Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
I Iz Teh Awsum. I Iz In Yur Skoolz, Dopin Yur Kidz
Somebody put up a complaint about me on ComplaintsBoard.com:
I'm a drug dealer now. How cool. Can somebody complain that I'm a member of the MILF too?
(Screen shot for posterity as I doubt — against hope — that the "complaint" will stay up too long.)
UPDATE: I put up my own complaint...
I'm a drug dealer now. How cool. Can somebody complain that I'm a member of the MILF too?
(Screen shot for posterity as I doubt — against hope — that the "complaint" will stay up too long.)
UPDATE: I put up my own complaint...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Daily Report: Good Eating, Good Viewing
Younger sister Ednel is having a great time at culinary school, and she is without doubt learning a lot more than I would have given the little fledgling culinary program credit for. Plus, I'm learning, Ednel has a bit of natural talent.
(For those of you interested in joining The Culinary Institute of Cagayan De Oro, they are located on Facebook. It is an 8-month weekend program with a monthly tuition of 6,500 pisos plus books and other fees.)
For lunch, Ednel served up some barely-battered Cream Dory fish fillets, served with a garlic ranch sauce.
For dinner, I challenged Ednel to cook something using chicken and pineapple. She invented curry. She had never heard of, nor tasted a curry before, and the ingredients she used in making her dish were nothing like how a "real" curry is made, but the taste was very similar... therefore, I can say that she "invented" it.
I like to think that I'm as helpful in teaching Ednel as her professors at school are. I'm teaching Ednel the difference between being a cook and being a chef: A cook starts off with a recipe and ends up with a meal. A chef starts off with ingredients and ends up with a recipe. I give Ednel the ingredients and see what she can do with them.
I've been watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine on DVD. I have only seen most of these episodes once, over a decade ago. I forgot how enjoyable a show it was: Unlike The Next Generation, this series did a great job of developing characters with many shades of gray and spending lots of time on their stories, their motivations, and their skills of manipulation and debate. Quark is a fantastic character: Shrewd, cowardly, honorable, dishonest, and entirely consistent within his own set of values. Garak the tailor is another: Affable, friendly, evil, reliable, yet always self-serving. Fantastic television. DS9 is really an underrated Star Trek series: In terms of character development and fleshing out of the "Star Trek world", it is actually the best Star Trek series.
I've also been watching The Tudors, which Simon brought with him from Thailand. Now that I've finished Rutherfurd's books, "The Forest" (a history of Hampshire), "Sarum" (a history of Salisbury), and "London", I'm quickly becoming an English history wonk. The Tudors is a highly-focused look at the court of Henry VIII (one of England's worst yet most important monarchs). It is stunning, startling, and — except for minor plot details — fiercely faithful to the historical record, and the writers use the "unknowns, blanks, and guesses" in that record to create fantastic drama. My recommendation: Watch the show with your laptop nearby to Google various things you see and hear to get more information and educate yourself fully.
It has been raining regularly here. Tyson is a pain because he likes to wander in and out of the house pretty regularly: First hanging out with me and waiting for attention and food scraps, then going out to the fence to say hello to his canine friends who wander up and down the street. By the end of the evening, the wet ground outside makes wet paw prints on the floor tiles by the door. Closing the doors blocks the cool breeze and causes Tyson to have a fit, and it only takes a minute to mop up the paw prints, so I just let him do his thing.
(For those of you interested in joining The Culinary Institute of Cagayan De Oro, they are located on Facebook. It is an 8-month weekend program with a monthly tuition of 6,500 pisos plus books and other fees.)
For lunch, Ednel served up some barely-battered Cream Dory fish fillets, served with a garlic ranch sauce.
For dinner, I challenged Ednel to cook something using chicken and pineapple. She invented curry. She had never heard of, nor tasted a curry before, and the ingredients she used in making her dish were nothing like how a "real" curry is made, but the taste was very similar... therefore, I can say that she "invented" it.
I like to think that I'm as helpful in teaching Ednel as her professors at school are. I'm teaching Ednel the difference between being a cook and being a chef: A cook starts off with a recipe and ends up with a meal. A chef starts off with ingredients and ends up with a recipe. I give Ednel the ingredients and see what she can do with them.
I've been watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine on DVD. I have only seen most of these episodes once, over a decade ago. I forgot how enjoyable a show it was: Unlike The Next Generation, this series did a great job of developing characters with many shades of gray and spending lots of time on their stories, their motivations, and their skills of manipulation and debate. Quark is a fantastic character: Shrewd, cowardly, honorable, dishonest, and entirely consistent within his own set of values. Garak the tailor is another: Affable, friendly, evil, reliable, yet always self-serving. Fantastic television. DS9 is really an underrated Star Trek series: In terms of character development and fleshing out of the "Star Trek world", it is actually the best Star Trek series.
I've also been watching The Tudors, which Simon brought with him from Thailand. Now that I've finished Rutherfurd's books, "The Forest" (a history of Hampshire), "Sarum" (a history of Salisbury), and "London", I'm quickly becoming an English history wonk. The Tudors is a highly-focused look at the court of Henry VIII (one of England's worst yet most important monarchs). It is stunning, startling, and — except for minor plot details — fiercely faithful to the historical record, and the writers use the "unknowns, blanks, and guesses" in that record to create fantastic drama. My recommendation: Watch the show with your laptop nearby to Google various things you see and hear to get more information and educate yourself fully.
It has been raining regularly here. Tyson is a pain because he likes to wander in and out of the house pretty regularly: First hanging out with me and waiting for attention and food scraps, then going out to the fence to say hello to his canine friends who wander up and down the street. By the end of the evening, the wet ground outside makes wet paw prints on the floor tiles by the door. Closing the doors blocks the cool breeze and causes Tyson to have a fit, and it only takes a minute to mop up the paw prints, so I just let him do his thing.
