I've been getting a fair amount of comment spam lately, so I'm turning on the verification function. I do hope this won't discourage any of my legitimate commentators.
It was a hard decision. Entries like this latest one certainly provide some small entertainment value:
Feinstein versus file-sharing
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told a Judiciary Committee hearing this week that file-sharing networks may need to be shut down if they continue to traffic in illegal files.
Hey, your blog is very entertaining and informative. Thanks for keeping it fresh with good content. I have a site [link removed] about noise canceling headsets that you may like. Read our reviews on noise canceling headsets and see what you have been missing.
I'm not sure why this poster feels they have to precede their comment with a news brief. Not only does it counter their attempt to make the rest of the post look like a legitimate comment, but it's not even related.
Or is it?
By a show of hands, how many people would pay money for a headset that cancels the noise of Dianne Feinstein?
At any rate, I really do have to chuckle over this poor person's lousy attempt to look like a real comment. How many people really leave comments just to tell people they like their blog, and not mention more specific context? I mean really. I'd like to think my blog is "entertaining," but I hold no delusions of it being "informative."
But he's got to cover both angles, since he has no idea what type of blogs he is spamming. It could wind up in "Joe's Daily Joke Blog," but for all he knows, this could be dropped into "Dr. Harvey Nerdstein's Hudson Bay Mollusk Blog," where "entertaining" alone wouldn't cut it. So he drops in "informative," too. Which shows this person is really trying to look legit!
And "fresh?" Oh, please! Why not just say "Thanks for keepin' it real, homie. Peace out. Word." I post maybe once every few days on a good week, half the time I put myself to sleep. I'm far from "fresh."
And does anyone really promote their own sites in someone else's comments? Just what in my posting gives any indication that I'd be interested in noise canceling headsets? He's like the guy that you sometimes see at parties--you know the guy. You could all be having a meaningful discussion on British Literature in the Early Industrial Age, and this guy will break in with something like "I've got a ouija board at home. It told me I should ask out Brittany Spears. I think I'm gonna."
Finally, "come read our reviews...and see what you have been missing"? It's reviews of headsets! I'll take a wild guess and say I can't be missing much! It's almost like your TiVo sending you a message saying "Hey, you know all those commercials I've been filtering out? I've actually been saving them for you! Come see what you've been missing!" My time is somewhat limited, folks, and if I'm missing something chances are I WANT TO MISS IT!
Yes, I know, I'm taking this too seriously. But remember, this guy is trying to convince me he's a legitimate poster, not spam. Why? I don't know. If I were someone like The Manolo, who gets lots of comments and doesn't appear to read them closely, it MIGHT work. But I have a (very) small following. I NOTICE! The effect is the same if he takes this route or just drops in something like:
Bernie's Amazing Reviews of Noise Canceling Headsets! Free Pr0n and viruses to the first 1000 clickers!
I guess I won't miss these after all. Let the verification begin!
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Garage Banned
I really need to get my garage shelving project finished up. Until I do I can't fit my car in the garage. So far it's not a really big problem, but soon I'll be scraping windows in the morning before I go to work. I know, tough life y'got there, pal.
I also have several more projects stacked up behind this one. I can't build my super-deluxe recycling sorter cart until I've got the shelves done. Neither can I get a desk in my den.
Home Depot has done their part to help me out. I went there the other night to get more wood for shelves. I mentioned to a clerk what I was doing, and he not only cut the sheets of particle board in half for me so I could fit them in the van easier, but he further cut the sheets into the size I need for my shelves. Instead of 4 2'x8' sheets I took home 20 shelves (plus scrap). What took him maybe five minutes (I LOVE their saw system!) would have taken me an entire evening, most likely. At no extra charge.
Maybe they'd do the same for me at the other big-box hardware store in the area, but they may never get the chance to prove it.
I also have several more projects stacked up behind this one. I can't build my super-deluxe recycling sorter cart until I've got the shelves done. Neither can I get a desk in my den.
Home Depot has done their part to help me out. I went there the other night to get more wood for shelves. I mentioned to a clerk what I was doing, and he not only cut the sheets of particle board in half for me so I could fit them in the van easier, but he further cut the sheets into the size I need for my shelves. Instead of 4 2'x8' sheets I took home 20 shelves (plus scrap). What took him maybe five minutes (I LOVE their saw system!) would have taken me an entire evening, most likely. At no extra charge.
Maybe they'd do the same for me at the other big-box hardware store in the area, but they may never get the chance to prove it.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
My younger brother made the local paper:
Local man enjoys his 'British' restaurant
Flying darts, Harry Potter prints, and bad jokes...
Yup, sounds like my brother's place. Way to go, Ron! Keep it up!
Local man enjoys his 'British' restaurant
Flying darts, Harry Potter prints, and bad jokes...
Yup, sounds like my brother's place. Way to go, Ron! Keep it up!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Better Child-Rearing Through Gas
All three kids have colds to varying degrees, and the symptoms appear most at night. To help, we've put humidifiers in both rooms. As we were heading for bed ourselves last night Terhi noticed the hissing sound coming from the children's rooms and observed that it sounded like we were gassing them.
The imagery was further reinforced when we checked in on the two older kids. Walter was face down, sprawled sideways in his bed. Terhi joked that he'd been trying to get out of bed when the gas hit him.
You will be relieved to know that the gas we use has only a mild sedative effect, as it didn't seem to inhibit them from waking up the household this morning at 5:50 am.
I'd like to use the gas on our cats. The new house seems to have broken them out of their former, lay-about habits. As soon as the kids go to bed they start getting wild and chasing each other around the house like maniacs. It makes it rather hard to concentrate sometimes, especially when they play on the ground floor, which is entirely Pergo flooring. Two wild cats + Pergo flooring = More tap-dancing than a Gene Kelly movie. Really fun!
