In case you haven't heard, racist idiot Don Imus is coming back to radio. To make room for his show, WABC has fired Ron Kuby, a civil rights lawyer, who had a popular talk show. My favorite quote from the article I saw is this one: "He gets my job, and I'm told about the high price he paid," Kuby continued, his voice rising in disbelief. "He's paid? What about me? The press release ought to say, `Ron Kuby has paid a high price for Don Imus' mistake.' He gets $20 million, an eight-month vacation and my job." I can't add anything that tops that.
Read More......Thursday, November 08, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
I'm a Moron - Therefore You Can Trust Me!
At least that seems to be the premise behind a web site that was advertised in my Google ads. I'm probably not supposed to make fun of the advertisers, but sometimes I can't help myself. I'm not sure what switch I tripped, but I got a block of "Get Rich Quick" links. Most are not worthy of comment, but www.igotscammed37times.com is begging me to mock it. Apparently, this guy has gotten burned frequently. These bitter experiences now make him uniquely qualified to tell you which ones are legit. Because, you know, fool me 37 times, shame on you. You can't get fooled again. Sounds like this guy decided he'd had enough of being beaten and it was time to be a joiner. Wonder how much he gets for each person that signs up. Personally, I like the little pop-up that is not a pop-up on the page. "Get The Free SECRET Scam Report Before They Stop Me From Revealing The Truth." Wow! He is in possession of true facts so startling that people want to shut him up. What's more, they somehow have the means of suppressing the truth! I'd write more, but I have a link to follow! Hurry, before THEY take away your computer!!!
Read More......Tuesday, November 06, 2007
What About Tigers and Bears?
While I can't speak of those, I can speak of lions. The mountainous variety. It appears the fires have roused one from his normal habitat. He was spotted (no that would make him a leopard) at Maya and Josh's school on Sunday. That means recess and lunch are back indoors again until they figure out where it is. I told the kids that if they were outside they should stay with a group and then make sure they are right in the thick of the group as it's going to pick off the stragglers if it goes after anyone. Mind you, I can't imagine a mountain lion creeping up on a noisy elementary school recess, but it's not worth the risk, however slight. The story was pretty well covered on our local news. If you click on the video link, you'll get to see the kids school and their principal. You'll also get to see dramatic footage of a completely different mountain lion. I want to know how they got the camera on his head.
Read More......Monday, November 05, 2007
Stories From the Fire - Tragic Loss
All of the losses in the fire were tragic. Some were more tragic than others. This is a story of one of those losses. It's easy to argue after the fact over whether it was avoidable or not, but no amount of second-guessing can bring back the dead. The casualty numbers were very low for a fire of this magnitude, but even with low casualty numbers, somebody is going to know someone who died. Sadly, she-who-has-had-a-pretty-rough-go did. One of her coworkers at Rincon Middle School lost her life in the fire. This article gives a decent account. For those who are wondering, they lived in an area that was overrun in about 15 minutes time. All we can do is speculate, but the best guess is that they thought they had a minute or two to grab a couple last things. They were wrong. And lest you think they had a lot of time, their next door neighbors did not have time to evacuate either. They survived by huddling in their swimming pool. Imagine sitting in 52 degree water and watching your house burn to the ground.
The principal of their school, John Centofranchi, was really excellent in the face of crisis. He kept in touch with all his teachers during the fires and sent out word to them when the first rumors of Vicky's death surfaced. He kept on top of the story and made sure they heard the confirmation from him before it hit the airwaves. He also did a tremendous job of making sure there were support personnel on hand to help students and teachers deal with the grieving process. The teachers had a meeting the day before students came back where all the rumors about what happened were dispelled. While I am saddened by the loss, it is comforting to know that the students and teachers are in such capable hands and are well supported as we try to rebuild our community.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Fall Back
I am not a fan of daylight savings time. I'll grant you, it made today into a very productive day. I was up early and accomplished all kinds of stuff. The extra hour was good for that. However, we now start the season wherein it is dark when I leave for work and it is going to start getting dark when I leave. I may have to go out for lunch just so I can see the sun. Gone is my ability to do yard work after I get home. Admittedly, I didn't do a lot of that, but I liked having the option. Where do you all stand on DST?
Read More......Saturday, November 03, 2007
Friday Funny 12 - NOW on Saturday!
Not a new clip, but I heard Frank Caliendo has a new series coming out. He's an amazing impressionist and he always cracks me up. I hadn't seen this routine before, but it's a good one.
Friday, November 02, 2007
The NEW Fantstic Four
While we were in Denver, Uncle Joe had a Halloween party for a few of his friends and invited us along. We had packed costumes for the kids, but not for me. Joe gave me the option of being a leprechaun or a 20's detective. Josh felt I should be "20 detectives", but the outfit didn't fit me. So, I went with the leprechaun. She-who-didn't-want-to-play avoided the whole thing, but I thought the combination of costumes: Joe, Maya, Josh, and I made for a fun super team. I present to you, "What If The Fantastic Four Were From Europe?"
Click the photo to go to the whole Flickr set.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
All Right. I'll Do It.
My friends have convinced me to sign up for National Blog Post Month or nablopomo for short. By signing up for this, I have agreed to make a post each day for the month of November. That means I have to do weekends, too. And Thanksgiving. What do I get if I succeed? The same thing if I don't. NOTHING! So, why am I doing it? No clue. Possibly because I am susceptible to pressure from friends. Maybe I'm just a girl who can't say no. Except for the girl part. Perhaps I am hoping to kick start my blog into regularity. Think of it as fiber supplements for my blog. Click on the badge below if you want to sign up. Know what I get if you sign up? That's right. NOTHING!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Now THAT is what I call teamwork
She-who-does-not-do-well-with smoke has developed some respiratory issues surrounding the fires. We have returned home, but she has something of a chest infection and is losing her voice. Also, her patience. The night before last, we were trying to get the kids to bed. Josh was not getting out of the tub so she raised her voice to let him know she meant business. He got out before she got to three. Maya was not getting in bed after being told multiple times. She was told very sternly to do so. I gave Josh his clothes but he was dawdling getting dressed when she went to check on him. "Josh," she said, "I'm losing my voice and don't want to shout at you. Can you please get dressed?" He was sympathetic to her plight. "Want me to do the shouting for you, Mommy?"
Read More......Thursday, October 25, 2007
A Lighthearted Update
Nothing has really changed firewise since the last update. Our house is still inside the fire perimeter but not burning. We are still unable to find a few of our friends. Most of Escondido is still evacuated, but not all of it. The main change is that some of the rest of the city is coming back to life. My office is open and I am working remotely reading requirements specs. People are returning to their homes as the Santa Ana winds have died down. The air quality is still incredibly poor. So, no point in rehashing that further. Let me tell you about my nephew.
Ian is seven months younger than Josh. My sister and brother-in-law had been keeping him away from the news because they don't want to freak him out. Well, they had been watching PBS when the news came on. They figured PBS news would probably not be too upsetting, but they led in with the fires. And he saw them and picked up that they were in California.
Ian: Mommy, are those fires?
Sam: Yes, they are.
Ian: In California?
Sam: Yes.
Ian: Doesn't Uncle Bri live there?
Sam: That's why Daddy and I have been watching the news.
Ian: Does Uncle Bri have tools?
Sam: (hesitantly) I'm sure he has some...
Ian: Oh, that's all right then. Uncl Bri can just build them a new house.
