2024-01-01 17:13
The burros in the image live on the farm road that goes to Granbury from our house in Godley. They are part of a beautiful drive that we take often and for which we are grateful because… Read More
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Chapman Kids Blog
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A blog about all levels and types of education, homeschool, Christianity, technology. Focus areas: Skipping high school, CLEP testing, the mind/brain problem, technology, volunteer contribution of engineering services
2023-12-31 22:26
We honestly think we are done now. We think this is the final form of the diploma wall.
A 1978 BS Oregon State University — Ken
B 1981 AE Oregon Institute of Technology —… Read More
2023-12-31 14:49
I have gone through the exercise of making New Year’s resolutions quite a number of times, but if I ever accomplished any of them, it was not by my own volition with the resolution… Read More
2023-12-30 21:44
I texted Lynn today to see if he was letting his workers have the day off since it is almost New Year’s Eve. He said no because he is about three days away from the first two rente… Read More
2023-12-29 23:49
I am off and running on the volunteer work I am doing for the GaugeCam GRIME Lab. I am now automatically downloading images from the USGS HIVIS KOLA camera site and plan to see if I can… Read More
2023-12-27 17:54
Now that my PhD schooling is complete, I have asked to stay on and continue the research that started at North Carolina State University back in 2009. Troy (UNL) and Mary (UNK) have posi… Read More
2023-12-26 23:18
Kelly got Lorena a new “Best Mom Ever” mug for Christmas this year. The old one was the only one she ever used. Even if there were plenty of clean and perfectly adequate m… Read More
2023-12-26 17:46
We returned home yesterday from all our graduation and holiday travels after getting up at 3 AM to catch a plane from Washington (DCA) to Texas (DFW). We had Christmas dinner at Jack… Read More
2023-12-26 04:17
Troy and I show up at around 32:00 and also at a little after 1:15:00 Read More
2023-12-25 20:12
We spent Christmas day traveling back to Texas from Washington, D.C. and ended up eating tacos and egg rolls for Christmas dinner at Jack-in-the-Box. That was the only place we could… Read More
2023-12-24 15:22
We just got news this morning that Lorena’s Tia Mina and Grandma Conchita’s sister passed away in Monterrey after a short illness. She is the second of twelve children (Conch… Read More
2023-12-24 13:24
One of the best things we did as a family in Nebraska for the graduation and in Washington, D.C. for Christmas was just do a thing or two on a whim. This picture is from when we went to… Read More
2023-12-23 23:58
Lorena, Kelly, Christian, and I took Uber over to Ted’s Bulletin Restaurant for a late breakfast, then walked to the Capitol Mall to see the Capitol Christmas tree and to visit the… Read More
2023-12-23 15:14
We flew to Washington, D.C. the day after we returned from driving home from the graduation commencement in Nebraska. It was pretty helter-skelter for a bit, but now all of us are enscon… Read More
2023-12-22 21:02
Christian and Kelly took Lorena and I to the fabulous Boiler Room Restaurant in Omaha for a steak after the commencement ceremony at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. That is the sam… Read More
2023-12-21 17:27
We met Kelly’s boyfriend, Adam for the first time, last night at a little party in her apartment. We plan to be together again tonight along with Adam’s aunt and uncle. It wa… Read More
2023-12-20 15:32
I have the diploma, my University of Nebraska email and Teams accounts are going away in a month or two, and there is a real feeling of finality to this enterprise of getting a retirement Ph… Read More
2023-12-19 21:29
Lorena and I had an outdoor thermometer at our house in Centralia that we loved to check. Youngin’s parents wanted to get me something. Unbeknownst to them, they got us just the p… Read More
2023-12-18 16:29
A huge note of thanks to my PhD adviser, Professor Troy Gilmore (top photo), at University of Nebraska–Lincoln and founder of the GaugeCam GRIME Lab where I plan to volunteer now t… Read More
2023-12-16 15:02
Done. They handed me the actual diploma during the graduation. Troy and Youngin threw us an amazing after party. I will describe it all in a little more detail when I am not writing on my ph… Read More
2023-12-14 15:50
Today, Lorena and I are meeting Troy and Youngin for lunch in downtown Lincoln. This is probably my last day of school, ever. It has been an incredible amount of work, but every minute was w… Read More
2023-12-14 01:23
Lorena and I drove up from Texas to Lincoln Nebraska today for my graduation. It was a really nice drive that we took pretty slow, stopping to eat whenever we wanted. I’m getting a… Read More
2023-12-12 23:41
It is starting to pile higher and deeper now. I am now in the registry of earned doctorates kept by the NSF, NIH, and others. This is certainly not the diploma, but it says that I am off… Read More
2023-12-12 15:44
Lorena got out my gown to make sure everything was as it should be. We are heading up toward Nebraska tomorrow, first to pick up the Kelly and Christian in Omaha on Thursday afternoon, t… Read More
2023-12-11 22:55
