Monthly Archives: July 2018

And the kids are home again after all of their summer camping adventures

Posted on July 28, 2018 by Joel

We picked up the kids on Saturday July 28th. First we drove up to the Lebanon NJ area in the morning to Crossroads Bible Camp to attend a mini morning worship service at the camp, then bring Lily home. Josh … Continue reading →

Posted in Family | Tagged | Leave a comment

I’m building a new Plex / media server using a Synology DS918+ and Seagate IronWolf NAS drives

Posted on July 28, 2018 by Joel

We have a primary media / backup storage model, but I don’t like it. If I had a million bucks, I’d structure things differently. Wouldn’t we all? When you have needs but finite resources… what to do? [Trigger warning – … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

With the kids away at their respective summer camps, that means more time for ourselves

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Joel

While the kids are both away, my wife and I have plenty of free time to…. catch up on work. We did find some free time together later in the week. Wednesday night – we met up for a rainy … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

After a brief 48 hours, the kids are off (separately) for a week away at camp

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Joel

In the 48 hours since he returned from Harrisburg, Joshua and Lily had time to watch Ant-Man and the Wasp with me (my 2nd time), attend karate classes, get a haircut, spend family time together, and pack for their next … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, News | Leave a comment

Josh spent a week in Harrisburg PA on our church mission trip

Posted on July 21, 2018 by Joel

The kids have spent the summer home this year so we could save a little money, and limit the hassle of trying to coordinate drop off and pick up of the kids to various camps without being late to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Friends, News | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

I finished watching Blade Runner 2049 over the course of a week — why did it take me that long?

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Joel

I watched the original Blade Runner (1982) film years ago. Directed by Ridley Scott, I remember thinking the film was pretty interesting. Fascinating cinematography, design, etc. I don’t remember the story being all that amazing — I thought it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Watching a Plays in the Park production of “Mamma Mia!”….. in the park

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Joel

Some friends of ours from church who live in Edison NJ have often told us how some production company puts on musicals at Roosevelt Park in Edison. The ticket prices are reasonable, and all you have to do is bring … Continue reading →

Posted in Family | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Friday night date night with my wife, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and takeout sushi

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Joel

My wife and I went out Friday night after work to see Ant-Man and the Wasp, Marvel’s latest MCU film. We originally planned to watch it with the kids, but they were repeatedly difficult this week, and took away movie … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

We renewed our contract with Verizon and upgraded to the FiOS Gigabit plan

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Joel

We’ve been out of contract with Verizon for their FiOS service for maybe two years now. Every time I went online to check their plans, any renewal would require me to increase my monthly spend for TV-internet-phone service another $30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Spending the day at Point Pleasant Beach

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Joel

Last month at the end of the school year, the Ipes spent a Friday with the Winters family at Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. Unfortunately it was a cool, overcast, and windy beach day. We tried for part 2 this month … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Friends | Tagged , | Leave a comment