JeffHorneWeb Blog

The Project To Top Them All

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:36:00 -0500

I am a weekend warrior, a do it yourselfer and have never met a project I didn't like. My last big project, building a titled shower out of our bath only master bath kept me off major projects for a few years. This latest project may keep me off them for a decade.

My detached garage has been leaking for some time. I recently found that it was leaking much worse that I thought and some of the wood was terribly warped. I thought it was be a good weekend project. How hard could it be? Tear off the old stuff, replace the bad plywood, roll out tar paper and put down new shingles.

Unfortunately, it's horrible bad. My neighbor and I both thought it would be a fun, learning project and we both now know we definitely learned one valuable lesson. That lesson is that we never want to roof again. For starters, a very mild week ended in the 90s. That's much hotter on a roof.

Day one was tear off day. That was a lot of work. The roof was put on in the days when felt paper was held in place with roofing nails. That made tear off a lot tougher.

Yesterday was re-wood, tar paper and first two rows of shingles. It went okay but the heat was worse than the previous day.

I took today off and continued. It was not as hot when the clouds rolled in but when it was out, the heat was unbearable. Storms were in the forecast. After several rows of shingles, I decided to move the shingle bundles to the roof to hold a tarp in place. I got the tools off the roof just before the rain started.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the tarp up fast enough so the rain hit the ceiling. My research says that tar paper can get wet and will flatten out when it dries off. I will be placing the tarp down tomorrow before more forcasted storms on Wednesday and Thursday.

So my Labor Day weekend will now consist of a lot of labor and hopefully the completion of the biggest home improvement project of my life.

Back To School

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:11:00 -0500

It's been about a month since I updated the blog. Sorry for the lack of updates but it has been a busy, busy Summer.

G-FEST was great. Akira Takarada was a great guest. Everyone had a great time. Preparations are already under way for G-FEST XVIII.

After that it was off to the Wisconsin Dells for the annual sabbatical to the water park capital of the world. We stayed at the Skyline Hotel across the street from Mount Olympus. It was a great time and the hotel was very nice and reasonably priced. With our stay, each member of the family receives a pass for Mount Olympus for the duration of the stay.

The rest of the Summer has been filled with more activity. We hit Raging Waves and had a great time at Six Flags.

G-FEST XVII In The Record Books

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:36:00 -0500

Had a great, great time at G-FEST. By all accounts, that is the general feeling from most attendees. The Guest of Honor, Akira Takarada, was received with great excitement and he elivered. A true professional, he treated the fans like they were the celebrities. A great man and a great guest.

Pictures and more info to follow soon.

Happy Birthday America

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:42:00 -0500

Happy 234th Birthday United States of America. We hope it's a good one.

Down To The Crossroads

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:37:00 -0500

We went to Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival on June 26th. We all had a fantastic time with the exception of Lillie, who was bored out of her skull. Tom loved it. Mary and I have had enough Blues for the rest of our lives so when Vince Gill came out with James Burton and Albert Lee we were thrilled. Hearing James Burton play Mystery Train was the thrill of a lifetime. Jeff Beck was great and easily stole the show. Clapton was boring until Winwood joined him. They played Glad, some Blind Faith song, Dear Mr Fantasy, Voodoo Chile which cooked and ended with Cocaine, which was hilarious with female backing vocals.

John Mayer was the big surprise, in a good way. He played with Pino Palladino (third time Mary and I have seen him) and Steve Jordan. They were second to Beck for best in show. I was ready to poo-poo his performance big time. Apparently he’s one of those musicians with the radio friendly songs to get airplay but live he kills with the other material. I’ve only heard the XRT songs and consider them lightweight.

ZZ Top were dependable and played exactly what you wanted (Have Mercy into Jesus Just Left Chicago, some song I don’t remember and La Grange). Robert Cray was okay. Ronnie Wood was a surprise with Buddy Guy and Johnnie Lang. They were enjoyable enough. Johnny Winter will not be with us much longer. He butchered Red House but given his health, he was completely forgiven. We left after Clapton/Winwood so we missed BB King and the Finale but from what I’ve read it was just as well.

