be able to teach the fundamentals of the system. I turned thirty on Friday. I figure it's kind of the same thing. Those ten or twenty years my junior may think thirty is a masterful goal. They think I have become one of the "older" people. But, for me, it feels like I'm just getting started in life. I know, Alexander the Great had conquered the world by the time he was thirty, but I'm not comparing myself to him. Jesus began His ministry when He was thirty, but I surely won't compare myself to the Son of God! Thirty seems to be a good time to start contributing. I have the b... 2008-09-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=571163 So...what did you think of the Republican's Vice President candidate? I have to say I was quite impressed. Terms that come to mind are "poised," "graceful," "genuine," and "intelligent." She can certainly be biting when she wants to be. If I was Senator Obama watching her speech tonight, I would feel quite small. I'm torn in that I have never been gung-ho about a woman in a leadership position such as this. But...if she can handle it without it tearing up her family, I think I'm on board with this woman, so far. She has a cute little girl. Did anyone else see the little girl lick her hand and plaster her little brother's hair down with her saliva? It was so cute! I also am impressed with her resume. If you want true conservatism in the White House, it looks to me like this is it. I have not been impressed with Senator McCain's economic positions so far, but if he's willing to bring in a partner who is interested in cutting taxes and c... 2008-09-04 http://www.pleonast.com/user/carpecollum?l=5&entryID=569127 My oldest son just turned five. One day he was four, the next he was five. It was pretty amazing. He received a batmobile from his Uncle Seth and Aunt Natalie, which he loves. He puts Batman to bed every night before his bedtime. Just a few minutes ago, Batman shot off the couch. "Ahh! I need my Batman!" he said to the room in general. I just looked at him. We are attempting to teach the principle of ASKING FOR HELP instead of whining or complaining or just stating something is wrong. I asked, "How do you think you will get it back?" I immediately thought of two options: 1) He could ASK me to get it for him or 2) He could get down and get it himself. I waited for him to choose. "X, get that for me," he demanded of his little brother, who promptly grabbed the batmobile and flipped it back onto the couch. Possible morals of the story: There's almost always an option C. Seek to leverage available resources. There's almost always a way to remai... 2008-08-29