Daily Report: Excelsior
Since the arrival of my new computer, I have been experiencing the biggest upswing in my work performance in years. Back in March of 2007, my company lost the account I had been working on, and that knocked my production down by about 10%. Then in October of 2007, my company introduced a new software which knocked another 20% off my production. Finally, in December of 2007, my company introduced the voice recognition software which knocked my production down a final 20%.
The change was about 50% mechanical and 50% mental. But all in all, I went from earning about $35 per hour to earning $15 per hour... working 21-24 hours per week. I increased the amount of work I did (up to about 28 hours per week... the most I could do at this mind-numbing job), but my pay was still cut in half. It was the first time in my life that my income had taken a step (and what a step it was) backwards. Mentally, therefore, the odium of this perceived disequilibrium I carried to my desk every day was a big burden.
Three things changed recently.
First, I got tired of being broke all the time. The Philippines (and Jasaan in particular) is an inexpensive place to live, but even so, $300 per week doesn't go far. Sitting there looking at broken appliances that I couldn't afford to replace, business opportunities I couldn't afford to follow, days off and vacations I couldn't afford to take, gifts I couldn't afford to give, debts and bills I couldn't afford to pay, and savings I couldn't afford to accumulate... I finally started blaming myself instead of my job.
Second, I learned the work discipline I needed. Before the collapse of my production, I could arbitrarily take an afternoon off, or sleep in and get started late. This was because it was a simple matter of making up the lost work on those days where I didn't goof off. I had now found myself in a situation where the best days of work only amounted to what used to be one of my "goof off" days. Make-ups, I concluded, are no longer possible. Now, I look at each day as a make-or-break moment for the paycheck that it goes in to, and treat it as such. I schedule at least 4 hours of work before I allow myself to have lunch, and then use whatever energy I have left over (I've always been the worst "post-lunch-break worker") to put together a final push in the afternoon.
Third, and most importantly, I finally learned how to do my job with all of the new changes more effectively. I've learned to focus my attention more than before, learned to bump up the speed more, and learned to listen more effectively.
While the combination of all of these things above means that I am only back to where I was 7 or 8 years ago, it is such a huge step from the depths to which I had sunk over the last 30 months, that I really view it as a personal miracle.
The change was about 50% mechanical and 50% mental. But all in all, I went from earning about $35 per hour to earning $15 per hour... working 21-24 hours per week. I increased the amount of work I did (up to about 28 hours per week... the most I could do at this mind-numbing job), but my pay was still cut in half. It was the first time in my life that my income had taken a step (and what a step it was) backwards. Mentally, therefore, the odium of this perceived disequilibrium I carried to my desk every day was a big burden.
Three things changed recently.
First, I got tired of being broke all the time. The Philippines (and Jasaan in particular) is an inexpensive place to live, but even so, $300 per week doesn't go far. Sitting there looking at broken appliances that I couldn't afford to replace, business opportunities I couldn't afford to follow, days off and vacations I couldn't afford to take, gifts I couldn't afford to give, debts and bills I couldn't afford to pay, and savings I couldn't afford to accumulate... I finally started blaming myself instead of my job.
Second, I learned the work discipline I needed. Before the collapse of my production, I could arbitrarily take an afternoon off, or sleep in and get started late. This was because it was a simple matter of making up the lost work on those days where I didn't goof off. I had now found myself in a situation where the best days of work only amounted to what used to be one of my "goof off" days. Make-ups, I concluded, are no longer possible. Now, I look at each day as a make-or-break moment for the paycheck that it goes in to, and treat it as such. I schedule at least 4 hours of work before I allow myself to have lunch, and then use whatever energy I have left over (I've always been the worst "post-lunch-break worker") to put together a final push in the afternoon.
Third, and most importantly, I finally learned how to do my job with all of the new changes more effectively. I've learned to focus my attention more than before, learned to bump up the speed more, and learned to listen more effectively.
While the combination of all of these things above means that I am only back to where I was 7 or 8 years ago, it is such a huge step from the depths to which I had sunk over the last 30 months, that I really view it as a personal miracle.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Daily Report: Indiscriminate Picture Dump
Here's some extra photos lying around that I should put up.
Warren and Jen
Me and Epril
Simon and Charity
Sun shower with rainbow.
Epril went to the beach with her friends.
Warren and Jen
Me and Epril
Simon and Charity
Sun shower with rainbow.
Epril went to the beach with her friends.
Monday, July 26, 2010
A Post For The Facebook Addict
I would like to thank Mr. Stan James for allowing me to publish his post in whole here on my blog. Here in The Philippines, it seems to me that the only thing that ranks higher than browsing Facebook is worshipping TV celebrities. His thoughts are too important to merely summarize.
FACEBOOK ACQUAINTANCES THE NEW TV STARS(This is, by the way, in stark contrast to reading about my life on this blog... my life, which is always an adventure, always perfect, and always filled with friendly people, lush jungle, and yummy food.)
Yesterday afternoon I shared a cold drink with a friend in one of Berlin's beer gardens, taking a short break from the current heat wave to talk about my research. "I used to be on Facebook a lot," she said, "but found that it left me feeling bad about my life." It's a sentiment that I've heard from lots of people over the last few months: you see others leading amazing lives, and wonder why your life seems so not-so-amazing in comparison.
My friend was quick to point out that she knows rationally that this makes no sense. Of course those people have problems too. Of course they post pictures of vacations (but only the flattering ones) and not of boring days at work.
In my trips back to Colorado, I have been struck each time by the discord between people's Facebook lives and what they say in private. On Facebook they have been on an amazing vacation to exotic beaches. In person they confess that the vacation was a desperate attempt to save a marraige. On Facebook they have been to gliteratee tech conferences. In person they confess they haven't been able to sleep for months, and are on anti-anxiety medication from the stress of financial pressures on their company. It is a strange case of schadenfreude for me to hear this, knowing that I had been jealous of their beach time and glamor.