So, at least he is not worried. And he has an inflated sense of my abilities. But, just now I can live with that.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Settling in to Evacuee Mode
Wednesday night and the Sox are up 4-1! Oh, and our home is still in fire danger. Some people are being allowed to move back in and the winds have died down a bit, but that has caused things to shift. We still have some friends that are unaccounted for, but by and large our community is safe. If you look at this map you can see the latest estimates of fire perimeter. It also shows active and controlled burns. To see our house, check the box next to zip code 92027. Zoom out 1 level. Then center the screen on the red homes near Oak Hill cemetery. Roseann Ave is NNW of there. We are just inside the red shaded area, which is inside the estimated fire zone. With any luck, the shifting winds will turn it back from us. More tomorrow. But since I can't do anything about it, I am trying to avoid the news stations and focus on locating friends. That and watching the Red Sox. From in Denver.
Read More......Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Still Safe - Update II
The situation at home is still very much in flux. After spending a night in Long Beach and looking at the various places north, south, and west of us that were burning, we decided we needed to get out of California. The air quality is too bad for us. I'm having trouble breathing, and if we stayed much longer, she-who-has-dipped-into-her-emergency-supply-of-prednisone may have been headed for an ER trip. So we used priceline to find the cheapest fare to family and ended up with the Denver folks. We are staying at the Fairfield Inn in Southeast Denver. There is no truth to the rumor that we chose Denver so we could see a World Series game. In fire news, our neighborhood has thus far been spared, but the fire to the north and the fire to the south of us are supposed to merge tomorrow. The largsest fire is still only 1 percent contained. More as I know it.
Read More......We're Safe
For those who have seen the fires and are wondering what is going on, we are safe. We've been evacuated, but as far as we can tell, our neighborhood is not in the current fire path. As long as the winds don't change, we should still have a home once the fires are contained. We have evacuated from two locations and are currently in Long Beach. However, there are fires to the north of us, just above LA, and to the south of us in San Diego. We'll llikely be on the move again today as we try to get out of the smoke zone. The particulate count in the air is six times normal and we are all feeling it in our respiratory systems. I'll post more when I can. If you want to see the information we look for locally, here are a couple of good links.
http://sosdfireblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.signonsandiego.com/
http://www.sigalert.com/map.asp?Region=San+Diego
Friday, October 19, 2007
Friday Funny Goes to Eleven
There's a website called How it Should Have Ended. It takes shots at popular movies with lame endings. It also has a few melanges like the clip below which talks about alien invasion from the perspective of several popular movies.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Depends on Your Definition of Covered
Lets hear it for the health insurance industry! Hip-hip hooray! anyone interested in donating to my health bureaucracy telethon? Didn't think so. Why is that? Could it be that they spend countless dollars figuring out how to avoid paying you? Granted, they must save more than they spend otherwise all that would be left is perverse pleasure. And while perverse pleasure can be fun, it doesn't buy a Mercedes...
I got to talk to a "Customer Service" person yesterday. When I switched jobs, my health insurance switched. I still have most of the same doctors, but when you switch insurance, if you have recurring prescriptions you need "prior authorization" before refilling them. Now, pardon my ignorance, but if I show up at the pharmacy with a written prescription, isn't that prior authorization? I certainly didn't write the prescription myself! Someone had to authorize it before I filled it. My money is on the guy who signed it.
I walked into CVS after jumping through all the necessary hoops to get a couple written prescriptions I have been filling monthly for the last year at the same pharmacy. I handed over the new insurance card. The technician took down the information and explained that the doctor would have to authorize them to the insurance company. Apparently, they need a verbal from the doctor. His signature is not good enough. I imagine this is an attempt to talk the doctor into prescribing a cheaper, less effective medicine. I explained to the pharmacy that the aforementioned hoop jumping used up my buffer and that I was all out. I needed to pick the medicine up later that day. I gave them my cell and told them to call if there were any problems.
I was unable to get back that day, but they didn't call me. I had no reason to suspect anything was amiss. I sent she-who-was-going-to-near-there to pick it up on her way to get the kids at school. I know you will all be shocked to learn that they were not ready. What's more, the technician claimed to not have our insurance information. They were still waiting on authorization for one of the prescriptions and thought it could take up to three more days. But they weren't done. The prescription that was authorized had a maximum quantity of 1 per day. My prescription was for 1.5, so they couldn't fill that. They were able to get the prescription broken into two, though. I could have a prescription for a month's supply at one dosage and a month's supply at half dosage, though. I'd just have to make a co-pay for each.
She-who-was-now-late-picking-up-the-kids bounced the ball back into my court and said she would check back later. My job was to call the insurance company and ask them WTF? The conversation went something like this:
ME: So, why do I need the person who wrote the prescription to tell you that it is, in fact, his signature on it?
HER: It's just a medication that we need prior authorization on.
ME: So, the fact that I have been getting the same prescription filled every month for a year is not enough proof that it is authorized? Especially since he reauthorizes it every month?
HER: But WE have never talked to him.
ME: And you are worried the pharmacy is dishonest?
HER: No. We just need authorization.
ME: Beyond the written prescription on the special copy proof paper that only medical professionals have access to.
HER: Yes. He needs to call us.
ME: Because that is much harder to fake than the written prescription...
HER: I'm sorry, sir. But we need authorization.
ME: Well, I need medicine. And I can't wait another three to five days.
HER: Oh! The authorization just came in. The pharmacy should submit it again and it will be accepted.
ME: That's a fortuitous bit of timing.
*silence*
ME: Now about the other prescription.
HER: Yes?
ME: Why is that not covered?
HER: It is covered, sir.
ME: No. A dose that has already proven ineffective for me is covered.
HER: I'm showing here that we authorized this...
ME: As two separate prescriptions. I have to pay two co-pays. One prescription has one strength pill and the other has the same pill at half the strength.
HER: (pleased that I get it) Yes, sir. Two prescriptions.
ME: But if it's the same medicine, it is not two prescriptions, is it?
HER: We only cover a quantity of thirty in each dose.
ME: So, if there were 4 different doses, I could pay 4 co-pays and get 30 of each?
HER: Well, you'd have to get your doctor to prescribe...
ME: And this doesn't strike you as bogus at all?
HER: What do you mean?
ME: If I'm taking the same thing at two different strengths, it really isn't two prescriptions. If I take an extra strength Tylenol and regular strength Tylenol, are those different medicines?
HER: Well, no, but...
ME: This is just a way of scamming me out of twenty-five bucks because you want to say that you cover something, but don't really want to cover it.
HER: It is covered, sir.
ME: Then why am I not paying one of the amounts listed on my card?
HER: There are quantity limits on...
ME: Right, right. Quantity limits.
*long silence*
ME: So, that's it, then?
*long silence*
ME: I guess I have to go pay two copays for my prescription.
HER: (happy to be back on script) That's correct, sir. Is there anything else I can help you with?
Why do they always offer more help when they haven't really given any help that could be added to?
ME: Yes. I would like you to relay a message to your superiors. I realize you were just doing your job, so I don't blame you for enforcing their rules. However, I'd like them to know that I do not like this insurance at all. I am going to change at my earliest opportunity. In fact, I am going to tell my company to drop you as a provider.
When she-who-went-back-for-the-meds returned. There were only two prescriptions and two co-pays. And the quantity was for one and a half tablets. :)
The evil part? We are about to do open enrollment at work. My insurance will change as of November 1st. We had already decided to ditch them. I had nothing to do with it. But it was fun pretending I had. :)
There you go, Bill. How's that?
Saturday, October 13, 2007
I Guess You're Right
I dropped Josh off at before school care on my way to work on Friday and held out my arms for my customary goodbye hug. He ran at me full bore and bonked me in the gut with his forehead. "Hey! I wanted a hug, not a head butt!" Josh had a sensible answer. "That's not your butt, silly!"
