A few times in the past I have taken on the duty of saying good bye to someone on my blog. Today is another such day.
Wesley would have been seven months old today. His mom was a close friend of both of my daughters and his maternal grandparents were close friends of mine. A little over two months ago, he started displaying signs of an illness that ended up being something in his immune system. His own body was attacking his red blood cells. On Friday, his fight ended.
Wesley's mom was like another daughter to me. She was always at my house and I know my girls were often at her house. One of my favorite memories was when she caught me napping (and snoring) on a Sunday afternoon. Her mom & dad helped my family on two major occasions (and numerous minor ones) when we needed it. Even though I moved 100 miles away twelve years ago, there was always the feeling that we would help each other out when needed.
While I travel frequently, only in the last couple of months have I gone to the town where Wesley was hospitalized. Then, out of the blue, I had two trips to the town. I took that as a sign that I was supposed to visit his family. I've said before that I don't believe in coincidence, that I believe in Providence (see here and here). I believe Providence caused me to have two business trips to see Wesley's family. I got to meet his dad and his paternal grandparents. And hopefully, I eased the burden on some old friends.
Goodbye Wesley. Your family will miss you, but rest assured that they are loved and we'll look out for them.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
What does Obamacare mean to me?
I've been relatively quiet on Obamacare and the call by a lot of people to repeal it. A couple of days ago, I received an email that explained the impact to me personally. I have medical insurance through my employer. We are self-insured, that is, the employer ends up paying for all payouts. I pay into the program for family coverage (include medical, dental and vision care) and my employer pays also. All of the money is pooled together to pay out actual costs. The care is managed by one of the big insurance companies.
There are other plans available through my employer, but I've pretty much stuck with the same program over the years. My employer sent the following email (I've edited it to remove personal information):
This year, XYZ Corp had a team working for months to understand health care reform legislation. Some of this work continues, which is one reason we are communicating with you a bit later than we usually do. We understand many of you align your decision-making with that of working spouses or domestic partners, which is why we have worked to keep the actual enrollment for employees on schedule.
You should be aware that health care cost increases for 2011 -- in addition to the normal inflationary trends -- also are affected by health care reform requirements, which affect both XYZ Corp and you. For example, raising the age for dependent coverage from age 23 to 26 contributes somewhat to higher costs for businesses, as we must now all extend coverage to greater numbers of young adults.
There's more to the email, but that pretty much sums it up.
There are other plans available through my employer, but I've pretty much stuck with the same program over the years. My employer sent the following email (I've edited it to remove personal information):
This year, XYZ Corp had a team working for months to understand health care reform legislation. Some of this work continues, which is one reason we are communicating with you a bit later than we usually do. We understand many of you align your decision-making with that of working spouses or domestic partners, which is why we have worked to keep the actual enrollment for employees on schedule.
You should be aware that health care cost increases for 2011 -- in addition to the normal inflationary trends -- also are affected by health care reform requirements, which affect both XYZ Corp and you. For example, raising the age for dependent coverage from age 23 to 26 contributes somewhat to higher costs for businesses, as we must now all extend coverage to greater numbers of young adults.
There's more to the email, but that pretty much sums it up.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sort-of Facebook and blog policy
A little over a week ago, my blog-friend Neil posted his "sort-of Facebook policy" (see it here). I mostly agreed with it and then this morning I violated it. I felt bad afterwards, so as a reminder to myself, I thought I'd specify my facebook policy and my blog policy. Or my sort-of policies. I'll probably deviate from time to time. If you catch me, please point it out.
Like Neil, I keep the Facebook comments generally light and leave the politics and heavier stuff for my blog. A lot of my family eschews these heavy topics and Facebook just doesn't seem to lend itself to in depth discussions. I have found that many times, I can keep up with my family better on Facebook than with the phone. I've also re-established some relationships from when I lived in Charlotte and even a few relationships from school. I don't play games on Facebook and try to hide updates from the games because I really don't care how many jewels you have or need for your crown.
I have a friend who doesn't use Facebook. He worries about the evil that goes on there, the relationships that get started there (he's thinking the extra-marital relationships). He worries about the wasted time (can anyone say Farmville?). He's right to worry. Facebook can be abused just like anything. And if he doesn't want to post, I think it's best he doesn't do it. He's never told me I shouldn't. That's tolerance for both of us.
For my blog, just about anything is open. I will post on any topic, from politics, to cooking, from the books I read to the movies I see. I'll post about the kids and their kids or just something I see that sparks my interest. I'll put together posts on aspects of finances and once did a three-part analysis of payday lending.
In both my blog and Facebook, I'm careful what I post. My theory is that if I don't want my mother or my kids to read it, I shouldn't post it (my mom now uses Facebook and watches my blog). I haven't posted very many of my pictures - not that it's against my policy - it's just too time consuming.
I also take requests on my blog and try to honor those. (For Emily's sake, I often insert how I feel about a subject). If you have something you want me to post about, notify me here, on Facebook or any other way.
And if you catch me going off my policy, let me know. Throw something if you're close enough.
Like Neil, I keep the Facebook comments generally light and leave the politics and heavier stuff for my blog. A lot of my family eschews these heavy topics and Facebook just doesn't seem to lend itself to in depth discussions. I have found that many times, I can keep up with my family better on Facebook than with the phone. I've also re-established some relationships from when I lived in Charlotte and even a few relationships from school. I don't play games on Facebook and try to hide updates from the games because I really don't care how many jewels you have or need for your crown.
I have a friend who doesn't use Facebook. He worries about the evil that goes on there, the relationships that get started there (he's thinking the extra-marital relationships). He worries about the wasted time (can anyone say Farmville?). He's right to worry. Facebook can be abused just like anything. And if he doesn't want to post, I think it's best he doesn't do it. He's never told me I shouldn't. That's tolerance for both of us.