Sonny Landreth was a great opener. Robert Randolph band was as good as they needed to be. Doyle Bramhall II and Sheryl Crow and the Derek Trucks and Susan Tadeski Band were yawn inducing. At least Trucks was a last minute fill in for the Allman Bros so he had an excuse.

Bill Murray was a great MC. Earl Klugh played a nice 15 minute set of what Lillie called Elevator Music. Given the time of day, we called it dinner music. It was also a treat to see Bert Jansch.

Clapton said he had so much fun that there will be another. We would go again, sans Lillie.

We were in the stands. Section 109 Row 5. Pretty far away from the stage but they would have been good soccer seats.

Very hot but tolerable once the sun went behind the roof.

What A Week

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 07:43:00 -0500

So the week that saw several strong, damaging storms, a 10+ game win streak for the left for dead White Sox, wonderful Lillie's 11th birthday and the start of dismantling the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks because of the salary cap winds up with The Crossroads Guitar Festival. As June has been, there are storms forecasted for this afternoon and tonight. Argh.

Guitars and Lightning don't mix. We have the sunscreen and emergency ponchos so we're prepared for any weather event.

And We're Left With This

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:06:00 -0500

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last week. The parade has come and gone. They were at Wrigley Field tonight to throw out the first pitch and sing the 7th Inning Stretch. Tomorrow they will be on the Tonight Show.

That leaves us with baseball until football starts in August. Baseball has been pretty depressing so far. The White Sox had won four straight games until tonight. Both pitchers had no hitters going into the 6th inning. Gavin Floyd lost his in the bottom of the 6th, Ted Lily in the top of the 9th. I was sure it was going to be the first game neither team would win but the Cubs somehow got one run to salvage the final game of the series.

It is no coincidence that the winner of the combined series receives a trinket called The BP Cup. That would make the less losing of two losing teams receiving a trophy from a loser company that is destroying the environment in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's all so sad.

Two Teams One Cup

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:07:00 -0500

It was a hard fought series but the Blackhawks triumphed over the Flyers tonight with a goal by Patrick Kane in overtime to bring Chicago it's first Stanley Cup since 1961.

And the fans in Philadelphia stayed through it all so they could boo the commissioner and throw orange shirts at the Blackhawks as they skated around with the Cup.

Parade back home in Chicago starts Friday morning at 10:30.

Congrats and thanks Hawks. Now go shave those playoff beards.

Waterslide

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 22:28:00 -0500

The Year project continues with the slightly delayed release of May's song Waterslide. The backing tracks were completed in May but we just recorded the vocals tonight. In continued "The family that plays together, stays together" fashion, another member of the family shines on this track.

Lillie takes the lead vocal on this tribute to one of our favorite summertime traditions, the waterslide. It's an upbeat little rocker with plenty of pogo-osity.

Enjoy.

Waterslide

This Is Tough

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 08:39:00 -0500

The Blackhawks are not making it easy on their fans. After a sweep of the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference finals, some fans thought the Stanley Cup Final series would be a cake walk. Think again, misguided fans.

Each game as been a battle. The two games in Philadelphia were especially hard, for the team and the fans. Game Three was an overtime loss that was the result of a shift change at the wrong time. Mental lapse number one. Game Four was so aggravating I had to turn it off for a spell. Mental lapses were plentiful in this game as Hjalmarsson allowed a Flyer to steal the puck from behind his own net and put it right in. The absolute worst was Giroux getting behind the defense, around the goal and waiting by the right goal post, unseen by Niemi. The Flyers hit him with a pass, and he easily scored.

The 4-1 lead was the largest in the series. The Hawks fought back to 4-3 and pressured hard at the end of the game. Missed shots that were close scared the Flyer faithful but a bouncing puck over Duncan Keith's stick at the point led to an empty net goal and a 5-3 Flyers win.