Lorena pulled out Christian’s PhD cap gown so we can take it along with us to Lincoln for my Graduation. We want to get a picture of he and I when I graduate. He only beat me to a… Read More
2023-12-11 00:18
Our buddy Ralph S. brought a watercolor he had painted with with him when he came to visit at Thanksgiving time. He put it into a nice frame, and presented it to us as a visiting gift. W… Read More
2023-12-10 14:22
I am now below my pre-Thanksgiving weight. I even ran out of notches on my belt so Lorena picked me up a new one yesterday. One thing I have been doing that I think has helped a lot is w… Read More
2023-12-10 13:11
This photo is of the same prickly pear cactus as the one from this post yesterday. It was a good thing Lorena stole her two tunas when she did because the next time she went by, all the rest… Read More
2023-12-09 16:10
I bought a bluetooth keyboard that pairs with my cellphone to make it easier to write posts. Works great! Read More
2023-12-09 15:39
Yesterday turned into a Mexican heritage day for Lorena. When she was shopping, she found a prickly pear cactus outside one stores with bright purple tunas. She harvested a couple of… Read More
2023-12-08 23:33
I was starting to despair because I have been enjoying the audio books I got from the Hood County Library Bookstore and it looked like the influx of books on CD that are of interest to m… Read More
2023-12-07 14:04
The red arrow shows my 5.5 pound backslide during the Thanksgiving holiday. Just today, I made it below my previous low, but it took me two weeks to take off what I put on in about four… Read More
2023-12-06 17:00
I thought the following table was pretty interesting. I created it in November 2020 after I had been in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Ph.D. program for about a year. I did not… Read More
2023-12-06 14:55
A response to the question Is it Wrong to Retire by William Lane Craig on his website Reasonable Faith really resonated with me. It is something I have been thinking about for quite awhi… Read More
2023-12-06 14:06
One of the nicest parts of our Thanksgiving celebration this year was putting up the Christmas tree. Then, several times during the weekend, all the “kids” sat around in the… Read More
2023-12-04 15:12
With Thanksgiving and our first Sunday morning of even numbered months worship meeting that we host at our home behind us, we are in a week of calm before we start traveling, entertainin… Read More
2023-12-03 13:07
I found an amazing new source for audio CD books. Ebay. I cannot believe I did not think of this before. I am going to start loading up on these things so I have books for my walks. I wa… Read More
2023-12-01 16:39
These are my two new friends who sing to me on my daily walks whenever they are outside and they feel like it. Sometimes they do not feel like it. Beautiful dogs! There must be one of th… Read More
2023-11-30 15:24
Well, I did not do as well as I wanted over the Thanksgiving holiday in terms of weight gain, but I suppose I could have done a lot worse. I was up around five pounds. I absolutely think… Read More
2023-11-28 21:01
This might have been the best Thanksgiving ever. At the very least it compares favorably to when we invited all my siblings and their families, my folks, our cousins, Tim and David Me… Read More
2023-11-27 23:44
Grandma Conchita has now displayed my dissertation in the highest place of honor in the dining room. I am very gratified. She is not shy about her pride in her children and I count mysel… Read More
2023-11-26 15:08
We pretty much had to trash our exercise room to get it done, but Christian and I got our new projector installed, hooked up to a NUC (mini-computer) and pointed at the screen on the back wa… Read More
2023-11-25 20:54
Back at the coffee bar in Granbury while Lorena, Kelly, and Christian shop. Love this place Read More
2023-11-25 14:20
Thanksgiving was phenomenal this year. The addition of Ralph and Olivia injected a ton of energy and we hope they can make it back again next year. They are leaving a little later today. Gra… Read More
2023-11-23 15:56
I got up early this morning to get everything done in a somewhat relaxed manner before I got our 25 lb. turkey into the oven. I really enjoy the whole process a lot. I am even getting pr… Read More
2023-11-23 13:55
I got up at about six this morning to read my Bible, drink some coffee and enjoy the morning before all the bustle and noise associated with a Thanksgiving celebration for a dozen people… Read More
2023-11-22 17:32
Ralph and I do not have all the problems of the world solved yet, but we have made a good start. It is becoming obvious, though, that we will have to take it up again soon–possible in… Read More
2023-11-21 16:35
The first wave of Thanksgiving visitors have arrived. Ralph, Olivia, Kelly, and Christian are here and we are having just a great time. The first event is to head out to a Mexican grocery st… Read More
2023-11-20 15:43
Lynn sent me a couple of images from the lower terrace at the apartment building. I thought they were really nice. Things are not as hazy in the morning. This is a lot lower on the hi… Read More
2023-11-19 19:58
It is a great joy to have Grandma Conchita with us for Thanksgiving this year. We can hardly believe that, after quite a few years of smaller gatherings, it appears we will have, God wil… Read More