What's interesting is that this feel-bad Facebook effect seems to come from a distinct source: not-so-close Facebook friends.
In the case of true close friends, you know about all the crap that is going on in their lives. From deep interaction, you know the specific pains and doubt that lies behind the smiling profile picture.
No, the life-comparison danger comes from the weak ties; from those people you met at a conference, or the friends from High School that you haven't interacted with since they friended you last year. From these people you get a constant stream of life, edited to show the good parts.
Since TV was invented, critics have pointed out the dangers of watching the perfect people who seem to inhabit the screen. They are almost universally beautiful, live in interesting places, do intereseting work (if they work at all), are unfailingly witty, and never have to do any cleaning. They never even need to use the toilet. It cannot be pschologically healthy to compare yourself to these phantasms.
So it's interesting that social networks have inadvertantly created the same effect, but using an even more powerful source. Instead of actors in Hollywood, the characters are people that you know to be real and have actually met. The editing is done not by film school graduates, but by the people themselves.
In the end, my friend’s strategy seems to be the right one: don’t spend too much time purusing the lives of people who aren't in your life. And spend more time learning about the uncut, unedited, off-line lives that your friends are actually living.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Republicans Have Plans To Create Job Growth
House Minority Leader John Boehner (Congress' top Republican) today, when asked what the Republican party would do to stimulate job growth, responded with a 3-pronged strategy:
To summarize, the Republicans will create jobs by:
Plan #1: Stopping a program that hasn't begun yet.
Plan #2: Blocking legislation that doesn't exist yet.
Plan #3: Not raising taxes.
Andrew Sullivan summed it up so well today:
It's the politics of contrarianism, and it's just terrible that it is actually working.
"The first thing I would do is repeal Obamacare," Boehner said at the Christian Science Monitor luncheon. "It is a giant impediment for employment. Not only will it ruin the best health care system in the world, it will bankrupt our country."So plan #1 to stimulate the economy to create jobs is to repeal legislation that is not even operational yet.
"Secondly, no cap and trade," Boehner added. "You raise the cost of energy, you raise the cost of doing business."So plan #2 to stimulate the economy to create jobs is to never enact legislation that has never been enacted.
"Thirdly, not raise people's taxes," he concluded. "You want to get the economy going, give some people certainty about what the tax rates are going to be."So plan #3 to stimulate the economy to create jobs is to leave taxes the way they are.
To summarize, the Republicans will create jobs by:
Plan #1: Stopping a program that hasn't begun yet.
Plan #2: Blocking legislation that doesn't exist yet.
Plan #3: Not raising taxes.
Andrew Sullivan summed it up so well today:
Long ago, this was my basic assumption about the immediate future of the GOP. They could not cognitively handle that they had supported an administration that spent like left-liberals, poured trillions into nation-building in failed states, fought a war on dramatically false pretenses, authorized illegal torture by presidential decree, lost a major US city, and turned a surplus into a spiraling deficit, leaving no wriggle room for when a storm like the financial collapse of 2008 occurred. So they simply went into denial, and blamed everything on the person who inherited this catastrophe.That's the sad question: The Republicans have gotten everybody angry and riled up, but as illustrated above, they don't have any coherent plan to fix the problems that America is currently facing. Really: If the Republicans had a jobs bill or their own economic stimulus program or their own financial reform or their own social welfare ideas, don't you think that the #1 Republican, when asked about how his party was going to stimulate the economy, would have trotted out some of them instead of saying (essentially), "We won't raise taxes"?
Reduced to a purer rump based in the South, they reinforced their worst tendencies, as parties often do after losing elections in landslides. They became more anti-illegal immigrant, they chanted slogans about "liberty or tyranny" rather than offering proposals to solve our many problems, they became older and whiter and angrier. And because of the enduring recession and a centrist attempt to find a way for working poor to afford health insurance, they blamed all their woes on a black communist, taking from whites and giving to minorities. And from this strong elixir, they gained an appearance of strength. They may well do well this fall as a protest vote.
But what then?
It's the politics of contrarianism, and it's just terrible that it is actually working.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sad And Mean
Working its way around the blogosphere today is this story:
A video was released by a Republican blogger of a black lady who works for the United States Department of Agriculture giving a speech to the NAACP (the Afro-American-interest U.S. civil rights organization). Her job at the USDA is to assist farmers in financial distress. In that speech, she talks about how, when assigned to help a white farmer, due to that farmer's race, she provided that farmer with less help than she would have if he had been black. The Republican blogger claimed that this was evidence of the racism that pervades the NAACP, to whom this lady was giving the speech.
The lady was forced to resign her job.
Now, it turns out that the excerpt of the speech in this video that shows this evidence of racism was part of a larger speech of redemption from her admitted racism: The event in question happened when she was working for a state agency, long before she was hired at the Department of Agriculture. She was using it as an example of how she overcame her own racism... a story of her redemption. (She eventually saw the error of her ways, worked with the white farmer to help save his farm for the next 2 years, and apparently is now considered a friend by that same farmer of whom she spoke.)
I always say that there are people out there who are paid to make you stupid. I should probably add that there are also people out there who are paid to make you scared, hateful, and bitter.
A video was released by a Republican blogger of a black lady who works for the United States Department of Agriculture giving a speech to the NAACP (the Afro-American-interest U.S. civil rights organization). Her job at the USDA is to assist farmers in financial distress. In that speech, she talks about how, when assigned to help a white farmer, due to that farmer's race, she provided that farmer with less help than she would have if he had been black. The Republican blogger claimed that this was evidence of the racism that pervades the NAACP, to whom this lady was giving the speech.
The lady was forced to resign her job.
