Da Blog.
It's been awhile, twelve days. A lot has been happening. The business is finally underway, and some work is flowing in. No advertising as of yet. I thought this blog could be a vehicle for advertising the biz but no. It may describe what I do, or something the rest of the world can learn from whilst I drip blood upon the ground from a new and wrong way of getting something done.
So today, the blog gets cleaned up a little. Too many commas or too much whining, that gets snipped. The italicizing isn't doing very well, so the font for that has to get changed. The pictures are staying for the most part but they do hog a bit of bandwidth, so some of the big monsters are going away.
The Eye
.....is doing much better. I'm up to a month between appointments now. The doctor seems happy at the progress, and for my part, it's actually useful most days.
The Biz
....had it's first job and first pay and first receipt. It was a townhouse, a sibling of mine. It's better now. It's a little tighter, the doors work a little better, some paint, quite a bit of caulk. Adding electrical coverage to my insurance but that's so I can screw in light bulbs and clean out vent fans. Please use licensed electricians for messing with electrical systems. Not me.
My Townhouse
The back bath is finally getting back into gear. The waterlines are capped off. It's too much trouble to cut holes for valves in the floor of the cabinet and then have to patch it up after getting it in. I actually preserved the entire hookup for the kitchen sink, and wound up having to redo it all anyway.
Much easier to drill two 3/4" holes. Besides, the old valves were meant for compression fitting on copper lines and I have plastic. The cast marble sink met destiny with a two pound mini sledge. That was a good feeling. Forty Whacks, a la Lizzie Borden. Pictures, I promise.
The walls needed some spackle and paint after two years of general use including banging furniture against, migrating white-boards and nomadic fire extinguishers. Much better now.
The Great Presidential Horse Race
Finally, the polls that do count. It was getting old having herds of politicians wandering the countryside making promises and pestering the populace.
The Democratic race is pretty much defined, Clinton, Obama and Edwards in that order. Biden, Lieberman, and the others add some color to it but my money is on the front three to win, place , or show.
The Republicans have no clear leaders in front like the Democrats, so the primaries will actually help by thinning that herd out a bit. Still my impression is that Guilani and Romney are about even, McCain trailing. But no money on any of these guys yet, the field is just too crowded.
It will be nice as state by state, the people do their thing and weed out the no-hoper's, and we get to see who to make fun of for the next four years.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Sloth and Indolence
Da Blog
Setting yet a new record for sloth and indolence, blog wise. I'm not planning on doing any Soviet Encyclopedia additions or deletions today. Still sitting on the fence about advertising. I despise it since most of it is un-targeted and strewn into the public space like litter along a roadside.
The End of the Attic House Project
The attic-house is done. Spent the last day in....the crawl space. Still, it is the attic house. R and R#2 did a really nice job in the crawl space. The foundation is painted with Dry-Lok, insulated, sealed and clean. B is a good guy. He tends to be craftsman like now and then as am I. This can be bad when time is of the essence.
It had more then the usual issues of a North Carolina tract house. The insulation was so poor as to be non-existent, the wiring was beyond strange and drove the poor electrician nuts. The windows are single pane and the owner wanted to keep them so the boss did the best he could. He had to re-glaze and reset them. The interesting thing is, that the builder many years ago did not even bother to nail them in. I looked into the air return duct and saw the exhaust duct going through it. Wild.
Setting yet a new record for sloth and indolence, blog wise. I'm not planning on doing any Soviet Encyclopedia additions or deletions today. Still sitting on the fence about advertising. I despise it since most of it is un-targeted and strewn into the public space like litter along a roadside.
The End of the Attic House Project
The attic-house is done. Spent the last day in....the crawl space. Still, it is the attic house. R and R#2 did a really nice job in the crawl space. The foundation is painted with Dry-Lok, insulated, sealed and clean. B is a good guy. He tends to be craftsman like now and then as am I. This can be bad when time is of the essence.
It had more then the usual issues of a North Carolina tract house. The insulation was so poor as to be non-existent, the wiring was beyond strange and drove the poor electrician nuts. The windows are single pane and the owner wanted to keep them so the boss did the best he could. He had to re-glaze and reset them. The interesting thing is, that the builder many years ago did not even bother to nail them in. I looked into the air return duct and saw the exhaust duct going through it. Wild.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The I-95 Grand Folly
The I-95 Grand Folly
I make a monthly pilgrimage up to Northern Virginia. Mostly on I-95. This takes me past Roanoke Rapids. I saw this building being built in the middle of nowhere. The Randy Parton Theatre, a modern adaption of antebellum plantation crossed with a touch of Wally World. Roanoke Rapids thought they could emulate Branson, Missouri and build a theme park as far as I can gather, around a relative of a mainline country music entertainer. Randy Parton is the brother of Dolly Parton. Only problem, why travel a hundred or so miles to get entertained when one can hang out in major cities like Raleigh, Virginia Beach, and so on, complete with existing places to go?
Yep, they are losing their shirt. The theater's namesake is gone, it's under new management, and I'll bet they will have the name changed on that building in less then a year. I really hope they spell "theater" right. North Carolinian retail property owners tend to put "e" on the end of nouns, coming up with "pointe", "olde" and "shoppe". Then there's my pet peeve...."centre". This is America, spell like an American! Center! Point!, Shop! Old!
The Attic House
My last day on it since I got to finish up a punch list somewhere else tomorrow. Basically, last minute tweaks in the attic and then, blown in insulation. My life will be not good today. There are nasty jobs out there, and blowing insulation in a cramped attic is right up there. I'll stick B with returning the machine.
Deferred Maintenance
I'm eyeing the 401K. It's not a good thing to nuke it but the car, computer, cat, me, and the house have been on deferred maintenance and the left eye is getting more then a fair share of money, as it's still under care. The business started off well, and it may be a good way to earn money, do some good, and have fun doing it. Deferred maintenance is sometimes necessary but never good in the long run. Just look at what happened to the railroads, trains kept falling off the tracks before they came to their senses and fixed them.
I make a monthly pilgrimage up to Northern Virginia. Mostly on I-95. This takes me past Roanoke Rapids. I saw this building being built in the middle of nowhere. The Randy Parton Theatre, a modern adaption of antebellum plantation crossed with a touch of Wally World. Roanoke Rapids thought they could emulate Branson, Missouri and build a theme park as far as I can gather, around a relative of a mainline country music entertainer. Randy Parton is the brother of Dolly Parton. Only problem, why travel a hundred or so miles to get entertained when one can hang out in major cities like Raleigh, Virginia Beach, and so on, complete with existing places to go?
Yep, they are losing their shirt. The theater's namesake is gone, it's under new management, and I'll bet they will have the name changed on that building in less then a year. I really hope they spell "theater" right. North Carolinian retail property owners tend to put "e" on the end of nouns, coming up with "pointe", "olde" and "shoppe". Then there's my pet peeve...."centre". This is America, spell like an American! Center! Point!, Shop! Old!
The Attic House
My last day on it since I got to finish up a punch list somewhere else tomorrow. Basically, last minute tweaks in the attic and then, blown in insulation. My life will be not good today. There are nasty jobs out there, and blowing insulation in a cramped attic is right up there. I'll stick B with returning the machine.
Deferred Maintenance
I'm eyeing the 401K. It's not a good thing to nuke it but the car, computer, cat, me, and the house have been on deferred maintenance and the left eye is getting more then a fair share of money, as it's still under care. The business started off well, and it may be a good way to earn money, do some good, and have fun doing it. Deferred maintenance is sometimes necessary but never good in the long run. Just look at what happened to the railroads, trains kept falling off the tracks before they came to their senses and fixed them.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Job Not Hunting, Crappy Economy
Whatever happened to Monster.com? It's not friendly. The apply here buttons are gone. Searching for jobs isn't easy either. The list opens up in weird windows. I can't pick multiple categories anymore. No wonder people are drifting away from it. Could be not compatible with Firefox.
Careerbuilder at least, is still usable.
Craigslist is the best in terms of ease of use.
The jobs are paltry right now. Still, my business starts tomorrow as in working for a customer, so see what happens. There's a high level of general scam out there too for job hunters. Must be our wonderful economy. Self employment may be the only option.
It's not going to be a good year, or years. The dollar is turning into toilet paper as the Fed lowers the interest rates. The real estate market keeps on not trucking. Fuel keeps on going way up. Our clueless gummint keeps on putting band-aids over major wounds. Duck and cover, duck and cover......
Careerbuilder at least, is still usable.
Craigslist is the best in terms of ease of use.
The jobs are paltry right now. Still, my business starts tomorrow as in working for a customer, so see what happens. There's a high level of general scam out there too for job hunters. Must be our wonderful economy. Self employment may be the only option.
It's not going to be a good year, or years. The dollar is turning into toilet paper as the Fed lowers the interest rates. The real estate market keeps on not trucking. Fuel keeps on going way up. Our clueless gummint keeps on putting band-aids over major wounds. Duck and cover, duck and cover......
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Busy Week
The Attic House
It's been a busy week. I'm helping out my old boss on the "Attic-House". The names of places don't mean that's the central feature of the house, it means that's the focus of where I spend my time. The "Garage House" since it was the garage, and the "Green House" because it was an entire house being built in a very green way.
