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| Work is getting interesting. Project teams that need help are actively seeking out my group's assistance. Some even ask for me by name. It's a good feeling. Still, one activity I'm working on is important but won't be used for quite some time; I have to make sure I don't focus on "firefighting" to the point that I put that on the back burner entirely. Steak fajitas for dinner last night. Yum. After dinner last night, <Wife> and I sat on the family room couch together. She with her laptop, I with mine, she booked flights on Southwest while I booked hotels and rental cars on <Company>'s travel site. I think <Son> is pretty excited about the trip. Wednesday night, we estimated that the basics of the trip (airfare, hotels, rental cars, gas...not including food and fun) would cost $<foo>. When the dust had cleared, our running total so far was only 70% of that, and that was even after the airfare for the final leg went up. Dunno where the discrepancy came from, but I'm still happy to see it. Weight workout at the gym last night. Ergo, sore this morning. In a good way, though. | ||||
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The Other Bill
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July 25th, 2008
July 24th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (1½ so far) (Transcribed 07/25/2008, 08:14) | ||||||||
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| So, the first prospective college road trip is being planned. Right now, the schedule looks like this:
If any readers have any perspective/info/etc. on either school, we'd love to hear it. Still, additional suggestions/recommendations would be welcome. And for you Bay Area folxen, a question: should we be looking at U.C.Berkeley as well? We may be able to stay a few extra days to check them out, if need be. (MIT is still not replying to my emails or returning my phone calls. Grrr.) | ||||||
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Happy Birthday, ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} born_to_me!! :-D | ||||
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July 21st, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (½ so far) (Transcribed 07/25/2008, 8:09) | ||||||||
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July 20th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (4 so far) (Transcribed 07/21/2008, 08:11) | ||||||||
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July 19th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (3 so far) (Transcribed 07/21/2008, 08:04) | ||||||||
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| About a month ago, at the beginning of the recent A/C drama, one theory that <Wife> and I speculated upon was that the kitchen window was letting in a disproportionate amount of morning sun/heat. It's the only window in the kitchen/family room area that doesn't have a shade, and you can just stand at the sink in the morning and feel the sun's rays beating down on you. So, since Home Depot was having a sale, we custom-ordered a nice cellular shade for that window, to match the shades in the rest of the house. It arrived yesterday. Would you believe it's the wrong size? I don't mean that they shipped the wrong thing—its size matches the size listed on the packing slip, and that matches the size listed on the original invoice. They shipped exactly what we ordered. Instead, I mean that...well, I must've given them the wrong measurements when I placed the order. The length is okay, but it's nearly three inches too narrow. I guess I must've written the numbers down wrong when I measured the window frame. I dunno. Since we custom-ordered it, there's no returns, refunds, or exchanges. We're stuck with it. (I hung it anyway. It looks about as bad as you'd imagine.) Between this and the speeding ticket, I've made entirely too many expensive mistakes recently. :-( (Adding insult to injury, we've since ruled out the kitchen window theory, anyway.) | ||||||
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July 18th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (2 so far) (Transcribed 07/19/2008, 07:53) | ||||||||
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| I remember when <Wife> and I took <Son> to kindergarten orientation. The high-strung uppity soccer moms (and dads) were all trying to one-up each other. The kids just looked around, clueless. "Well, my little <Name> already knows his A-B-Cs." "That's nothing. <Name> here can count to ten." We just looked down at <Son>, patted his head, and rolled our eyes. I remember when <Wife> and I took <Son> to the gifted/talented program orientation, before third grade. Different school, different kids, different parents, same stress-inducing atmosphere. The kids all eyed each other warily. "Are you covering a fourth or a fifth grade curriculum this year?" "How much will you stress vocabulary? We all know how important that is on the SATs..." Yes, parents of eight-year-olds, asking about college entrance exams. We just looked down at <Son>, patted his head, and rolled our eyes. I