STANDARD DISCLAIMER FOR THOSE WHO FAILED THE SECOND-GRADE READING COMPREHENSION TESTS: No, we do not use gas on our kids or pets. We use gas for heating water and heating our air. The gas used in heating in no way comes into contact with the circulated air. We do not use canaries to check for gas. No children or animals were harmed in the writing of this blog entry.
The imagery was further reinforced when we checked in on the two older kids. Walter was face down, sprawled sideways in his bed. Terhi joked that he'd been trying to get out of bed when the gas hit him.
You will be relieved to know that the gas we use has only a mild sedative effect, as it didn't seem to inhibit them from waking up the household this morning at 5:50 am.
I'd like to use the gas on our cats. The new house seems to have broken them out of their former, lay-about habits. As soon as the kids go to bed they start getting wild and chasing each other around the house like maniacs. It makes it rather hard to concentrate sometimes, especially when they play on the ground floor, which is entirely Pergo flooring. Two wild cats + Pergo flooring = More tap-dancing than a Gene Kelly movie. Really fun!
STANDARD DISCLAIMER FOR THOSE WHO FAILED THE SECOND-GRADE READING COMPREHENSION TESTS: No, we do not use gas on our kids or pets. We use gas for heating water and heating our air. The gas used in heating in no way comes into contact with the circulated air. We do not use canaries to check for gas. No children or animals were harmed in the writing of this blog entry.
Monday, September 26, 2005
It's Back
I need to get back into writing, so I've resumed work on "The Kevin C. McDaniels Project." A new segment is available.
A Rather Shelfish Weekend
We entertained our first guests in our new place this weekend. We had some friends over for dinner and conversation, and it went quite well. The kids were pretty cooperative, and the evening progressed without any uncomfortable lulls. All in all, I think everyone had a good time. Our new house will work well for entertaining--well enough that we may have to do it more often.
Saturday I built shelves. I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but I accomplished quite a bit, considering it turned out to be a "nested loop" type job. I would start the shelves only to find that I needed to do something else first. I'd then start on that only to realize that something else would need to be done before I could accomplish that job, and so on.
So after moving the cabinet on the wall over about eight inches, assembling the plastic shelves from our previous garage and finding places for them, and sorting through the boxes of bottles and cans to be stored, I finally got to work on the shelves. I got shelving cut and installed in two of the five sections, and bottles loaded onto one section.
That will hopefully hold me until I have time to cut more shelves. The saw is so noisy (and dusty! I had no idea that MDF produced so much dust!) that I can't do it while the kids are trying to sleep, which limits my hours of operation greatly. But I'm hoping that by the time I get the plastic shelves and the remaining section of completed shelves loaded there'll either be nothing left to store for now, or it will be a few days later and I'll have time to cut some more shelves before the kids go to bed. We'll see.
I'm eager to get this project over with, as I may then be able to start concentrating on my den. And a few "Honey-do's" that have also been accumulating.
Saturday I built shelves. I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but I accomplished quite a bit, considering it turned out to be a "nested loop" type job. I would start the shelves only to find that I needed to do something else first. I'd then start on that only to realize that something else would need to be done before I could accomplish that job, and so on.
So after moving the cabinet on the wall over about eight inches, assembling the plastic shelves from our previous garage and finding places for them, and sorting through the boxes of bottles and cans to be stored, I finally got to work on the shelves. I got shelving cut and installed in two of the five sections, and bottles loaded onto one section.
That will hopefully hold me until I have time to cut more shelves. The saw is so noisy (and dusty! I had no idea that MDF produced so much dust!) that I can't do it while the kids are trying to sleep, which limits my hours of operation greatly. But I'm hoping that by the time I get the plastic shelves and the remaining section of completed shelves loaded there'll either be nothing left to store for now, or it will be a few days later and I'll have time to cut some more shelves before the kids go to bed. We'll see.
I'm eager to get this project over with, as I may then be able to start concentrating on my den. And a few "Honey-do's" that have also been accumulating.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Corporate Downsizing
I overheard in the lunchroom and confirmed on the local news' website that a HAZMAT team is on site at my building after a mysterious package containing an unknown white powder was found in our mailroom. There has been no attempt to evacuate anyone, to my knowledge.
Gosh, I love this company!
Gosh, I love this company!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Scruffy-Looking NERF-Hurters
I finished Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" this morning. I think I've found my new hero; someone willing to stand up and say "You know, we just don't know enough to be so gol-darned sure of ourselves. The Save-the-Planet and the Rape-the-Planet crowds are equally stupid."
He calls into question the nature of scientific research these days; how far too many studies are paid for by special interests, so how can we be surprised when the studies reach conclusions favorable to the patron? (The study funded by M&M Mars that determined that chocolate is good for you comes to mind.) The studies paid for by environmental groups are just as likely to be biased as the studies paid for by industry.
Have we really, as a society, forgotten how to think, how to question? Could it be my four-year-old has more journalistic acumen than a network anchor? If more people asked "Why?" more often, perhaps we wouldn't get so much bad science--and bad reporting of bad science.
At any rate, I'm certainly tired of all the doom and gloom we get inundated with every day. Are we seeing the truth, or just what someone wants us to see? What would be the benefits of our believing them? Could someone out there have an agenda? I'm no journalist, but I played one in college enough to know that there is no such thing as an unbiased media. As long as there are more stories to report than there is time to report them there will be bias. There has to be.
Anyway, I'm rambling around on this soapbox, and most soapboxes aren't big enough to support much rambling, so I'll shut up. For now.
