Dave Uebele

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Since this web server is connected via a slow link, I'm trying to keep the fancy graphics to a minimum, sorry if this page seems boring by current web standards.

Real World Affiliations: I work as a computer geek for Cisco Systems. If you don't know about Cisco and are reading a web page, its not worth explaining. I telecommute full time and live in Port Orchard, Washington. Its nice to escape the city while still holding down a job. But this page is where I go to escape work, not be reminded of it.

I do most of the admin work keeping Spotted Dog Systems (my non-work related home machine) up and running. My wife, Zoli, is the web-mistress, here, but I'm on my own for creating this page.

Things I do other than computers:

I ride a motorcycle (BMW R100R). I don't get as much chance to ride as I used to. Its a lower priority at the moment.

I've been busy settling into a different home and figuring out what I need to fix. Since its an old farmhouse that has been updated at various time I have my work cut out for me. Repairs and updates have been keeping me busy. I guess you could say I don't get out much these days.
So far the list includes:

• Work on the plumbing, Replace rusty and miss-sized pipes
• Work on the electrical, Glass plug fuses???
• Sheet-rock and painting (after I tear open walls for plumbing and electrical.
• Fencing, for our dog and future livestock
• Build a barn for work shop and office (I telecommute full time)
• Mowing and road work (fill those pot-holes in the gravel driveway)
• Tree pruning and brush clearing (been awhile since the yard was maintained) Thats why I need the fencing, so I can let goats do some of this work for me.
• "Honey, could you fix this..." Always something else ;-)

• Bought a tractor, it makes mowing and road maintenance much easier
• Re-did the walls in one room (the babies room). Insulation in the walls, update electrical, sheet-rock, and paint.
• Got barn/workshop framed. I still need concrete, electrical, insulation, etc
• Raised a flock of ducks. We started with 13, lost them all, started a new flock, the ongoing struggle with predators.
• Painted the house exterior.
• Learned how to harvest the apple tree to make cider. (10 gallons of juice this year.)
• Planted several trees, apple and pear to flesh out an orchard and English laurel as a privacy screen.
• Lots of small miscellaneous maintenance.

• More work on barn/workshop: concrete done and electrical installed.
• upgrade electrical service entrance to house (overhead to underground, and new main panel for house).
• Separate service entrance for barn/workshop.
• Continue to learn about underground utilities. repair walkways and driveways torn up by utility work
• Toys, hot tub and sauna to relax in after working on construction projects all day. Of course we get them functional just as it warms up for summer...
• More implements for the tractor. It makes the job easier. At this rate, I may need to go into business doing small scale tractor work.
• Learning more about apple harvest, 12 gallons of juice, just from one tree, experimenting with beer and wine making, with heavy emphasis on use of apple juice.

• Civil war reenactment gets more serious.
• working on restoring an old VW bug.
• Building kayaks, . Stitch and glue from Pygmy Boats.  Both boats complete and usable, except for final sanding and varnish work.
• Work is slowly moving forward on the barn, framing in the walls to define the office space, and getting some of the lighting wiring done.
• I've also been loaning out barn space to a friend that is building a civil war era cannon. I've been helping with some of the iron work and welding.
• Fruit harvest was less this year, less apples, less time for picking and proccessing.

• Civil war renactment sort of fizzled again,   Too much club politics, weekends too precious.
• Cannon work slowed, more politics and personal issues.
• Slowed down on projects around the house. Thinking about selling and moving to a different location (not so close to the freeway)
• Kayaking petered out (daughter getting bored and restless in the kayak), messing with power boats instead. Its nice to have a boat with its own head, and you can get to more places to explore Puget Sound.
• Just let the birds eat the apples.  Harvested blueberries and blackberries to make fruit flavored liquor

• Earthquake in Puget Sound.  Damage was minimal. stuff knocked around.  Brick chimney for boilier needs repair quake shook up the rust in the pipes, so orange water for a couple of days, started replumbing project to reduce rust.
• More boating, that seems to be the focus this year.
• Looking into building a new house, that's the current plan for how to escape the freeway.

• Been way busy. Built a new house. last push to fix up things at the old house and sell it.
• Life has been reduced to work on the new house, work on the old house, oops the tool I need is at the other place. No other life. Oh yeah, daughter in school now.
• I'll try to get more detail about the switch, the ongoing projects, etc. The goal really is to finish (or close) the building phase and start having workspace and time for doing fun stuff. My daughter loves Monster Garage, so as soon as we setup our own Monster garage, Mythbusters workshop, I'm hoping to have some good father daughter time making stuff.

The barn work always seems to go slower than expected. Maybe it has something with having an infant (now 4 years old) in the house. We're also trying to get away from the property and have fun. We're experimenting with kayaking, it is interesting having a 1 year old in the kayak with you. We're also getting re-involved with a previous hobby, historical re-enactment, this time with the Washington Civil War Association.
Hobbies ebb and flow. I need to get in and clean and organize the barn, Being dad takes up a lot of weekend time, but its worth it.  Trying to get out and meet people in the area more.  Have a social life outside the computer...

Mostly I've been adjusting to telecommuting full time, being a parent, and living in a nice small town. It takes some adjustment and mellowing out of the hard core computer geek mentality.

Here are some links from my hotlist. Just bullet list format, keep it simple. Most of the links haven't been checked in awhile. I'll prune and update one of these days.

Thanks for stopping by, like most pages, items get added or dropped as I have time to work on them. I'm interested in hearing comments.

dave

last updated 7/28/2004(need to get into better habits for y2k)