Read More......Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday Funny X - The Unknown Funny
More classic comedy. I don't have much hope of beating most of you to the punch on the latest viral stuff. So, I have to think of what has amused me in the past and find it. This is a twist on the classic theme, as it is a classic comic on a contemporary show.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Very Innocent
This is a little dated already, but it stuck with me. For those of you who don't follow sports, the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden just had a huge sexual harassment judgment go against them. They need to pay a former employee $11.6 million dollars! Follow this link for the whole story or read on for my thoughts and excerpts. And for those out there who like to cast aspersions on the accuser, this woman, Anucha Browne Sanders, has some pretty impressive credentials. She was a vice president of marketing for the team and was making $250k per year. She was a respected college athlete as well. Her problem? She didn't like team president and former NBA great Isaiah Thomas calling her "bitch" or "ho"...
Apparently, Isaiah didn't like her initially and was abusive and degrading toward her. But he warmed up to her and then started hitting on her. She complained to team ownership and was fired. There's a lot of "He said, she said" in this case, but there are some things that are not in dispute. In deposition, Isaiah was asked if it as acceptable to curse at a woman in the workplace. That's a pretty easy question to answer. Unless you are an arrogant moron. He responded that "a white male calling a black female a bitch is highly offensive," Really? How about a black man calling a black woman a bitch? "Not as much." So, there's your credibility in a nutshell.
Don't worry, he was smooth on other issues as well. Isiah explained a controversial 2005 hug with Browne Sanders like this: "I went to give her a kiss on the cheek and she recoiled in such a way that it made me feel uncomfortable, and I said, 'What? No love today?'"
She also got some heat from at least one star player because she wouldn't break rules for him. When asked to remember a heated exchange with Browne Sanders after she wouldn't give him free tickets to a home game, Marbury made one thing clear: "I didn't call her a black bitch. I called her a bitch." Yeah. That can't have helped the case either.
With evidence like this, you have to wonder why they didn't settle out of court.
After the verdict, Isaiah asserted that he was "innocent. Very innocent." Is 'very innocent' like 'slightly pregnant' or 'most original'? When you have to add words to qualify your innocence, especially in light of the undisputed items above, you can just give it up. Admit you made a mistake and that you have a lot to learn and move on.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Bullet Point Updates - A REAL Post!
I haven't posted anything of substance of late and if I wait until I post the updates to start posting new stuff, then the blog will remain a once-a-week funny clip server. That's no good. So, I'm going to give abridged updates on my life. Feel free to ask questions in the comments or in private mail.
- I started a new-new-new job at the end of August. You read that right. I am on my third job since leaving Cymer. It has been a long, hard summer. Each of the three jobs I left, Cymer and the two others, I left of my own free will, but not necessarily on my own terms. Well, that's not true. The terms were my own; they were just not the choices I wanted to make. They were each better than the alternatives available to me at the time. I just wanted better alternatives.
- Those events left me pretty depressed. Searching for a new job took up a lot of my free time, such as it was. I didn't take very good care of myself. As a result, I am in need of a weight loss jump start. So, I'm back on the program again. Eating well and exercising. I'm trying to keep my calories reasonable. With the whole "eat well and exercise" plan, I'm down 8.2 lbs in 3 weeks.
- The new job rocks! I'll post more about it later, but I'm at a company called DivX. I'm a Senior White box Test engineer. We're called ourselves QA Developers since we bridge the gap between the two realms. The corporate philosophy is reminiscent of the early days at Foliage. The people are cool. I'm working with interesting technology. And they actually expect good things from me. It's a huge boost to my self-esteem.
- Theater stuff is rocking again. I am now the Artistic Director of Patio Playhouse and am directing a fairly ambitious youth theatre production. We are working on "The Pirates of Penzance". We aren't doing the youth version, either. We are doing the full on show. So far, it is a great experience. She-who-is-a-great-complement-to-my-skills is my assistant director. We also have a kick butt music director and an amazing young choreographer. More as it develops.
- I missed a lot of news stories that I wanted to comment on. Most of them are no longer topical. One that I feel I need to is Senator Craig. I know that there are very few people out there who are buying his lame ass story, but I was still bothered by it. His excuse for touching feet with the other guy is that he has a "wide stance". I don't care how long your legs are, the distance you can spread your legs is limited by the material at your waist, because that is what will be around your ankles. Try it. I couldn't get my legs close to the edge of my stall, never mind into the next one. So, his pants had to be up to pull off this stunt. So, there is no way he was using the stall for its intended purpose.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Friday Funny IX - Number Nine. Number Nine. Number Nine...
Classic comedy from one of my favorite duos of all time. The video quality is not the best and the audio is slightly out of synch, but they still make me laugh today.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday Funny VIII - In D
Today's funny is a clip I saw while attending the symphony last weekend. They had a big screen above the orchestra and the conductor was introducing each piece with a little history or information. Then he'd show a video he found during his research. For the "Barber of Seville" he played some Bugs Bunny. For Pachelbel's Canon, he played this.
I've also got a couple of bonus clips this week because he showed us some other cool Pachelbel videos to further point to its pervasiveness.
Here's a rock guitar melange of Pachelbel:
How about hip hop? Here's a Korean version complete with dancing.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Friday Funny VI - Six Funnies Laying
I haven't blogged much since starting the new job. I'll try an update this weekend. I may even have a new Karma story!!! Meantime, here is an animated history of popular net phenomena. How many do you recognize? I got about half.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Friday Funny V - The Funny Strikes Back
Here is a clip from a comedy troupe that I enjoyed, though they never made it big. They had one Comedy Central special and then faded away.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
I'd Like to Thank the Academy...
Last night, the community theater where we spend most of our free time, Patio Playhouse, held our annual awards banquet. There was food, entertainment, and of course, awards. The competition was pretty fierce this year, and I am proud of the many friends of mine that won. The show I helped produce took home 3 awards, including best ensemble. And I think you may know the person who won "Best Actor in a Minor Supporting Role".
I was surprised, pleased, and humbled at the same time. I fumbled through my acceptance speech, having never given one for an acting award before. So, I'd like to take this time to thank all the people who made this award possible.
First off, I need to thank She-Who-Deserves-Thanks, as well as Maya and Josh. They were supportive and encouraging throughout. Josh and Maya learned all my songs and practiced them with me daily.
I need to thank Mary Bright and Richard Brousil, my directors. They believed and me and gave me one of the juiciest part I've ever had and I ran with it. They gave me the latitude to make the role my own and reigned me in when I went too far afield. And they helped me achieve things musically that I never have before.
I also want to thank the rest of the cast. The mission band, the Hot Box girls, and the gamblers. You were all great to work with an fun to play off. Special thanks have to go to the leads in the show. All of you were larger than life. Bob, Sara, Kevin, and Kris; you all gave so much. And of course, we can't forget the orchestra, especially Emily, Dan, Richard, and She-Who-Gets-A-Second-Mention. I had a habit of changing things up, but they stayed right with me and made me look good. In my mind, Guys and Dolls will always be tops! Thanks again!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Friday Funny IV - The Goblet of Funny
Today's clip is another of my favorite old comedy sketches. Watch as Dave Foley struggles to remember the name of a well known Orson Welles movie...
Make Memories for Those Who Can't
This is another sponsored post, but it's an easy one for me to speak positively to. My grandmother died of Alzheimer's disease almost 10 years ago. It was painful to watch her go. It was even more painful to realize she had been gone a while and we never noticed because my grandfather covered for her so well. When he died, her last link to reality went as well. She lingered on for a number of years, but she didn't recognize many of us. She had rare lucid moments, but most of the time I doubt she even knew we were there. I remember her trying to read the newspaper out of habit. I say trying because it was upside down. It was hard to go visit her, but we knew she needed the company, even if she didn't know who we were. So we went and we watched as she slowly forgot how to do everything she ever learned.