The goal is to improve the ventilation so summer won't overtax the AC, some storage for the owner, get the house a little tighter, and last but not least, bump up the insulation. The attic is pretty small actually. Swinging a cat up there would result in feline unhappiness.
The house is in that ninty-five percent finished stage where the last five percent is the toughest. The interesting thing about the house is the framing. The two by fours are just over an inch and a half thick and look like they were milled locally. Not very well built but then most tract and developer housing in this area are not known for quality.
The Eye
The eye is doing well. It gets a little stirred up but never enough to be totally useless. Since my main focus will be room repair and painting after helping my boss, it will settle down and keep cleaning itself out. The eye clinic now has me on a three week interval so it means that they think it's going to be stable.
Likenesses
I looked at a picture of our defense secretary. He is a Gates which is a huge family of sorts. He's like an umpteenth cousin or something. He's also the spitting image of my mother's father. Interesting how the same faces pop up. My father's look-alike is my second cousin. He could be an identical twin except he's two generations ahead. It's not just the likeness either, it's also the general look on the face and the way he talks and moves. I wonder if we ....recycle?
It's been a busy week. I'm helping out my old boss on the "Attic-House". The names of places don't mean that's the central feature of the house, it means that's the focus of where I spend my time. The "Garage House" since it was the garage, and the "Green House" because it was an entire house being built in a very green way.
The goal is to improve the ventilation so summer won't overtax the AC, some storage for the owner, get the house a little tighter, and last but not least, bump up the insulation. The attic is pretty small actually. Swinging a cat up there would result in feline unhappiness.
The house is in that ninty-five percent finished stage where the last five percent is the toughest. The interesting thing about the house is the framing. The two by fours are just over an inch and a half thick and look like they were milled locally. Not very well built but then most tract and developer housing in this area are not known for quality.
The Eye
The eye is doing well. It gets a little stirred up but never enough to be totally useless. Since my main focus will be room repair and painting after helping my boss, it will settle down and keep cleaning itself out. The eye clinic now has me on a three week interval so it means that they think it's going to be stable.
Likenesses
I looked at a picture of our defense secretary. He is a Gates which is a huge family of sorts. He's like an umpteenth cousin or something. He's also the spitting image of my mother's father. Interesting how the same faces pop up. My father's look-alike is my second cousin. He could be an identical twin except he's two generations ahead. It's not just the likeness either, it's also the general look on the face and the way he talks and moves. I wonder if we ....recycle?
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Duh.....can we shoot now?
I watched quite a bit of Stargate over the last month or so while healing up. It has the usual sci-fi television cliches. Noise in space, artificial gravity, and the big one, faster then light travel, which Einstein sez, "Forget it, not happening." No need to mention that everyone including the aliens speak English and that the entire universe looks like British Columbia.
Still, not a bad way to put a brain into idle. In one episode our ship comes upon a hostile satellite and our intrepid heroes stare at each other while deciding to shoot at it or not. Long story short, they stared at each other way too long and got blown out of orbit.
What happened to shoot first and worry about questions later? Also, if their indecision did lead to the loss of a ship and part of the crew, why did nothing happen to them? There was a submarine skipper who found an uncharted underwater mountain with the USS San Francisco. He was relieved of command.
George Lucas introduced the twirl in his fight scene in the first Star Wars movie where the hero spins in a circle while fencing. The problem is, is that the hero turns his back on his opponent. But being a movie, The villian just stands there and lets him get away with it. Worse, this was later adopted by other directors and has showed up in other movies and television series.
But hey, sometimes it helps to relax with an idle brain.
Still, not a bad way to put a brain into idle. In one episode our ship comes upon a hostile satellite and our intrepid heroes stare at each other while deciding to shoot at it or not. Long story short, they stared at each other way too long and got blown out of orbit.
What happened to shoot first and worry about questions later? Also, if their indecision did lead to the loss of a ship and part of the crew, why did nothing happen to them? There was a submarine skipper who found an uncharted underwater mountain with the USS San Francisco. He was relieved of command.
George Lucas introduced the twirl in his fight scene in the first Star Wars movie where the hero spins in a circle while fencing. The problem is, is that the hero turns his back on his opponent. But being a movie, The villian just stands there and lets him get away with it. Worse, this was later adopted by other directors and has showed up in other movies and television series.
But hey, sometimes it helps to relax with an idle brain.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Greenbuilding
My boss is a green builder. He has a website. It's worth looking at.
What you get, if you have him build a house, is something that will last a long time, efficient, and remarkably comfortable. It doesn't cost all that much more either, and in the long run, will cost less, as they tend to be rather sturdy.
The green part....think much less waste, efficient in energy, renewable materials, and at the end of a long service life, the materials can be recycled into other houses.
He's also old school in his building. It's built right. No short cuts. The only person I know who ever built like him was my great uncle.
What you get, if you have him build a house, is something that will last a long time, efficient, and remarkably comfortable. It doesn't cost all that much more either, and in the long run, will cost less, as they tend to be rather sturdy.
The green part....think much less waste, efficient in energy, renewable materials, and at the end of a long service life, the materials can be recycled into other houses.
He's also old school in his building. It's built right. No short cuts. The only person I know who ever built like him was my great uncle.
What Lurks in that food.... Only the Shadow knows....
The cupboard is safer.
I still itch a little, don't ache as much, guess the high fructose corn syrup is finally wearing off. Going through my larder was interesting. Sneaky people put milk and corn in just about everything. The instant bouillon had corn syrup solids.. The instant mashed potatoes......powdered milk. The cake mix that I bought by accident last year, high fructose corn syrup. Same for the store brand tomato soup and the whole wheat bread. A lot of my food got trashed.
Now milk and corn won't kill me, but it sure doesn't make me feel nice. I got fresh veggies, ground beef and potatoes. Think I can make something for tonight.
I still itch a little, don't ache as much, guess the high fructose corn syrup is finally wearing off. Going through my larder was interesting. Sneaky people put milk and corn in just about everything. The instant bouillon had corn syrup solids.. The instant mashed potatoes......powdered milk. The cake mix that I bought by accident last year, high fructose corn syrup. Same for the store brand tomato soup and the whole wheat bread. A lot of my food got trashed.
Now milk and corn won't kill me, but it sure doesn't make me feel nice. I got fresh veggies, ground beef and potatoes. Think I can make something for tonight.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Apropos of Nothing
Days like this, a sunset would be nice on a beach.
I know someone who needs one.
Maybe next year.
I know someone who needs one.
Maybe next year.
Itchy Hair
My eyes ache. My hair itches. My skin itches. I did take a shower and scrubbed as usual. It's not the meds. It's that pork & beans along with all the other stuff that went in the can.....like high fructose corn syrup. Gah. I got to read labels now? Corn syrup gets put in almost everything.
It will go away soon. How can corn byproducts, not to mention corn,just be so nasty? I like salsa, but it just isn't the same on a potato chip.
It will go away soon. How can corn byproducts, not to mention corn,just be so nasty? I like salsa, but it just isn't the same on a potato chip.
Bah Humbug
Santa Go Home
It's the holidays. I despise this time of year. The weather sucks. Christmas music, and that strange thing that this place has, fake snow. Red and green which really clash. All sorts of gift suggestions which involve spending money.
I'm canceling Christmas. Maybe next year. Just not in the mood.
More Borrowed Reads
I read another Stephen Hunter book, Hot Springs. Just like the last one, goes right along, and not only that, very well written and researched. The town in the title was a mecca of gambling and other fun in Arkansas. Any more and I'd ruin it.
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. Fantasy if one tries to pigeonhole it, but much more than that. It was well written and an engrossing tale of two thieves who while taking what was not theirs, try to do some good. Worth borrowing.
The Eye
Another day to be spent at the eye clinic. I really think at this point, all my left eye needs, is time. Hopefully they can cut me down to a month or more for visits. The eye-drops can go too.
The Back Bath
I chucked two plate glass mirrors at the landfill. The wallpaper tool is AWOL. I think it got loaned, or it's in the depths of a closet.
The demolition can start. The tile floor is not a keeper. The door needs to be sanded and repainted. The trim is almost as bad as what was in the front bath but at least not flesh toned. Habitat will benefit of course, two towel racks and a small cabinet. Pictures soon....promise.
It's the holidays. I despise this time of year. The weather sucks. Christmas music, and that strange thing that this place has, fake snow. Red and green which really clash. All sorts of gift suggestions which involve spending money.
I'm canceling Christmas. Maybe next year. Just not in the mood.
More Borrowed Reads
I read another Stephen Hunter book, Hot Springs. Just like the last one, goes right along, and not only that, very well written and researched. The town in the title was a mecca of gambling and other fun in Arkansas. Any more and I'd ruin it.
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. Fantasy if one tries to pigeonhole it, but much more than that. It was well written and an engrossing tale of two thieves who while taking what was not theirs, try to do some good. Worth borrowing.
The Eye
Another day to be spent at the eye clinic. I really think at this point, all my left eye needs, is time. Hopefully they can cut me down to a month or more for visits. The eye-drops can go too.
The Back Bath
I chucked two plate glass mirrors at the landfill. The wallpaper tool is AWOL. I think it got loaned, or it's in the depths of a closet.