He calls into question the nature of scientific research these days; how far too many studies are paid for by special interests, so how can we be surprised when the studies reach conclusions favorable to the patron? (The study funded by M&M Mars that determined that chocolate is good for you comes to mind.) The studies paid for by environmental groups are just as likely to be biased as the studies paid for by industry.
Have we really, as a society, forgotten how to think, how to question? Could it be my four-year-old has more journalistic acumen than a network anchor? If more people asked "Why?" more often, perhaps we wouldn't get so much bad science--and bad reporting of bad science.
At any rate, I'm certainly tired of all the doom and gloom we get inundated with every day. Are we seeing the truth, or just what someone wants us to see? What would be the benefits of our believing them? Could someone out there have an agenda? I'm no journalist, but I played one in college enough to know that there is no such thing as an unbiased media. As long as there are more stories to report than there is time to report them there will be bias. There has to be.
Anyway, I'm rambling around on this soapbox, and most soapboxes aren't big enough to support much rambling, so I'll shut up. For now.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Drug-Dealin', Gun-Totin' Biker Chipmunks From Poughkeepsie
(Title apropos of nothing. Sometimes I just hate creating titles)
It was a good weekend. It could have been longer. It's fun spending money at Home Depot, but I'd better cut myself off soon. Our "moving in" budget is rapidly depleting. But by golly I saved a lot of money with that 10% Off coupon!
The storage shelves in the garage are slowly taking shape. Now I've got to cut the salvaged cupboard panels to shelf size so we can start putting in the shelves to maximize space when we unpack all our food storage. Once we get all of that put away I can re-organize the garage and all the other place-less items that have been accumulating. Once I find room for all of that then maybe--just maybe--I can park my car inside again. It's quickly getting into the time of year when that becomes important.
I love Autumn. I went for a walk during lunch today and it was entirely comfortable outside. I need a jacket in the morning, but not for very long. The leaves should be turning soon, and then I'll really enjoy walking. My company's campus backs up to the river greenbelt, lined with trees. It's a very pleasant setting, and there are convenient tenth of a mile markers along the route. I did about 1.25 miles today. And I'm still feeling the effects, so I'd better start doing more of this.
This entry is meandering all over the place. Like my life right now. I'm rather directionless, and I've never been very good with that. I've got to have something on the priority list, even if it's only to avoid it. At work I'm essentially waiting around for my manager to officially announce my degradation and find me a project to work on. If I learned anything in the last five months it's that I should never hold my breath when waiting on her to do something.
I wish she would get on with it, though. It's like getting dumped, but having your significant other swear you to secrecy until the timing is right. "I just can't date you anymore. But I don't want anyone to know yet, so what are you doing Friday night?" Sorry, relationship's over. Let me move on.
Or, to quote the Alan Parsons Project, "Let me go home. I've had a hard night. Leave me alone."
On the bright side, they've just implemented a policy requiring everyone to wear their security badges visibly on their person. I've been carrying mine in my wallet, but now I've it on a nifty, springloaded belt-line. Wheeee! Gadgets! Watch me forget mine at home now.
Okay, okay. I'll put you out of your misery now.
It was a good weekend. It could have been longer. It's fun spending money at Home Depot, but I'd better cut myself off soon. Our "moving in" budget is rapidly depleting. But by golly I saved a lot of money with that 10% Off coupon!
The storage shelves in the garage are slowly taking shape. Now I've got to cut the salvaged cupboard panels to shelf size so we can start putting in the shelves to maximize space when we unpack all our food storage. Once we get all of that put away I can re-organize the garage and all the other place-less items that have been accumulating. Once I find room for all of that then maybe--just maybe--I can park my car inside again. It's quickly getting into the time of year when that becomes important.
I love Autumn. I went for a walk during lunch today and it was entirely comfortable outside. I need a jacket in the morning, but not for very long. The leaves should be turning soon, and then I'll really enjoy walking. My company's campus backs up to the river greenbelt, lined with trees. It's a very pleasant setting, and there are convenient tenth of a mile markers along the route. I did about 1.25 miles today. And I'm still feeling the effects, so I'd better start doing more of this.
This entry is meandering all over the place. Like my life right now. I'm rather directionless, and I've never been very good with that. I've got to have something on the priority list, even if it's only to avoid it. At work I'm essentially waiting around for my manager to officially announce my degradation and find me a project to work on. If I learned anything in the last five months it's that I should never hold my breath when waiting on her to do something.
I wish she would get on with it, though. It's like getting dumped, but having your significant other swear you to secrecy until the timing is right. "I just can't date you anymore. But I don't want anyone to know yet, so what are you doing Friday night?" Sorry, relationship's over. Let me move on.
Or, to quote the Alan Parsons Project, "Let me go home. I've had a hard night. Leave me alone."
On the bright side, they've just implemented a policy requiring everyone to wear their security badges visibly on their person. I've been carrying mine in my wallet, but now I've it on a nifty, springloaded belt-line. Wheeee! Gadgets! Watch me forget mine at home now.
Okay, okay. I'll put you out of your misery now.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Juiceless Drill Bits
I'm not sure how it knows, but my cordless drill always seems to run down just before I finish a project. Invariably I'm left with only two or three more screws to drive, which is just few enough to tempt me to do it by hand. Remind me next time that it takes a long time and a lot of muscle power to drive a three-inch screw into pine, even when I've got pre-drilled pilot holes to work with.