remember when <Wife> and I took <Son> to junior high gifted/talented orientation. Different school, different kids (mostly), different parents (mostly), same environment. It really felt like the parents were trying to establish an alpha-dog, seeing which kid was the best. The kids looked...well, nervous. "Is it better to get a B in a [gifted/talented] class, or an A in a normal class? How is that fair to compare the two??" "How long should we make them study every night?" "What if we think our daughter is ready for algebra?" We looked over at <Son>, but knew better than to pat his head (he didn't like it). The school principal (who knew <Son> from his kindergarten days) grinned, leaned over and whispered "Try calculus!" And last night, <Wife> and I took <Son> to a "road show"-style information session on Brown, Yale, and MIT. Different schools, different kids, different parents, but now the students were bearing the stress as well. "What should be emphasized in the admission essays?" "Do you deweight GPAs for AP or IB classes?" (WTF?!?) "What about college co-enrollment? Will those credits apply?" <Son> still thoroughly looks his age, so we were getting tons of odd looks for bringing a junior high kid to a college presentation. Finally, I cracked and asked "What if they want to apply as a transfer student?" Y'know, if that's the pressure cooker we avoided by putting <Son> in community college waaaaay before his time, then I'm glad we did it. Granted, it will completely complexify things once he's done there (in a year or two) and goes off to a "real" university, but we're crossing those particular bridges as we get to them. | ||||||
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July 17th, 2008
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| More random updates: Thermostats: Out of curiosity, I checked Honeywell's web site on their thermostat selection. I found two "compare models" spreadsheets, one for the commercial-quality builder-grade models, and another for the home-quality do-it-yourselfer models. Almost every builder-grade model has a "dual power" feature, meaning they draw power from the HVAC 24V ac line, but can also use batteries, either as main power (if there's no 24V ac line to use) or as a backup (when power goes out). The do-it-yourselfer spreadsheet? It didn't even list "dual powered" as an available feature. Every Honeywell thermostat you can buy from Lowe's or Home Depot requires batteries; none can make use of the 24V ac line. This annoys me far more than it should because...well, the commercial-quality and home-quality thermostats are mostly the same. All they'd have to add to a home-quality thermostat to allow it to use the 24V ac line is one additional pin on the connector to the wall mounting plate—there's even an empty spot on the connector where that pin should be, and a corresponding socket on the mounting plate (conveniently marked "do not use"). But by taking a good product and chopping its legs off, they allow themselves to sell the broken ones at a "normal" price and mark up the non-broken ones to an inflated price. Don't get me wrong, every market has this sort of thing going on. Even <Company> does this to some extent (sorry, no specifics). I guess the difference is that here, I can see what they did and know how they did it, and it just makes me mad. (Luckily, I found a website where I can buy the commercial-grade 'stats at bulk prices. The "non-broken" 'stats there sell for about the same price as the home-quality ones sell for at Home Depot.) Gym: Had a reeeally good workout last night—just wanted to share it here. I'm fatigued today, but not to the point that my legs give out when I'm trying to stand up (always a fun feeling). Work: I don't enjoy reading architectural spec documents, but I've found that I do enjoy reading the journal articles behind the architectural decisions they made. That helps immensely, as it makes the spec documents much easier to understand. (Why do Galois-based data scrambling? Why use 8b/10b encodings? -reads- Oh, that's why!) Other: For not being in the market for a home theatre receiver, I sure seem to be spending an awful lot of time researching them online and deciding which one I'd buy at particular price points. | ||||
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July 16th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (1 so far) (Transcribed 07/17/2008, 10:06) | ||||||||
