[Warning: This post may contain materials of a technical and geeky nature.  Read on at your own risk.]

A few weeks ago, Henry declared that he needed some space.  Hard drive space, that is.  Since getting his fancy new camera, his computer hard drive has been filling up fast.  With each pic he takes weighing in at around 25MB each, and with each day he shoots averaging around 50-100 new pics, you can see how it adds up pretty darn quick…

In the past, Henry had been burning his most important files to disks, and used a simple external hard drive to store the bulk of his pictures - but those are not really the most reliable methods of storage.  Disks have limited space and can be easily damaged, and external hard drives can up and die.  Trust me, I know first-hand…  An innocent mix up of similar looking power cords between my higher voltage laptop and lower voltage external hard drive resulted in a power surge and ultimately, a completely fried hard drive (I lost everything!)  That was quite a sad day, indeed.  Because the pictures Henry takes are irreplaceable, it’s super important that he makes sure wherever he stores his stuff is on par with Fort Knox.

Introducing: THE DROBO…. [*cue the choir of angels singing*]

We first heard about Drobo through a photography podcast that Henry listens to religiously (This Week In Photography – or TWIP.)  In fact, as I type this, the latest TWIP podcast is playing in the background… kind of an obsession for him.  The TWIP guys all swear by Drobo and it also came highly recommended through photography and tech blogs, so the more I researched it, the more I decided that it was worth the investment.

What is Drobo?  Well, I’m not really an expert on what exactly goes on inside it, but from what I understand, the Drobo is an iron-clad expandable storage solution which double-secures his pictures.  If one hard drive fails, a second one jumps in and takes over so no data is lost – ever.  It’s the safest and easiest way to protect Henry’s files.  To start with, we got two 1TB SATA drives (energy efficient too!), but we have the ability to swap them out for larger drives or add more (our Drobo has 4 drive slots) at any time.  Which was a major plus for me because I wanted to invest in something that would be able to grow with him.

If Henry wanted to, he could stick a 4TB drive into each of those spots and have more storage than he could anticipate needing for quite some time.  Drives are relatively inexpensive (right now, a 2TB drive will run you around $100 on Amazon… but prices are constantly dropping as the technology evolves), so upgrading  one pair of drives at a time in the future won’t cost us too much at once.  The Drobo itself retails for $300 to $1,000+ depending on the model you get (that’s without drives), so it is a bit of an up-front cost – but we think it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.  I cut a check for $450 every six months for my car insurance (which thankfully I’ve never had to use), and this is no different.  The Drobo is like insurance for Henry’s photography career – except it’s more of a one-time cost.  

We’ve only had the Drobo set up since Wednesday, but so far it’s been working like a charm.  The sleek black box sits on Henry’s desk and just does its thing without any effort on our part.  (It looks kind of cool, too.)  Now that he knows his files are 100% safe over there, Henry is able to free up more space on his computer, making everything run smoother and faster.

Different Drobo models have bonus options like networking and sharing between computers, but we opted to keep the Drobo on Henry’s computer only.  At first, Henry thought it was important to hook my computer into it too, but the difference in price between the models was more than I could justify spending to save my work on it as well. 

BUT, I realized that I couldn’t go without my own backup either.  At the recommendation of a co-worker, I ordered a copy of “My So-Called Freelance Life“ - a book all about successful freelancing for women… and one of the first chapters stresses that rather than set yourself up with cute desk calendars and fun mousepads, your first priority should be securing your work.  After reading that, I felt a little guilty looking at my side of the office… with my cute lamp, fun storage boxes, artwork, and other cool personal effects – I realized that I’d done myself wrong.  My office looks pretty cool, but what matters most is what I do there.  (I’m only about halfway through the book, but I highly recommend it for anyone trying to balance life and work at home – whether full time or in your spare time.  It’s a good read with a lot of humor and some very practical advice.)