For my blog, just about anything is open. I will post on any topic, from politics, to cooking, from the books I read to the movies I see. I'll post about the kids and their kids or just something I see that sparks my interest. I'll put together posts on aspects of finances and once did a three-part analysis of payday lending.
In both my blog and Facebook, I'm careful what I post. My theory is that if I don't want my mother or my kids to read it, I shouldn't post it (my mom now uses Facebook and watches my blog). I haven't posted very many of my pictures - not that it's against my policy - it's just too time consuming.
I also take requests on my blog and try to honor those. (For Emily's sake, I often insert how I feel about a subject). If you have something you want me to post about, notify me here, on Facebook or any other way.
And if you catch me going off my policy, let me know. Throw something if you're close enough.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Service with a frown - resolved
My last post was about a problem with an exterminating company. Today, that problem has (apparently) come to a resolution. I had a conference call with the company and the Better Business Bureau. The BBB representative took my call, then called the business. She thanked each of us and explained the "ground rule" (her words) and that was no interrupting the other person.
I got to speak first and explained my situation (which had been previously done in the letter). The business then explained the issues. I corrected him on a couple of matters and then bluntly asked if he understood why I was upset. It took a minute, but he said he did.
We discussed a few aspects of the inspections they had done, specifically trying to separate the inspection cost from the "insurance" aspect of a termite bond. He said there was no way to separate them. (I would have asked for a refund of the inspection).
I asked him about the reluctance to write a check and he explained that they only wrote checks 1-2x/month and then only when a PO was created. He asked if I would give my credit card number to the BBB. I explained that I was reluctant to give him the number because I still didn't trust the company and if I gave it to the BBB, they would have to give it to him to process the refund. He then offered to send a certified check for the refund.
The total refund I'll be receiving is $100. This is the "discount" that was originally discussed. Had I gotten this refund in September, it would have saved a lot of hassle.
In addition, he explained a couple of ways this could have been prevented, I'm not sure any would have worked. I could have gotten a second estimate, but I felt like I didn't have time for that. He said in his business line, companies are on call 7x24 and make emergency calls within a day. He said my realtor could have called the day of closing and he would have faxed a new estimate (which would have had to go through the lawyer, forced a redo of all the paper-work, delayed closing, etc).
The end result is the discount I originally was promised and I don't have to give my credit card info. I'm not what I would call a satisfied customer and won't give them a good reference, but then they probably don't want a reference anyway. I won't go around bashing them and haven't posted their name here.
I got to speak first and explained my situation (which had been previously done in the letter). The business then explained the issues. I corrected him on a couple of matters and then bluntly asked if he understood why I was upset. It took a minute, but he said he did.
We discussed a few aspects of the inspections they had done, specifically trying to separate the inspection cost from the "insurance" aspect of a termite bond. He said there was no way to separate them. (I would have asked for a refund of the inspection).
I asked him about the reluctance to write a check and he explained that they only wrote checks 1-2x/month and then only when a PO was created. He asked if I would give my credit card number to the BBB. I explained that I was reluctant to give him the number because I still didn't trust the company and if I gave it to the BBB, they would have to give it to him to process the refund. He then offered to send a certified check for the refund.
The total refund I'll be receiving is $100. This is the "discount" that was originally discussed. Had I gotten this refund in September, it would have saved a lot of hassle.
In addition, he explained a couple of ways this could have been prevented, I'm not sure any would have worked. I could have gotten a second estimate, but I felt like I didn't have time for that. He said in his business line, companies are on call 7x24 and make emergency calls within a day. He said my realtor could have called the day of closing and he would have faxed a new estimate (which would have had to go through the lawyer, forced a redo of all the paper-work, delayed closing, etc).
The end result is the discount I originally was promised and I don't have to give my credit card info. I'm not what I would call a satisfied customer and won't give them a good reference, but then they probably don't want a reference anyway. I won't go around bashing them and haven't posted their name here.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Service with a frown
My last post was on good service. What prompted this in my mind was some incredibly bad service I got from a local exterminator (I'll provide the name to anyone that asks). In fairness, I'm still working with the exterminator to resolve the issues. But the service to date has been so incredibly bad I thought I'd make a post.
The service provided was an annual contract and a certificate for a home sale. It could have been any service. The first bad thing we encountered was when we called for the annual contract. The office treated us rudely and didn't even know what the contract covered. Since the contract was ongoing, we continued to work with the company. The people that came our were easy to work with and trustworthy.
When the time came for a certificate for home sale, we contacted the company again. They found some problems and recommended a remedy. Since we were days from closing, we didn't have time to shop for a better deal. I felt held hostage and called to tell them so.
Rather than try to understand my side of the story, the exterminator became defensive. They gave me several reasons for their findings, many of which were wrong. When I pointed out their errors, they said they were irrelevant. They did agree to discount the price, but the invoice was for the original amount. Again, I was being held hostage by a closing date.
After complaining about the price, I was told that invoices were sent by another person. For one month, I kept trying to get the right person. The lady I spoke with never gave her last name and wouldn't give me any one else to talk to. Finally, they wanted my credit card information to issue me a credit. Now let's see, I've found I can't trust the company and they want my credit card info? I don't think so.
Next step for me was to write a formal complaint letter. Which was ignored. Then a week later, I filed a complaint with the BBB. This got more defensive talk, misspellings of my wife's name and incorrect statements. No attempt to understand my points. After I rejected their settlement offer (again wanting my credit card info), I now have a scheduled call to try to resolve.
My suggestion on service - try to understand your customer. If you feel you truly don't have a mistake, educate the customer. If you want to make a concession, make it easy for the customer to accept.
I'll update this after my scheduled call to resolve.