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| Quick hits du jour: A/C: With the hard-wired fan relay, the house A/C has actually been working well. We're debating whether or not to move the thermostats to better locations; I'm thinking that it'd be a good idea. The key question, now, is how high will next month's electric bill be. Speaking of thermostats, I bought new thermostats to replace the lousy builder-grade 'stats that were installed when the house was built. I opened up one of the new ones to look at its wiring, and...would you believe there wasn't a connection for the 24V ac power line that the HVAC system provides specifically to power the thermostat? Instead, you have to put a pair of AA batteries in it! (Are Honeywell and Duracell in cahoots now?) Anyway, I returned them to the store, checked the store's thermostat selection more carefully, and found that they were all that way. This could get...annoying. (Speaking of annoying, we still haven't received the reimbursement check from A/C Company #1. Grrr.) Dinner: Mmmmm, fajitas for dinner last night. The chicken and veggies had been marinating for about two days, and I cooked them out on the grill so as to not heat up the house (see above). I even managed to find the grill basket-pan-thingie to hold the veggies, so the smaller bits wouldn't fall through the rack and incinerate themselves. Everything turned out great, nice and blackened but still oh, so goooood. As the lolcats would say, "nom nom nom". (Dinner the night before was broiled salmon. I swear, we eat better when we don't eat out so <expletiv'ing> much.) Gym: Haven't been to the gym but once in the past week-plus. Life's been too crazy. Gotta go tonight—that iron ain't gonna lift itself, after all. Misc.: I'm feeling an odd compulsion to research a new A/V receiver for our home theatre system. It's a perfectly inopportune time for this feeling, though. Maybe I'll give them a closer look in a few months, or when the holiday sales start. Edited to add: Music: They've remastered and rereleased a 30th anniversary edition of Kansas' Two For The Show. I so don't need to rebuy music I already own, but I'm sorely tempted... <Son>: Tomorrow night we're attending a group info session on Brown, Yale, and MIT. We had to register in advance, so they should be aware of both his age and his educational situation. This could be interesting. | ||||
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July 15th, 2008
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| Oh, yeah, here's some insight into the way my mind works. Last night, <Wife> and I were watching TV. A commercial for some pharmaceutical comes on. I don't know which drug, but the commercial featured animated water balloons at some sort of dance, swaying forward and back in unison. I burst out laughing. <Wife> asked what was so funny, and I explained my sudden mental image of two animated water balloons...in a knife fight. Okay, maybe it wasn't that funny, and any insight into the way my mind works might be kind of dark, but the imagery continues to make me chuckle. | ||||
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| URL du jour: Totem Destroyer Sorta like Boom Blox, lots of fun. Go, play!! | ||||
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July 14th, 2008
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| <Car>: Yup, it was just the battery, still covered under warranty. The dealership swapped in a new battery and changed the oil (at my request—it was about due), and I've a reservation on the 1500h courtesy shuttle for a pickup. A/C: Company #2 stopped by. According to <Wife>, the tech took some temperature measurements, then just sat and listened to it for a good ten minutes before doing anything...then found a problem on the circuit board that controls the fan speed (something that I don't think Company #1 ever looked at in their seven service calls). The board would have been $450, but the tech jury-rigged a fix for a tenth of that. We'll see if that fixes things. He also suggested replacing the thermostat on the second system, but that's something I can do myself. Other: I've been jonesing for some new home electronics...in this case, a shiny new A/V receiver for the home theatre system. I know our budget can't take that sort of hit right now, but it's nice to dream about. | ||||||
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| When it rains, it pours. I mean that in both senses of the phrase. In the good way...rain, rainy rain. We got dumped on last night, and it was awesome. After the lightning was over, I was tempted to go swimming in the rain. This morning it's still cloudy and muggy and humid as who-knows-what, so it'll probably rain even more tonight. On the other hand...this has not been our month when it comes to expenses. First, we bought airline tickets to go home for Christmas as soon as fares went on sale. Then we had the continuing drama over the A/C—Company #1 has promised to reimburse us for all expenses (a check is in the mail), and Company #2 is due out for their first crack at things today. On top of that, we have two college tuitions to pay for. Then I got the speeding ticket on Friday—traffic school is "only" $135, but that's just salt in the wound. Then late Friday, my car became sluggish to start, and by Sunday morning, it was a one-ton paperweight. Battery's dead. Hopefully it's still under warranty—not quite three years old, ~32k miles. When it rains, it pours. (Jump-started the car this morning, limped it in to the dealership, and took their courtesy shuttle in to work. Whee.) | ||||
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July 12th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (1 so far) (Transcribed 07/17/2008, 09:57) | ||||||||
