Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Kindle For Sale

Do you look at this whole Kindle thing and think that you might be interested in it but you aren’t willing to pay for a new one? I’d love to sell you my second generation Kindle along with a case. Yep, it’s old but it still works great. It’s one of the 3g models so no matter where you are, you can download new books without trying to find a wifi connection. Plus you can even check your email and surf the web for free (though it’s pretty slow and I can’t imagine anyone doing that very much.)

Why am I trying to sell it? I use my Kindle A LOT and I’m really interested in getting one of the new Kindle Paperwhites. There are so many new features since I bought that second gen Kindle four years ago (for $300… used). I really want to upgrade but I’m having a hard time justifying it since the old one still works so well.

So if you are interested in stepping foot in the Kindle waters for a cheap price, let me know what you’re willing to pay. I know it’s not going to fetch $50 but if I could even get a little money for it, it would make the upgrade easier.

benmartens October 7, 2013 Gadgets

Duck Dynasty Birthday

Birthdays around here usually involve dinner with Tyla’s parents, so when she said we’d go over there for my birthday, I didn’t think twice. Boy was I in for a surprise!

My first clue that was something was different was when we pulled up to the house and the front door had a sign that said “It’s a party Jack!” Walking in I discovered Don and Logan in camo, beards and bandanas. Then I spotted the food table and it was filled with all kinds of recipes from the show! Wow! Tyla put in a ton of work planning it all out and Don and Nancy spent all weekend cooking. It was quite a party! Thank you!

All of the food was great including some specialties like frog legs, but my favorite was Miss Kay’s Banana Pudding. I need to get the recipe for that from Tyla and try it to make it myself. It was so good!

benmartens October 4, 2013 Commentary

Andy and Stephanie’s Wedding

A couple weekends ago, we headed across the border to Vancouver, BC for Andy and Stephanie’s wedding. It was Elijah’s first time crossing the border, but he kept his mouth shut and didn’t say anything awkward to the border agents. It turns out that we only needed a birth certificate to get him across the border which was nice.

The wedding was beautiful! It was an outdoor wedding at the Hart House, and though it’s normally pretty wet this time of year, they had beautiful sunny weather. After the ceremony, Andy and Stephanie got in a row boat and headed out onto the lake for some quiet time before coming back and getting the reception started.

Approximately 15% of the guests did NOT have a big camera with them. I’m joking, but there were an incredible number of cameras clicking all night long. So I don’t have many of the standard photos you’d take as a wedding guest. I was trying to stay out of the way and not add to the photo madness. A few of the photos are included below or you can check the photo gallery.

Elijah was a champ the whole night. He was either content to watch the party or was sleeping soundly in his car seat. We had sunglasses for him in the bright sun and then ear protection inside the tent. (Tyla’s time working at the hearing clinic is going to help this boy keep his ears safe!) In the end it was Tyla and I who tuckered out and had to leave the party.

Thanks to Andy and Stephanie for inviting us and congratulations!

benmartens October 3, 2013 Commentary

Fantasy Football – Week 4

This was another interesting week for our league. Tim almost broke 200 points, Andy was on the wrong end of the biggest blowout for the second week in a row, and all teams are now tied at 2-2! It’s really difficult to predict who’s going to win any given game. But if you want to try to make guesses, go to the “League Pick’em” page. A few of us are making picks each week.

Now on to the weekly awards:

  • Highest Team Score: Tim had 195.50 (Previous record, Week 3: Dad had 173.00)
  • Lowest Team Score:  Jim had 104.05 (Record, Week 3: Tim had 85.40)
  • Biggest Blowout: Tim beat Andy by 55.98 (Previous record, Week 3: Dad beat Andy by 63.83)
  • Closest Win: I beat Logan by 14.71(Record, Week 1: Logan beat Tim by 0.89)
  • Highest Scoring Player: Drew Brees had 40.72 for me. (Record, Week1: Peyton Manning had 60.28 for Andy.)
  • Crystal Ball: Andy, Tim, Dad and I all started perfect rosters!

Stats mostly via TMQ:

  • Tom Brady, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers have combined to start 402 consecutive games.
  • In two home losses, the Jaguars have scored 5 points.
  • Against Dallas and then San Francisco, the Rams allowed 412 yards rushing in five days.
  • Matt Schaub has thrown interceptions returned for touchdowns in three consecutive games.
  • The Giants have been outscored 69-7 in their last two games.
  • Trindon Holliday has six kick-and-punt return touchdowns in 21 games with Denver.

UPDATE: Accidentally wrote that Dad had 195 instead of Tim. I corrected the mistake.

benmartens October 2, 2013 Fantasy Sports

Back To Reality

It’s October 1, and that means I’m heading back to work. The last time I walked in the door there or even checked my email was August 31. My month of parental leave is over.

When I filled out the application for parental leave, I had to select a reason for the leave. The one that dads pick is called “bonding.” I thought it was odd at the time, but I totally get it now. This past month has been an incredible time to bond as a family. He grew up so much in that one month and I was there every day to watch the changes happen instead of just hearing about it when I got home from work.

Co-workers said that after 4 weeks at home with a baby, I’d be itching to go back to work. Umm… nope. I’m thankful to have such a wonderful job, but if I could afford to stay home, that’s where I would be.

