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Gianna Maria Gretencord

17 Sep 2007 by

It was with great joy we welcomed Gianna Maria Gretencord to the family last Friday. She was born at 9:53am at St. David’s Hospital. Gianna weighed in at 8 lb 9oz and is 20.25 inches long. Mom is recovering nicely and baby is doing quite well. She loves to eat and sleep which works fine for us.

Gianna Maria born

Thérèse loves her little sister and frequently requests to hold and kiss her. Fulton has had this “not interested” attitude for some time but last night we caught him waving “good night” to her.

I updated Gianna’s page with the new information. I’ll let Sharon have the honors of telling the birth story. Trust me, this is one we will never forget!

Our one concern at this moment is that Gianna’s blood type is A negative – which is the same as Thérèse’s. If you recall, Thérèse had a serious case of jaundice when she was born. Gianna looks to be heading down the same path. Today’s visit to the pediatrician has shown that her bilirubin count has skyrocketed. She goes back tomorrow for another test. Despite all her best efforts with continual feedings, it hasn’t worked it’s way out of her system. We’ll keep you posted.

Category: Family  7 Comments

Motorcycling in Texas

12 Sep 2007 by

When it comes to driving in Texas, registering an out-of-state scooter has been the hardest thing I’ve done. The process was long and tedious – although partly due to the fact I was rebuilding the scooter simultaneously. However, I certainly could of saved a few trips to the DMV. Here are some tips that may benefit someone who would happen to stumble upon this post while looking for the same information I had:

Getting the Title

  • Make sure the title has been filled out correctly. If a dealer is selling it on behalf of the owner, may sure that the owner has dictated this on the title by completing the reassignment.
  • Get an accurate reading on the odometer.
  • I had my own troubles with the title (see the first item), but not having one would have been worse. I’ve been told however that there are ways to obtaining one.

Transfering the Title

  • Save yourself some time and have the seller fill out form 130-U Application for Certificate of Title (instructions) at the time of sale. This form will also serve as a Bill of Sale, but I’d also ask for one of those anyway.
  • Make sure that the seller’s name on this form matches the name on the title – including dealer vs. owner. In my case, the dealer did not reassign himself as the seller on the title but did on the application. The DMV caught this. Rather than sending the title back to the dealer to do a reassignment and complete a statement of fact, I tracked down the original owner and had him mail me a completed 130-U. Now the dealer was out of the picture.
  • If your bike is less than 10 years old, make sure the odometer readings on 130-U and on the title are an exact match. I had a discrepancy of a single mile and the clerk went into a panic. She was about to send me away to who knows where until she noticed that my bike was built in 1974.

Title without Registration
If your bike is not ready for registration (i.e. hasn’t passed inspection) but you want to avoid the penalty for going over 20 days, you can complete VTR-131 Request to Issue Negotiable Certificate of Title Without Registration (Title Only). However, you will have to pay the application fee ($33 in Williamson county) again when you go back to register. I was already 30-days past the date of sale so I just decided to wait until I was ready for registration before transferring the title.

Registration

  • Form 130-U will also serve as your registration. You’ll also need proof of insurance and an inspection.
  • If the bike does not have a license plate, you’ll need a temporary one to get it to the inspection station, unless you can haul it. They are available for either $5 for a 1-way plate or $25 for a 30-day plate. I don’t understand the point of the 1-way deal or how it would even be enforced. I just got the 30-day plate since I didn’t know when I could take it in. Be prepared to pay cash only for one of these babies.

Inspection

  • Any location that performs motor vehicle inspections can inspect your bike… or so I’m told. I recommend Sticker Stop if there’s one in your neighborhood.
  • Here the official checklist of what’s covered. For the brake check they’ll ask you to stop within 20 ft going 20mph.
  • Motorcycles/Scooters do not have to undergo an emissions test.
  • If your bike was purchased out of state, be sure to tell the inspectors. There’s a different form they need to give you instead of the standard inspection report. I don’t recall the form name or number but it’s along the lines of Safety Inspection Report for Vehicles Purchases Outside the State of Texas. I had to return to Sticker Stop to get this thing. They just saw my temporary plate and assumed it was bought in Texas.
Category: Vespa  4 Comments

Happy Birthdays

11 Sep 2007 by

Just in case you’re wondering if Baby G has graced us with his/her presence outside the womb…the answer is no.   It’s not his/her birthday today.  I’m still here wondering how close I’ll get to looking like Shamu and ever so thankful that Adam has not insisted on taking very many pictures of me during my pregnancy.   We will let you know as soon as Adam gets home from the hospital and can post it or email you.