The service provided was an annual contract and a certificate for a home sale. It could have been any service. The first bad thing we encountered was when we called for the annual contract. The office treated us rudely and didn't even know what the contract covered. Since the contract was ongoing, we continued to work with the company. The people that came our were easy to work with and trustworthy.
When the time came for a certificate for home sale, we contacted the company again. They found some problems and recommended a remedy. Since we were days from closing, we didn't have time to shop for a better deal. I felt held hostage and called to tell them so.
Rather than try to understand my side of the story, the exterminator became defensive. They gave me several reasons for their findings, many of which were wrong. When I pointed out their errors, they said they were irrelevant. They did agree to discount the price, but the invoice was for the original amount. Again, I was being held hostage by a closing date.
After complaining about the price, I was told that invoices were sent by another person. For one month, I kept trying to get the right person. The lady I spoke with never gave her last name and wouldn't give me any one else to talk to. Finally, they wanted my credit card information to issue me a credit. Now let's see, I've found I can't trust the company and they want my credit card info? I don't think so.
Next step for me was to write a formal complaint letter. Which was ignored. Then a week later, I filed a complaint with the BBB. This got more defensive talk, misspellings of my wife's name and incorrect statements. No attempt to understand my points. After I rejected their settlement offer (again wanting my credit card info), I now have a scheduled call to try to resolve.
My suggestion on service - try to understand your customer. If you feel you truly don't have a mistake, educate the customer. If you want to make a concession, make it easy for the customer to accept.
I'll update this after my scheduled call to resolve.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Service with a smile
What makes "good service"? There's one company I recently dealt with that made me start thinking about this question. Unfortunately, the company didn't have "good service" and it made me thinking about what set them apart. I decided to initially focus on a company I deal with that does indeed have good service.
The "good service" company is a local dog groomer, I'll gladly share the name with anyone interested. (Since most of my readers aren't local, you probably don't care). We struggle with a couple of dog groomers including one that I'm convinced infected our dog with fleas. Since our older dog (since past away) was getting more and more difficult to transport, we decided to try a "mobile" groomer. These folks come to you with a van and all the equipment. When they leave, the dog's hair has been cut, cleaned and combed.
The first thing that I like about the mobile groomer was the price. They were actually a couple of dollars CHEAPER than the ones with a house. Cheaper is always better in my book! (well, maybe not always, but at least often) They did at least as good as any other place we took the dogs.
Second thing we noticed was that the couple doing the grooming were very polite. They listened to what we wanted, offered advice and did what we asked. Our dog has sensitive skin, so they manage that aspect well (I have no idea what they do, I just remind them to treat her like they did before).
The final aspect of their service that I wanted to mention is the trust. We've used these people several times. On one or two occasions, they've come and we've had to mail them a check. Most recently, we were away and had someone else there to dog sit for us. We forgot to leave the payment and rather than re-schedule, the groomer went ahead and did her work and we mailed a check.
This level of mutual trust is the basis for good, continued service. This business can rest assured that they have earned our business for a long time. Next post will focus on a company that doesn't give good service
The "good service" company is a local dog groomer, I'll gladly share the name with anyone interested. (Since most of my readers aren't local, you probably don't care). We struggle with a couple of dog groomers including one that I'm convinced infected our dog with fleas. Since our older dog (since past away) was getting more and more difficult to transport, we decided to try a "mobile" groomer. These folks come to you with a van and all the equipment. When they leave, the dog's hair has been cut, cleaned and combed.
The first thing that I like about the mobile groomer was the price. They were actually a couple of dollars CHEAPER than the ones with a house. Cheaper is always better in my book! (well, maybe not always, but at least often) They did at least as good as any other place we took the dogs.
Second thing we noticed was that the couple doing the grooming were very polite. They listened to what we wanted, offered advice and did what we asked. Our dog has sensitive skin, so they manage that aspect well (I have no idea what they do, I just remind them to treat her like they did before).
The final aspect of their service that I wanted to mention is the trust. We've used these people several times. On one or two occasions, they've come and we've had to mail them a check. Most recently, we were away and had someone else there to dog sit for us. We forgot to leave the payment and rather than re-schedule, the groomer went ahead and did her work and we mailed a check.
This level of mutual trust is the basis for good, continued service. This business can rest assured that they have earned our business for a long time. Next post will focus on a company that doesn't give good service
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Free Book - Yes, free!
I've been reading a lot of personal finance blogs like Freeby50 and The Simple Dollar. I recommend both of these. Well, it turns out that The Simple Dollar has a book titled (amazingly) The Simple Dollar. And for a limited time, you can get the book for free.
You can download the book for your Amazon Kindle at this site: The Simple Dollar Book. But wait, you say you don't have a Kindle? (I don't). Not to worry, you can download the Kindle app for your iphones, ipads, android, PC or Mac. I did and it was very simple. You start at this site. It took under 5 minutes.
You can download the book for your Amazon Kindle at this site: The Simple Dollar Book. But wait, you say you don't have a Kindle? (I don't). Not to worry, you can download the Kindle app for your iphones, ipads, android, PC or Mac. I did and it was very simple. You start at this site. It took under 5 minutes.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Jet Packs for LA Police
At dinner Friday night, one of my friends told me this story. Seems the LA Police has ordered jet packs for their police to a tune of about $1BILLION. Seems a little strange, but hey, this is talking about California, land of fruits and nuts. The left coast.
We thought of a lot of problems, those things don't last that long, what happens if you go up for 30 seconds and then run out of jet fuel, the criminals are all on the ground, what good does it do to be up in the air, they can't afford to pay teachers, yet they spend this kind of money (when you live with a teacher, every subject turns to education) etc.