In addition to taking countless naps with Elijah, I did get quite a few house projects knocked off the list and also gave Tyla a break so she could shorten her todo list too. While I didn’t get nearly as much done as I thought I would, I will always look back on September 2013 fondly. Thank you to my company for giving me this opportunity!

benmartens October 1, 2013 Family

Orcas Island

While Dad and Mom were out here, we hopped on the ferry at Anacortes for the one hour ride out to Orcas Island. Tyla and I spent a few days there back in March before Elijah was born and thought it would be a fun place to show my parents. We had lunch on the waterfront at The Madrona Bar & Grill (our favorite restaurant on the island), stopped at the Rosario resort to walk through the mansion, and then drove to the top of Mt. Constitution. We had been encased in fog the entire day but the top of the mountain was above the clouds and had a spectacular view!

We intended to catch the 5:20 ferry back to Anacortes, but when we arrived, we learned that the 2:20 ferry had run over a sailboat. The whole schedule was messed up and yada yada yada we were going ot have to wait for FOUR HOURS to get off the island! That’s bad enough but with a three month old kid in the car, we were wondering if we’d survive. Thankfully Elijah was a champ and hardly put up any fuss.

Unfortunately Mom and Dad never got to see the awesome views from the ferry ride so maybe we’ll try another island next time they come out.

Some photos are included below and I also posted a quick Photosynth from the top of Mt. Constitution.

benmartens September 30, 2013 Uncategorized

Do The Puyallup

Tyla and I seem to have started a tradition of getting one of those ridiculous giant photo buttons at the fair every year, so there’s no option of skipping the fair when it comes to town. This year was a bit of a challenge with Elijah in tow, but when my parents came to visit, we all piled in the car and headed to Puyallup.

Elijah did great with us lugging him around all over the fairgrounds. He’s a real trooper! We ate fair food, saw plenty of animals, and of course posed for a photo button.

benmartens September 27, 2013 Commentary

Pacific Northwest Rally

A recent episode of the American version of Top Gear featured multiple locations in Washington State. (You can watch the whole episode at history.com) It started at DirtFish rally school which is down the road in Fall City. Tanner Foust had a segment driving his car along some of the roads in the area and I recognized a lot of them from my motorcycle rides. Later on, they headed out to the south east corner of the state for some driving along the Snake River Canyon.

During the show, I learned that there’s a new rally race in the area called the Nameless Rally. It happened on June 21-23 so I’m way too late this year, but if they run it next year I’d love to go out and watch it.

That Dirt Fish school isn’t cheap, but I’d love to take a class there some day. Maybe if I combine birthday and Christmas presents for a few years it would add up.

benmartens September 26, 2013 Links

Fantasy Football – Week 3

How’s this for league parity? We’re going into week 4 and everyone is either tied for first or only one game out of first. Both undefeated teams lost to the teams with no wins in spectacular fashion. Austin beat Logan by 50.02 points and Dad beat Andy by 63.83. At one point Dad was up on Andy by 100 points! Here’s how Yahoo summed up that game: “EndOverEnd registered the highest point total this season to put a drubbing on RAAAWWWRRRRR!!! 173.00 – 109.17. This was a legendary beating, with the 63.83-point margin of victory being the highest recorded in the league this season.” Sorry Andy, I guess Dad didn’t get you a wedding present! If you guys aren’t reading the Yahoo league recaps, they can be interesting. Here’s the one for week 3. They point out that only 65 points separate first and last place.

Now on to the weekly awards:

  • Highest Team Score: Dad had 173.00 (Previous record, Week 2: Tim had 154.46)
  • Lowest Team Score:  Tim had 85.40 (Previous record, Week 2: I had 87.42)
  • Biggest Blowout:  Dad beat Andy by 63.83 (Previous record, Week 1: Ben beat Dad by 62.37)
  • Closest Win: Jim beat me by 6.42 (Record, Week 1: Logan beat Tim by 0.89)
  • Highest Scoring Player: Drew Brees had 37.78 for me. (Record, Week1: Peyton Manning had 60.28 for Andy.)

Stats mostly via TMQ:

  • DeMarco Murray has rushed for 428 yards in his last two games against the Rams.
  • The Washington defense is on a pace to allow 7,808 yards; the NFL’s all-time season worst is 7,042 yards.
  • In the first half at Carolina, the Giants had 1 net yard passing.
  • The Patriots and Bengals are a combined 28-4 when BenJarvus Green-Ellis scores a touchdown.
  • Alex Smith is on a streak of 26 touchdown passes versus five interceptions.
benmartens September 25, 2013 Fantasy Sports

Woodinville History

Earlier this summer, I was surprised to see a “20th anniversary” parade for the city of Woodinville. After some research (translation: reading Wikipedia), I learned that the city was incorporated in 1993 after Bothell started discussions of annexing the area. Take that Bothell!

The area was settled in 1871 by a logger/farmer named Ira Woodin. The cabin he built ended up serving as the first school and the post office. 93% of the buildings built since then have been wineries.*

The city held 10,938 people in the 2010 census which is a 19% increase from the 2000 census. Every one of those people apparently drives through downtown Woodinville at rush hour. There are some old train tracks that run through the middle of the city and make for awkward intersections under the bridge. At some point I think all 11K residents are going to be willing to pay a bit extra in our taxes to rip that thing out. Luckily my route to work avoids that whole mess.

Tyla and I continue to be thrilled with the location of our home and I’m happy to call Woodinville home. It’s nice being part of a smallish community inside the huge 3.5 million population of greater Seattle.

* Not true, but probably not far off.

benmartens September 24, 2013 Commentary