The demolition can start. The tile floor is not a keeper. The door needs to be sanded and repainted. The trim is almost as bad as what was in the front bath but at least not flesh toned. Habitat will benefit of course, two towel racks and a small cabinet. Pictures soon....promise.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Borrowed Book Reviews
The 47th Samurai by Stephen Hunter was a most enjoyable read. Fiction of course. Very well written and no dull spots. It's like a printed version of Kill Bill 1 & 2. Worth borrowing.
I finally found a copy of The Path Between The Seas by David McCullough. It's been on my list of great reads and I wanted to revisit it. Someday, hopefully, The Power Broker by Robert Caro. Just doesn't seem to be at the library recently.
Alternate history used to be interesting but I just couldn't get into 1634: The Bavarian Crisis by Eric Flint and someone else. Back it went, barely opened.
I finally found a copy of The Path Between The Seas by David McCullough. It's been on my list of great reads and I wanted to revisit it. Someday, hopefully, The Power Broker by Robert Caro. Just doesn't seem to be at the library recently.
Alternate history used to be interesting but I just couldn't get into 1634: The Bavarian Crisis by Eric Flint and someone else. Back it went, barely opened.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Healing My Way.....
One frustrated eye doctor. The eye is better . It's just not cooperating with him. I get to go back weekly. Bit painful for the wallet.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Four Dollar Paint....A Winner!
It had to be done. Much deletion, much editing, not much rewriting. Call it, blog-maintenance. The left eye is much better. Follow-up tomorrow and then hopefully that's it for a long time. I want to cut back on the eye drops too. Nasty aftertaste.
The four dollar paint for the back master bath looks like a winner. I daubed some by the door jamb and on different spots on the walls. I'll boost the lighting a little or add more trim for contrast. First is the wallpaper removal and getting the fixtures out. No rush, got plenty of finished bathrooms.... If money permits, a new toilet. Those new American Standards really do flush better then even my old rebuilt Plebe. I guess the EPA did get something right.
Other things to do, need some wire to prop up the insulation in the crawl space, caulk along the rest of the mud sills, and start insulating above the fireplace since the chimney chase is as dry as a bone inside. The attic could probably stand more insulation as well.
The four dollar paint for the back master bath looks like a winner. I daubed some by the door jamb and on different spots on the walls. I'll boost the lighting a little or add more trim for contrast. First is the wallpaper removal and getting the fixtures out. No rush, got plenty of finished bathrooms.... If money permits, a new toilet. Those new American Standards really do flush better then even my old rebuilt Plebe. I guess the EPA did get something right.
Other things to do, need some wire to prop up the insulation in the crawl space, caulk along the rest of the mud sills, and start insulating above the fireplace since the chimney chase is as dry as a bone inside. The attic could probably stand more insulation as well.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sloth and Indolence
Sloth and indolence today. Usually it's speed and industry. I really thought that wasn't a lot of cheese, but it was enough. I'm still hurting a little.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Look deep into my eyes.......
What a day. Over four hours, four eye doctors, four different opinions on if I had a retinal tear or not. It finally went to "Can't see one, come back next week". Can I mention the five dollars for parking?
I sure hope they have the same result next week. Just in less time.
I sure hope they have the same result next week. Just in less time.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Thwack!
What can I say? Really bad timing? I was all set to charge out into the world of self employment, complete with business license, insurance and a customer. Then on the 19th of October, a bungee cord into my left eye. Things kinda went downhill from there.
I still got the eye. It's a lot better. A lot of work went into it to make it that way.
Bungee cords are now forbidden. They seem to be doing a lot of damage these days.
I still got the eye. It's a lot better. A lot of work went into it to make it that way.
Bungee cords are now forbidden. They seem to be doing a lot of damage these days.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Water Everywhere But Here
Back at the Garage-House
The boss is doing well. He has a new job, a repair and greening of a small ranch for a few weeks. He's doing it to help someone out, as he does have a steady supply of work ahead of him anyway. It's not in good shape. The owner let it go, so the siding is questionable, the windows are in sad shape, and especially around the deck, the water damage was pretty bad. We were looking at places where the mud-sills were absent without leave.
The first phase is probably stabilization, leaks, rot repair, and just getting rid of the daylight. That deck has to go or something. My crappy deck is a masterpiece of structural engineering compared to that deck. Two by sixes for the joists. It was a bit springy.
The Garage House is mostly done. Siding and brick veneer is all that's left. The space came out nice, high board ceiling, bamboo flooring, and it's tighter then the rest of the house. Quite a bit of light too, considering the only place for the windows was in the old garage door opening.
Rain, rain, what rain?
Lake Jordan was pretty low. Some of the old underwater slopes have been dry for so long, there's grass there now. The modern version of the old rain dance. ..... is to wash the hundred most expensive cars in Raleigh, complete with buffing, waxing, whole nine yards. Another is for everyone to leave their sunroofs open a little bit overnight. If that doesn't get the rain gods going, I don't know what will.
Computer Blues
The old beast is still plugging along. I found a motherboard, socket A, for it. It's a bit pricey for being old technology, and it's a no-name. Also, the other parts are getting long in the tooth too. I'll just keep it going until the time comes that it won't start anymore, and then just gut it and put in new innards. I'll get a standalone copy of XP too, since more and more stuff refuses to work with my W2000pro.
The Biz
First day of the new business in operation. Just a walk through for a punch list. My ducks are all in a row. Business license, insurance, business plan and last but not least, business cards. The truly successful work over the table, not under. Still need a website and an appointment book that is not an old steno pad.
Somewhat later.....
It is raining, or drizzling, to be more accurate. The inside of the chimney chase is as dry as a bone. See how it goes for the rest of the day. A good pouring rain will be the final test before final repairs. I'm still pretty pleased at the dryness so far.
I'm running out for a new set of chisels. My old ones can still do the job but for fixing someone else's doors, kinda like a fresh new edge. Went through my documents today and shredded a good chunk of useless history. Not to worry, still got all the legal stuff.
The boss is doing well. He has a new job, a repair and greening of a small ranch for a few weeks. He's doing it to help someone out, as he does have a steady supply of work ahead of him anyway. It's not in good shape. The owner let it go, so the siding is questionable, the windows are in sad shape, and especially around the deck, the water damage was pretty bad. We were looking at places where the mud-sills were absent without leave.
The first phase is probably stabilization, leaks, rot repair, and just getting rid of the daylight. That deck has to go or something. My crappy deck is a masterpiece of structural engineering compared to that deck. Two by sixes for the joists. It was a bit springy.
The Garage House is mostly done. Siding and brick veneer is all that's left. The space came out nice, high board ceiling, bamboo flooring, and it's tighter then the rest of the house. Quite a bit of light too, considering the only place for the windows was in the old garage door opening.
Rain, rain, what rain?
Lake Jordan was pretty low. Some of the old underwater slopes have been dry for so long, there's grass there now. The modern version of the old rain dance. ..... is to wash the hundred most expensive cars in Raleigh, complete with buffing, waxing, whole nine yards. Another is for everyone to leave their sunroofs open a little bit overnight. If that doesn't get the rain gods going, I don't know what will.
Computer Blues
The old beast is still plugging along. I found a motherboard, socket A, for it. It's a bit pricey for being old technology, and it's a no-name. Also, the other parts are getting long in the tooth too. I'll just keep it going until the time comes that it won't start anymore, and then just gut it and put in new innards. I'll get a standalone copy of XP too, since more and more stuff refuses to work with my W2000pro.
The Biz
First day of the new business in operation. Just a walk through for a punch list. My ducks are all in a row. Business license, insurance, business plan and last but not least, business cards. The truly successful work over the table, not under. Still need a website and an appointment book that is not an old steno pad.
Somewhat later.....
It is raining, or drizzling, to be more accurate. The inside of the chimney chase is as dry as a bone. See how it goes for the rest of the day. A good pouring rain will be the final test before final repairs. I'm still pretty pleased at the dryness so far.
I'm running out for a new set of chisels. My old ones can still do the job but for fixing someone else's doors, kinda like a fresh new edge. Went through my documents today and shredded a good chunk of useless history. Not to worry, still got all the legal stuff.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
How Dry I Am, or Cutting the Utility Costs
My gas bill was eighteen bucks, ten of which was for using their pipes. Not bad. Also the electric bill is of great interest. I went from a hundred dollars to sixty dollars. This current cycle, the AC has been kept off, except for two days. Despite having mostly florescent lighting, that too has been cut back quite a bit.
The water bill is what I'm really interested in. I've been conserving water use to see just how much less I can use. What brought this about was the two last water bills where there was a leaking toilet. That was about seven thousand and eight hundred gallons plus of some rather expensive water. Needless to say, all toilets have been repaired. Navy showers and all that too.
North Carolina has been under a nasty drought for a while. I'm in a place where it got upgraded from extreme to exceptional. If it gets worse, what do we call it then, outstanding?
Go to www.ncdrought.org to see the latest image showing how dry we are. The dark brown is "exceptional". I have to help my old boss tomorrow and the route takes me across Jordan Lake. Interesting to see how much lower it is. Governor Easley said we have a drought and that we should conserve, but being the apparatchik that he is, declined to do anything concrete.