On the other hand, I'm loving the new miter saw. My middle son is not. He hates the noise. My daughter is simultaneously fascinated and frightened of it. She'll stand there and watch from a safe distance, her hands over her ears, but she can't bring herself to leave. When I later tried to explain how a saw works (without actual demonstration) she was afraid of the sawdust I tried to get her to feel. I guess that's better than having them NOT afraid of my saw at this point. It's better if they keep a respectful distance.
Still, I could do without my son shrieking and running away crying if I even plug it in.
On the other hand, I'm loving the new miter saw. My middle son is not. He hates the noise. My daughter is simultaneously fascinated and frightened of it. She'll stand there and watch from a safe distance, her hands over her ears, but she can't bring herself to leave. When I later tried to explain how a saw works (without actual demonstration) she was afraid of the sawdust I tried to get her to feel. I guess that's better than having them NOT afraid of my saw at this point. It's better if they keep a respectful distance.
Still, I could do without my son shrieking and running away crying if I even plug it in.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Well, Okay...What's Next?
After a rather sleepless night I'm muddling through the day. I had a chat with my resource manager when I first got here, which helped. I'm still not very happy with the way this all came about, but I can't change that. About all I can do is make the best of the situation. And take some time to decide what I want "the best" to be.
This still stings. But I'm slowly applying the calamine lotion.
This still stings. But I'm slowly applying the calamine lotion.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Bring On the Flipping Fish
Shows what I know. I'm being demoted back to the trenches. Looks like it's time to polish up the ol' resume, as I didn't like the trenches all that much.
Future Fish Flipper?
I've got my semi-annual review in a few minutes. Fortunately, my resource manager sent me a copy of the review document this morning, so I already know what I'm up against. It's actually not too bad, and to some degree better than I would have expected. There's some good feedback I can draw from, and at least six months in which to fix things. It looks like I may not have to further burden my brother with another family member to employ just yet.
I've also been discussing the training experience with some of my team, and they don't seem to remember the negative feedback either. Perhaps I was reading more into it than I should have. Or paying attention to the wrong people. Meanwhile, I'm getting some valuable input on how to improve things. I'm almost looking forward to the next round of training. Almost.
I've also been discussing the training experience with some of my team, and they don't seem to remember the negative feedback either. Perhaps I was reading more into it than I should have. Or paying attention to the wrong people. Meanwhile, I'm getting some valuable input on how to improve things. I'm almost looking forward to the next round of training. Almost.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Slept On It
I feel a little better today. Interestingly enough, as I sat down to write this I got an email from one of the other team leads who took notes on the feedback we got. Either she was somewhat selective, or the feedback was better than I remember. In any case, I've decided that if I'm going to take the hit for the 25% that didn't go well, I should also take the credit for the 75% that did. Put the two together and I may average out around 80%. I'll happily take a B on this assignment.
Mostly I'm just tired. I'm an introvert, as I've iterated many times. Getting up in front of the team and presenting training, while not hard, was draining. Getting caught in the middle of a somewhat negative (I still hold she didn't entirely capture the mood in the room) feedback session really drained me. By the end of the day I felt totally hoss-whupped.
Coming back to a few other brushfires this morning hasn't helped, but I'll make it. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet, but I still feel a little bruised. It doesn't help that I'm having my semi-annual review this week, too. I'm obviously not expecting that to go well.
C'est la guerre.
Mostly I'm just tired. I'm an introvert, as I've iterated many times. Getting up in front of the team and presenting training, while not hard, was draining. Getting caught in the middle of a somewhat negative (I still hold she didn't entirely capture the mood in the room) feedback session really drained me. By the end of the day I felt totally hoss-whupped.
Coming back to a few other brushfires this morning hasn't helped, but I'll make it. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet, but I still feel a little bruised. It doesn't help that I'm having my semi-annual review this week, too. I'm obviously not expecting that to go well.
C'est la guerre.
Monday, September 12, 2005
That's My Soul Up There
Well, my big training program is over, and the best I can say about it is that it's over. The good news, I guess, is that it was 75% successful. The bad news is that I developed the content for and delivered the 25% that failed. The general consensus of the group was "we want to hear more from that other guy." I guess my brother tried to warn me. When you're a manager your subordinates feel no need to pull their punches. They let you have it with both barrels, and diplomacy be hanged.
I really, really question whether I'm cut out for this. It's getting awefully tempting to ask my boss to demote me to replace some of the people we've lost recently. The totally pathetic thing is that there would be no pay cut involved. We team leads are taking on all this extra responsibility for no extra pay. At first I didn't mind. Today I do. To heck with this.
I really, really question whether I'm cut out for this. It's getting awefully tempting to ask my boss to demote me to replace some of the people we've lost recently. The totally pathetic thing is that there would be no pay cut involved. We team leads are taking on all this extra responsibility for no extra pay. At first I didn't mind. Today I do. To heck with this.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
"Fate of Stear"
My latest audio book is Michael Crichton's "State of Fear." Interesting, though as usual with Crichton I have no idea where the real science ends and the fiction begins. Not that I let it bother me much. I find his books entertaining, and cautiously informative.
I have to laugh at this one just a bit, though. The one constant theme of his in the books/movies I've seen is the idea of the "academic-as-hero." I think in this one Crichton is poking a little fun at himself in the character of Dr. John Kenner. The character is a scientist turned anti-eco-terrorist spy--a real action hero type.
And what are the most famous action figures of all time (other than perhaps GI Joe)? Star Wars. And who made at least the original Star Wars action figures? Kenner. Coincidence? I highly doubt it. Not from Crichton.