Research has come a long way in the past 15 years with respect to treating and delaying the onset of symptoms, but there is still nothing remotely like a cure. So, if my giving a plug to a worthy charitable cause raises a few extra dollars, I'm OK with that. But you don't need to give money to help. You can volunteer your time as well. You can spread the word. You can get educated. The Alzheimer's Association has a lot of good data on the science behind the disease, dispelling myths, and even information for kids and teens. I personally like this link which lists 101 activities to do with a person with Alzheimer's.
Of course, if you can donate time or money, that would be great. The Memory Walk is a nationwide event. Odds are good that one is happening in a town near you. So, if you want to get involved, sign up now. The graphic above will take you to a page where you can enter a zip code and find out when and where your local walk is. I found two near me here in SoCal. One is in San Diego on October 27th and the other is in San Marcos on October 28th. From there, it's easy to sign up, donate, or even become a team Captain. If you don't live here, just go to the web site and enter your zip. I found four walks within 30 miles of my parents' house.
So, get out there and walk, donate, or just spend time with someone with Alzheimer's. It may not be easy, but very few things worth doing are.
A Papaya Free Week
It's been a very weird week for us for a number of reasons. The main one is that Maya has gone to her first sleep away camp. She has been away for weekends before and overnights, but never a whole week. We sent her to the same camp that we like to go to for family camp on Thanksgiving and Mother's Day. The staff there always do a great job at family camp, so we figured she'd have fun. Even though we haven't seen her and only one of the ten pre-addressed and stamped envelopes we sent her with have surfaced, we know she is having fun. How do we know? They have a camp photographer who snaps hundreds of pictures a day and posts them to a web site where we can log in and view them. Of course, lame-o that I am, I get all mopey when I see the pictures and I miss her. Josh misses her, too. He's only asked where she is a couple of times. Tomorrow, we pick her up at a family cook out where she will show us all she has done. If you want to see the photos, private mail me and I'll send you the link. I don't think I am allowed to post it.
Read More......Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Comment Roundup
Some things crept into the recent comments that I wanted to follow up on, but I didn't think any of them deserved a full post. So, I am hodgepodging.
* James had a good point about the Pay Per Post model. He wondered if your earnings dropped if you were too negative and your credibility dropped if you were too positive. The way I had planned to combat that was not to take offers that I couldn't speak to sincerely. But that may not be enough. After all, nobody sees me bypass an offer. Given this thought, I am now planning to do some work for them for free. If they ask for a positive tone write-up and I don't feel positively, I'll write a negative tone review and just not accept the offer. What do you think?
* The fruit fund raiser post brought up some interesting points on two topics. I had originally been complaining about the pervasiveness of unhealthful choices in our culture. But my suggestion opened the whole school/group fund raiser issue. I don't think many of us like these fund raisers. Parents don't like peddling overpriced crap for the pittance that comes back to the school. Friends and neighbors don't like being guilted into buying it. The alternative is just to beg for money, but that can be more awkward. So, what is the solution? How can we transform the fund raiser model into something that supports the local economy, gives the school an adequate return, and gives the donor a feeling of satisfaction with their donation?
* Steve wants me to recrunch the numbers with the current six game lead for the Red Sox. Consider it done. The Sox are 76-50 and the Yanks are 70-56. That puts the Sox slightly over 0.600. They have been fluctuating around that for some time. If they continue to play 0.600 ball for the rest of the season, they will go 22-14. If they only win half of their games, they will go 18-18. So, we are likely to finish with 94-98 wins. That means the Yanks need 95-99 total wins to beat us. Therefore, they have to win between 25 and 29 of their remaining 36 games. That translates to a low end winning percentage of 0.694 and a high end of 0.806!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
An Idea Worth Sinking Your Teeth Into
Like most of our population, I'm a bit overweight. Obesity is something of an epidemic here in this country. And yet, all of our school fund raisers seem to have candy or cookie dough or some other fattening item in them. And even though I love Girl Scout Cookies and think the program does teach the girls many valuable lessons, I once commented to She-Who-Sometimes-Agrees-With-Me that they ought to sell Girl Scout carrots or something. Then they are learning and promoting health. Enter the Fresh Fruit Fundraiser! You sell oranges, grapefruits, apples, and tangelos. You can sell them as gift baskets or sell them directly in bulk to people. The gift basket method seems to me the better way to go. Unless someone is planning on some mad baking or juicing, a 20 lb box of fruit seems excessive. I suppose a bunch of people could go in on a single box, but that dilutes your fund raising opportunity. Still, it seems like a step in the right direction to me and I intend to suggest it to the PTA this year.
Read More......Monday, August 20, 2007
BriWise Advertise
That's right! This space is for rent. I am trying out a service called Pay Per Post. The concept is that they get money from advertisers and give a portion of it to you in exchange for writing an article that meets a set of requirements. I'm just getting started, so I haven't seen all the types of requirements yet, but they seem to be on the order of number of words in the post, links the need to be included, and the type or tone of the post.
There was some controversy when they first started out because people weren't disclosing the fact that their posts were paid advertisements. That's been cleaned up with the advent of the disclosure image you see at the bottom of the post.
Another thing I like is that it seems like they are trying to integrate into normal blog flow. For instance, you can't take more than 2 offers per day, you have to have non-advertising posts between each of your advertising ones, and your blog has to have a minimum of one regular post every seven days.
Now, before you get too excited, obviously there are some factors about your blog that play into things. Your Google page rank determines what level of offers are available. You will also get feedback rankings (number of tacks) based your sponsored posts as well. Did you do the bare minimum to qualify? Or did you take to the spirit of the task as well?
On the other side, there are also opportunities for advertisers. Pay Per Post is trying to use targeted marketing to drive traffic to advertiser sites. This is an extension of the Google Ad Words model. The difference is, the ads are not random. People only post the ads that fit into their interests on their site. This eliminates one of the amusing Google Ads quirks. If I write a post complaining about President Bush, my banner suddenly contains pro-Bush ads. With PPP, your opportunities are restricted to the categories you selected when you signed up.
I am guardedly optimistic about this. It seems like a nice way to have my blogging habit earn me a little side cash. I don't have any visions of retiring on my PPP income, but if it allows me to buy a toy or two once in a while, it will be worth the effort. It gives me a chance to practice a different style of writing, and I enjoy that whether or not I get paid. This just allows me to justify the time.
If you are interested in signing up, I have a widget on my sidebar. I do get paid for referrals, but in spite of that, I don't want people rushing to sign up just for that. The referral fee is $15 and is contingent upon the referee having a qualified blog and writing a post. So, you can't just have all your friends sign up and then quit.
My advice is to wait and see. I'm going to make a go of it and report my progress. That way, you will have more details and can make a more informed decision. It doesn't cost anything to sign up, so this seems to be in a different class of internet offer than "Shoot the mugger and get a free iPod", but it's better to be safe than sorry and I am happy to be your guinea pig.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Friday Funny III
Here's an animation called "Gopher Broke" that I found on Stage6.com. It's like YouTube, but a bit newer. It's hosted by DivX, so it is supposed to support DivX content formatting as well. I'm just starting to explore it, but you may need a DivX plug in to view this.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Extra Secure
I love the Security system at my office. It’s fun being a contractor. You get to jump through meaningless hoops so someone else can feel like they are effective. There are a number of excellent rules and regulations here. For example, every day all contractors enter through the side door. You can tell who the contractors are because they all have red bordered badges to contrast with the regular employees blue. They stop at the security desk to check in. Security click a button on the screen next the contractor’s name. How many of you think that does something? Perhaps it checks the employee in and activates their badge? Keeps them hones about their hours because they check in and out? Nope. It just acknowledges that they stopped by the desk. In order to prove that you checked in, they have to put a round sticker with a red C on it on the back of your badge. The sticker has day of the month hand written on it. It’d be impossible to circumvent this system. Well, maybe Tom Cruise could do it in the next MI movie.