As luck would have it, that same day the Amazon Gold Box deal happened to be a 1TB external hard drive, on sale for $20 off.  Score!  Not wanting to be outdone by Henry’s Drobo, I promptly claimed my order before the deal expired without a second thought.  It arrived three days later, and now it’s hard at work backing up my computer automatically as well.  While it’s not nearly as secure as Henry’s Drobo (if it fails, it’s curtains for whatever was on it), but it’s better than nothing.  And you can’t beat the price at only $60…

(Oh yeah, and don’t worry – I took the time to label all of my cords so I know what’s supposed to be connected to what.  …I shouldn’t ever have another cord mix up again.)

I guess you could say this week we’ve cornered the market on “synchronized geeking” with our excitement over dual backup investments.   Sure, they’re just storage devices – but given my affinity for safety and organizational systems, I couldn’t be happier.  So now it’s time to wrap this up and get to work!

No Comments | In: Graphic Design, Life at home | tags: Drobo. | #

Most kids avoid school like the plague during their summer vacations – but I never was like “most kids.”  Which could be why Henry and I were so incredibly excited about the first stop on our road trip: The Kennedy School.

From the outside, the Kennedy School stands exactly as it did when it was opened in 1915, and from the inside it’s mostly intact as well (as I understand from all the old photographs on the walls) - except no more pencils, no more books, and especially, no more teachers’ dirty looks. 

After closing down in 1975, The Kennedy School was purchased and reopened in 1997 by none other than Portland’s own McMenamin’s.  The school has been converted into a geeky traveler’s dream complete with 35 classrooms-turned-guestrooms, an onsite Brewery, a full restaurant, a movie theater showing second-run movies (tickets are free during your stay), an outdoor saltwater soaking pool (where the old teacher’s lounge stood), large meeting spaces (there were private events being held in the “gymnasium” while we were there) - oh yeah and not one, not two, but FIVE bars.  Yep, this is one cool school.

When we first arrived at The Kennedy School I felt like an excited kid on the first day of school.  The entrance from the parking lot greeted us with a painted welcome sign that set the tone for our stay.  So many bright paintings covered every wall that my eyes didn’t know where to look first.  I was totally overwhelmed by the fun of it all.

We wandered the halls with our bags, admiring the artwork along the way, and wondering where we were supposed to go to check in.  After a few wrong turns we rounded a corner and I saw the sign: Principal’s Office… well of course! 

Our room was the school’s original music room!  Quite fitting for the basson-playing high school band geek that I once was.  All the 35 rooms at The Kennedy School are themed – some are named in honor of teachers who taught there for many years, some are named after the room’s purpose (like the music room), and some are just themed historically to match the old school theme.

Our room came equipped with an old chalkboard that spanned the entire far wall… and we just had to leave our mark.  Another cool feature of the room was the absence of the TV – which we didn’t miss at all.  Who needs a TV when you have a chalkboard for playing hangman and 5 bars right outside your door?

The room was also furnished with really neat vintage accessories like a pair of these cool fringed lamps.

Another surprising detail I found in our room: two pint glasses and a mason jar for water – so offbeat and cute.

My new “Mary Poppins Bag” fit in so well with the decor of the room that I had to have Henry snap a quick pic.  It was the perfect traveler for our trip… and even though it looks small I was able to pack more in my bag than Henry could fit in his suitcase.  After all my clothes and three pairs of shoes, I think I still had room for a hat stand and a floor lamp.

After we’d gotten settled in and enjoyed dinner at the somewhat nearby Le Bistro Montage (the best Mac n’ Cheese Portland has to offer, with leftovers wrapped into tin foil sculptures) we went back to go explore our home for the night. 