2023-11-18 19:53
Lynn has started sending updates on the house on the top of the hill again. The goal is to get the first floor apartment livable enough for Conchita, Lorena, and I to survive there while Lyn… Read More
2023-11-18 16:21
Now that I am about to graduate, my Ph.D. adviser, Troy, and I have identified a volunteer research project on which I can collaborate. Troy’s GRIME Lab is working with collaborato… Read More
2023-11-16 13:34
It has been well over a year since I have weighed under 200 pounds. This morning, I made it. I expect to fluctuate above and below that for a week or two, but God willing, I will below f… Read More
2023-11-15 14:33
God willing, we will be up at University of Nebraska–Lincoln one month from now getting ready to walk in the graduation ceremony. I keep checking my student account to see if I… Read More
2023-11-14 15:47
There are new street view images for virtually every house we have ever owned except the one we are in now which is a gated community and they cannot get in. The new images were all take… Read More
2023-11-12 19:19
Most of the hard copies of my dissertation are still with Troy in Lincoln, but he graciously sent me a few via FedEx. It is very cool to be able to hold one in my own hot little hands. T… Read More
2023-11-12 01:40
Another house across the street from our first remodel in San Pedro has started a remodel. That is the second one that has done this. Those two houses and the one we purchased, honestly… Read More
2023-11-11 15:44
Lorena visited the houses with Lynn, his three boys, Lynn, Jr., Marlon, and Bruno, Tío Lauro, and Grandma Conchita last night. It was cloudy and rainy, but Lorena reported the nig… Read More
2023-11-10 21:32
Tío Lauro took Lorena and Grandma Conchita to an art show in Guadalupe last night. The show featured engravings and Tío Lauro was one of the invited artists. The mayor o… Read More
2023-11-09 14:50
Lorena had to get some paperwork done at El Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE). My understanding is that her “official” residence is whatever is on her voter credential and h… Read More
2023-11-08 22:10
There is a new restaurant in San Pedro Lorena claims is the best one yet. It is just down the hill from our places and the believe it is better than our previous which is, honestly, v… Read More
2023-11-07 01:08
The CEO of the company where I work, Thrive Bioscience, often sends gift packages out for different holidays. They are amazing. We get authentic Vermont Maple Syrup and Harry and David&r… Read More
2023-11-05 14:27
Lorena and I drove into Granbury yesterday for lunch. It was a spectacularly beautiful day. After lunch, we drove over to the public library and visited the bookstore there. I bought a c… Read More
2023-11-04 13:38
Last night, Lorena made me beef stir fry, but replaced the rice (or sometimes noodles) with sauteed cabbage and onions. It was nothing short of spectacular. We are planning to try someth… Read More
2023-11-03 18:17
My gifted brother-in-law Lauro Pedraza was invited to show one of his engravings at an event in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Here is how it is described:
76 artistas y sus creacion… Read More
2023-11-02 23:27
Christian gets in a well-deserved day of hiking at Big Sur after his big presentation on Monday. I hope he gets a chance to see the aquarium in Monterey (the other, less famous Monterey… Read More
2023-11-01 16:02
November 1 is not too early to start planning for Thanksgiving. We are hoping, God willing, that this year’s Thanksgiving will be one for the ages. Our expected visitors this year… Read More
2023-11-01 00:46
We love that we get trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood here in Texas. The last several places we lived were isolated enough that we would get between zero and less than you can count… Read More
2023-10-30 18:38
I went to check out the house we are remodeling on the top level of streets on Cerro de las Mitras in San Pedro. When I went to the street view, it showed a new image of the house (taken… Read More
2023-10-30 14:40
Christian is scheduled to present the research from his work to at the 2023 Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers (ACSSC 2023) this morning. The title of his presentatio… Read More
2023-10-29 20:56
The temperature has stayed in the forties all day with lots of wind and abundant rain. Lorena thought rightly that today would be a good day for a fire in the fireplace. I concurred comp… Read More
2023-10-28 22:32
Maybe it is because we are approaching Halloween that I am thinking about these things, but it is magnified by a spiritual decline in the west and around the world that provokes a strong… Read More
2023-10-27 22:24
One of my favorite parts of Lorena’s trip to Cambridge to visit Christian was that they went down to a pumpkin patch and the liked it so much they went back again. Christian got… Read More
2023-10-26 22:20
We ate the three figs we thought were the yearly harvest of Christian’s very pathetic little fig tree about a month ago. Lorena was out looking at it this morning and hollered at m… Read More
2023-10-25 23:42