The best part of the whole system is that it is possible to go out through a door that you are not allowed back in through. The first such place I found was the patio of the cafeteria. It was a nice day, so I went to sit at a cool and shady table while I ate. None of the doors would allow me back in. To add insult to injury, the patio is surrounded by a tall iron fence to prevent outsiders from eating with us without security clearance. The gates leading out through this fence are locked and not badge activated. I was trapped on the patio until someone opened the door for me, which by the way is a security violation. No piggybacking allowed.
Why am I ranting about all of this? I had to mail a letter at work today. The mail pickup is at the reception desk. I walked out to the lobby and dropped it off, completely forgetting that my badge does not allow me in through the lobby. Further, the receptionist is not allowed to open the door for me. So even though I just walked out that door for the sole purpose of putting an envelope on a tray, I can’t go back in. She looked at me without a hint of pity and said “You have to go around”. So, I walked out the front doors, down the far end of the building in the hundred degree heat, and back in through the unlocked doors. I then walked past security, which saw my red bordered badge and never bothered to check for the scarlet C. I then got the customary snub from my star-bellied, er, I mean, blue-bordered colleagues, and finally made it back to my desk. Well, I feel better.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Mathological: Red Sox are Choking Edition
I'm not sure that I've coined a new term. Someone must have thought of it before. But here at BriWise, "Mathological" will now be used to refer to any attempt to mislead with numbers. It's part of my campaign for a more statistically aware planet. Yesterday was a topical attempt since I had been comparing job offers and was hoping to help others in the same boat. Today is a little more frivolous. As a Red Sox fan, current sports events just feel like history repeating itself. The Sox are choking again. They were up by 10 games at the All Star break and here it is, barely a month later and the lead is down to 4. It's inevitable that we implode and the Yankees overtake us, right?
Well, there's perception and then there is reality. Let's look at the numbers
W L Pct
Boston 71 47 0.602
NYY 67 51 0.568
Now, how have they performed since the Al-Star break?
W L Pct
Boston 18 13 0.580
NYY 24 08 0.750
Which of those percentages looks closest to the season average? At the break, the Sox would have been 53-34 for a percentage of 0.609 while the Yankees were 43-43, for a percentage of 0.500.
If we apply those percentages to what they have done since the break, we see that the expected value of Sox wins was 19. So, they are certainly close to the pace they were setting before the break. For those who don't want to do the math, 19/31 = 0.612. The Yankees, conversely, played a mediocre first half and only won half their games. That means, they should have been expected to win 16 games. They won a full 50% more.
Does this help us predict anything? Of course not! If it did, we wouldn't need to play the season. But it does suggest that the Sox are not choking. They have lost 4 of their last 7. So, the immediate impression is that they are doing poorly. The Yankees, on the other hand, have caught fire. They are not as bad as the data of the first 86 games suggests, but they are not as good as the data of the last 32 either. How do I know? Let's look at more numbers!
If a team was to play 0.750 ball for a season, they would win 121 games. That hasn't been done in the modern era, which is a fairly large sample size. So, while it is not impossible, it is statistically unlikely.
That doesn't mean the Yankees won't catch the Red Sox. With 44 games left, if the Sox continue playing with consistency, they will win 26 or 27 more games, falling a little shy of the coveted 100 win plateau. Let's say 26 for the sake of argument meaning they would end up with 97 wins. The Yankees need to win 31 of their remaining 44 to overtake the Sox, a winning percentage of 0.704. Not impossible, but, again, statistically unlikely.
This isn't meant to cheer anybody up. Just a little numerical reminder that the Sox are not choking. The Yanks are surging. So, lay off and stop stressing all you doom and gloomers!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Beware of Math
Comparing job offers is often a challenge. No two job offers are equal, even if they have the same dollar value attached. They are further complicated by the fact that different people value different things. For example, would you accept a lower salary for more time off? What if the salary discount subtracted more than the weekly value of the extra time? This is further complicated when you add contracting offers into the mix. Screw apples and oranges. It’s more like trying to compare a tropical fruit cup with a New England fruit cup with another
Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you are comparing two jobs. One is a $30/hour contract and one is a $50k a year job. To get these into the same units, we need to annualize the hourly rate. How do we do that?
- Multiply it out times 40 hours per week and 52 weeks per year.
30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 52 weeks/year = $62,400 per year
Looks like a better job, no? This will tell you how much you would earn with no overtime and no time off. How realistic is that? Let’s take out the holidays since most companies will not let you work on holidays.
- Same as 1, but subtract the holidays since you won’t earn anything for those. Let’s assume 10 holidays as that seems typical on average. That’s the equivalent of 2 weeks of business days.
30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 50 weeks/year = $60,000 per year
Of course, you aren’t allowed to take vacation under that scheme. So, if you are looking to compare, should you take unpaid vacation and see where you come out?
- Same as 2, but subtract out the vacation days you don’t get. More and more high tech companies are standardizing on 3 weeks to start. That brings us down to 47 weeks.
30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 47 weeks/year = $56,400 per year
Starting to get close now, isn’t it? And what if you get sick? Can you take time off? And how will you pay for medicine and such?
- Same as 3, but we are going to remove a week of sick time and a conservative $500 per month to cover the difference in having company health insurance and having to be self-insured.
30 dollars/hour * 40 hours/week * 46 weeks/year - $500/month * 12 months/year = $49,200 per year
Now, all of a sudden they are similar. If we start adding to the salary with things like bonuses, tuition reimbursement, flexible spending plans, etc, it starts to far outpace the contract position.
What does this all mean? It means you need to decide your priorities and goals before you start searching. And you should do the math yourself. Other people will give you their takes on the numbers. This is not out of a desire to mislead or be malicious. They are just doing the math from their perspective. Do your homework. Set up your assumptions. Then do your comparison. Just realize that it is a subjective comparison. There’s nothing wrong with being subjective when you are the subject. After all, you are the one who needs to live with the decision.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Friday Funny II
I may try to make this a regular thing. I'm going to look for amusing videos to plug in here and give you a new one each Friday. Here's a great bit from one of my favorite comedy groups of the 80's; The Frantics!
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
How to Waste an Hour
Step 1: Be tired.
Step 2: Pop “Dark Side of the Moon” into your computer’s CD drive.
Step 3: Play in Windows Media Player in full screen mode with visualization on.
Step 4: Wipe drool from keyboard when you come to
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Not Blogging For a Few Days
My folks are in town and we are scheduled to the hilt. I even took a couple unpaid days from work so we could really run ourselves into the ground. Here's the schedule. Sea World today and tonight. Legoland tomorrow during the day. Kid Improv performance and Andrews Sisters tribute performance back to back tomorrow night. Saturday morning is the Renaissance Faire, where I am the Sheriff and Faire spokesperson. Saturday night is improve performed by the adult troupe I lead. They fly out early Sunday and I do another day of Faire. So, if there is blogging time in there, I'll do it. But don't hold your breath. ;)
Read More......Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Acrostic Fever!
Not too long ago, Maya discovered acrostics. For Valentine’s day, all her close friends were given acrostics of their names. She also did it with birthdays and other card giving holidays. Here’s an example of her work:
Delightful
Amusing
Dancer
Well, Josh decided that he, too, wanted to make cards like these. He decided this just in time for Mother’s Day. Here, then, is the best Mother’s Day card She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has ever received.
Obishus
Terifik
Histre
Ebnokshis
Rose
Naturally, we had to ask questions about it. Most were self-explanatory. Here is the oral translation he gave us. Morkr = Marker. (Guess what art supply has been renamed in our house?) Terifik is Terrific. Histre is History. Ebnokshis is Obnoxious. And Rose is Rose. Interesting sentiments. But that left one out.
Mom: But what is Obishus?