I looked for information about the story this morning and found this item. Seems the story is FALSE. First reported by the Weekly World News (we all know that's a reliable source), then picked up by Fox News. The Fox anchors said they doubted the story, to which I have a question - WHY DID YOU REPORT IT? This doesn't help your credibility at all. Oh, sure, you said it was questionable, but a lot of the folks watching didn't hear that part.
Fox knows the audience and knows that conservatives love stories like this. It's a great chance to make fun of those from "the other side". But this just makes Fox look just as bad as the other networks. I thought Fox wanted to try for a higher standard? I guess I was mistaken.
We thought of a lot of problems, those things don't last that long, what happens if you go up for 30 seconds and then run out of jet fuel, the criminals are all on the ground, what good does it do to be up in the air, they can't afford to pay teachers, yet they spend this kind of money (when you live with a teacher, every subject turns to education) etc.
I looked for information about the story this morning and found this item. Seems the story is FALSE. First reported by the Weekly World News (we all know that's a reliable source), then picked up by Fox News. The Fox anchors said they doubted the story, to which I have a question - WHY DID YOU REPORT IT? This doesn't help your credibility at all. Oh, sure, you said it was questionable, but a lot of the folks watching didn't hear that part.
Fox knows the audience and knows that conservatives love stories like this. It's a great chance to make fun of those from "the other side". But this just makes Fox look just as bad as the other networks. I thought Fox wanted to try for a higher standard? I guess I was mistaken.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Pay to Spray
In this small area in Tennesse, a man's house burned down because he didn't pay the (non-required) fee of $75 for fire coverage. (see story here).
Mr. Cranick lives outside the city limits and doesn't pay city taxes. The city offers fire protection to county residents and (presumably) uses the fees to help fund their fire fighting activities. Mr Cranick admits he didn't pay the fee last year, but has paid for several years in the past. It just slipped his mind last year. He offered to pay when the house was on fire, but fire fighters told him it was too late.
One troubling comment in the story is made by the city manager who said "We have to follow the rules and the ordinances set forth to us." Another part of the article says "When a household has not paid the fee, firefighters are required by law to not respond." (It's not clear what law is referenced here).
I have to confess, I have mixed emotions here. I have serious, unanswered questions, about what law, if any, specifies that the firefighters are required to "not respond". I also feel that, the fire fighters had an obligation to respond.
But I also feel that Mr. Cranick is trying to buy insurance after the fact. What would happen if people only paid when their house caught fire? Supposed you bought cancer insurance after a cancer diagnosis or life insurance after a loved one died?
While my emotions are mixed, it's pretty clear to me where the law should come down on this. My emotions can be satisfied by neighbors helping Mr. Cranick out. And if I lived in the area, I'd pay the $75.
Mr. Cranick lives outside the city limits and doesn't pay city taxes. The city offers fire protection to county residents and (presumably) uses the fees to help fund their fire fighting activities. Mr Cranick admits he didn't pay the fee last year, but has paid for several years in the past. It just slipped his mind last year. He offered to pay when the house was on fire, but fire fighters told him it was too late.
One troubling comment in the story is made by the city manager who said "We have to follow the rules and the ordinances set forth to us." Another part of the article says "When a household has not paid the fee, firefighters are required by law to not respond." (It's not clear what law is referenced here).
I have to confess, I have mixed emotions here. I have serious, unanswered questions, about what law, if any, specifies that the firefighters are required to "not respond". I also feel that, the fire fighters had an obligation to respond.
But I also feel that Mr. Cranick is trying to buy insurance after the fact. What would happen if people only paid when their house caught fire? Supposed you bought cancer insurance after a cancer diagnosis or life insurance after a loved one died?
While my emotions are mixed, it's pretty clear to me where the law should come down on this. My emotions can be satisfied by neighbors helping Mr. Cranick out. And if I lived in the area, I'd pay the $75.
Friday, October 01, 2010
Mood ring
Ok, I'm probably showing my age here, but when I was (VERY) young in the mid 1970's, they had these things called mood rings. The idea was the stone (or plastic) would change color depending on your mood. This was one of those fads that took off real big and then died just as quickly. You can read about them on Wikipedia here. My biggest memory of them is that they didn't really work, either they didn't change or they changed randomly.
Today, I see that there is now a cell phone app that can determine your mood. (see here). According to the article, "'EmotionSense' uses speech-recognition software and phone sensors in standard smart phones to assess how people's emotions are influenced by factors such as their surroundings, the time of day, or their relationships with others."
While I was never impressed with the original mood rings, I think this has some real potential. If you could set the ringer on your phone to play different ringtones based on the caller's mood, you would really have a marketable product. Wife calls in a good mood? - Answer right away. Wife calls in a bad mood? - Gee, I'm real busy right now. But I'll get back right away.
Somehow, this brings a new meaning to a "mood ring".
Today, I see that there is now a cell phone app that can determine your mood. (see here). According to the article, "'EmotionSense' uses speech-recognition software and phone sensors in standard smart phones to assess how people's emotions are influenced by factors such as their surroundings, the time of day, or their relationships with others."
While I was never impressed with the original mood rings, I think this has some real potential. If you could set the ringer on your phone to play different ringtones based on the caller's mood, you would really have a marketable product. Wife calls in a good mood? - Answer right away. Wife calls in a bad mood? - Gee, I'm real busy right now. But I'll get back right away.
Somehow, this brings a new meaning to a "mood ring".
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Vote early and vote often
Ok, maybe not more than once per election (unless you live in Chicago), but I truly believe that you should vote every chance you can. And unless you've had your TV turned off and plan to keep it turned off for the next 33 days, you're probably aware that we have an election coming up. On November 2 in fact.
October 2 is the last day to register in SC if you're going to vote in this election. Of course, if you voted last time and nothing has changed, you don't need to re-register. If you've missed voting a time or to, you can easily check to see if your registration is still valid.