Lorena brought me this spectacular linen shirt Christian got me for my birthday. LOVE it. It looks OK now, but will look even better when I am down another ten pounds. I am going to show… Read More
2023-10-25 18:05
Lorena flew home from Boston this morning. I have no idea how I survive when she is gone. She flew JetBlue on a frequent flyer miles ticket which is a leftover from when I was flying bet… Read More
2023-10-23 18:57
I just got notice from the printing office at University of Nebraska–Lincoln that my dissertation print run has returned from the bindery and is ready for pick-up. Troy is going to… Read More
2023-10-22 19:58
Christian ran Lorena up through Maine and New Hampshire to see the leaves, a new lighthouse in NH and chase down a hamburger from a “best of” list in Portsmouth. The le… Read More
2023-10-21 19:39
I ran into Granbury this morning to see if I could find myself a couple of books at the Hood County Library bookstore and to have some lunch at Panda Express. Last weekend I went down to… Read More
2023-10-21 14:03
The conclusion from an abstract of an article:
Oral creatine administration may improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning of healthy individuals but its effect on other cog… Read More
2023-10-20 14:41
BEFORE: View out from the front of the house
AFTER: View from the street toward the front of the house
Work is coming to an end at the apartment building, so the bulk of Lynn’s te… Read More
2023-10-19 15:44
Lorena is totally a machine when it comes to her workouts. She NEVER misses one. She just sent me this image she took at the gym in Christian’s apartment building. Both Christian&r… Read More
2023-10-18 22:57
Lorena and Christian are having too much fun in Boston. There is no way I want to miss the next trip.The first thing they did is went further north into New England to pick apples… Read More
2023-10-17 14:27
Work on the remodel of the house on the hill in San Pedro is about to accelerate. That work has been on somewhat of a hiatus due to the need to finish the work on the apartment remodel d… Read More
2023-10-14 19:25
With Lorena gone, I drove over to Granbury to check out the Hood County Library situated not to far from their historic town center. I LOVED it. It is a small library and probably mor… Read More
2023-10-13 23:47
I am envious of Lorena eating in Sommerville, Mass. at an Italian Restaurant in Davis Square named Posto. That is always our first stop when we visit Christian in Boston. I am sitting at… Read More
2023-10-12 21:08
Lorena’s new Garmin Vívoactive 5 GPS (31st anniversary) watch arrived just in time for her trip to visit Christian in Cambridge for the next week and a half. I get to stay h… Read More
2023-10-11 15:14
For posterity, I put together a final inventory of classes and research credits that appear on my transcript for my Ph.D. program. I learned a lot more new stuff than I expected when I s… Read More
2023-10-10 15:01
I am very grateful to be married to Lorena. The picture at the left was taken in 2009 in Raleigh, shortly after the kids started college at Wake Technical Community College. It is mind b… Read More
2023-10-10 14:36
I am grateful to my professor Troy at University of Nebraska–Lincoln for having funded the tuition and fees for my Ph.D. studies. It was especially kind of him because they were mu… Read More
2023-10-09 22:11
Lorena and I walked Fort Worth’s spectacular zoo as part of our three-day, 31st wedding anniversary celebration with more still to come. Of course, now that we are in Texas… Read More
2023-10-08 11:38
Lynn continues to work hard on the apartments in San Pedro. He planted a two trees in front of the building a couple of weeks ago. It rained pretty hard for several days last week whi… Read More
2023-10-07 21:01
Back in the late 1990’s I worked for a company named ESI on a new product. There were problems with the product and I worked many hours, often through the night to resolve them. I… Read More
2023-10-07 15:46
Lorena and I are celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary this long weekend–I have Columbus Day off from my work. That actual anniversary is not until after the weekend, but we tho… Read More
2023-10-05 14:36
My latest health kick started a month ago on Christian’s birthday. Today I weighed in at a little over twenty pounds less than when I started. My Body Mass Index has dropped from 3… Read More
2023-10-05 13:31
A new book titled Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries that Bring the Bible to Life arrived a couple of days ago. I ordered it after hearing Titus Kennedy be interviewed… Read More
2023-10-04 14:57
Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn… Read More
2023-10-03 15:34
I have been working with a couple of guys in different capacities for close to forty years. The last twenty years or so, I have used them as consultants for difficult machine vision work… Read More
2023-10-02 18:05
We got the good news today that Christian and Kelly are coming home for an entire week for Thanksgiving! Grandma Conchita is planning to be here the whole time, too. In addition to that… Read More
2023-10-01 13:18
Yesterday, Lorena and I had a long conversation about what we do for ourselves. Its genesis was a brief chat Christian and I. What “for ourselves” meant was what we do, not o… Read More
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