Anyway, it's a fun book, though I find his treatment of the main character, Peter Evans, just a little heavy-handed. There's no question of where Crichton stands on the issue. And I happen to agree with him that much of the environmental doom-n-gloom science we hear about these days is likely manipulation at best or bad science at worst. However, that does not excuse us from being more careful with the environment than we are. Just because we can't prove anything catastrophic is happening because of human impact doesn't mean that we aren't having a negative impact. There is plenty of things we can prove that we should be concerned about, even without Global Warming in the picture.
Anyway, Peter Evans is his foil, his 100% true blue, body-of-believers environmentalist who, though the proof he clings to is shaky, refuses to believe any of the counter-science he is bombarded with by Dr. Action-hero. I suspect by the end of the book he'll come around, of course, but right now his tenacious clinging to "my scientists are unbiased, pure, and trustworthy while yours are all disreputable pawns of big business" is really getting old. It would be easier to buy if this character weren't a lawyer. I thought lawyers were supposed to be good at seeing things in shades of gray.
At any rate, I'll hold my judgement until the end of the book, but I'm really hoping that Crichton adopts a middle-line at some point; no, we're not on the edge of disaster that we know of, but yes, we should be paying more attention to what we're doing and being better stewards of the planet, because we don't know that we're not destroying the place, either. And certainly, his message about not believing everything you hear in the media is valid, especially surrounding research and science. The media are notorious about misrepresenting data and the scientific significance of various studies. It doesn't mean they're wrong, just that we should always question, something we should have learned from our high school science teachers a long time ago.
Incidentally, has anyone verified his quoted sources? Being an audio book--one that I listen to while driving, no less--that's a little hard for me to do, currently.
I have to laugh at this one just a bit, though. The one constant theme of his in the books/movies I've seen is the idea of the "academic-as-hero." I think in this one Crichton is poking a little fun at himself in the character of Dr. John Kenner. The character is a scientist turned anti-eco-terrorist spy--a real action hero type.
And what are the most famous action figures of all time (other than perhaps GI Joe)? Star Wars. And who made at least the original Star Wars action figures? Kenner. Coincidence? I highly doubt it. Not from Crichton.
Anyway, it's a fun book, though I find his treatment of the main character, Peter Evans, just a little heavy-handed. There's no question of where Crichton stands on the issue. And I happen to agree with him that much of the environmental doom-n-gloom science we hear about these days is likely manipulation at best or bad science at worst. However, that does not excuse us from being more careful with the environment than we are. Just because we can't prove anything catastrophic is happening because of human impact doesn't mean that we aren't having a negative impact. There is plenty of things we can prove that we should be concerned about, even without Global Warming in the picture.
Anyway, Peter Evans is his foil, his 100% true blue, body-of-believers environmentalist who, though the proof he clings to is shaky, refuses to believe any of the counter-science he is bombarded with by Dr. Action-hero. I suspect by the end of the book he'll come around, of course, but right now his tenacious clinging to "my scientists are unbiased, pure, and trustworthy while yours are all disreputable pawns of big business" is really getting old. It would be easier to buy if this character weren't a lawyer. I thought lawyers were supposed to be good at seeing things in shades of gray.
At any rate, I'll hold my judgement until the end of the book, but I'm really hoping that Crichton adopts a middle-line at some point; no, we're not on the edge of disaster that we know of, but yes, we should be paying more attention to what we're doing and being better stewards of the planet, because we don't know that we're not destroying the place, either. And certainly, his message about not believing everything you hear in the media is valid, especially surrounding research and science. The media are notorious about misrepresenting data and the scientific significance of various studies. It doesn't mean they're wrong, just that we should always question, something we should have learned from our high school science teachers a long time ago.
Incidentally, has anyone verified his quoted sources? Being an audio book--one that I listen to while driving, no less--that's a little hard for me to do, currently.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
NOOOO DISASSEMBLE!
In keeping with the holiday, I worked. Not at work, but at home. We inherited a set of hand-made cabinets in the garage, which I was excited about initially, but on closer inspection decided they were not going to work. I had already ripped them out and had them in our driveway, and yesterday I disassembled them, salvaged the door hardware, and chucked most of the wood in a dumpster.
After that I ripped out the squash patch. We also inherited a garden, and the crook-neck squash have been taking over. No longer. We're down to a couple of zuccini plants on the other side of the garden. And thousands of squash bugs are dead or homeless. Icky icky icky! (pikang-zoop-boing-goodem-zoo-owli-zhiv)
The squash plants had to be disposed of, and fortunately we had a dumpster. My two year old son was "helping" me, so we worked out a deal. I'd load a wheelbarrow full of plants, haul them to the dumpster, then give him a ride in the wheelbarrow back to the garden. He thought that was a lot of fun.
Then my four year old daughter came outside and wanted a piece of the action. Fortunately they both agreed to sit together in the wheelbarrow. By then we were nearly done hauling plants, and I figured she'd be pretty disappointed to only get two rides. The last ride I decided to take a detour on the way back to the garden and ended up giving them a wheelbarrow ride around the neighborhood. So at the moment I'm on both their good sides.
It was a pretty good day, all in all, though there were the unfortunate incidents later at the flooring store. There are worse ways of spending the last holiday of Summer. Even if the day ended with a huge load of food storage, a shifted load, a slow-motion scramble to catch falling boxes, and a broken bottle of beans.
Those are the days that make life worthwhile, and make the ones in between a little more bearable.
After that I ripped out the squash patch. We also inherited a garden, and the crook-neck squash have been taking over. No longer. We're down to a couple of zuccini plants on the other side of the garden. And thousands of squash bugs are dead or homeless. Icky icky icky! (pikang-zoop-boing-goodem-zoo-owli-zhiv)
The squash plants had to be disposed of, and fortunately we had a dumpster. My two year old son was "helping" me, so we worked out a deal. I'd load a wheelbarrow full of plants, haul them to the dumpster, then give him a ride in the wheelbarrow back to the garden. He thought that was a lot of fun.