But what are we voting on? Well, I needed to know that myself, so I did a quick search on "greenville sc voting locations." (I didn't intend to add the period, but it got stuck in and it worked anyway - that's how easy this is)
Once the search completed, I clicked on the entry for "http://www.greenvillecounty.org/voter_registration/". There they had an item labeled Candidates for November 2010. This brings up a PDF file (4 pages). Now I'm somewhat informed. I'll do some searching on the candidates, but now I know what we're voting on.
Here's a promise I make to all of my readers: if you don't know what you're voting on, I will find this information out for you. Give me a way to contact you and I'll look up your state and district to find comparable information. I won't tell you who to vote for (at least not in this exchange) and won't ask you who you plan to vote for. I'll simply give you the information.
Incidentally, we're voting for state offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Comptroller, Supt. of Education, Adjutant General and Commissioner of Agriculture), US Senate, US Representative, State House, County offices, School District Representatives and four amendments to our state constitution. What are you voting on?
Remember - vote early and vote often!!
October 2 is the last day to register in SC if you're going to vote in this election. Of course, if you voted last time and nothing has changed, you don't need to re-register. If you've missed voting a time or to, you can easily check to see if your registration is still valid.
But what are we voting on? Well, I needed to know that myself, so I did a quick search on "greenville sc voting locations." (I didn't intend to add the period, but it got stuck in and it worked anyway - that's how easy this is)
Once the search completed, I clicked on the entry for "http://www.greenvillecounty.org/voter_registration/". There they had an item labeled Candidates for November 2010. This brings up a PDF file (4 pages). Now I'm somewhat informed. I'll do some searching on the candidates, but now I know what we're voting on.
Here's a promise I make to all of my readers: if you don't know what you're voting on, I will find this information out for you. Give me a way to contact you and I'll look up your state and district to find comparable information. I won't tell you who to vote for (at least not in this exchange) and won't ask you who you plan to vote for. I'll simply give you the information.
Incidentally, we're voting for state offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Comptroller, Supt. of Education, Adjutant General and Commissioner of Agriculture), US Senate, US Representative, State House, County offices, School District Representatives and four amendments to our state constitution. What are you voting on?
Remember - vote early and vote often!!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
A lot can happen in nine years
My wife has already told everyone on Facebook that today is our anniversary. Nine years goes by fast. But a lot can happen in that span of time.
Yes, it was nine years ago today that we were married in an outdoor wedding at The Gray House, a small bed & breakfast in Starr, SC (outside Anderson - which is outside Greenville). The wedding itself was unusual, not many couples have their five children in the wedding. The bride's son gave her away, the groom's son was best-man. The bride's daughter was maid-of-honor and the groom's daughters were bridesmaids. It took two ministers to tie the knot and by some miracle, the candles didn't blow out until after we were pronounced man & wife.
Since then, four out of our five children have gotten married and started families of their own. Attending all of those weddings has worn us out. With one grandson and four granddaughters (all the girls born in a six month time period), we feel like our quiver is full, but of course there's always room for more. Our youngest is in college, he comes up when his laundry is able to stand on it's own.
We've shared a lot of joy and a lot of pain (we both had back surgery). We've both been back to school. Through it all, we've grown together. there's a saying that goes "that which does not kill me, makes me stronger." I'd add a part to the middle of that and say "that which does not kill me, or make me kill my spouse, makes us stronger."
So, with that, I'll say Happy Anniversary Nena. It's been a great nine years and I'm looking forward to the next nine. And then the next nine. And the next. And so forth. And so on.
Yes, it was nine years ago today that we were married in an outdoor wedding at The Gray House, a small bed & breakfast in Starr, SC (outside Anderson - which is outside Greenville). The wedding itself was unusual, not many couples have their five children in the wedding. The bride's son gave her away, the groom's son was best-man. The bride's daughter was maid-of-honor and the groom's daughters were bridesmaids. It took two ministers to tie the knot and by some miracle, the candles didn't blow out until after we were pronounced man & wife.
Since then, four out of our five children have gotten married and started families of their own. Attending all of those weddings has worn us out. With one grandson and four granddaughters (all the girls born in a six month time period), we feel like our quiver is full, but of course there's always room for more. Our youngest is in college, he comes up when his laundry is able to stand on it's own.
We've shared a lot of joy and a lot of pain (we both had back surgery). We've both been back to school. Through it all, we've grown together. there's a saying that goes "that which does not kill me, makes me stronger." I'd add a part to the middle of that and say "that which does not kill me, or make me kill my spouse, makes us stronger."
So, with that, I'll say Happy Anniversary Nena. It's been a great nine years and I'm looking forward to the next nine. And then the next nine. And the next. And so forth. And so on.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Round up, my way or add $1 checking
A few months ago, I signed up for one of those checking accounts that moves money from checking to savings every time you use your debit card. Sounds simple enough, it's forced savings. What could go wrong?
Well, I've always been one to track my spending. In college, I balanced my checkbook (out of self-defense) so that I knew how much money I had. This was in the days before debit cards, so I only wrote checks or used the ATM, but I never overdrew my account. Even if it was only $1.67, I knew how much I had.
Now in theory, I could still track my account, just by adding $1 to every purchase or writing down two transactions every time I did one. That's a good theory, but I can't seem to make that work either. Sometimes, the bank doesn't take out $1 (I'm still not sure why) and sometimes they wait several days to take out the $1. So my balance never matches what the bank says.
And as for the forced savings, it's my own money that I'm saving. If I wanted to put money in savings, I could move it myself. It's not like the interest rate on savings is all that much about the rate on checking. So what's the big deal?
Anyone else using these types of accounts? Good, bad or indifferent?