Josh: Mommy, YOU’RE Obishus.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Shakeup in the High Court
Sorry. Bad pun. And the situation isn’t actually humorous. They have no explanation for the Chief Justice’s seizure, and since it is his second one on record, that makes it epilepsy. That doesn’t mean he is going to have daily seizures. It doesn’t mean he isn’t either. It’s like so many other disorders involving the brain. There’s a catch-all category for the ones they can’t definitively identify. The best I’ve read says that since he has had two seizures, even though they were separated by a good many years, there is a 60% chance he will have another. Someday. Nebulous, huh? The big question is, what should be done about it. Politics aside, what do you think ought to happen? Should he wait to see how long it is before it happens again and then decide? Or should he undertake more rigorous tests and observation? Perhaps alter his lifestyle? He says he is fine to resume his duties. What do you all think?
Monday, July 30, 2007
Who Cares About Lindsay Lohan?
Actually, I do, but not for the reason that most of those who fawn over celebrity do. I am interested for the same reason I was interested in the Paris Hilton nonsense recently. I am bothered by the fact that celebrities get preferential treatment from the legal system out here in
With all of that, you figure she must be in jail, right? Nope. She was released on $25,000 bail. I’m pretty sure she didn’t even spend the night. It’s lucky that she didn’t kill anybody. Personally, I think a repeat drunk driver, especially one on a suspended license, needs to do some real time to get the message home. Clearly rehab is not working for this train wreck. Is her contribution to society so great that we need to look the other way for her?
Friday, July 27, 2007
Friday Funny
A friend of mine turned me on to this Iranian comic named Maz Jobrani. Here he is on Leno. I am going to do some more digging on him, but I like what he is doing and how he is saying it. Funny, but with undertones.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Pourquoi détestons-nous les Français?
Ever since the
They helped us win the Revolution. They gave us aid in arms, ammunition, funds, and troops. They sold us the
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Airplane, Torpedo, Machine Gun
Voldemom and the kids went to the San Diego Air and
They were walking around the museum playing and Josh felt left out. They explained the game to him in detail. They taught him all the signs. Maya and Josh squared off for the confrontation. One-two-three-shoot! Maya threw torpedo. Josh threw scissors.
They had another round of rules discussions. They reviewed the signs. This time he had it. Josh was sure. Again they squared off. Again they stared each other down. One-two-three-shoot! This time, Maya threw machine gun. Josh threw his arms up and surrendered.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Happy Day-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named
That’s right, today is the birthday of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And if you think I can’t name her, then I’m sure you can guess that I can’t tell you how old she is. Actually, I doubt she’d care, but this is more fun. I also decided on a new nickname for her. This is not due to any actions on her so much as her current nickname. How about Voldemom? So, Happy Birthday Voldemom! We love you! Enjoy your new hammock!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Admira-Bull
I’ve been waiting to do this until the pictures were up, but I need to give a shout out to one of my oldest and dearest friends. He is also the current title holder of “Coolest Person I Know”. Don’t be jealous. He’s just that good. He is my second oldest friend. We’ve been through high school and college together. He opted for the ROTC route and has done quite well. As a matter of fact, he is now the Commanding Officer for the USS Constitution. Check him out with his crew in all their old-timey glory. And here is his personal photo. Congrats, Bull. I’m mighty proud of you, bro.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Bit the bullet
I bit the bullet and upgraded my Blogger template. As such, many enhancements have disappeared. I’ll try to add them back. My main goal was to get the comments back to being reliable again. It looks like I have done that. So, I should be able to respond to some of the recent comments now. I was having trouble doing so recently. I’ll add the blogroll back next. Then the recent comments. Then any other widget that tickles my fancy.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Would you rather?
I’m stealing a concept from my friend James over at Aces Full. Every week he poses a conundrum of the sort “Would you rather: X or Y”. Sometimes it is a question of having something. Sometimes it is a question of doing something. I thought of one recently based on a personal situation and decided to throw it out to my viewers. I’ve modified it slightly from what actually happened to try to reflect a more objective mind set as opposed to my interpretation of events. Here goes.
Would you rather:
· Stand up for what you believe is right if doing so has even a small possibility of posing a major risk (financial, emotional, social) to you and your family.
· Allow a grave injustice to pass at a smaller personal cost, but a potentially larger cost to society
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
she-who-must-not-be-named.com
Ok, a bit of a contradiction here. Or perhaps this is a concession that you can’t always avoid having your name on the internet. She-who-is-looking-to-reenter-the-workforce has created a website for her teaching portfolio. Ok. I created a website for her portfolio, but she created the portfolio. I just converted it from the school’s content management system (which is lousy) to Microsoft’s free Office Live (which is less lousy, but still pretty lousy). I was looking for free and easy and got that more or less. It came at the cost of flexibility and functionality.
The purpose of this site is to allow principals who are given her application and the URL to see what she has done and is capable of. Apparently, none of them look at it, but you have to either have a print version or a CD version. I was unsuccessful at a multi-format auto launch CD (since people can turn that feature off), so I came up with the idea of a website.
I wouldn’t mind a little review from my friends. I can only find so many bugs before I start to interpret what I see. If you want to look, go to she-who-must-not-be-named.com. I tinyurl’d it for obfuscation, so you’ll have to trust me that I am not trying to mess with you.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Papaya Decade
Today marks a full decade of Maya! Happy Birthday, kiddo. About this time 10 years ago, She-who-was-well-into-labor was recounting her conversation with dead relatives to all of us in the delivery room. Although, that was east coast time. So, if we are dealing with GMT, contractions were in full swing and the medical staff were ignoring her requests for an epidural as it was far too late for that. Tonight, we celebrate with Red Brick pizza, Cold Stone ice cream cake, and Harry Potter. And about 22 friends and their families. Expecto Pandamonium!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
I Has a Post
Ok. I haven't posted in a while again. Not as long as my last while, but still. Stuff going on. I know. There's always stuff going on. I'm a magnet. Or a catalyst. Or a well dressed digestive enzyme. Anyway, here's some LOLcat fun I found to distract you in the meantime?
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Aforementioned Improv
There’s a really good article in Today’s Local News about what I’m up to. I was impressed with the flow of the story and how well he captured what Improv is about. Even better, he edited out all my verbal fumbling and made me look like I really know something about this Improv stuff.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
You Read My Mind
As some of you know, I am occasionally a little sarcastic. Okay. Revise that to be often and quite. I know when I’m pegged. But don’t throw too many stones. I know many of my readers also possess the snarky gene. I’m most often snarky in the face of stupidity. Yesterday, I had a snarky thought. Stop the presses! What was newsworthy was the fact that someone near me vocalized it. I was in the grocery store that is part of my office’s plaza and was in the checkout line. A young woman walked up to the checkout clerk and asked “Where is your refrigerated water.” The clerk looked at her as though she was crazy and replied “In the refrigerator.”
Monday, June 18, 2007
Father's Day Fun
Well, another Father’s Day in the books and I rather enjoyed myself. We made it a Father’s Weekend instead of just a day. We opted for simple burgers and dogs on the grill Friday night after which I got my presents. Most were very cool handmade items. The kids made popsicle stick frames with pictures of us that they drew. Josh also made a footprint painting with a poem in it. His Kindergarten teacher laminated the whole thing and helped him wrap it. I also got a couple of Superhero T-Shirts so Josh and I can match, as he is always wearing Marvel apparel of some sort or other. I am now the proud owner of a green T with the heads of Wolverine, Captain America, Spidey, and The Hulk and a red T with an action shot of Spidey. Woot!
Saturday we went to Olive Garden with some friends for a nice dinner. A good time was had by all even though they were out of the Torta di Chocolate and forgot to bring us our Black Tie Mousse Cake which we chose as an alternative. We forgave them. We’re magnanimous like that.