Then my four year old daughter came outside and wanted a piece of the action. Fortunately they both agreed to sit together in the wheelbarrow. By then we were nearly done hauling plants, and I figured she'd be pretty disappointed to only get two rides. The last ride I decided to take a detour on the way back to the garden and ended up giving them a wheelbarrow ride around the neighborhood. So at the moment I'm on both their good sides.
It was a pretty good day, all in all, though there were the unfortunate incidents later at the flooring store. There are worse ways of spending the last holiday of Summer. Even if the day ended with a huge load of food storage, a shifted load, a slow-motion scramble to catch falling boxes, and a broken bottle of beans.
Those are the days that make life worthwhile, and make the ones in between a little more bearable.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
I'm Not Still Standing
With great space comes great furniture needs, or something like that. Our previous house had a small living room and no family room. The couch was an old thrift-store purchase that Terhi had given new life with a new cover. We donated it back to the thrift store when we moved.
Now we have a living room and a family room, and up until yesterday no furniture in either one. Over the weekend we purchased a loveseat and chair for the living room, and a hide-a-bed sofa and loveseat for the family room (yes, that means we now have room for guests).
The place looks really good now, but it also makes it seem more alien. The new house has seemed like we own it so far because all of our stuff is there. Now we have a bunch of new stuff that we're not used to, so it looks less like we own the place now. I have a feeling the "alienation" is going to continue for awhile, as we're going to need to pick up additional furniture and art pieces to complete decorating.
When I was a missionary in Australia I transferred around frequently. There came a point, however, in every new area when I suddenly realized that it felt like I belonged there. I wonder how long it will take this time.
Now we have a living room and a family room, and up until yesterday no furniture in either one. Over the weekend we purchased a loveseat and chair for the living room, and a hide-a-bed sofa and loveseat for the family room (yes, that means we now have room for guests).
The place looks really good now, but it also makes it seem more alien. The new house has seemed like we own it so far because all of our stuff is there. Now we have a bunch of new stuff that we're not used to, so it looks less like we own the place now. I have a feeling the "alienation" is going to continue for awhile, as we're going to need to pick up additional furniture and art pieces to complete decorating.
When I was a missionary in Australia I transferred around frequently. There came a point, however, in every new area when I suddenly realized that it felt like I belonged there. I wonder how long it will take this time.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Report Card Time!
Perhaps today is not the best day to do this, as I'm already in a bad mood over several other issues, but I may as well get this over with. I figure the best way to summarize the whole move is to present a report card for everyone we worked with.
Genesis Real Estate (Derek Mertz) - D+ : The main reason why I went with a realtor after our last experience is because I knew this was a bad time to be trying to sell a house. With my new job hitting crunch time and a wife trying to take care of three small children, the last thing I wanted was for us to have to handle all the work of real estate transactions. An agent was supposed to take care of all it, or so I thought. That's what they tell you in television spots.
Well, it didn't happen that way. I was way too involved in this whole mess, and it seemed like every time something was going wrong our agent was either nowhere to be found or not really interested in doing anything about it. If he ever picked up on my frustrations he never tried to be even sympathetic. The only thing he did well was to line up a mold removal specialist. Unfortunately, he did very little to set and manage our expectations, so it often seemed like one hit of bad news after another.
He forgot the little things. He didn't let us know that the sellers accepted our repairs request. He never did find us a copy of the subdivision CCR's, though I reminded him several times. If he ever did intend to tell us when to show up for closings, he always seemed to wait until after I'd given up waiting and called myself. It's as if the moment our offer on the new house was accepted his work was done and he couldn't be bothered. It just got easier to do things myself.
The last straw came last week on closing day. From what I can tell he was content to let things run their course without lifting a finger. He wasn't even aware there was a problem until I called him. And though he supposedly got immediately to work trying to find out what was going on, he didn't call back, even to let us know he wasn't able to find anything out--even that would have helped.
At any rate, this person will not be receiving any recommendation from us.
The Home Loan Coach - C+ : Our mortgage broker was a recommendation from our agent. I'll never know the whole story, so it's hard to say who was responsible for what, but the pains of the last day were mainly due to a network crash at the lender "Coach" lined up for us. While their follow up wasn't the best, at least they tried to get things straightened out. I'll never know if the lender just wasn't giving them accurate information or if they weren't passing on the truth, but I was told three different times over the space of six hours that the money had been wired. You can only hear that so many times and have nothing happen before you start to lose confidence.
The biggest problem was that they were out of state. That's fine when things go right. When they go wrong it's always nice to have someone you can strangle face-to-face. Plus I think I could have found a better rate locally. And I'll never know for sure who screwed up on the hazard insurance binder.
I would recommend them, but only if you really have NO time or desire to deal with mortgages, which doesn't take all that long, really.
Ness Construction, LLC (Air Quality Restoration) - A : The one thing our agent did well with. These guys came through for us. The inspector showed up the same day to inspect our mold problem. They came when they said they would, finished quickly, and hit their estimate.
I hope you never have a mold problem, but if you do, this is the guy to call.
Title One Title Company - A : Our buyers selected this one, and everything seemed to go smoothly for them. We had no problems. Our money came through on time. It went how I would expect things to go.
I'd probably recommend this company.
Pioneer Title Company - C+ : No one really selected them. Our agent preferred another office in another town (glad we didn't go THAT route). Our sellers didn't want to drive that far for closing, so they counter-recommended the most local office.