Cary already has had mandatory conservation since 2005. The interesting thing, is that the water usage in Cary declined from twenty-six million gallons per day to seventeen million without any direction from the local officials at all. The other thing Cary does, is use processed waste water for watering, instead of dumping it in the rivers, so it's still green here. Rest of NC must hate us for being so good.
The water bill is what I'm really interested in. I've been conserving water use to see just how much less I can use. What brought this about was the two last water bills where there was a leaking toilet. That was about seven thousand and eight hundred gallons plus of some rather expensive water. Needless to say, all toilets have been repaired. Navy showers and all that too.
North Carolina has been under a nasty drought for a while. I'm in a place where it got upgraded from extreme to exceptional. If it gets worse, what do we call it then, outstanding?
Go to www.ncdrought.org to see the latest image showing how dry we are. The dark brown is "exceptional". I have to help my old boss tomorrow and the route takes me across Jordan Lake. Interesting to see how much lower it is. Governor Easley said we have a drought and that we should conserve, but being the apparatchik that he is, declined to do anything concrete.
Cary already has had mandatory conservation since 2005. The interesting thing, is that the water usage in Cary declined from twenty-six million gallons per day to seventeen million without any direction from the local officials at all. The other thing Cary does, is use processed waste water for watering, instead of dumping it in the rivers, so it's still green here. Rest of NC must hate us for being so good.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Job Scam, Ham in a Can, Spam.
Job scammer "upset" that I didn't respond. Well, actually I kinda did. I stuck the email in the blog. On to the latest, freshest, scam.
Over two weeks ago (It was last week, 10/09/2007 to be exact)we tried to contact you after pulling your resume from the
internet. Our records show that as of this date, we have not been able to set up
an interview with you. (And you never will) Searching resumes through the major online job boards (Searching as in every public resume)
gives us the ability to increase our productivity because we can select
applicants that meet our requirements for the positions we have available.
We are currently hiring and believe you are an outstanding match.
(And every other form of life on the planet that has a public resume on a job board)
If you are still looking for a rewarding position with a financially sound
company and are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please CLICK
HERE
or call 1-888-245-1010.
Sincerely,
Andrew W. King
President and Chief Marketing Officer
Liberty National Life Insurance Company
We would like to keep you updated on exciting job opportunities at Liberty
National Life Insurance Company; we will continue to alert you when we have
opening at our local offices. You received this email because you placed your
resume on an internet job board or responded to one of our job ads. To remove
your email address from our list, please do not reply to this email. This will
not remove you from future emails. Instead, please use the link below to process
your removal requests.
Click here
(Link deleted)
to unsubscribe from further communication regarding job opportunities at Liberty
National Life Insurance Company. Please allow two to three business days for the
removal process of your E-mail address to be complete. Liberty National Life
Insurance Company, 2001 Third Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233.
Further note....
Some interesting reading on the Ripoff Report.
Having a Meeting
The Committee of Me, Myself, and I
Me, myself, and I having a meeting.
"Content!, we need content!"
"For what? Nothing going on except getting insured. Not what one would call a quick news day."
"Have to write regularly, or people get bored."
"Got news for ya, they are already bored."
I chime in, "And if their eyes don't glaze over after this, they really don't have anything to do."
The outcome was inconclusive, which is what usually happens in a committee meeting with oneself.
Job Hunting Terminated
I'm done with looking for work as an employee. It just isn't worth it. The non-compete pushed me over the edge. This is America, competition is what we do, it is what we are. Of course, there is the guilty until proven innocent assumptions that everyone has to deal with, that I'm a drug user, deadbeat, waded across the Rio Grande, criminally inclined, and just not fit for polite society. Enough of all that. I'm none of the above except for the last item sometimes after dealing with people who do think I'm all that.
So I'm cutting out the middlemen (employers) in being productive and earning a living. I'm going to put the last brick in place of having a business.
Me, myself, and I having a meeting.
"Content!, we need content!"
"For what? Nothing going on except getting insured. Not what one would call a quick news day."
"Have to write regularly, or people get bored."
"Got news for ya, they are already bored."
I chime in, "And if their eyes don't glaze over after this, they really don't have anything to do."
The outcome was inconclusive, which is what usually happens in a committee meeting with oneself.
Job Hunting Terminated
I'm done with looking for work as an employee. It just isn't worth it. The non-compete pushed me over the edge. This is America, competition is what we do, it is what we are. Of course, there is the guilty until proven innocent assumptions that everyone has to deal with, that I'm a drug user, deadbeat, waded across the Rio Grande, criminally inclined, and just not fit for polite society. Enough of all that. I'm none of the above except for the last item sometimes after dealing with people who do think I'm all that.
So I'm cutting out the middlemen (employers) in being productive and earning a living. I'm going to put the last brick in place of having a business.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Money Laundering or Fake Check Cashing? Some Fresh Job Scam
Ah, some fresh job scam....was starting to feel ignored. Someone wants me to either launder money or cash fake checks, not sure which. Probably the latter. Enjoy. Thinking it's those wonderful dollar choppers from Nigeria.
*(me): Job offer *
We have found your resume at *Monster.com* and would like to suggest you a
"Transfer manager" Njl iN (My Thunderbird email client strips out all the HTML, hence the weird letters & numbers.)
vacancy. We have studied your resume and are happy to inform you that your skills
completely meet our requirements for this position. (Anyone dumb enough to fall for this)
Nj liNj
This is a part-time position. Your job will be to transfer money between our
clients. (No, actually to do money laundering or cash fake checks)
Your job will consist in the following:MjQ 4YTA
* Receive the check by mail
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* Cash the check within a business day, excluding days off
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* 8% of the amount are left for yourself as a commission. You take it
immediately
MWN hZD
* The rest of the sum is to be sent via western union (Big hint for scam here)to us to the address
which will be OWE 0OW
mentioned in the e-mail. Transaction fees shall be paid out of the same sum.
OW E0ZT
Your schedule will be flexible. You will need to spend on average 1-2 hours er (per)
day, Monday-Friday.
Nj liNj
This is a work-at-home position. All communication(s)will be online.
Nj liN
*This job will allow you to:*
Njli NjM
- Get additional free time; MGF kZT
- Increase your income; MGFk ZT
- Efficiently work at home; MG FkZT
*General requirements:*
Njl iN
- Interne(t) and e-mail skills; Experience in online work; YjR jZT
- Good communications skills YjR jZ
- Honesty, responsibility and promptness in operations; (Huh? Did they say honesty? Really.)YmYz N2
- Prior customer service experience is a good benefit;
During the trial period you will be paid $1,500 per month. You will also be
keeping 8 percent commission
Njli NjM
from every check received from our customer. With the current ammount of clients
your average
Yj YzNz
income ill be about up to $2,000 USD per month. After the trial period your base
salary will go up to
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$2,250 USD per month, plus 8 percent commission.After the trial period you may
ask for additional hours or
Njli Nj
proceed full-time.
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If you are interested in this position, and would like to know more, please
e-mail me jonathan.globaltradeinvests@gmail.com
Mm Rk
We will contact you within 2 days
The PC Blues
The poor old computer is starting to go. I have a capacitor in the motherboard that's not holding a charge very well. Takes several bumps with the power button until the POST takes. Hmmm. My Athlon XP processor is probably a technological orphan at this point. So, if I decide to fix this beast, means new motherboard, probably memory and processor at the very least. Not looking forward to it. Maybe it just won't get turned off.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Private or Public?
Private vs Public
That last job, the one that got thrown back, was by a privately held company. It seems that people who work for privately held companies don't get a very good deal compared to publicly held corporations. There is no "ownership", in the fortunes of the company beyond a paycheck. The employee is an asset, nothing more.
At Time Warner, it was different. Yeah, sure, Richard Parsons is the big dog who runs things, but I as an employee, owned a piece of it., and had my say during the stock meeting. I don't work for em' anymore, but I'm still a part owner. I still follow the fortunes of the company and still vote my shares.
I'm a privately held handyman business now. I am the business, and it's my actions that determine if it fails or succeeds. My conclusion, is that the only private business worth working for, is one's own.
Business in general
It's a bit callous, but my only concern about Blackwater LLC was, is it private or public, and if public, would it affect my mutual funds and investing? Thankfully, they are privately held. No effect on my holdings, which is a good thing.
Exports are up, but some people have been pointing out that our manufacturing base is, for the most part, gone. Still, a weak dollar that stays weak, will mean more local manufacturing for low value , high density items. Don't count on a decent blue collar wage though. There's a well known heavy equipment maker that starts people out at less then ten bucks an hour and there's no union to protect em'.
That last job, the one that got thrown back, was by a privately held company. It seems that people who work for privately held companies don't get a very good deal compared to publicly held corporations. There is no "ownership", in the fortunes of the company beyond a paycheck. The employee is an asset, nothing more.
At Time Warner, it was different. Yeah, sure, Richard Parsons is the big dog who runs things, but I as an employee, owned a piece of it., and had my say during the stock meeting. I don't work for em' anymore, but I'm still a part owner. I still follow the fortunes of the company and still vote my shares.