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July 11th, 2008
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| Ahhh, rain. Rain rainy rain. Quite a bit of lightning last night, and I was awakened at 0130h to the sound of a nice, driving downpour. Everything was cooler this morning, with a pleasant sense of...relief (?) in the air. Of course, now it's muggy today, but at least it's not as hot as it has been. And the A/C is able to cope with the reduced heat but increased humidity just fine. -phew- Speaking of the A/C, the company we brought in to look at it finally agreed to give us a 100% refund. They say the check is already in the mail. We're relieved, but we'll believe the check is on its way only once it's arrived. And then we get to go through this all again with a different A/C company, to see if they can find the problem. At <Wife>'s request, I took <Son> to the bank today, to deposit any cash he had laying around his room. I was thinking "fives and tens, with the occasional twenty"...then I saw the fifties and hundreds. He had over $500, just sitting around. When did kids start to have that sort of cash just lying about?!? And how come I don't have any? | ||||
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July 10th, 2008
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| Conservation of Karma: Good: The A/C company has verbally agreed to reimburse all the money we've paid them. We should expect a check in about two weeks. Which is good, because we met with an attorney this morning. Bad: I got a speeding ticket this morning. There's a construction zone in my area, where the speed limit slows from 45 to 25. The 25 MPH sign is well before the lane closure, and the lane closure is well before the construction zone itself. I was slowing down for the lane closure, but apparently hadn't slowed enough before I passed the 25 MPH sign. The motorcycle officer was on the side of the road, after the sign but before the lane closure, and already had his lights flashing before I drove past him. So, "41 in a 25" makes it sound like I'm careening down residential roads, but in reality, I think just about anyone would've been cited there. It's like shooting fish in a barrel. Anyway, traffic school is on August 2nd, and I'm out $135 and five hours of my time. Still, better that than all the A/C money. | ||||||
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July 9th, 2008
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| @ AZA, enroute to MHR. Corporate air shuttles are awfully nice. Then again, I'll have all of six hours on the ground in Folsom before my return flight. I hope my boss and I can make the most of it. | ||||
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July 7th, 2008
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| Ahhh, Monday. Time for another Monday-type update. The A/C is still screwy. It'll cool to the desired temperature, but it'll run and run and run (we're at nearly 3000 kWh for the billing cycle...eep!). Yet another service tech came by on Thursday (service visit #7), this time to install a damper in the ventilation to direct more air from a cooler portion of the house towards a warmer portion. I was displeased with his visit, for three reasons:
So, we've grown tired of this company's trial-and-error approach towards the problem, and we want our money back...ALL of it. They're willing to reimburse us everything except what we paid for them to put in the new evaporative coil ($344), as they did indeed put in a new evaporative coil. <Wife> wants it ALL back anyway, as the coil didn't fix our problem, so we don't know that our old coil really had anything wrong with it. So, we're meeting with a lawyer on Thursday (one <Company> benefit is prepaid legal services), and we've contacted one local news show for their "consumer alert" segment. Heeeeere we go. My boss at work has been very understanding of all the time I've missed. He and I are due to spend Wednesday in Sacramento, meeting with a group we hope to work with, and I think I've demonstrated that I'm still on top of things and have looked into my project enough to understand what problems I'm facing and what questions to ask on Wednesday. We'll see. Three workouts at the gym last week was tough, as Wednesday night's visit was aborted at the twenty-minute mark and I really didn't want to count it. So, Friday-Saturday-Sunday it was. First time in a very long time that I'd worked out three nights in a row. Rest tonight, and probably more rest tomorrow night (TV time: Wipeout and I Survived A Japanese Game Show). My next gym visit will be | ||||||
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July 6th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (3½ so far) (Transcribed 07/07/2008, 05:57) | ||||||||
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July 5th, 2008
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( Commentary ) Goal for this week: 3 workouts (2½ so far) (Transcribed 07/07/2008, 06:19) | ||||||||
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The Other Bill
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