They were very sympathetic when things started going wrong, but didn't really seem to be trying that hard for us. I'm not sure that's their job anyhow, but who knows. They claim they never saw anything indicating our lender needed an insurance binder, but that sort of thing seems to be standard procedure, and I did find a form stating that the lender would not release funds without one in the stack of copies they gave me after signing. Something seems a little fishy, and I'm not talking about their huge salt-water aquarium.
I'm not sure I'd recommend them.
Adam Bramble Insurance Agency - A : He's our local Farmers Insurance agent. I called him last monday just to make sure everything was set on the insurance side of things. He hadn't heard a thing, which was not a good sign. But, unlike far too many of the others I worked with in all this, he simply said "I'll take care of it." And he did. Not a single delay was traceable to him or his staff not getting the proper documents to the right place by the right time.
There's a reason why he's our agent for auto, home, and life. If there's ever a problem in any of those areas, he's the guy I want to have taking care of me. And that's why I recommend him.
Space Age Movers - B+ : They guys that came to move us out of our home were great; very professional, very efficient, and communicated well. I felt we were in really good hands. The guys that came to move us in the following week were almost as good, but the extra team that showed up were a little flighty.
They were pretty good at work with us during the delay, but I'm still a little irritated that I couldn't get hold of anyone for an hour--and we were still billed for it. It did turn out for the best, though, as I had been calling to try and cancel them for the day, thinking we weren't going to get the keys after all. But then we got the keys and I was glad to still have them available.
I'd recommend them, but ask for Chris.
Idaho Self Storage - B+ : In spite of a flurry of rather minor problems, this proved to be a good choice. On the first moving day we suddenly realized we had more stuff than would fit in our storage unit. The site manager found me a second suitable unit right next to our first one, and gave me a decent deal on locks for both. He would have given me a good price, too, had the company policy allowed. They've been easy to work with, and they were quick to acknowledge their mistakes, which is fine.
It also happens to be right next door to my bank, which came in really handy when it came time to pay the movers the first time and I'd forgotten my checkbook.
Probably not the cheapest place in town, but they're good to work with.
Budget Host Inn - C- : Speaking of acknowledging their mistakes, these people really need to work on it. We'd reserved two motel rooms with a connecting door several weeks in advance. The reality was that the people they'd booked in those rooms the night before suddenly decided to stay another night. Had the motel told me this up front I probably would have understood and been happy to work around the problem.
That's not what happened. When I arrived they first made sure they billed my credit card up front for the entire week--non-refundable. Then they told me which rooms we were getting, with not even the slightest hint that it wasn't what we'd asked for. Not only were they not next to each other, they were on different floors.
When I called it to their attention they shuffled things around and found us two rooms next to each other. When I asked if it had a connecting door they admitted it did not. I told them that wouldn't work. Only then did they admit that they knew what I'd reserved all along and that it wasn't available. By that point I was mad. They finally agreed to get us into the connected rooms the next day when the occupants left, but they seemed determined not to budge an inch to help me unless I complained. They didn't offer to do anything at all to make up for the problem.
Housekeeping was spotty, at best. Richard hated the place. I wouldn't recommend them, not even if you have pets. All the free continental breakfasts in the world wouldn't make up for how they treated me.
Bottom Line
I'm glad it's all over. If there is ever a next time (and I sure hope not), I plan to be much more assertive about a lot of things. Ohhh, I'm so glad this is over. I realize my problems are pretty small compared to what's going on in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but then if they'd all payed what I shelled out to NOT have all the problems that I ended up with, THEY'D be ticked off, too.
Genesis Real Estate (Derek Mertz) - D+ : The main reason why I went with a realtor after our last experience is because I knew this was a bad time to be trying to sell a house. With my new job hitting crunch time and a wife trying to take care of three small children, the last thing I wanted was for us to have to handle all the work of real estate transactions. An agent was supposed to take care of all it, or so I thought. That's what they tell you in television spots.
Well, it didn't happen that way. I was way too involved in this whole mess, and it seemed like every time something was going wrong our agent was either nowhere to be found or not really interested in doing anything about it. If he ever picked up on my frustrations he never tried to be even sympathetic. The only thing he did well was to line up a mold removal specialist. Unfortunately, he did very little to set and manage our expectations, so it often seemed like one hit of bad news after another.
He forgot the little things. He didn't let us know that the sellers accepted our repairs request. He never did find us a copy of the subdivision CCR's, though I reminded him several times. If he ever did intend to tell us when to show up for closings, he always seemed to wait until after I'd given up waiting and called myself. It's as if the moment our offer on the new house was accepted his work was done and he couldn't be bothered. It just got easier to do things myself.
The last straw came last week on closing day. From what I can tell he was content to let things run their course without lifting a finger. He wasn't even aware there was a problem until I called him. And though he supposedly got immediately to work trying to find out what was going on, he didn't call back, even to let us know he wasn't able to find anything out--even that would have helped.
At any rate, this person will not be receiving any recommendation from us.
The Home Loan Coach - C+ : Our mortgage broker was a recommendation from our agent. I'll never know the whole story, so it's hard to say who was responsible for what, but the pains of the last day were mainly due to a network crash at the lender "Coach" lined up for us. While their follow up wasn't the best, at least they tried to get things straightened out. I'll never know if the lender just wasn't giving them accurate information or if they weren't passing on the truth, but I was told three different times over the space of six hours that the money had been wired. You can only hear that so many times and have nothing happen before you start to lose confidence.
The biggest problem was that they were out of state. That's fine when things go right. When they go wrong it's always nice to have someone you can strangle face-to-face. Plus I think I could have found a better rate locally. And I'll never know for sure who screwed up on the hazard insurance binder.