I'm a privately held handyman business now. I am the business, and it's my actions that determine if it fails or succeeds. My conclusion, is that the only private business worth working for, is one's own.
Business in general
It's a bit callous, but my only concern about Blackwater LLC was, is it private or public, and if public, would it affect my mutual funds and investing? Thankfully, they are privately held. No effect on my holdings, which is a good thing.
Exports are up, but some people have been pointing out that our manufacturing base is, for the most part, gone. Still, a weak dollar that stays weak, will mean more local manufacturing for low value , high density items. Don't count on a decent blue collar wage though. There's a well known heavy equipment maker that starts people out at less then ten bucks an hour and there's no union to protect em'.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Unsignable Noncompete...bye, bye, New Job
Job, the job..... Nope, not going to happen. I was happily going through the pre-employment packet until I got to the non-compete and the non-disclosure. This is a bad thing. All my rights, copyright and patent, go away forever. This also requires me to disclose every customer who I work for in my nascent handyman biz, never mind it's not remotely related to the job position. It's got some hefty fines in it too. Yeah..... Damn.
No f**k**g way I can go for this. I can NOT sign that non-compete. I am so upset. I turned down two job offers in good faith because I had landed the opportunity.
I got some money left. I have a business license. I have a job lined up. It's time to go swimming for myself.
Later....
Well, that's that. I'm still free. See where my business license hard copy is.
No f**k**g way I can go for this. I can NOT sign that non-compete. I am so upset. I turned down two job offers in good faith because I had landed the opportunity.
I got some money left. I have a business license. I have a job lined up. It's time to go swimming for myself.
Later....
Well, that's that. I'm still free. See where my business license hard copy is.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A Forum Spammer is Hiring?
The "job" offers just keep rolling in. One was an automated call to my cell about plumbing, of course no mention about plumbing in my resume. Hidden number. Called T-Mobile, who said that they sympathized but couldn't do anything about it.
A fresh email, someone wants me to spam forums.
A fresh email, someone wants me to spam forums.
Dear Sucker,
Ym IzZj
We have found your resume at Monster.com and would like to suggest you a
ZjJ kM
"Internet-manager" vacancy. We have studied your resume and are happy to
ZT VkO
inform you that your skills completely meet our requirements for this position.
N2Iz ND
This is a part-time position.*Your task will be the following: *
ND U5
- To register on various popular english-speaking web forums
ZWU wMT
- To create new topics with the articles specified by our company
MTQ 1Mj
- You will need to create topics on about 50 different web forums per day
ZjU1 OTB
- To search for new web forums using Google, Yahoo!, MSN search engines
OTli NTQ
- To send everyday reports by e-mail
Nj dhND
Your schedule will be flexible. You will need to spend on average 2-3 hours
Mj FmMG
per day, Monday-Friday. All communication will be online.
MWJ kYm
*This job will allow you to:*
- - Increase your income;
Mjg yMz
- - Get additional free time;
Mj gyM
- - Efficiently work at home;
ZWFh NDE5
*General requirements:*
NDU 5OW
- - Good communications skills
MDFk ZW
- - Internet and e-mail skills; Experience in online work;
MDF kZW
- - Honesty, responsibility and promptness in operations;
MDF kZWI
- - Prior customer service experience is a good benefit;
Nj k4Nj
*During the trial period you will be paid $3000 per month.*
MDl jYzd
If you are interested in this position, and would like to know more, please
e-mail me (webpromote.info@gmail.com)
NT c4M
We will contact you within 2 days
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Around the Neighborhood
After the drug test and dropping off the blue copy to my new employer (hopefully), I went on home, dropped some recharged batteries in my camera and wandered around.
The woods next door. We keep hearing officially and unofficially, it's going to be developed. Then the land is up for sale again. This time, surveyors even tied colored ribbons on the trees. Then it was for sale again.
My bridge. Widest of all of them. Plenty of room to lock a bicycle to one side for rides on nice days.
Big front stoop too. Bench for early mornings with coffee and a newspaper if so willing. No storm door yet. Front door needs one more coat of gloss white.
Front "deck" which is for the water meter readers.
R's house. He's been having nothing but troubles with it. His contractor has been working on it since August of last year. Still not done. It's only 1040 square feet. They don't have very cordial relations right now.
Behind the townhouses, a riprapped creek, a bridge, and peace and quiet.
Some just go left.
K added some northern light to his living room. Pretty nice inside.
The woods next door. We keep hearing officially and unofficially, it's going to be developed. Then the land is up for sale again. This time, surveyors even tied colored ribbons on the trees. Then it was for sale again.
My bridge. Widest of all of them. Plenty of room to lock a bicycle to one side for rides on nice days.
Big front stoop too. Bench for early mornings with coffee and a newspaper if so willing. No storm door yet. Front door needs one more coat of gloss white.
Front "deck" which is for the water meter readers.
R's house. He's been having nothing but troubles with it. His contractor has been working on it since August of last year. Still not done. It's only 1040 square feet. They don't have very cordial relations right now.
Behind the townhouses, a riprapped creek, a bridge, and peace and quiet.
Some just go left.
K added some northern light to his living room. Pretty nice inside.
Yet Another "Opportunity"
Oh joy, someone else is "hiring".
I did a search on Google, "Liberty National Scam". Yep. Scam.
I did a search on Google, "Liberty National Scam". Yep. Scam.
Hi, I saw your resume on the internet and would like to talk to you as soon as
possible. Our company currently has an immediate job opening available.
If you are still seeking a rewarding opportunity with a highly-reputable
company, please give me a call at your earliest convenience at (Local Number, seems to be private) to
schedule an interview.
Sincerely,
MATTHEW FILZEN
Liberty National
We would like to keep you updated on exciting job opportunities at Liberty
National Life Insurance Company; we will continue to alert you when we have
opening at our local offices. You received this email because you placed your
resume on an internet job board or responded to one of our job ads. To remove
your email address from our list, please do not reply to this email. This will
not remove you from future emails. Instead, please use the link below to process
your removal requests.
Click here
(Link removed)
to unsubscribe from further communication regarding job opportunities at Liberty
National Life Insurance Company. Please allow two to three business days for the
removal process of your E-mail address to be complete. Liberty National Life
Insurance Company, 2001 Third Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233.
Just Another "Opportunity"
More job spam.
==================================================
CareerBuilder: NC Career Oportunity
==================================================
(My name here.....)
I have reviewed your resume on careerbuilder.com and felt you would be a great candidate for our free Real Estate Investor career opportunity briefing. Have you ever thought about becoming a Real Estate Investor, but don't have the knowledge, know what type of investing strategy is right for you, how to get started, or where to get the money? Are you a seasoned Real Estate Investor who wants to take Real Estate Investing to the next level? If you answered yes to either of these questions, I am inviting you to attend our free Real Estate Investor briefing next Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at the North Raleigh Hilton, 3415 Wake Forest Rd., Raleigh, NC 27609 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm, in the Dogwood Room. We are not any of the guru's you see on late night TV. (Really?) Here is your chance to be mentored by live Real Estate Investors who have become certified multi millionaires (What are these?) their specific stratagies of Real Estate Investing. If you would like to attend Tuesday night please respond to this e-mail so I can reserve you a seat. This is a new ground floor opportunity that is being offered in North Carolina. You will find out why this is the best income opportunity in the United States. We are only inviting a few select people (Everyone who updated or added a public resume)to attend this briefing, so if you can not make it, please e-mail me so we can fill your seat. This briefing is by invitation only. Please print this e-mail and bring it with you to confirm your invitation. We will begin at 6:30pm prompt, so please arrive 15 minutes early.
Mike Salvaggio
New Wealth Investors
E-mail: Invest-Realestate@sbcglobal.net
"RDU is Hiring?"
"Yeah."
"You gotta be kidding."
"No, Really."
Just what is going on at RDU? They are actually hiring people. Last week, it was American looking for baggage apes. Now it is the people who keep things going. Basically the guys who "pump gas", maintenance, and inventory. Also an employment agency for the car rental companies was looking for warm bodies too. Must be a real growth spurt, or somebody lost some contracts.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Things in General
Da Blog
So the counter isn't ....counting. One more shot at it, and it's gone. I'm going to mess with the heading as well. Also the colors aren't what I like. I'm thinking about Google Adsense but not really keen on advertising. If done, it would be a small presence.
Job Hunted?
Explored Apex and environs, was scoping out a drive in job before I drove in. I kept on driving by and then my phone rang. Drug test. Cool. Getting somewhere. Hopefully, employment. Not much coin but at least I'll have withholding. Also waiting on the business license, that should show up soon. Then to get the liability insurance. Part time business, see how it goes, if well, then full time business.
Scam
The Do Not Call list has got to be worthless. Yet another call. Job hunting is also getting kinda horrible. The sleaze balls and con artists have taken to posting jobs on the main search engines. At least on Craigslist, we can flag them, and I do flag them. If it ain't a job, don't bug me. A lot of it is people looking for door to door sales suckers. Ugh. Wouldn't be such an issue, but a lot of crap gets posted and a lot of "employers" are scraping the public resumes. Looking forward to taking mine private.
Poly-Ticks
Hillary still way ahead....Edwards still way behind. Obama in the middle. He's just too, well, perfect. Just doesn't seem to have enough warts. What is he hiding?
