Alignment of the Toppers
Monday, November 12, 2007
I was putting the topper shell back on my pickup truck today, and I was having a really hard time getting the shell aligned properly with the body of the truck. Then I recalled the numerous times my brother and I would help Opa put his topper on, and how he aligned it. While I don't have the older, wooden slide rule that Opa used (like this photo), I do have a nice little combination square I use for carpentry that worked wonderfully.
Labels: opa
written by Eric Mills at 01:30 
Happy Birthday, Opa: Here's to Your Health!
Monday, February 19, 2007
On fermenting his cider: "'Fermentation generates carbon dioxide which has to escape without letting air in,' Mr. Muller said. To let out the gas, his vat has an air valve. Keeping the carbon dioxide inside the barrel could create apple champagne, 'but it's more likely that the barrel would blow up,' commented Mr. Muller's wife, Rosa.""Besides making cider, Mr. and Mrs. Muller like to ski, canoe, hike, garden and ride on their tandem bicycle."
Labels: cider Ernie, newsclipping, opa
written by Eric Mills at 09:10
German Schooling Was Different
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Yes, yes, we know. And you had to walk to school uphill, both ways. Yes.
Newsclipping from 1/7/1981
Labels: 1981, family history, newsclipping, opa
written by Eric Mills at 21:41
Reaganomics, not Tip O'nomics
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Exactly one year after Brian was born, this editorial in The Post-Standard was published. Here's a news clipping written by Opa.
Labels: 1982, editorial, newsclipping, opa
written by Eric Mills at 19:30
Page Two: 1970 and You?
Saturday, December 2, 2006
According to just one online inflation calculator, what would cost $106.95 in 1970 would cost $538.80 in 2005. Ask me again. Go on, do it.
Would I rather have the tandem bicycle that my Opa gave my Oma for their 30th wedding anniversary (and he said "now you can't get away from me!") or the $500.00 bucks? What do you think?
Labels: oma, opa, Tandem, wedding
written by Eric Mills at 22:21
Prost!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Not exactly a scrap: this image is a cropped and colored section of Oma Muller and Aunt Erna 'prosting' on the back porch of the 8778 house. Thought I'd point that out over here so you can take a look. I can't link to it, because it is one of our sites, and those who are in charge of these sorts of things will see it as gratuitous.Although, if you happen to be reading our page on wine, the link to which you can find on our links page, you'll notice this image. You'll also notice that these two lovely ladies are holding their wine glasses by the stem. Opa Muller always used to make a big point on that when toasting; the clinking just sounded so much better that way (not to mention the heat from your hand didn't warm up your wine). Cheers!
Labels: 8778, Erna Emmighausen, NY, oma, opa, photograph, Rosa Muller
written by Eric Mills at 17:34
$40.00 and Change for a Workbench Made with Opa's Tools
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Your supplies | Your cost:10) 96'' 2x4s | $19.60
1) strange long piece of plywood from the "cull" bin at homo-depot | $0.51 but the lady didn't charge us.
2) more strange things from the cull bin | $1.70 but the lady didn't charge us.
1) piece of peg board | $9.95
1) package of pegboard thingies | $1.99
1) 5/8" plywood for workbench top | $8.99
1 ea.) 3/4" 2 1/2" 3" coarse thread drywall screws | ~$4.00 a box
1) cat to get in the way | immeasurably annoying.
1) beautiful wife to help you measure | priceless.
A few hours later, and with a sore wrist from drilling, you have a really sturdy workbench that was your wife's idea (only if your wife is as cool as mine). There is a kit you can purchase from Home Despot for $60.00 that has 1/3 the space and neat things that this $40.00 homemade one has.
Interested in building your own workbench? This workbench is open source. View the progress, start to finish here.
Labels: howto, malwart/homodespot, opa, projects
written by Eric Mills at 00:39
One Long Pole
Saturday, March 4, 2006
I was speaking to my grandmother on the phone the other day, and she was telling me about my Opa. As you may know, I'm extremely interested in my family's history (on both sides) and have been passively working on various projects (very passively).An interesting tid-bit that Oma mentioned was how when they first started skiing (circa 1934), turning techniques had not yet been fully developed. They used, instead of two poles, one long pole.
Back in the day, according to the Colorado Ski Museum:
"Skis were handmade from pine or spruce trees and ranged in length from 8-14 feet in length. They were usually 1/2 inch thick and about 4 inches wide. They weighed about 25 lbs. One long pole 8-10 feet long was used to steer and to brake (sometimes by straddling it.) Turning was practically impossible on the long boards and one usually had to slow down and step around the pole to change direction."Now that's not the really neat part. The really neat thing is that, when Opa and Oma would strap their skis and pole to the top of their car (somehow?), they would often get pulled over by the police (remember, 1934) because the police didn't know what it was, exactly, that was being lugged around on their automobile.
Living in Colorado, where 9/10 cars have ski racks, bike racks, luggage racks, etc., made this an even more potent anecdote.
And, by the way, those poles up there in that photo are NOT the one long pole. But we used to have poles that looked just like that. I wonder if they're still at the 8778 house?
Labels: family history, oma, opa, ski
written by Eric Mills at 16:17