Now, it turns out that the excerpt of the speech in this video that shows this evidence of racism was part of a larger speech of redemption from her admitted racism: The event in question happened when she was working for a state agency, long before she was hired at the Department of Agriculture. She was using it as an example of how she overcame her own racism... a story of her redemption. (She eventually saw the error of her ways, worked with the white farmer to help save his farm for the next 2 years, and apparently is now considered a friend by that same farmer of whom she spoke.)
I always say that there are people out there who are paid to make you stupid. I should probably add that there are also people out there who are paid to make you scared, hateful, and bitter.
Please Bear With Us
I don't know why, but I always try to put up posts in chronological order. I wanted to put up a Daily Report on my day last Saturday (hanging out with friends at the pool, going in to CDO for the evening), but the USB port on our laptop has broken and I can't download the photos from the camera to the laptop, and then get them on my blog.
So I'm waiting to put up posts until I can post about last Saturday. I know... silly.
Well, the laptop is being repaired and should be ready in a day or two. Then I'll have the photos from last Saturday up. I'll probably just post a reminder in some future post that the former post has been put up. How does that sound? It sounds more sensible than having a logjam of things to put up, I think.
So I'm waiting to put up posts until I can post about last Saturday. I know... silly.
Well, the laptop is being repaired and should be ready in a day or two. Then I'll have the photos from last Saturday up. I'll probably just post a reminder in some future post that the former post has been put up. How does that sound? It sounds more sensible than having a logjam of things to put up, I think.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Most Popular Thing On The Internet Today
Being in The Philippines, I have no idea what is going on in America sometimes... especially in popular culture.
However, I can tell you that if you don't know about Old Spice Guy, you won't get to call yourself cool for at least the next 5 or 6 days.
Well, actually... since Old spice Guy is already finished and you didn't know about him before he finished up, it's too late: you aren't cool. That's okay... me neither. Oh well... on to the next great thing that none of us uncool people will be told about until it's too late.
However, I can tell you that if you don't know about Old Spice Guy, you won't get to call yourself cool for at least the next 5 or 6 days.
Well, actually... since Old spice Guy is already finished and you didn't know about him before he finished up, it's too late: you aren't cool. That's okay... me neither. Oh well... on to the next great thing that none of us uncool people will be told about until it's too late.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Daily Report: 15 Pictures In 15 Minutes
I finished work earlier than usual today, and Tyson was sitting around looking bored, so I decided to take him for a walk and do another "40 pictures in 40 minutes" thing.
Unfortunately, the battery of the camera wasn't fully charged and died after 15 minutes. That was okay though because it was about to pour down rain... Tyson and I headed home and got there just as the skies opened up.
Unfortunately, the battery of the camera wasn't fully charged and died after 15 minutes. That was okay though because it was about to pour down rain... Tyson and I headed home and got there just as the skies opened up.
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Saga Of Missing Missy
You have to read this to see how funny it is.
Apparently some secretary (named Shannon) at an advertising firm lost her cat. She sent an e-mail to one of their graphic artists (named David) telling him to make a "missing cat" poster that she could place around her neighborhood. One problem: David obviously doesn't like Shannon very much. The rest is just wonderful.
Apparently some secretary (named Shannon) at an advertising firm lost her cat. She sent an e-mail to one of their graphic artists (named David) telling him to make a "missing cat" poster that she could place around her neighborhood. One problem: David obviously doesn't like Shannon very much. The rest is just wonderful.
The Best Retort Ever
Comic gets totally zinged by an audience member.
Comic gets totally even with just three words.
Comic gets totally even with just three words.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Daily Report: World Cup Final(ly)
Sunday... half day.
As per usual lately, I didn't do much today: Watched TV, cooked some Jili Chili.
At 2:30 in the morning we all woke up to watch the World Cup Finals. I'm sure you saw it. Christ, what a boring... then annoying... then then frustrating... then LONG game that was. By the end, I stopped caring who won and just wanted somebody to score a goal so I could go back to bed.
As per usual lately, I didn't do much today: Watched TV, cooked some Jili Chili.
At 2:30 in the morning we all woke up to watch the World Cup Finals. I'm sure you saw it. Christ, what a boring... then annoying... then then frustrating... then LONG game that was. By the end, I stopped caring who won and just wanted somebody to score a goal so I could go back to bed.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Who Is Doing The Most To Fight Illegal Immigration?
Of course you should have guessed by now, but here's the data:
Deportations of illegal immigrants have been steadily rising under President Bush, and continue to rise under President Obama.
Deportations of illegal immigrants have been steadily rising under President Bush, and continue to rise under President Obama.
Daily Report: Fish Fry
Not too much going on today. I've bitched to Landlady Maggie (as Landlord Jumz is out of town for 2 weeks) about the fact that my house has no water. She sent some guys over today who puttered around for a while. Don't know if they fixed things or not. We can put water into the cistern on the roof and it will provide the house with water... but whatever we don't use immediately will drain out in 3 or 4 hours. Since central Jasaan always runs out of water from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., that means that once the cistern is empty, it stays empty for the rest of the day... at least until mid-evening.
Epril went in to CDO today to pick up some Star Trek DVDs for me, and Ednel went with her and bought some cream dory fish (about 120 pisos per kilo) to do a fish fry for me. I really can't stand the fish that Filipinos regularly eat, which is the small, highly smelly breeds of fish with grey to brown to dark red flesh. Cream dory is a catfish with very nice white meat.
Anyway, Ednel made some beer batter cream dory fried fish for lunch, and everyone thought it was quite good. I found it to be only so-so: When cooked, cream dory doesn't become flaky like a proper cod, but instead becomes a bit more mushy or crumbly. Oh well. I've heard parrot fish is another good option. We'll try that next. (And your fish suggestions in the comments are always welcome.)