Republicans still have no clear front runner unless one counts Guilani, and that only because he raised a ton of money. Mitt Romney still in the news....not good for him, ever since he did the American Vacation thing with a dog in a carrier on top of a station wagon.
My Townhouse
The townhouse is in a state of arrested repair. It's waiting on more income. The back bath is going to need about six hundred dollars total. The chimney chase will probably take a thousand. The lower level floor needs rosin paper, flooring, and two back doors. Insulation as well. The whole thing needs repainting again. The one good thing about the whole mess, is that it can be done piece-meal, a hundred or so bucks at a time. The labor is free. Once done, it goes on the market, and I'm free. At least a year or so. No rush, real estate market still shaking out.
Book Reviews
Sean Williams, The Resurrected Man. Good read, usual sci fi future but written quite well.
Kevin J. Anderson is currently doing the Saga of the Seven Suns. Humans inadvertently start a war when turning gas giants into stars. Goes on from there. Good beach read and well worth borrowing from a library. Latest book in the series is Of Fire and Night.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I've read the book. I've listened to the radio series. I have both the BBC television series and the new movie on DVD. Each different but all well done. I even had his PC game, Starship Titanic. Doesn't work anymore, even my antediluvian W2000Pro is too modern for it, but when it did, it was pretty good. Still, if one gets bored of thumbing a ride among the stars, there is his series about Dirk Gently, a Holistic detective. Not only worthy of borrowing from the library but worthy of purchase from a bookstore, used of course.
So the counter isn't ....counting. One more shot at it, and it's gone. I'm going to mess with the heading as well. Also the colors aren't what I like. I'm thinking about Google Adsense but not really keen on advertising. If done, it would be a small presence.
Job Hunted?
Explored Apex and environs, was scoping out a drive in job before I drove in. I kept on driving by and then my phone rang. Drug test. Cool. Getting somewhere. Hopefully, employment. Not much coin but at least I'll have withholding. Also waiting on the business license, that should show up soon. Then to get the liability insurance. Part time business, see how it goes, if well, then full time business.
Scam
The Do Not Call list has got to be worthless. Yet another call. Job hunting is also getting kinda horrible. The sleaze balls and con artists have taken to posting jobs on the main search engines. At least on Craigslist, we can flag them, and I do flag them. If it ain't a job, don't bug me. A lot of it is people looking for door to door sales suckers. Ugh. Wouldn't be such an issue, but a lot of crap gets posted and a lot of "employers" are scraping the public resumes. Looking forward to taking mine private.
Poly-Ticks
Hillary still way ahead....Edwards still way behind. Obama in the middle. He's just too, well, perfect. Just doesn't seem to have enough warts. What is he hiding?
Republicans still have no clear front runner unless one counts Guilani, and that only because he raised a ton of money. Mitt Romney still in the news....not good for him, ever since he did the American Vacation thing with a dog in a carrier on top of a station wagon.
My Townhouse
The townhouse is in a state of arrested repair. It's waiting on more income. The back bath is going to need about six hundred dollars total. The chimney chase will probably take a thousand. The lower level floor needs rosin paper, flooring, and two back doors. Insulation as well. The whole thing needs repainting again. The one good thing about the whole mess, is that it can be done piece-meal, a hundred or so bucks at a time. The labor is free. Once done, it goes on the market, and I'm free. At least a year or so. No rush, real estate market still shaking out.
Book Reviews
Sean Williams, The Resurrected Man. Good read, usual sci fi future but written quite well.
Kevin J. Anderson is currently doing the Saga of the Seven Suns. Humans inadvertently start a war when turning gas giants into stars. Goes on from there. Good beach read and well worth borrowing from a library. Latest book in the series is Of Fire and Night.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I've read the book. I've listened to the radio series. I have both the BBC television series and the new movie on DVD. Each different but all well done. I even had his PC game, Starship Titanic. Doesn't work anymore, even my antediluvian W2000Pro is too modern for it, but when it did, it was pretty good. Still, if one gets bored of thumbing a ride among the stars, there is his series about Dirk Gently, a Holistic detective. Not only worthy of borrowing from the library but worthy of purchase from a bookstore, used of course.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Once again, fixing a Leak
Da Blog
I messed with colors a little bit. Also I'm adding a counter that may or may not work. It was free from Google so machts nix.
The Townhouse
The other side of the chimney was done today at the roof. Three pieces of siding and some extra flashing to keep the water from running down the side. I'll take pictures later. Summer is still with us. According to Intellicast, no rain for at least ten days. Drat. I wanted to see if that fixed the chimney water leak once and for all. Spent half the day going up and down the ladder, prying, flashing, and nailing. My bill for anyone else would be about $140.00, US.
I wouldn't charge for the caulk or the nails though. My policy, is if it was already paid for once for something else, then no need to charge the next guy. Labor is I make my money on. The materials are at cost plus ten percent for getting em'.
I messed with colors a little bit. Also I'm adding a counter that may or may not work. It was free from Google so machts nix.
The Townhouse
The other side of the chimney was done today at the roof. Three pieces of siding and some extra flashing to keep the water from running down the side. I'll take pictures later. Summer is still with us. According to Intellicast, no rain for at least ten days. Drat. I wanted to see if that fixed the chimney water leak once and for all. Spent half the day going up and down the ladder, prying, flashing, and nailing. My bill for anyone else would be about $140.00, US.
I wouldn't charge for the caulk or the nails though. My policy, is if it was already paid for once for something else, then no need to charge the next guy. Labor is I make my money on. The materials are at cost plus ten percent for getting em'.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Writing and Being Cheaper
I like to read a lot . I like to write a little. Hopefully, writing will be more in "flow" as I go. The blog is to stretch the output, so to speak. Writing is why I don't really want to work more then forty hours a week on average. It takes away from that. I did try poetry, but even a Vogon* is better then me. Fiction is hard to do. It's a form of untruth, and truth is what I'm better at. I'm thinking about registering a domain name and getting a web presence for the business and some essays, but that is for the future.
Washed the Baja the other day. Works better then a rain dance. Nice warm summer rain....in the fall? Well, hopefully global warming will allow some savings on the gas bill. The gas isn't bad for hot water and the laundry was set to warm/cold, see how that goes. When the laundry detergent runs out, I want to try the cold water stuff.
It was a hundred bucks for my electric bill, incandescent and halogens, so the lighting was changed out to compact fluorescents. That knocked it down to 60 dollars. This time the air conditioning has been kept off with the ceiling fans going. It's not too bad if there's airflow. I'm also being careful with the fluorescents as well. Think the heat/dry needs to be off on the dishwasher as well.
Going bug the "brother" on Monday about one potential job. The NOC job is a real long shot but the hours would be conducive to writing and the business. A stray thought is, no job might be best of all business wise, as that is my main focus down the road.
* Some really bad poets in the galaxy according to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Douglas Adams, 1952 - 2001, to paraphrase the dolphins who appreciated the fish, "Thanks for all the words.".
Washed the Baja the other day. Works better then a rain dance. Nice warm summer rain....in the fall? Well, hopefully global warming will allow some savings on the gas bill. The gas isn't bad for hot water and the laundry was set to warm/cold, see how that goes. When the laundry detergent runs out, I want to try the cold water stuff.
It was a hundred bucks for my electric bill, incandescent and halogens, so the lighting was changed out to compact fluorescents. That knocked it down to 60 dollars. This time the air conditioning has been kept off with the ceiling fans going. It's not too bad if there's airflow. I'm also being careful with the fluorescents as well. Think the heat/dry needs to be off on the dishwasher as well.
Going bug the "brother" on Monday about one potential job. The NOC job is a real long shot but the hours would be conducive to writing and the business. A stray thought is, no job might be best of all business wise, as that is my main focus down the road.
* Some really bad poets in the galaxy according to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Douglas Adams, 1952 - 2001, to paraphrase the dolphins who appreciated the fish, "Thanks for all the words.".
Friday, October 5, 2007
A Pinch of Salt, or a Handful.
Nice thing about not working, I get to sleep in. If getting up at six thirty could be called that. Usually getting up with the thought that maybe I should bite the bullet and do the business thing, but then I go looking and looking and applying. Two cups of strong coffee and my vitamins, then a quick look at Craigslist, Monster, and Careerbuilder. One guy who might hire, calls me "Brother" and seems glad to see me. Hmmm. Glad I have my pile of salt handy. I don't take statements with a pinch of salt anymore, more like whole handfuls.
I don't need to make much, my cost of living is low, compared to most. No debt, extremely frugal, only thing going in my house (owned outright) right now is the computer, cordless base station, two UPS, one DSL modem, bath light, and 26 watts of lighting downstairs. Don't forget the coffee maker though. It's a Bunn, doesn't make gourmet coffee, it's a version of those monsters seen in convenience stores. In two minutes, a pot of coffee guaranteed to wake half a cemetery.
Some reasons why I should start a handyman service.
1. Get the tools out of the place. Three ladders, table saw, chop saw, and power tools everywhere. Then there are the tool boxes, three of those at last count. Tripped over one this morning since I was caffeine free and not quite conscious.