The halls of The Kennedy School are lit by authentic schoolhouse fixtures, topped with hole-y acoustical ceiling tiles (just like the kind kids at my school used to throw pencils at so they’d stick suspended from the ceiling), and accented with thick wood trim.  I’m not sure what parts of the school are original fixtures and what have been recreated or restored – but I don’t care because the whole place feels “right.”  McMenamin’s did an amazing job of giving this facility a quirky new life.  Not only that, but they collected historical materials like pictures of classes from the ’50s standing on the school’s front steps, with kids proudly holding the birdhouse projects they built – right there in the same spot I was standing, generations later.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that the price to stay here is LESS than most hotels in downtown Portland?  Yep, for just $130 a night you can stay in one truly unique place.  Sure, it’s outside of the downtown area, but with five bars, a restaurant, movie theater, and more – The Kennedy School has all you need for a fun night.

We thought about going to “Detention,” but the cigar smoking made us think twice… *hack, cough, wheeze* …no thanks.  Instead, we hung out in The Boiler Room, The Cypress Room, and the Honors Bar.  Every room of course has a blackboard menu for the day’s specials.

At about 9:30pm it was time for that night’s movie to start so we headed over to the old auditorium to catch our free showing of ’Hot Tub Time Machine.’  The cost of admission for locals not staying the night is only $3 ($2 on Tuesdays) - a steal as compared to the $10.50 per person that we typically spend on movie tickets. If we lived in Portland, I think I’d exclusively go to movies here.  The theater has its own bar and serves pizza, popcorn, and other snacks.  Inside the auditorium are rows of old vintage loveseats and antique sofa tables.  Henry and I snuggled into an oversized purple couch with our pints of beer and a little tub of popcorn.  The movie was funny and the ambiance was comfortable.  Why don’t more movie theaters serve beer?

The next morning, as we walked out of our room to check out, I just happened to look up and notice this pair of little paintings on the pipes along the ceiling. 

I think that’s what I loved most about The Kennedy School - their attention to every detail makes the place so special and fun.  All in all, our stay at The Kennedy School was a fantastic experience filled with surprises around every corner.  Henry and I can’t wait to go back someday! 

No Comments | In: Road Trip, Travel | tags: Portland, Road Trip, The Kennedy School. | #

Today we said goodbye to a good friend and co-worker.  Although we’re happy that she’s leaving for bigger and brighter things, saying goodbye is never easy.  So, I did as I do best, and sugar-coated our farewell wishes. 

I did a quick google search for ways to say goodbye in many languages, and came up with a whole list from Russian to Chinese (but it’s all Greek to me.)  Then I typed the words into my cupcake flag template and started designing the new flags.

On the backside of the flags, I drew little suitcases, airplanes, and heart balloons.

Then I simply printed, sliced, folded, and glued the flags around toothpicks.  A super easy DIY project for any occasion.

Of all the ways to say goodbye, I think this was my favorite.  Star Trek and cupcakes… is there anything more nerdy/awesome than that?

If you’d like to make your own goodbye cupcakes, you can download a printable pdf of the flags right here!

Open The “Goodbye” Cupcake Flags PDF

And since I’m pretty sure the Live Long and Prosper cupcake flags will probably be in higher demand, you can download a sheet of just the Vulcan cupcakes right here!

Open The “Live Long And Prosper” Cupcake PDF

As always, big thanks to my wonderful husband Henry for taking the pictures!

2 Comments | In: Baking, Graphic Design | tags: Cupcakes, Star Trek. | #

Da… dun…. Da-dun… Da-dun… Dun-dun Dun-dun Dun-dun Dun-dun Dun-dun….

Happy Shark Week everyone!  This year I decided to mark the occasion with some very festive cupcakes.

The fins are made from dark chocolate fondant, rolled to about 1/4″ thick and cut into shark fin shapes free-hand.  I laid the fins on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and popped them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to harden.  After they were good and solid, I took them out and brushed each one with silver and iridescent blue edible “pearl dust” (available at cake supply stores or in the cake aisle at Michael’s craft store.)

Why is it that Shark Week only comes once a year?…  *Sigh*

Big thanks to Henry for taking these pics!

No Comments | In: Baking, In The Kitchen | tags: Shark Week Cupcakes. | #