Well, I've always been one to track my spending. In college, I balanced my checkbook (out of self-defense) so that I knew how much money I had. This was in the days before debit cards, so I only wrote checks or used the ATM, but I never overdrew my account. Even if it was only $1.67, I knew how much I had.
Now in theory, I could still track my account, just by adding $1 to every purchase or writing down two transactions every time I did one. That's a good theory, but I can't seem to make that work either. Sometimes, the bank doesn't take out $1 (I'm still not sure why) and sometimes they wait several days to take out the $1. So my balance never matches what the bank says.
And as for the forced savings, it's my own money that I'm saving. If I wanted to put money in savings, I could move it myself. It's not like the interest rate on savings is all that much about the rate on checking. So what's the big deal?
Anyone else using these types of accounts? Good, bad or indifferent?
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Am I the only one in America who gets upset about profanity?
Today I read a post on another guy's blog about a politician's profanity. Actually, the first post I read wasn't about the profanity, but about other people's reaction to it. The post contained links to other blogs that expressed some remorse about the profanity, but expressed rage at the hypocrisy of those who felt rage at the profanity. (Is that confusing or what).
I did a quick search of my blogposts here using the word "profanity" as a guideline. I didn't find a single place where I raged against it, but I found several where I said it was bad.
I'm not prude, I've heard the words before and I know what they mean. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I've used the words before. But I try to live by the rule that you shouldn't say something you don't want your mom or your kids to hear. If it can pass those two tests, it's probably ok.
I have confronted others about their profanity. In one recent case, a blogger was commenting on protecting his daughter from certain vices of the world (which is good), but also uses profanity in other posts. I confronted him with the dual-nature. My comments were accepted without anger, but he excused his behavior (I hope he is changed somewhat by what I said).
I guess the bottom line is, am I the only one in America who gets upset about profanity?
I did a quick search of my blogposts here using the word "profanity" as a guideline. I didn't find a single place where I raged against it, but I found several where I said it was bad.
I'm not prude, I've heard the words before and I know what they mean. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I've used the words before. But I try to live by the rule that you shouldn't say something you don't want your mom or your kids to hear. If it can pass those two tests, it's probably ok.
I have confronted others about their profanity. In one recent case, a blogger was commenting on protecting his daughter from certain vices of the world (which is good), but also uses profanity in other posts. I confronted him with the dual-nature. My comments were accepted without anger, but he excused his behavior (I hope he is changed somewhat by what I said).
I guess the bottom line is, am I the only one in America who gets upset about profanity?
Monday, September 20, 2010
Homemade Salsa
*** Update ***
Our volunteer tomato bush returned this year and is putting out larger tomatoes and in more quantity. We got almost seven pounds of tomatoes when we came back from vacation. We're now using fresh cilantro and more bell peppers and the taste is unbelievable. I've also cheated a few times and added some canned tomatoes. You can tell the difference.
If you want the recipe, click on the word "this" in the last sentence of the next paragraph.
*** Update ***
We've had a tomato bush that is putting out tomatoes at an amazing rate. I'm not one to eat raw tomatoes (although I do in a salad) and these are roma tomatoes - too small for a sandwich. So I came up with the idea of making homemade salsa. I found this recipe and with a few changes, I had some good homemade salsa.
The hardest part of this recipe was blanching and peeling the tomatoes. I realized that in all of my (quite limited) cooking, I've never blanched before. In fact, I wasn't even sure I knew how. My wife explained the process and I felt confident. (I poured boiling water over the tomatoes and let them sit for 15 minutes or so).
The website calls for 5 pounds of tomatoes, since I only had about a pound, I changed it to 10 servings (website automatically scales ingredients). I had four colors of bell peppers and wanted to use some of each, so I chopped a small amount of each (very colorful salsa!). I didn't want to try jalapeno peppers, so I left that out completely as I did the celery. Instead of garlic, I substituted garlic salt. I intended to use a purple onion, but at the last minute used onion flakes (I wish I had used the onion).
My wife was in charge of adding the miscellaneous spices and she's not one to measure, so we ended up with more sugar and a sweeter salsa than expected. I was VERY impressed with my first attempt at salsa and would paste a picture of it here, except that someone took the last bit of it out of the fridge (Nena dear?). I noticed that the flavor was much better after it spent the night in the fridge, which means next time, I'll prepare it a day ahead of time.
I am wondering if the flavor would be as good with other kinds of tomatoes. It takes a LOT of roma tomatoes to make a pound.
I should also point out that our tomato plant is a volunteer. We didn't plant this bush. It grew in the middle of our roses and is taking over the rose bushes. We're amazed that it's there...
Our volunteer tomato bush returned this year and is putting out larger tomatoes and in more quantity. We got almost seven pounds of tomatoes when we came back from vacation. We're now using fresh cilantro and more bell peppers and the taste is unbelievable. I've also cheated a few times and added some canned tomatoes. You can tell the difference.
If you want the recipe, click on the word "this" in the last sentence of the next paragraph.
*** Update ***
We've had a tomato bush that is putting out tomatoes at an amazing rate. I'm not one to eat raw tomatoes (although I do in a salad) and these are roma tomatoes - too small for a sandwich. So I came up with the idea of making homemade salsa. I found this recipe and with a few changes, I had some good homemade salsa.
The hardest part of this recipe was blanching and peeling the tomatoes. I realized that in all of my (quite limited) cooking, I've never blanched before. In fact, I wasn't even sure I knew how. My wife explained the process and I felt confident. (I poured boiling water over the tomatoes and let them sit for 15 minutes or so).
The website calls for 5 pounds of tomatoes, since I only had about a pound, I changed it to 10 servings (website automatically scales ingredients). I had four colors of bell peppers and wanted to use some of each, so I chopped a small amount of each (very colorful salsa!). I didn't want to try jalapeno peppers, so I left that out completely as I did the celery. Instead of garlic, I substituted garlic salt. I intended to use a purple onion, but at the last minute used onion flakes (I wish I had used the onion).