I was watching a program on Discovery Science about brewing beer. Apparently it's a pretty popular home hobby. I thought since I like beer so much, that might be fun — assuming that home brewing is legal in The Philippines, which I don't know. I went online and looked at prices. You can buy a complete home brewing kit for under $200... but the price of the ready-made ingredient packages are $40 (not including the cost of getting them to The Philippines), and only yield about 20 liters... so about $2 per liter. Too expensive: A liter of San Miguel beer only costs $1.10.
It was off to bed a bit early so that I could be up for the World Cup game between Germany and Spain at 2:30 a.m. Steve came over and watched it with Susan and Epril and me. Very good defensive game, and I think that the right team (Spain) won.
I won't be getting up at 2:30 a.m. to watch the Uruguay-Germany consolation game on the 10th, but obviously the finals between Spain and The Netherlands will be a big event that none of us will be missing.
Epril went in to CDO today to pick up some Star Trek DVDs for me, and Ednel went with her and bought some cream dory fish (about 120 pisos per kilo) to do a fish fry for me. I really can't stand the fish that Filipinos regularly eat, which is the small, highly smelly breeds of fish with grey to brown to dark red flesh. Cream dory is a catfish with very nice white meat.
Anyway, Ednel made some beer batter cream dory fried fish for lunch, and everyone thought it was quite good. I found it to be only so-so: When cooked, cream dory doesn't become flaky like a proper cod, but instead becomes a bit more mushy or crumbly. Oh well. I've heard parrot fish is another good option. We'll try that next. (And your fish suggestions in the comments are always welcome.)I was watching a program on Discovery Science about brewing beer. Apparently it's a pretty popular home hobby. I thought since I like beer so much, that might be fun — assuming that home brewing is legal in The Philippines, which I don't know. I went online and looked at prices. You can buy a complete home brewing kit for under $200... but the price of the ready-made ingredient packages are $40 (not including the cost of getting them to The Philippines), and only yield about 20 liters... so about $2 per liter. Too expensive: A liter of San Miguel beer only costs $1.10.
It was off to bed a bit early so that I could be up for the World Cup game between Germany and Spain at 2:30 a.m. Steve came over and watched it with Susan and Epril and me. Very good defensive game, and I think that the right team (Spain) won.
I won't be getting up at 2:30 a.m. to watch the Uruguay-Germany consolation game on the 10th, but obviously the finals between Spain and The Netherlands will be a big event that none of us will be missing.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Best Buy Suspends Employee For Funny Video
... and it is funny.
This new viral video tearing up YouTube is essentially a fanciful conversation between a phone salesman and a customer using a text-to-speech program. It rather aptly illustrates some people's obessional desire to own a product based on nothing more than their hidebound notions of what is best.
When Best Buy (who, importantly, is not mentioned in any way in the video) found out that the person who made the video was one of their employees, they insisted he delete the video. (You can't do that!) When the video's creater refused to remove it, they suspended him. (You can't do that!)
So, now it is my duty to make sure that not only does this funny little video get just a little bit of extra exposure, but also to make sure to hang it around Best Buy's neck like a big fuck-off block of cement in the process.
This new viral video tearing up YouTube is essentially a fanciful conversation between a phone salesman and a customer using a text-to-speech program. It rather aptly illustrates some people's obessional desire to own a product based on nothing more than their hidebound notions of what is best.
When Best Buy (who, importantly, is not mentioned in any way in the video) found out that the person who made the video was one of their employees, they insisted he delete the video. (You can't do that!) When the video's creater refused to remove it, they suspended him. (You can't do that!)
So, now it is my duty to make sure that not only does this funny little video get just a little bit of extra exposure, but also to make sure to hang it around Best Buy's neck like a big fuck-off block of cement in the process.
Daily Report: Cabull and Footbawl
Four days ago, Epril went to Parasat and signed us up. "Make sure to get the digital box and digital package so that I can watch World Cup," I told her.
What the guy at the company told Epril (apparently) was that there were no digital boxes, and asked if we would take an analog box temporarily instead. What Epril heard from the guy at the company was that there were no digital boxes on hand today, and that they would come out once they had a digital box in a few days and install it then.
So the Parasat guys got here today and did the installation. It wasn't until they were almost done that I noticed that they were installing an analog box. "Sorry, no digital boxes," I was told.
There are three problems with this: The analog cable box only goes up to channel 99. So the digital channels that I'm already paying for (in the 100's, 200's, and 300's... which are the ones I most want to see... History Channel, 4 Discovery Channels) I won't be able to watch. Second, based on what I've heard, some people wait weeks or months for digital boxes from Parasat. (They are always out of stock.) Third, World Cup is on channel 354. My analog box can't show that.
"But sir, you can watch World Cup on the analog box." (Well, that must be true since Steve down the street has an analog box and I've been watching World Cup there.) "Can we install the analog box and then come back in a while with the digital box?" At first I said no, because I figured once the guys left me with a completed installation, they'd possibly forget about me and my not having a digital box; better leave things unfinished to ensure their return. Then I said yes, because I still wanted to watch World Cup and it was entirely possible they wouldn't return anyway. "We'll be back with a digital box," the installation guys said as they left.
An hour later, I get a phone call from Parasat. (1) "I'm sorry sir. We are out of digital boxes." (2) "No sir, we don't know when more digital boxes will be arriving... maybe a week or two weeks... but as soon as they do, we'll get you a box." (3) "Yes sir, you can watch World Cup on your analog box. It's on channel 26, Pay Per View. Just agree to pay 500 pisos and we'll turn it on for you."
The first part was annoying because it meant that I was getting sold something of which Parasat had no supply. The second part was really annoying because, as far as I'm concerned, "I don't know... a week or two weeks" is the same as "I don't know." But that last part just pissed me right off: I had to pay again for something I had already paid for with my digital subscription.