In the meantime, a very happy birthday to Fr. Tim today and for my brother, Hector, tomorrow!  May God shower countless blessing upon you both and Jesus, Mary and Joseph always guide and protect you!  Therese insisted on making cake for you but I told her we’d wait until you come visit!

Category: Family  One Comment

Like Father

10 Sep 2007 by

Thérèse: Daddy, can I have a scooter?
Daddy: Of course you can, sweetheart.. We just need to get your mother to approve.

Category: Family, Fun, Vespa  One Comment

All Geared Up

09 Sep 2007 by

You won’t catch me doing any of this nonsense on the scooter:

Roman Holiday Vespa

Obviously Mr. Peck never completed a motorcycle safety course. I could list the number of infractions he has incurred in this very photo but I have not the time.

This is certainly more suitable for modern Austin traffic:

Adam Vespa Gear

Category: Vespa  2 Comments

Happy Birthday, Mother Mary

08 Sep 2007 by

Therese with Mary’s Cake

Category: Faith, Family  Leave a Comment

Realism with Randomness and Math

01 Sep 2007 by

One thing I like about game development is the occasional challenge that comes along that requires you to clean out the cob webs in the ol’ noggin and reach back for a few knowledge nuggets that you somehow managed to hold on to from your high school trigonometry class. Take for instance this little problem in recreating Mancala. While it would be simple to neatly order the stones in each of the bowls it would hardly lend itself to any bit of realism. What we need is randomness to create the effect they were tossed in the bowl. So, how can we do that? Observe.

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// Random radius.
var new_r:int = (_bowlShp.width/2) - s.width;
new_r = Math.random() * new_r;

// Random angle.
var new_ang:int = Math.random() * (Math.PI * 2);

// Find the new x and y positions.
var new_x:int = Math.cos(new_ang) * new_r;
var new_y:int = Math.sin(new_ang) * new_r;

// Move the stone.
s.x = new_x;
s.y = new_y;

// Random rotation.
s.rotation = Math.random()*360;

Lines 2 and 3 take the radius of the bowl and subtracts the width of the stone. It then finds a random number between 0 and this shortened radius. Line 6 chooses a random angle. Lines 9 and 10 is where the fun comes in. Using our random values and a bit of right triangle trig, new x and y coordinates are chosen for the stone. We finish it off by moving the stone to the new location and giving it a little spin.

Essentially you can think of this whole process as first placing the stone in the center of the bowl, move it out a random distance from the center without falling outside of the bowl, and swing it around from the center at a random angle.

Mancala game stones in bowls

Category: Labs  3 Comments

Toys for the Boy

29 Aug 2007 by

In response to Sharon’s plea for manly toys for Fulton:

Fulton and Tonka

Tonka Truck: Check.

Now for that front-end loader…

Category: Family  4 Comments

Family Cars

29 Aug 2007 by

Kids Carwash

Someday in the near future my kids will look back on this photo and ask “What happened to that car? Why are we riding around in this boring ol’ van?”

I had the same question for my parents – except it wasn’t a van, but this very car – when I came across a photo of me in my youth standing next to a 1979 Ford Thunderbird. Maybe my parents can send the picture along and I’ll post it.

Thérèse decides that washing cars is not for princesses. :)

Therese lounging

Actually, that’s not true, she was just being camera shy. She is always thrilled to help daddy wash the car.

Category: Family  5 Comments

Last bit of nesting

25 Aug 2007 by

So, I’m almost done with my nesting.  Many many thanks to friends Zvezdana and Julie–my kitchen angels– for spending the afternoon with me cooking and baking the last bit of meals in our Chop and Stock 2007!  The freezer is full for Baby G’s arrival.   I really had a great time with them jamming to oldies in the kitchen and having a girls’ afternoon while Adam watched the kids. 

 All we really need to do now is figure out where our blessed little bundle will sleep and keep his/her clothes and diapers.  Perhaps we’ll get to that tomorrow. 

With two and a half weeks until my official “due date,” please keep us in your prayers.  Specifically please pray that Therese and Fulton will be well taken care of when we have to go to the hospital.  Also pray that I may perservere and endure the suffering of my labor with grace and that Old Red Legs stops probing at my anxieties.  And of course, pray for a safe and health birth of Baby G.

Category: Family  Leave a Comment
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