My wife was in charge of adding the miscellaneous spices and she's not one to measure, so we ended up with more sugar and a sweeter salsa than expected. I was VERY impressed with my first attempt at salsa and would paste a picture of it here, except that someone took the last bit of it out of the fridge (Nena dear?). I noticed that the flavor was much better after it spent the night in the fridge, which means next time, I'll prepare it a day ahead of time.
I am wondering if the flavor would be as good with other kinds of tomatoes. It takes a LOT of roma tomatoes to make a pound.
I should also point out that our tomato plant is a volunteer. We didn't plant this bush. It grew in the middle of our roses and is taking over the rose bushes. We're amazed that it's there...
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Who needs states anyway?
I recently started reading a book I picked up from the bargain bin while on vacation. It's called "Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention" and it's pretty good. It's not what I would call a must-read or a spell binding book, but it helps fill some gaps in my understanding of the Constitution and helps you get inside the minds of the people who drafted it.
Part of what I was reading talked about the need for a strong central government and then I heard something on the radio that basically said - "who needs states anyway?" With the push towards national control of education, national control of health care, national control of banking and finance laws, etc, etc. Why have individual states?
Of course my friends and family who cheer for University of South Carolina who have to adjust to a new name if the states went away and Columbia College is already taken. But they could keep their beloved mascot and change the name to something like Gamecock U.
In all seriousness, I'd like your opinion. Who needs states? Why not let the federal government dictate everything. Why should my state laws be different than yours?
Part of what I was reading talked about the need for a strong central government and then I heard something on the radio that basically said - "who needs states anyway?" With the push towards national control of education, national control of health care, national control of banking and finance laws, etc, etc. Why have individual states?
Of course my friends and family who cheer for University of South Carolina who have to adjust to a new name if the states went away and Columbia College is already taken. But they could keep their beloved mascot and change the name to something like Gamecock U.
In all seriousness, I'd like your opinion. Who needs states? Why not let the federal government dictate everything. Why should my state laws be different than yours?
Friday, September 17, 2010
blogging for bucks
About a year ago, I created a blogpost with a contest (see here). It worked pretty well, I generated more comments than usual and picked up a few new regular readers. One of the readers won a prize, a $10 gift certificate at Amazon (congratulations again Glenn!).
Seems I'm not the only one (and I'll admit I stole the idea) who does give-aways on their blog. One of my favorite blogs is ChristianPF. It deals with day-to-day finance problems from a Christian viewpoint. Even if you don't follow this belief system, it has some pretty pragmatic ideas.
Today, the blogger announced an iTouch giveaway. So, I'm promoting his blog in a chance to win the iTouch. If you get a chance, go read http://christianpf.com/ipod-touch-giveaway-new/.
I don't recommend that you enter this contest, as I'm afraid it will decrease my chances of winning :)
Seems I'm not the only one (and I'll admit I stole the idea) who does give-aways on their blog. One of my favorite blogs is ChristianPF. It deals with day-to-day finance problems from a Christian viewpoint. Even if you don't follow this belief system, it has some pretty pragmatic ideas.
Today, the blogger announced an iTouch giveaway. So, I'm promoting his blog in a chance to win the iTouch. If you get a chance, go read http://christianpf.com/ipod-touch-giveaway-new/.
I don't recommend that you enter this contest, as I'm afraid it will decrease my chances of winning :)
Monday, September 13, 2010
How Obama thinks
I found an interesting article online by Forbes Magazine's Dinesh D'Souza titled "How Obama Thinks" (see here). Forbes magazine is typically not liberal-friendly and this article is no exception. However, it avoids the typical right wing stereotypes of calling the President a Socialist Muslim Communist.
The article starts by declaring President Obama "the most antibusiness president in a generation, perhaps in American history." It justifies this strong declaration by pointing out the debt increases and expansion of the government's control over "home mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy." It details President Obama's support of Brazilian oil drilling and refusal to accept repayment of bailout money from some banks and then delves into foreign policy.
A quick check of some of the facts about NASA's new policy of improving relations with Muslim nations show that some of the facts may be open to interpretation. But even if these facts are incorrect in the story, it only shows that some of the President's selections for leadership don't get the message the way it's intended.
The article looks for answers on what drives the President and looks towards Obama's own writings - his book Dreams From my Father. D'Souza looks to Obama Sr. for some of the answers. The buzzword from this section of the article is "anticolonialism".
The article is a very deep analysis and isn't likely to change anyone's opinion on the President. Right wingers will look at the article and say "I told you so" and left wingers will fact-check the article to death. It didn't change my mind, but gave me some insight into how President Obama might think.
One strong disagreement I had with the article was the way it treated the President's opinion of Obama Sr. I haven't read the book Dreams From my Father, but my impression is the President is very respectful of his father. D'Souza interprets that respect as agreement. I wouldn't interpret it that way. It is highly possible for the President to have a deep respect for his father, while at the same time disagreeing with some of his ideas. In fact, I would say that level of respect for his father is a good thing.
Your opinion is welcome...
The article starts by declaring President Obama "the most antibusiness president in a generation, perhaps in American history." It justifies this strong declaration by pointing out the debt increases and expansion of the government's control over "home mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy." It details President Obama's support of Brazilian oil drilling and refusal to accept repayment of bailout money from some banks and then delves into foreign policy.
A quick check of some of the facts about NASA's new policy of improving relations with Muslim nations show that some of the facts may be open to interpretation. But even if these facts are incorrect in the story, it only shows that some of the President's selections for leadership don't get the message the way it's intended.