Sunday was the big adventure. We got up early and drove downtown to catch the ferry to Coronado. You can drive to Coronado, but we wanted to try out the boat. It was an easy 15-minute ride and though I am exceptionally prone to seasickness, I didn’t even entertain a notion of nausea. Upon landing, we made a short walk across a long pier and over to Bikes & Beyond. We rented a 2-pedal single bench surrey and set off to explore the island. We wanted the 4-pedal dual bench, but Josh couldn’t reach the pedals and Maya only barely could. Plus, it was a lot heavier and with the two of them and she-who-still-has-a-ways-to-go-in-recovering-her-leg-strength with me, who do you think would be supplying most of the pedal power? Opting for the lighter model was a good choice. Josh sat in the basket up front. Maya and she-who-etc-etc took turns pedaling and sitting in the middle, and I got a great leg workout. To mix it up a little, I occasionally got out and pushed while they both pedaled. That was an even better workout as I jogged along behind. With my assistance in the back and my weight not in the seat, we were able to reach tremendous speeds of six or seven miles per hour! When all of us were riding, and I was pedaling, we were passed by kids on scooters.
We pedaled all the way to the Hotel del Coronado and took a rest break so we could see the interior of the famed structure. It was designed by wizard of Oz author Frank Baum and was used in the film Some Like it Hot. It was quite fancy inside. Josh and I took a ride in the old cage style elevator just because we could. Rest break was over and we had to try to get out of the hotel grounds. That’s when we noticed the street sign. Orange. Doh! There were only a few rules with renting the pedal car. Pedestrians have the right of way. Don’t pedal it through the market area. And stay off D, E, and Orange. That explains why it was so hard to get the car up the street. Luckily, we avoided the island police as we made our way back to the bike paths and eventually the shop.
From there, it was lunch at the Bayside Café, a little playtime on the beach, and a ferry ride home. We made it back with enough time for showers, a change of clothes, and a quick stop to pick up sandwiches before the evening revels. We topped off the evening with a 3 hour Improv rehearsal. But that will have to wait until next post…
Friday, June 15, 2007
Post something You Idiot
Ok. Ok. So this blog has been pretty neglected in 2007. I am sorry. For those of you who are still checking in on me, thank you. For those who aren’t, will those of you who are let them know that there is something new? The rest of this post was deleted. Private mail me if you don't know why.
Read More......Monday, May 14, 2007
Meme Time!
I was tagged (at my own request) with a meme by net friend barbie2be. I'm trying to jump start things here. She sent me 5 random questions. Here they are, with my answers:
1. Have you ever ignored the advice of your spellchecker?
Constantly. Spell checkers are weak on technical terminology. I also like to make up my own words. There are occasions when there is no right word for a situation and I need to adjectivize a noun. (I'm ignoring sc's red flagging of 'adjectivize' right now.)
Of course, sometimes I listen even when I know the spell checker is wrong. You can get some creative names that way. My friend Patti's email alias is now indelibly in my memory as "Puffy Merger" because of a spell check.
2. If you could only listen to one CD on a cross-country drive, what would it be?
I'm guessing that an MP3 mix tape CD would be cheating. I think I'd pick something I only marginally like as listening to it for an entire cross country trip would probably kill it for me. I'm going to go with Pure 80s as I can see myself belting out these greats hour after hour.
3. When life throws you a curve ball, do you swing hard and hope you connect, or do you just duck out of the way?
I lean in and get hit by the pitch.
4. Have you ever sent food back in a restaurant, and of so, why?
Yes. It was chicken and it was not cooked all the way through. And it was pretty clearly not cooked all they way through. I also send back food when I ask for something specifically, like 'no bacon', 'no cheese', or 'no mushrooms' and they didn't listen.
5. How long does it have to be since you last saw a friend or acquaintance for you to greet them with a hug?
Not long at all. I'm a hugger. It has to be the right person though. There are people I have known for years who aren't huggable and there are people I've know for only a month or so who are.
Now you know some more random stuff about me. Doesn't that just make you want to comment?
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Your Vote Doesn't Count
Ok. This is a little out of date, but I still wanted to comment on it. Last summer there was a lawsuit here in North County San Diego regarding the special runoff election for Duke Cunningham's disgraced seat. The contest was between Democrat Francine Busby, a member of the Cardiff School Board, and Brian Bilbray, an immigration and gambling lobbyist with ties to Jack Abramoff. Polls leading up to the election showed Busby with a small lead, but one that was within the margin of error...
Bilbray ended being declared the winner by the various organizations that call these things. On the say so of the Republican Secretary of State, Bilbray was whisked away to DC and sworn in before the election was certified. Some constituents of the 50th district wanted a hand recount and were given an unreasonable price tag ($150,000) by the Republican election commissioner. You see where this is going?
Lacking other alternatives, the constituents sued the San Diego commissioner and Bilbray in an attempt to get a hand recount. Their basis for the suit included the following points:
As you can guess from the title of this article, they lost. That isn't the troubling part. The troubling part is the precedent set by the text of the ruling. You can read the summary in the North County Times or Sign On San Diego, but I'll give you the high points.
Once Bilbray was sworn in, the state no longer had jurisdiction. This conclusion arose from Article 1, section 5 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that each House is responsible for the elections of its own members. Bilbray asserted, throguh his attorney, that only the House can now challenge the election. Of course, if you accept the assertion that once he was sworn in, the state had no jurisdiction to challenge, then you also have to logically conclude that the state had no jurisdiction to certify the election. So, it never actually happened. Ergo, your vote does not count. Welcom to George Bush's Amerika. Enjoy your stay.
Monday, April 23, 2007
You Got Hockey In My Baseball
Busy day, but wanted to send along this funny courtesy of net friend barbie2be.
Now, thaht's what ahm tahkin aboot!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
One Movie to Watch and Another to Miss
I actually watched some semi-recent movies. I didn't catch them in the theater. That's why they are only semi-recent. I'm giving a thumbs up to The Good Shepherd and a thumbs down to The Pursuit of Happyness. Go below the fold if you want to know why.
The Good Shepherd stars Matt Damon as Edward Wilson. The movies uses flashbacks Wilson's life to chronicle in a fictionalized retelling of the early days of the CIA. Some of the jumps are a little confusing, but overall, the movie flows well. There are more than enough plot twists to keep you guessing. I may see it again just to fill in some of the blanks I missed. That said, the feel of the movie is very good as is the supporting cast. William Hurt, Alec Baldwin, Robert DeNiro and more all play supporting roles. The supporting standout, though, is Angelina Jolie as Wilson's long suffering wife. She gives a strong performance that is aided by the makeup people who did a nice job of aging her through the movie.
By contrast, The Pursuit of Happyness stars Wil Smith as Chris Gardner. It also features his real life son Jaden as Gardner's son Christopher. This one is also based on a true story. Unlike Good Shepherd, though, this one is entirely predictable. Smith turns in a very good performance, but the movie is too angsty throughout. They really drive home all the obstacles he needs to overcome as they railroad the story from misery to misery and try to create suspense. "What is going to happen to Gardner and his son?" But the ending is never really in doubt and the emotional uplift is too little, too late to make this worth watching.
We also did a nostalgia turn and watched The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye, a young (and surprisingly attractive) Angela Lansbury, and Basil Rathbone. I've been on a Danny Kaye kick lately as I prep to portray him in an Andrew's sisters tribute show. So, I've been working on his mannerisms and voice. The kids have been enjoying him greatly. His movies aren't great cinema compared to the movies of today, but his comedy is wonderful. Josh watched this and he watched the recent Dreamworks flick Flushed Away. Afterwards, he told me, "Danny Kaye is better than Flushed Away. Kids today just don't know it." That's my boy.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Why Is It Called...?