I would recommend them, but only if you really have NO time or desire to deal with mortgages, which doesn't take all that long, really.
Ness Construction, LLC (Air Quality Restoration) - A : The one thing our agent did well with. These guys came through for us. The inspector showed up the same day to inspect our mold problem. They came when they said they would, finished quickly, and hit their estimate.
I hope you never have a mold problem, but if you do, this is the guy to call.
Title One Title Company - A : Our buyers selected this one, and everything seemed to go smoothly for them. We had no problems. Our money came through on time. It went how I would expect things to go.
I'd probably recommend this company.
Pioneer Title Company - C+ : No one really selected them. Our agent preferred another office in another town (glad we didn't go THAT route). Our sellers didn't want to drive that far for closing, so they counter-recommended the most local office.
They were very sympathetic when things started going wrong, but didn't really seem to be trying that hard for us. I'm not sure that's their job anyhow, but who knows. They claim they never saw anything indicating our lender needed an insurance binder, but that sort of thing seems to be standard procedure, and I did find a form stating that the lender would not release funds without one in the stack of copies they gave me after signing. Something seems a little fishy, and I'm not talking about their huge salt-water aquarium.
I'm not sure I'd recommend them.
Adam Bramble Insurance Agency - A : He's our local Farmers Insurance agent. I called him last monday just to make sure everything was set on the insurance side of things. He hadn't heard a thing, which was not a good sign. But, unlike far too many of the others I worked with in all this, he simply said "I'll take care of it." And he did. Not a single delay was traceable to him or his staff not getting the proper documents to the right place by the right time.
There's a reason why he's our agent for auto, home, and life. If there's ever a problem in any of those areas, he's the guy I want to have taking care of me. And that's why I recommend him.
Space Age Movers - B+ : They guys that came to move us out of our home were great; very professional, very efficient, and communicated well. I felt we were in really good hands. The guys that came to move us in the following week were almost as good, but the extra team that showed up were a little flighty.
They were pretty good at work with us during the delay, but I'm still a little irritated that I couldn't get hold of anyone for an hour--and we were still billed for it. It did turn out for the best, though, as I had been calling to try and cancel them for the day, thinking we weren't going to get the keys after all. But then we got the keys and I was glad to still have them available.
I'd recommend them, but ask for Chris.
Idaho Self Storage - B+ : In spite of a flurry of rather minor problems, this proved to be a good choice. On the first moving day we suddenly realized we had more stuff than would fit in our storage unit. The site manager found me a second suitable unit right next to our first one, and gave me a decent deal on locks for both. He would have given me a good price, too, had the company policy allowed. They've been easy to work with, and they were quick to acknowledge their mistakes, which is fine.
It also happens to be right next door to my bank, which came in really handy when it came time to pay the movers the first time and I'd forgotten my checkbook.
Probably not the cheapest place in town, but they're good to work with.
Budget Host Inn - C- : Speaking of acknowledging their mistakes, these people really need to work on it. We'd reserved two motel rooms with a connecting door several weeks in advance. The reality was that the people they'd booked in those rooms the night before suddenly decided to stay another night. Had the motel told me this up front I probably would have understood and been happy to work around the problem.
That's not what happened. When I arrived they first made sure they billed my credit card up front for the entire week--non-refundable. Then they told me which rooms we were getting, with not even the slightest hint that it wasn't what we'd asked for. Not only were they not next to each other, they were on different floors.
When I called it to their attention they shuffled things around and found us two rooms next to each other. When I asked if it had a connecting door they admitted it did not. I told them that wouldn't work. Only then did they admit that they knew what I'd reserved all along and that it wasn't available. By that point I was mad. They finally agreed to get us into the connected rooms the next day when the occupants left, but they seemed determined not to budge an inch to help me unless I complained. They didn't offer to do anything at all to make up for the problem.
Housekeeping was spotty, at best. Richard hated the place. I wouldn't recommend them, not even if you have pets. All the free continental breakfasts in the world wouldn't make up for how they treated me.
Bottom Line
I'm glad it's all over. If there is ever a next time (and I sure hope not), I plan to be much more assertive about a lot of things. Ohhh, I'm so glad this is over. I realize my problems are pretty small compared to what's going on in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but then if they'd all payed what I shelled out to NOT have all the problems that I ended up with, THEY'D be ticked off, too.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
A Man's Home Is His Castle...
...and we took this one by siege. I'll tell you more of the hideous story some other time. It sufficeth to say that we are now in our new home, and while things are still in varying states of disarray, we're loving the place. When the results of our weekend spending spree at RC Willey arrives on Wednesday we'll be in the home stretch--as as far as moving in. Decorating, on the other hand, has yet to begin, in spite of the $200 we spent at Target during the same spending spree.
The good news is that we budgeted for all this. The other good news is that Terhi seems to be really enjoying the idea of decorating, even if she even dreams about it. Even if I didn't like our new home so much myself I'd love it for how happy it's making her.
Now if we could only get the kids and cats settled down. I think both groups suffered from the chaos of the last week and a half, and it's going to take some time to get them back to normal. We'll get there. They're a walk in the park compared to how our closing went. But as I said, another story for another time...
Meanwhile, I'm back!
The good news is that we budgeted for all this. The other good news is that Terhi seems to be really enjoying the idea of decorating, even if she even dreams about it. Even if I didn't like our new home so much myself I'd love it for how happy it's making her.
Now if we could only get the kids and cats settled down. I think both groups suffered from the chaos of the last week and a half, and it's going to take some time to get them back to normal. We'll get there. They're a walk in the park compared to how our closing went. But as I said, another story for another time...
Meanwhile, I'm back!
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