2. I'm good at fixing stuff. Tis true, since I buy stuff that breaks, like this townhouse. Lately, I have been overhauling and replacing toilets. I have three toilets, two of which are very, uh, original. I also fixed one digital camera and my phone. Why I fixed my phone is beyond me. There's been two telemarketers who have been calling me on a daily basis despite being on the do-not-call list.
3. Getting out of the house would be nice. So far, I load up my old steel quarter-century old Fuji bicycle and find a place to ride. I could ride in traffic but I'd rather burn gasoline then get run over. So, what if I got paid to get out of the house? Would make up for the cost of gas.
4. Customer service. I'm very good at it. I actually enjoy helping people. Right now the only one benefiting from it is my cat. She's already spoiled beyond all belief.
5. Income would be nice. Don't need much, but feeding that cat ain't cheap. Then there's me.
Some guy named Steve Pavlina posted an article called "10 Reasons Why You Should Never Get A Job".
The link is "stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/07/10-reasons-you-should-never-get-a-job/".
Makes for compelling reading. He's more white collar then blue though. Also his income seems to be through advertising, public speaking, and donation.
For my own druthers.........
I made a ton of money as a network operator, and a very decent living as a library employee, a facilities administrator and other jobs, but money is money. It goes away after a while. The network still keeps breaking, the facilities keep on needing administrating, the library still needs library work, and unlike Ozymandias, King of Kings, there is not even a large statue sitting in sand to mark my work.
I like to leave something concrete behind Something that people can look at. Be it just shelving, or a whole bathroom, or just fixing some exterior trim, I like to make sure it's nice. I can understand the need to be productive, but sometimes just an extra minute can make the difference between just "O. K." and a good job.
Here's my kitchen from the condo I used to own. I'm proud of that kitchen. It took me nine months to rebuild it. Mostly because it was pay as I go, and it cost some money. The work I did for employment, I did well, but this is what I like to remember. This is what I am about.
Ignore the date stamp. This was 2004. Camera died and reset itself.
Later in the day......
I'm a business now. Not earning any income, heck, only three and three quarter hours old. Town of Cary gladly took my money and was happy to see me as a source of future income (for them that is). I still want to work for someone else, with-holding and all, but income is income. So if it means cutting out the middle man (employer), so be it. Yellow Brick Houseworks is now official but not taking customers yet.
Someone pinged me as a potential worker for a NOC. Don't think I'm what they want but sent them a response anyway. I'm not holding my breath for this one. Apparently when recruiters see these, they start thinking.....
I monitored a network by means of Netcool and Big Brother. I telnetted into Cisco and Juniper routers to diagnosis problems and get data to build a trouble ticket. Answered queries via phone, email, and IM, and escalated issues out to field engineers, and lower level support, produced end of shift reports and kept logs and Remedy tickets up to date.
The going rate now is a lot less then what it used to be. Those days of OT, holiday pay, and the big bucks are just history now.
I don't need to make much, my cost of living is low, compared to most. No debt, extremely frugal, only thing going in my house (owned outright) right now is the computer, cordless base station, two UPS, one DSL modem, bath light, and 26 watts of lighting downstairs. Don't forget the coffee maker though. It's a Bunn, doesn't make gourmet coffee, it's a version of those monsters seen in convenience stores. In two minutes, a pot of coffee guaranteed to wake half a cemetery.
Some reasons why I should start a handyman service.
1. Get the tools out of the place. Three ladders, table saw, chop saw, and power tools everywhere. Then there are the tool boxes, three of those at last count. Tripped over one this morning since I was caffeine free and not quite conscious.
2. I'm good at fixing stuff. Tis true, since I buy stuff that breaks, like this townhouse. Lately, I have been overhauling and replacing toilets. I have three toilets, two of which are very, uh, original. I also fixed one digital camera and my phone. Why I fixed my phone is beyond me. There's been two telemarketers who have been calling me on a daily basis despite being on the do-not-call list.
3. Getting out of the house would be nice. So far, I load up my old steel quarter-century old Fuji bicycle and find a place to ride. I could ride in traffic but I'd rather burn gasoline then get run over. So, what if I got paid to get out of the house? Would make up for the cost of gas.
4. Customer service. I'm very good at it. I actually enjoy helping people. Right now the only one benefiting from it is my cat. She's already spoiled beyond all belief.
5. Income would be nice. Don't need much, but feeding that cat ain't cheap. Then there's me.
Some guy named Steve Pavlina posted an article called "10 Reasons Why You Should Never Get A Job".
The link is "stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/07/10-reasons-you-should-never-get-a-job/".
Makes for compelling reading. He's more white collar then blue though. Also his income seems to be through advertising, public speaking, and donation.
For my own druthers.........
I made a ton of money as a network operator, and a very decent living as a library employee, a facilities administrator and other jobs, but money is money. It goes away after a while. The network still keeps breaking, the facilities keep on needing administrating, the library still needs library work, and unlike Ozymandias, King of Kings, there is not even a large statue sitting in sand to mark my work.
I like to leave something concrete behind Something that people can look at. Be it just shelving, or a whole bathroom, or just fixing some exterior trim, I like to make sure it's nice. I can understand the need to be productive, but sometimes just an extra minute can make the difference between just "O. K." and a good job.
Here's my kitchen from the condo I used to own. I'm proud of that kitchen. It took me nine months to rebuild it. Mostly because it was pay as I go, and it cost some money. The work I did for employment, I did well, but this is what I like to remember. This is what I am about.
Ignore the date stamp. This was 2004. Camera died and reset itself.Later in the day......
I'm a business now. Not earning any income, heck, only three and three quarter hours old. Town of Cary gladly took my money and was happy to see me as a source of future income (for them that is). I still want to work for someone else, with-holding and all, but income is income. So if it means cutting out the middle man (employer), so be it. Yellow Brick Houseworks is now official but not taking customers yet.
Someone pinged me as a potential worker for a NOC. Don't think I'm what they want but sent them a response anyway. I'm not holding my breath for this one. Apparently when recruiters see these, they start thinking.....
I monitored a network by means of Netcool and Big Brother. I telnetted into Cisco and Juniper routers to diagnosis problems and get data to build a trouble ticket. Answered queries via phone, email, and IM, and escalated issues out to field engineers, and lower level support, produced end of shift reports and kept logs and Remedy tickets up to date.
The going rate now is a lot less then what it used to be. Those days of OT, holiday pay, and the big bucks are just history now.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
A Very Boring Post
The Economy
More adjustments in the real estate world. According to Google news and Bloomberg, at last count, 900 plus mortgage employees laid off. Couldn't happen to more deserving people......
Consumers still spending but not like last year. Hires are up, probably due to our exports and the service economy is still growing. Service economy always did suck unless one was a manager or better though, can tell you that from observation and experience.
Job Hunting
Might be close to a job, don't know yet. We shall see.
Speaking of jay oh bees, this just popped into my mailbox........again.
More adjustments in the real estate world. According to Google news and Bloomberg, at last count, 900 plus mortgage employees laid off. Couldn't happen to more deserving people......
Consumers still spending but not like last year. Hires are up, probably due to our exports and the service economy is still growing. Service economy always did suck unless one was a manager or better though, can tell you that from observation and experience.
Job Hunting
Might be close to a job, don't know yet. We shall see.
Speaking of jay oh bees, this just popped into my mailbox........again.
Hi, My Name is Ray Rizzo. I came across your resume while doing a field search. Your resume matched my search criteria (none) for a sales and leasing consultant's position at Johnson Hyundai. Some of our best make well over $100,000.00 Per Year! You may have limited experience, or no experience in auto sales, and that's OK. We will train you on everything you need to know. Many people's first reaction to this is, "no way", and some are "sure I've thought about it." Well, this is an opportunity to for your to enter into a six figure potential income! You should come in for an interview and at least see if it's right for you. We are recession proof, the second largest industry in the world, and everyone I know including myself continues to make higher income each year! My first Year in auto sales I made over $80,000. My second year, $97,000, and on my 3rd year, I broke $100K! All the while, making friends, and helping people! For us, car sales is about building relationships, value, customer satisfaction and personal wealth for our family, and future! In addition, we'll help you get off to a great start with cutting edge training techniques that will apply to many aspects of your life, not just sales. All the tools you will need will be turned over to you this week. BUT, you have to get through this first interview for the doors of opportunity to swing open.I'll be at the interview.... in my next lifetime. Notice, same format as the last message, just an automated script that plugs in the names of the "messenger", a local dealer and time. Spam, spam, spam, and just canned "ham".
You will receive dynamic training; a professional and respectful work environment, guaranteed training salary net commissions, the opportunity to grow with the fastest growing Automotive Family in North Carolina, medical and dental benefits, great bonus plan, 401 K, and paid vacations
I will be conducting interviews in the Hyundai New Car Showroom on Monday October 8th and Tuesday October 9th ONLY from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.
No appointment is needed. Please show up dressed and ready. If you have any questions you may call my cell phone at 609-879-9188, or Email me at: rrizzo@tkworldwide.com. Otherwise, I will see you at the interview. I look forward to meeting with you soon.
INTERVIEW LOCAITON: Same spelling error!