We were on vacation a couple weeks ago and decided to try to do a couple of days at Disney before our passes expired. We were forced to change this to one day as our passes were blacked out for Good Friday. It's just as well as the place was obscenely crowded. As I was explaining all this to the kids, Maya asked what Good Friday was. So, I decided to explain it the best my Jewish upbringing would allow. "Christians believe that Good Friday represents the day that Jesus was crucified. Easter Sunday is the day he rose from the dead." She thought about that for a moment. "That's the day he was crucified?", she asked. "That's what the believe," I answered. "Then why do they call it GOOD Friday?" "That's a very good question," was all I could come back with. Anyone?
Read More......Monday, April 16, 2007
More Car Nonsense
Ok. Perhaps I shouldn't have jinxed myself. We all know how fickle the fates are. Granted, all I said was I wanted to wrap it up. I wasn't asking for St. Christopher to come down and lay hands on my car, making it new. I was just looking for closure. Which is why I shouldn't be surprised that I was rear-ended on my way to the dentist...
I was about fifth or sixth back in a column of cars. As each car in front of me stopped for the red light ahead of us, the gap between cars for stopping naturally shrank. I had just enough space to stop. The woman behind me, less so. WHAM! I bounced forward and then back. No airbag deployment. No shattered glass flying. Just your basic impact, lurch forward, and lurch back. However, the sudden throw did cause me some pain in my shoulders, neck, and lower back. And what are you not supposed to do if you think you have a back or neck injury? That's right. No moving allowed. So, I used my cell phone to dial 911. I didn't even get out to look at the damamge. The other motorist did not get out either. From what I could see in my rear view, she looked like a young woman in her twenties. She seemed unhurt, but upset.
I got through to 911 and was placed on hold. No operators available. I'm not kidding. All I could think was, good thing nobody is bleeding. I hung up and tried the local police department, since that was who I needed anyway. While I was in their menu system, a police car drove by. It didn't stop. It just drove by. I was unsuccessful in signalling them, so I went back to the phone tree. I couldn't get through the menu to a person. The automated message said to call 911. I called them back and this time got a person. He took all my info and said the fire department was on the way.
Huh? Not the police? Well, I was in no position to argue. Apparently the EMTs ride with the fire engines. So, the EMTs arrived in short order and did their assessment. The other woman was unhurt, but since I was complaining of back and neck pain, they decided to put a collar on me and strap me to a back board. Even though I wzas fairly certain I had no spinal damage, that is not something you want to take risks with. So, I was strapped down nice and tight and whisked away in an ambulance. (Special kudos to the fire fighters at Escondido Station No. 4 - They drove my car to the station so I didn't have to worry anbout towing or security or anything like that.)
The ride to the ER was nice and bumpy and made me more than a little motion sick. This is actually a more significant concern when you are strapped on your back and immobile. I told the EMT I'd try to hold it in so she didn't have to spray down the rig and she told me not to worry. She'd just roll the board on its side. Several bumps and a fortunate lack of vomit later, I was rolled into the ER and swapped to an ER bed. The nurse informed me that I couldn't come off the board until the doctor checked me and left.
Fortunately, there was a TV. Unfortunately, it was on Dr. Phil. And I was strapped to a board. Add some toothpicks to my eyes and we'd have Clockwork Orange. Dr. Phil was very sensitively ripping apart Anna Nicole's half-sister for trying to cash in on her sister's death. I was trying to gnaw through the back board restraints. The doctor came in and undid the collar for my first test. He poked at various spots along my upper spine and said "does this hurt?" It didn't, so he told me he'd check back again in 10 minutes and put the collar back on. As I lay there, Phil dissolved into Oprah, who wanted us all to take a test to determine how happy we were. I was pretty sure I was not happy to be in the ER and strapped to a board. No quiz needed.
The doctor came back and we repeated the test. Still no pain. So, he released me from the board and the collar. No X-Rays needed. Ahhhhhhh. Relief. Then he made sure I could move my extremities and had me lay still for a while again. He said that if I was still doing all right in a while, he'd let me go. It was at this time that She-Who-Occasionally-Shows-Sympathy arrived to take care of me. She fed me nacho chips and lemonade while we waited for me to be discharged. They told me that if I thought I felt bad now, I'd be worse tomorrow. Lovely. They offered me painkillers, but I'm not a fan of how that stuff makes me feel and I wasn't in THAT much pain. So, I passed. I was sore and miserable, but I could live with it. That plus the fact that SWOSS has a mini pharmacy of her own for joint and muscle pain.
The next morning, we went to get the car. At least, I thought, I would be able to get the damage fixed on someone else's nickel. When we got to the fire station, we saw the extent of the damage. I'd post the picture, but the zoom level I'd need to be at for you to see the scratch she left would be hard to achieve. That's right. My car can't handle rolling into a fire hydrant at 2 mph, but a read ending from another car? No sweat.
End result? Stupid car is still broken and not likely to get fixed, I missed a couple days work, and I have a stiff and sore back for a couple weeks. My weight loss was going pretty well, too. But now I have to take a break from basketball. Crap.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Car Saga Update
Well, I am back from vacation and mostly caught up at work and at home. I'll post about the vacation and other assorted happenings later. First, I'd like to wrap up the car saga insofar as it can be wrapped up for now...
As you may recall, the first estimate I got for the repair work was $2800. That was not a promising start at all. So, I shared the saga with Jeff, a car savvy buddy at work. He felt the total was a little high so he suggested a couple other body shops in the area. I offered to treat him to lunch if he'd come along. Free lunch to go to a car place? I didn't have to ask him twice. We grabbed Sal because mischief is more fun with three and off we went.
We headed south of the office and took our business to El Dorado Collision Center in Poway. We made small talk with the office manager while one of the service technicians was paged. John came right out and we walked out to the vehicle. He looked at it and gave an off the cuff estimate that was even higher than my first estimate. I'm sure if he sat down and did the detail work it would have come out closer to the $2800 number, but his overall point was that it was likely not worth it for me to do it. He wanted, instead, to focus on the problem of getting the trunk functional.
After a careful examination, he told me there was no reason the trunk could not be opened. The damage was not sgnificant enough to wedge it closed. Therefore, the mechanism was the likely culprit. He got me a flashlight and a screwdriver so I could crawl into the trunk from the inside and jimmy the mechanism. I figured out how to get it to pop open with a little help from Jeff and Sal. They flipped the release repeatedly so that I could see the device attempting to act. My keen mechanical eye combined with the flashlight and screwdriver to do the rest. Clunk! The trunk popped open and in flowed sweet, cool air. Inside the trunk was rather hot given that it was around 85 degrees outside.
Once it was open, John carefully removed the carpeted lining around the mechanism and examined it while we tried to work the release. He showed me how I could take it apart with some pretty basic tools and said that the release wire either just came loose or the wire was stretched and needed to be repaired. Based on this, I was able to see (without even removing the bolts) that the release wire just came out of its groove. I put it back and and we did a little testing. Trunk victory!
John basically served as a service consultant. He diagnosed the problem and guided me through fixing it. He spent about 15 minutes with us and didn't charge me a thing! I told him if I ever needed vehicle body work again, I'd definitely head in his direction. And you should too! If you are interested, I can recommend them for their integrity and Jeff can recommend them for quality of work. El Dorado Collison Center
12502 Poway Road
Poway, CA 92064
My story didn't exactly have a happy ending. I still have an ugly dent in the trunk and bumper. The big dent needs to be sanded out and painted over as it is already starting to rust. But John managed to make it a less miserable ending. The car still functions and was never terribly lovely to begin with. All things considered, it was about as good as I could expect.
With that taken care of, it was off to lunch!
Subscribe to:
Comment Feed (RSS)