The article looks for answers on what drives the President and looks towards Obama's own writings - his book Dreams From my Father. D'Souza looks to Obama Sr. for some of the answers. The buzzword from this section of the article is "anticolonialism".
The article is a very deep analysis and isn't likely to change anyone's opinion on the President. Right wingers will look at the article and say "I told you so" and left wingers will fact-check the article to death. It didn't change my mind, but gave me some insight into how President Obama might think.
One strong disagreement I had with the article was the way it treated the President's opinion of Obama Sr. I haven't read the book Dreams From my Father, but my impression is the President is very respectful of his father. D'Souza interprets that respect as agreement. I wouldn't interpret it that way. It is highly possible for the President to have a deep respect for his father, while at the same time disagreeing with some of his ideas. In fact, I would say that level of respect for his father is a good thing.
Your opinion is welcome...
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Ice caps melting slower
Seems that some scientists are now saying that the ice caps in Greenland and Western Antarctica are melting at 1/2 the speed originally estimated. It seems that some of the early estimates failed to correct for a phenomenon known as glacial isostatic adjustment. This means that the earth is rising up after being pushed down by the last ice age.
Of course, no scientist alive today actually observed the last ice age or how much the earth was pushed down by it, so we have to accept what these people tell us based onfaith scientific evidence. And we know that other ideas based on faith are unacceptable.
My question is, with these ice caps melting at 1/2 the speed earlier estimated, will Al Gore give back 1/2 of his Nobel Prize? (Of course, given the current economic conditions, maybe a certain President should give back part of his too).
Link to story is here.
Of course, no scientist alive today actually observed the last ice age or how much the earth was pushed down by it, so we have to accept what these people tell us based on
My question is, with these ice caps melting at 1/2 the speed earlier estimated, will Al Gore give back 1/2 of his Nobel Prize? (Of course, given the current economic conditions, maybe a certain President should give back part of his too).
Link to story is here.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Burning the Koran - Updated
*Update& - On tonight's news, I heard the White House has weighed in on the subject and said the church shouldn't burn the Koran. So how is it, that they come down on the side of freedom or religion and speech regarding the WTC mosque, but against it on this matter? Yes, this will be used (if they go through with it) as anti-American material by Muslims, but won't the WTC mosque be used as well? Why doesn't the White House realize that there are some matters that do NOT require their involvement?
You may have seen this story, where a pastor at a church in Florida plans to burn the Koran in a bonfire on 9/11 (the 9th anniversary) of the attack on the US by some Muslim extremists. The leaders of the movement say that they are doing this "to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam."
My first hope is that the President stays out of this issue. Unfortunately, the current president has a tendency to take issues like this and escalate them to a national level (consider the WTC Mosque, the arrest of Prof. Gates and the firing of Shirley Sherrod). He seems to have the idea that he can fix any problem, if we will only listen to him.
My second thought on this is that the leaders of this church have every right to burn the books. As Americans, they have the right of free speech, especially religious speech. Part of our founding as a nation begins with the concept that we are free to express our own ideas and that we as a nation are better for it.
However, I see this as being much like the WTC mosque. While these Floridians have the right to bun the Koran, I think it's a bad idea. I seriously doubt that anyone will change their mind about following the Koran (one of the goals) because of the book burning. It gives Christianity a bad image, an image of being hateful. As I said in my previous post, just because someone has the right to do something, that doesn't make it right to do it.
One additional comment is that General Petraeus is concerned about the impact of this protest on soldiers in Afghanistan. I have mixed emotions about his concerns. My initial thought is that anything that puts a soldier's life in more danger should be stopped, and stopped quickly. However, what if there are other threats? What if some group decides to oppose apple pie distribution in states in the south and threaten soldiers because of it? Would we stop distributing apple pies? I hope not!!
Americans should not be held hostage to an idea, or from an idea, just because soldiers are threatened. They are fighting FOR the idea of free speech and to limit speech for their protection is contradictory. I also believe American soldiers are quite capable of fighting ANY enemy and to change our beliefs out of fear is ridiculous.
So what do you think? Burn the Koran? Ban the burn?
You may have seen this story, where a pastor at a church in Florida plans to burn the Koran in a bonfire on 9/11 (the 9th anniversary) of the attack on the US by some Muslim extremists. The leaders of the movement say that they are doing this "to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam."
My first hope is that the President stays out of this issue. Unfortunately, the current president has a tendency to take issues like this and escalate them to a national level (consider the WTC Mosque, the arrest of Prof. Gates and the firing of Shirley Sherrod). He seems to have the idea that he can fix any problem, if we will only listen to him.
My second thought on this is that the leaders of this church have every right to burn the books. As Americans, they have the right of free speech, especially religious speech. Part of our founding as a nation begins with the concept that we are free to express our own ideas and that we as a nation are better for it.
However, I see this as being much like the WTC mosque. While these Floridians have the right to bun the Koran, I think it's a bad idea. I seriously doubt that anyone will change their mind about following the Koran (one of the goals) because of the book burning. It gives Christianity a bad image, an image of being hateful. As I said in my previous post, just because someone has the right to do something, that doesn't make it right to do it.
One additional comment is that General Petraeus is concerned about the impact of this protest on soldiers in Afghanistan. I have mixed emotions about his concerns. My initial thought is that anything that puts a soldier's life in more danger should be stopped, and stopped quickly. However, what if there are other threats? What if some group decides to oppose apple pie distribution in states in the south and threaten soldiers because of it? Would we stop distributing apple pies? I hope not!!
Americans should not be held hostage to an idea, or from an idea, just because soldiers are threatened. They are fighting FOR the idea of free speech and to limit speech for their protection is contradictory. I also believe American soldiers are quite capable of fighting ANY enemy and to change our beliefs out of fear is ridiculous.
So what do you think? Burn the Koran? Ban the burn?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)