So I went on the CDO Expats group on Yahoo and wrote (with language condign to my pissed off mood) about what had just happened. In the other members' replies were the hoped-for condolences and commiserations and shared bad experiences with Parasat. Also, I know that Parasat keeps an eye on our Yahoo group for disgruntled customers (of which there are many): If you go into a Parasat office and yell at them, it won't do any good. But go on the internet and make a stink...
Within an hour, a lady from Parasat who is a member of the Yahoo CDO Expats Group had posted a reply to my original post, apologizing. She guaranteed me that my World Cup Pay Per View would be free. She guaranteed me that my bill would not include the digital fee until I got a digital box. An hour after that, she called me back saying a digital box had just been left at the office from a customer cancelling his or her account and would I care to have that installed first thing tomorrow? Then, at 8:00 tonight, the cable guy showed up at my house with the digital box and installed it and refused all tips.
Now I appreciate that. But there are two facts to consider. First, Parasat is a company that has 3 things without which it cannot survive: (1) Lots of big satellite dishes to catch the signal, (2) lots of cable to carry the signal, and (3) lots of cable boxes to broadcast the signal. So first: Why would Parasat ever run out of cable boxes at all? When I went there 2½ years ago and wanted digital, I was told they had no digital boxes. When I went there 1½ years ago and wanted to upgrade to digital, I was told they had no digital boxes. So this stupid situation I was in is not something new.
Second: I'm certain that I am not the only person waiting for a digital cable box from Parasat right now. I'm certain that the digital cable box in my living room should have gone to someone else who had been waiting longer than I had: Someone who didn't go online and yell and swear as loudly and publicly as I did. I realize that's a bit of a damned-if-you-do / damned-if-you-don't thing to lay on the people at Parasat who went out of their way to help me out. But I'm a bit too polite to write this blog post without apologizing to the person whose box I received: in case anybody who is waiting for a digital box from Parasat is reading.
Anyway: I've got my Parasat digital cable installed after a bunch of unnecessary frustration and ranting. Parasat: Get your act together, and figure out a way to keep an intelligent supply of digital boxes on hand. It's simply bullshit that you keep running out of something; that you can't learn your lesson after 2½ years about how many boxes to order from your supplier so that you don't run out. Really.
Anyway, I was up at 2:30 a.m. to watch the Netherlands score one of the prettiest goals of the World Cup on their way to a 2-3 victory. They are my underdog team of second option (after beating my Brazilians) to beat either Germany or Spain. Tomorrow night is the match the world is waiting for: It's literally even odds on Germany or Spain.
What the guy at the company told Epril (apparently) was that there were no digital boxes, and asked if we would take an analog box temporarily instead. What Epril heard from the guy at the company was that there were no digital boxes on hand today, and that they would come out once they had a digital box in a few days and install it then.
So the Parasat guys got here today and did the installation. It wasn't until they were almost done that I noticed that they were installing an analog box. "Sorry, no digital boxes," I was told.
There are three problems with this: The analog cable box only goes up to channel 99. So the digital channels that I'm already paying for (in the 100's, 200's, and 300's... which are the ones I most want to see... History Channel, 4 Discovery Channels) I won't be able to watch. Second, based on what I've heard, some people wait weeks or months for digital boxes from Parasat. (They are always out of stock.) Third, World Cup is on channel 354. My analog box can't show that.
"But sir, you can watch World Cup on the analog box." (Well, that must be true since Steve down the street has an analog box and I've been watching World Cup there.) "Can we install the analog box and then come back in a while with the digital box?" At first I said no, because I figured once the guys left me with a completed installation, they'd possibly forget about me and my not having a digital box; better leave things unfinished to ensure their return. Then I said yes, because I still wanted to watch World Cup and it was entirely possible they wouldn't return anyway. "We'll be back with a digital box," the installation guys said as they left.
An hour later, I get a phone call from Parasat. (1) "I'm sorry sir. We are out of digital boxes." (2) "No sir, we don't know when more digital boxes will be arriving... maybe a week or two weeks... but as soon as they do, we'll get you a box." (3) "Yes sir, you can watch World Cup on your analog box. It's on channel 26, Pay Per View. Just agree to pay 500 pisos and we'll turn it on for you."
The first part was annoying because it meant that I was getting sold something of which Parasat had no supply. The second part was really annoying because, as far as I'm concerned, "I don't know... a week or two weeks" is the same as "I don't know." But that last part just pissed me right off: I had to pay again for something I had already paid for with my digital subscription.
So I went on the CDO Expats group on Yahoo and wrote (with language condign to my pissed off mood) about what had just happened. In the other members' replies were the hoped-for condolences and commiserations and shared bad experiences with Parasat. Also, I know that Parasat keeps an eye on our Yahoo group for disgruntled customers (of which there are many): If you go into a Parasat office and yell at them, it won't do any good. But go on the internet and make a stink...
Within an hour, a lady from Parasat who is a member of the Yahoo CDO Expats Group had posted a reply to my original post, apologizing. She guaranteed me that my World Cup Pay Per View would be free. She guaranteed me that my bill would not include the digital fee until I got a digital box. An hour after that, she called me back saying a digital box had just been left at the office from a customer cancelling his or her account and would I care to have that installed first thing tomorrow? Then, at 8:00 tonight, the cable guy showed up at my house with the digital box and installed it and refused all tips.
Now I appreciate that. But there are two facts to consider. First, Parasat is a company that has 3 things without which it cannot survive: (1) Lots of big satellite dishes to catch the signal, (2) lots of cable to carry the signal, and (3) lots of cable boxes to broadcast the signal. So first: Why would Parasat ever run out of cable boxes at all? When I went there 2½ years ago and wanted digital, I was told they had no digital boxes. When I went there 1½ years ago and wanted to upgrade to digital, I was told they had no digital boxes. So this stupid situation I was in is not something new.