Johnson Hyundai
Hyundai New Car Showroom
5000 Old Raleigh Rd
Cary, NC 27511
If you need directions you can go to mapquest.com
Sincerely Yours,
Ray Rizzo
P.S. If you are curious how much the AVERAGE employee makes at a dealership in North Carolina. Go to this link below, and click on "employment and payroll" and scroll down to your state. You will need acrobat to read the file, but it's a free download, and almost all computers already have it. Remember, theses are only averages, and they're still pretty high, just multiply that number 50 weeks, and you'll see what I mean. Here is the link. See you at the interview!
link to NADA page data here.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Some light amid the dark
Poly (Many) Ticks (Bloodsuckers)
For the Democrats, Hillary still way out in front, Obama a near second, and Edwards is getting closer but still no cigar, cigarette, or pipe. The Republicans still have no clear front runner yet. Both parties extremely ticked with states moving primaries up early.
The Economy
The economy seems to be doing better because of the weak dollar. According to the Wall Street Journal (Best biz news ever), this summer we reached a new high in exports. Also, the weak dollar means less imports. Well, somewhat less. It's still hard to compete with someone working for a buck an hour or less. Yet another North Carolina furniture maker, Henredon, has thrown in the towel and is moving it's production offshore. The upscale guys are doing better though. Agricultural exports are up as well, as we had a decent growing season and some of the rest of the world did not. Combine that with a weak dollar and our farmers will get some coin too.
The subprime crisis is not as bad as I thought it would be. Houses will still need upkeep, and if people will be living in their domiciles longer, will want to keep replacing and upgrading fixtures and what-not. Also, the funky loans are no longer being made and the foreclosures will gradually work their way out of the pipeline. Some subprime loans may be replaced with regular loans as some buyers refinance, especially those who had good credit but got "taken". Housing prices are starting to go to a more realistic level. Some big builders and developers cut a hefty percentage and managed to move some product. My investments have recovered fully and are slowly increasing in value as we speak.
The war is pushing the economy by being four percent of GDP. It may not be much compared to other wars, but it gives us less margin and resiliency when yet another crisis happens. If the war can be scaled back or eventually ended, it could help make up for the other pressures, such a weak dollar, imported illegal labor, and higher energy costs. Homeland Security is helping a little bit by trying to crack down on illegals. Only problem is, is that they tend to slack off when public attention turns elsewhere. Still, illegal immigration is going to be a hot topic as long as the economy remains sour.
My own personal economy is hanging in there. My investments are up, the townhouse is still worth....something (well after the chimney gets fixed), and no health issues.I cut way back on spending and utilities, and managed to repair some equipment that would have had to be replaced...so happy.
I'm still on the fence about being a business but can get the license for very little and decide to activate later. Liability insurance is affordable as well. Benefits, less so. Health insurance companies only want young-healthy, not old-healthy, and charge accordingly. Yet another reason for single player, single payer like in Canada. Go Hillary! Might be the only reason why I'll vote for her, and that she is as mean as a junkyard dog. The biz doesn't go until it's all legal though....thats a given. No under the table for me. I still want to have a job as it simplifies bookkeeping and cuts out that pesky quarterly estimated income tax. Still, see what happens.
The Townhouse
I painted up three pieces of siding and gave one to my neighbor. The plan is to finish up the flashing on the chimney and just do some caulking and touch up.
Painted with Kilz primer, good for oil or water-base. Backprimed as well, something most builders don't do here.
Plan to stain that deck someday.... Olympic exterior paint, the good stuff. The color is called Sheffield Gray.
Yet another use for a Baja that Subaru never thought of.......
For the Democrats, Hillary still way out in front, Obama a near second, and Edwards is getting closer but still no cigar, cigarette, or pipe. The Republicans still have no clear front runner yet. Both parties extremely ticked with states moving primaries up early.
The Economy
The economy seems to be doing better because of the weak dollar. According to the Wall Street Journal (Best biz news ever), this summer we reached a new high in exports. Also, the weak dollar means less imports. Well, somewhat less. It's still hard to compete with someone working for a buck an hour or less. Yet another North Carolina furniture maker, Henredon, has thrown in the towel and is moving it's production offshore. The upscale guys are doing better though. Agricultural exports are up as well, as we had a decent growing season and some of the rest of the world did not. Combine that with a weak dollar and our farmers will get some coin too.
The subprime crisis is not as bad as I thought it would be. Houses will still need upkeep, and if people will be living in their domiciles longer, will want to keep replacing and upgrading fixtures and what-not. Also, the funky loans are no longer being made and the foreclosures will gradually work their way out of the pipeline. Some subprime loans may be replaced with regular loans as some buyers refinance, especially those who had good credit but got "taken". Housing prices are starting to go to a more realistic level. Some big builders and developers cut a hefty percentage and managed to move some product. My investments have recovered fully and are slowly increasing in value as we speak.
The war is pushing the economy by being four percent of GDP. It may not be much compared to other wars, but it gives us less margin and resiliency when yet another crisis happens. If the war can be scaled back or eventually ended, it could help make up for the other pressures, such a weak dollar, imported illegal labor, and higher energy costs. Homeland Security is helping a little bit by trying to crack down on illegals. Only problem is, is that they tend to slack off when public attention turns elsewhere. Still, illegal immigration is going to be a hot topic as long as the economy remains sour.
My own personal economy is hanging in there. My investments are up, the townhouse is still worth....something (well after the chimney gets fixed), and no health issues.I cut way back on spending and utilities, and managed to repair some equipment that would have had to be replaced...so happy.
I'm still on the fence about being a business but can get the license for very little and decide to activate later. Liability insurance is affordable as well. Benefits, less so. Health insurance companies only want young-healthy, not old-healthy, and charge accordingly. Yet another reason for single player, single payer like in Canada. Go Hillary! Might be the only reason why I'll vote for her, and that she is as mean as a junkyard dog. The biz doesn't go until it's all legal though....thats a given. No under the table for me. I still want to have a job as it simplifies bookkeeping and cuts out that pesky quarterly estimated income tax. Still, see what happens.
The Townhouse
I painted up three pieces of siding and gave one to my neighbor. The plan is to finish up the flashing on the chimney and just do some caulking and touch up.
Painted with Kilz primer, good for oil or water-base. Backprimed as well, something most builders don't do here.
Plan to stain that deck someday.... Olympic exterior paint, the good stuff. The color is called Sheffield Gray.
Yet another use for a Baja that Subaru never thought of.......
Friday, September 28, 2007
Nope.
Nope, no cigar. Going after job was interesting, three tests, two of which I passed with flying colors, a week of time, and ten gallons of gasoline burned. Then there was a week of paid work I gave up. One can get a little bummed after this. Going to hit the libraries for some good reading.
Later......
Job hunted some more.... Arrgh. Just not my week.
While job hunting, the router up and died. So I got a new one of those.
It may be time for The Handyman Can biz to get going. My fee is twenty-five (wish it was Euros) an hour, no minimum, and free estimates. Just need the biz license and insurance. Hey, I'll hire me.
Even Later.......
Someone's been scraping the public resumes again. This time, mine at Monster.
Later......
Job hunted some more.... Arrgh. Just not my week.
While job hunting, the router up and died. So I got a new one of those.
It may be time for The Handyman Can biz to get going. My fee is twenty-five (wish it was Euros) an hour, no minimum, and free estimates. Just need the biz license and insurance. Hey, I'll hire me.
Even Later.......
Someone's been scraping the public resumes again. This time, mine at Monster.
Hi, My Name is Deleted. I came across your resume while doing a field search. And everyone else's. Sometimes they screw up and give an "offer" several states away. Your resume matched my search criteria for a sales and leasing consultant's position at Local Car Dealer. Search criteria .....NONE. .(Edited a paragraph out for brevity) All the while, making friends, and helping people! Smell fertilizer...fresh. For us, car sales is about building relationships, value, customer satisfaction and personal wealth for our family, and future! Fertilizer deeper. In addition, we'll help you get off to a great start with cutting edge training techniques that will apply to many aspects of your life, not just sales. All the tools you will need will be turned over to you this week. BUT, you have to get through this first interview for the doors of opportunity to swing open.
You will receive dynamic training, medical benefits, guaranteed training salary*, additional monthly bonuses, 401K, fast track management program, and paid vacations.
Name of local car dealer here is a family owned and operated business that believes secure and happy team members will exceed their patrons' expectations. Along the same lines by company policy they maintain professional and respectful work environments. They are not your average car dealer.
I will be conducting interviews in the Brand here New Car Showroom on Monday October 1st and Tuesday October 2nd ONLY from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.
No appointment is needed. Please show up dressed and ready. If you have any questions you may call my cell phone at Deleted, or Email me at Email deleted. Otherwise, I will see you at the interview. I look forward to meeting with you soon.
INTERVIEW LOCAITON: Spelling bee runner up?
Local Car Dealer
Brand here New Car Showroom
123 Main Street
Raleigh, NC Zip here
If you need directions you can go to the dealerships web site at Deleted link or mapquest.com
Sincerely Yours,
Deleted Name
P.S. If you are curious how much the AVERAGE employee makes at a dealership in North Carolina.....money hook here..... multiply that number 50 weeks, and you'll see what I mean. Here is the link. See you at the interview!
Link
*Unit/Performance Based Net Commissions
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