The series is now tied at two games a piece with a return to the United Center set for Sunday night.

Hawks fans are scared and rightfully so. This team is having a hard time with with the Flyer's physical play and is giving up far too many easy goals on far too many mental lapses. Yes, Chris Crosscheck, er.. Pronger is a big guy and is getting away with murder but don't let him get in your heads. I know he has but hopefully some home cooking will erase a bit of that.

Gunfight At The UC Coral

Sun, 30 May 2010 13:34:00 -0500

Last night, the Stanley Cup Finals got under way and it was not much of a defensive showcase at all. The score was tied at 5-5 after two periods. What would happen in the third? Finally some defense showed up for the Blackhawks. They held the Flyer scoreless and went ahead when Tomas Kopecky scored with 11:35 remaining in the third period.

I can't see the game tomorrow being played this way. Hopefully it was opening game jitters and things will settle in game two.

Some awesome Finals wallpapers are available at the official Blackhawks website.

Stanley Cup Schedule

Tue, 25 May 2010 21:43:00 -0500

It's official, the Blackhawks will be playing the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals starting Saturday at 7pm. The rest of the finals shakes out like this.

Game 1: Sat., 7 p.m., at Blackhawks, NBC
Game 2: Mon., 7 p.m., at Blackhawks, NBC
Game 3: Wed., 7 p.m., at Philadelphia, Versus
Game 4: Fri., 7 p.m. at Philadelphia, Versus
*Game 5: Sun., 7 p.m., at Blackhawks, NBC
*Game 6: Wed., 7 p.m. at Philadelphia, NBC
*Game 7: Fri., 7 p.m., at Blackhawks, NBC

*-if necessary

The Cup Runeth Over

Sun, 23 May 2010 19:20:00 -0500

The Blackhawks completed their sweep of the San Jose Sharks today and return to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1992. That series was a great disappointment as they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. I expect different results this time.

I've seen a few versions of the Blackhawks logo with his playoff beard and felt that was proper. I know I will go into withdrawal until the games begin. I was already missing the games after today's ended.

Go Blackhawks. End the drought that has lasted since 1961. Bring Lord Stanley's cup to Chicago to reward the fans who have returned to show you support like this city hasn't seen in years.

Game One In The Books

Sun, 16 May 2010 18:37:00 -0500

The Blackhawks continued their quest for Lord Stanley's Cup by taking game one of the NHL Western Conference finals from teh San Jose Sharks 2-1. Both teams played very well with the Sharks holding the edge in shots on goal. But Dustin Byfuglien came through with about six minutes left in the game to score teh go ahead goal in front of the stunned faithful at the Shark Tank.

Game Two is Tuesday night at 9pm Central. Playoff hockey is great. Go Hawks.

Rebirth

Sat, 08 May 2010 08:16:00 -0500

After a very cold outing to the local minor league baseball game, we returned home to watch the Blackhawks v. Canucks game four. Once again, the team in the Blackhawks uniforms was not the team I watched for the first series and on and a half games of this series.

Lethargic and tentative in game one and halfway through game 2, this team is aggressive, plays smart and is patient in setting up shots for goals. This is a team that can go far in the playoffs. I enjoy watching this team much more. I have confidence in this team.

In game three Dustin Byfuglien's agressive play led to a hat trick and star of the game status. In this game, the Captain, Jonathan Toews was not to be outdone. Not only did he score a hat trick but he picked up two more points with assists to tie a team playoff record.

At the ballpark, the number of people with Blackhawks gear on was very pleasing. This team has seen an amazing renaissance in this area. A few short years ago, they were lucky to have a couple thousand people show up at the games. Now they sellout and, at least last night, people quickly stop what they're doing to get home and watch them play on TV. And since Rocky Wirtz has taken over the team, they can happily do that with home games, too.

The Hawks are now up three games to one. They return home for a Mother's Day tilt at the UC. I know one Mother, and a Mutha, who would find a series wrap up to be a great present.