Second: I'm certain that I am not the only person waiting for a digital cable box from Parasat right now. I'm certain that the digital cable box in my living room should have gone to someone else who had been waiting longer than I had: Someone who didn't go online and yell and swear as loudly and publicly as I did. I realize that's a bit of a damned-if-you-do / damned-if-you-don't thing to lay on the people at Parasat who went out of their way to help me out. But I'm a bit too polite to write this blog post without apologizing to the person whose box I received: in case anybody who is waiting for a digital box from Parasat is reading.
Anyway: I've got my Parasat digital cable installed after a bunch of unnecessary frustration and ranting. Parasat: Get your act together, and figure out a way to keep an intelligent supply of digital boxes on hand. It's simply bullshit that you keep running out of something; that you can't learn your lesson after 2½ years about how many boxes to order from your supplier so that you don't run out. Really.
Anyway, I was up at 2:30 a.m. to watch the Netherlands score one of the prettiest goals of the World Cup on their way to a 2-3 victory. They are my underdog team of second option (after beating my Brazilians) to beat either Germany or Spain. Tomorrow night is the match the world is waiting for: It's literally even odds on Germany or Spain.
Because Every Country Is The Best At Something
I had seen this link before, but lost it and couldn't post about it.
It's a world map, with every country listed as being the best at one particular thing.
The Philippines... #1 in the world at text messages.
Thailand... #1 in the world in condom use.
America... #1 in the world for serial killers. (Heheh.)
Australia... #1 in the world for car thefts.
England... #1 for closed circuit TVs
Canada... #1 for fruit juice consumption.
Latvia... #1 for women. (I don't know what that means.)
Ireland... #1 for quality of life. (If you say so.)
Netherlands... #1 for Ecstasy.
Germany... #1 for solar panels.
It's a world map, with every country listed as being the best at one particular thing.
The Philippines... #1 in the world at text messages.
Thailand... #1 in the world in condom use.
America... #1 in the world for serial killers. (Heheh.)
Australia... #1 in the world for car thefts.
England... #1 for closed circuit TVs
Canada... #1 for fruit juice consumption.
Latvia... #1 for women. (I don't know what that means.)
Ireland... #1 for quality of life. (If you say so.)
Netherlands... #1 for Ecstasy.
Germany... #1 for solar panels.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Cheat Or You Die
Women are the logical creatures who base every decision on carefully-considered reasoning and the rational and noetic exercise of the mind to reach sensible conclusions in all instances.
Men, of course, on the other hand are emotional, prone to being capricious and desultory in their thinking, often not considering either all the facts or all the consequences of their behaviors.
It is therefore a grand benefit to women that science can come along like this and help men determine what is right, what they should think, and how they should behave... because as every woman knows: Men have a terrible time figuring out that kind of thing on their own.
Men, of course, on the other hand are emotional, prone to being capricious and desultory in their thinking, often not considering either all the facts or all the consequences of their behaviors.
It is therefore a grand benefit to women that science can come along like this and help men determine what is right, what they should think, and how they should behave... because as every woman knows: Men have a terrible time figuring out that kind of thing on their own.
Why do middle-aged men risk so much for flings?
With the caveat that every situation is different, one factor we think deserves more attention is the role of testosterone (T) in middle-aged men’s eroticism. In their twenties, men’s T levels begin a long decline, often experienced as diminished passion and appetite for life. Suppressed T levels are associated with depression, heart attacks, dementia, and overall mortality rates from 88 to 250 percent higher. One of the few things that can reliably and immediately revive a man’s sagging testosterone is exposure to a new woman. One researcher found that even a brief chat with an attractive woman raised men’s testosterone levels by fourteen percent within minutes. In Sex at Dawn, we suggest that many men may be confusing the hormonal changes triggered by an affair with actual “love,” thus leading them to make ill-advised decisions catastrophic to their families, their marriages, and eventually themselves.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Daily Report: Forth a Jil, Aye
Epril looking good. Sorry I
had to get into the picture
and spoil it.
Even the Australians got into
the Fouth of July spirit.I was up at 5 a.m. this morning to get work done before running off to town with Epril for a Fourth of July party. After finishing work, I walked with Tyson down to the barber and got my beard trimmed. Epril hired a makeup artist to come and do her hair and makeup.
I started to explain to Epril that Fourth of July parties are about bathing suits, baseball caps, burgers, beans, and beer... but then I thought I'd rather see Epril all prinked up and looking fabulous, so I didn't explain too much or for too long.
The party was a tremendous bunch of fun. I met some really great new expatriates, including Marion, a Polish-American from North Carolina. There was also Tim from Hawaii who, when challenged to prove his Hawaiian credentials (as, for some reason I've never understood, is always required before anybody believes you are a "real" Hawaiian), pulled out a ukulele and sang songs — in Hawaiian — in a fantastic baritone. Finally, there was Dave (I think... I might have that name wrong) from England. He was one of those Brits who has spent his life traveling around the world, working in all kinds of exotic locations. He even got to hang out with Henry Rollins a couple of times when he was working as a roadie, which made him my hero for the day. Oh... also Kevin, the ex-cop from California, who is living in Claveria, which is up in the mountains behind Jasaan: A very nice guy.
Cagayan de Oro's new/old mayor, Vincente Emano, was supposed to make an appearance at the party, but apparently blew us off. That seems to be pretty much par for the course with this particular fellow when it comes to showing up. Just as well really: I don't care to meet him, and I doubt I'm alone in that sentiment. I think we are all going to miss Mayor Jaraula.Anyway, lots of beer was consumed. Lots of burgers and cole slaw and steaks and sausages and potato salad were consumed. All in all, a great day.
Late in the evening, it was home with Driver Chris... I was asleep the moment my head hit Epril's lap in the back seat.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Interesting Fact Check Post On Oil Spill
Read here.
It seems like a lot of the Republican talking points about how Obama is handling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are a bit of sophistry.
I especially found interesting the claims that Obama delayed and/or refused help of "foreign aid" with regard to the spill. It seems that almost all of those oh-so-friendly offers of "foreign aid" were actually foreign governments coming along and saying, "Hmm... see you got yourself a bit of an oil spill. Well, it just so happens I've got 100 miles of oil skimmers. I can let you have them for only 10% over retail."
Oh. Thanks a lot, buddies, but if we have to, we'll buy American skimmers in that case. No wonder Obama turned them down — or actually, he didn't in the end and grudgingly paid for the "aid", but I could understand why he might have refused: Apparently, whenever the U.S. sends aid to other countries, it's always free of charge. Whenever other countries offer aid to the U.S., it's always C.O.D.
Mexico was the single, solitary, only country on the planet to offer equipment and supplies to help clean the oil spill free of charge (and for obvious reasons... the spill effects them directly). Even Britain charged America for the oil dispersant it was offering as "aid", by the way... nice touch there. This isn't a new thing, apparently it's always the case with "aid" being offered to America: The U.S. is unique in the world in offering disaster relief without charge.
I'm as surprised as you probably are about that... and it obviously explains a lot when it comes to America dealing with offers of "aid" during times of emergency. It was wrong to automatically assume that what is true for America is true for everybody else. Well, now we know.
Another Republican sticking point is this supposed failure of Obama to suspend the "Jones Act", like President Bush did after Hurricane Katrina. The Jones Act is a stipulation that only American ships can transport cargo between two American ports. With lots of aid coming from American ports to New Orleans, suspending the Jones Act so that foreign ships could help carry that aid was sensible after Hurricane Katrina. However, since no domestic inter-port aid is involved in the oil spill, the Jones Act does not need to be suspended.
It seems like a lot of the Republican talking points about how Obama is handling the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are a bit of sophistry.
I especially found interesting the claims that Obama delayed and/or refused help of "foreign aid" with regard to the spill. It seems that almost all of those oh-so-friendly offers of "foreign aid" were actually foreign governments coming along and saying, "Hmm... see you got yourself a bit of an oil spill. Well, it just so happens I've got 100 miles of oil skimmers. I can let you have them for only 10% over retail."
Oh. Thanks a lot, buddies, but if we have to, we'll buy American skimmers in that case. No wonder Obama turned them down — or actually, he didn't in the end and grudgingly paid for the "aid", but I could understand why he might have refused: Apparently, whenever the U.S. sends aid to other countries, it's always free of charge. Whenever other countries offer aid to the U.S., it's always C.O.D.
Mexico was the single, solitary, only country on the planet to offer equipment and supplies to help clean the oil spill free of charge (and for obvious reasons... the spill effects them directly). Even Britain charged America for the oil dispersant it was offering as "aid", by the way... nice touch there. This isn't a new thing, apparently it's always the case with "aid" being offered to America: The U.S. is unique in the world in offering disaster relief without charge.
I'm as surprised as you probably are about that... and it obviously explains a lot when it comes to America dealing with offers of "aid" during times of emergency. It was wrong to automatically assume that what is true for America is true for everybody else. Well, now we know.
Another Republican sticking point is this supposed failure of Obama to suspend the "Jones Act", like President Bush did after Hurricane Katrina. The Jones Act is a stipulation that only American ships can transport cargo between two American ports. With lots of aid coming from American ports to New Orleans, suspending the Jones Act so that foreign ships could help carry that aid was sensible after Hurricane Katrina. However, since no domestic inter-port aid is involved in the oil spill, the Jones Act does not need to be suspended.
Why Northern Mindanao Is A Great Place To Live
Hat tip to Dew on the Expats CDO Yahoo Group for linking to this image below:
I've mentioned it before, but here is statistical and visual evidence for my claim: If you are going to move to The Philippines, there is a good chance that at some point you, your house, and your loved ones will get smacked well and good by a typhoon. It's not a joke: People die here every year in the monstrous storms that are born Southeast of the country and descend with regularity upon this archipelago.
Except for Northern Mindanao, where I live.
Look at the picture below, tracking the path of every typhoon to have hit the Philippines since 1947. The state of Misamis Oriental is placed out of the way of the normal path of the storms, with large clusters of mountains to the East and South that deflect any typhoons that come in our way in an anywhere-but-here direction.
If you're going to live in The Philippines, as far as the avoidance of typhoons goes, this is the one single best place to settle.
I've mentioned it before, but here is statistical and visual evidence for my claim: If you are going to move to The Philippines, there is a good chance that at some point you, your house, and your loved ones will get smacked well and good by a typhoon. It's not a joke: People die here every year in the monstrous storms that are born Southeast of the country and descend with regularity upon this archipelago.
Except for Northern Mindanao, where I live.
Look at the picture below, tracking the path of every typhoon to have hit the Philippines since 1947. The state of Misamis Oriental is placed out of the way of the normal path of the storms, with large clusters of mountains to the East and South that deflect any typhoons that come in our way in an anywhere-but-here direction.
If you're going to live in The Philippines, as far as the avoidance of typhoons goes, this is the one single best place to settle.
A Much Prettier Flying Car
Coming off Wednesday's post on the oh-so-ugly but oh-so-real flying car (or, more accurately, driveable airplane), comes this followup: A truly pretty flying/driving vehicle... although not quite reality just yet: The Samson Switchblade.
It seems to me that the main problem with flying cars is what to do with the wings. When the wings of the Terrafugia Transition mentioned in the other article are folded up, the car winds up looking like one of those billboard advertisement trolleys you see running around town.
As you can see: Not so with the Switchblade. With this design, the wings swivel forward and underneath the chasis, like a pair of jacknifes. And the rest of the vehicle's style: Sleek, you have to admit. In my personal opinion, aside from the outré (but obviously necessary) rear tail section, this little number meets my already-admitted desire that my flying car look like a Ferarri.
Anyway, best of luck to Samson in making their Switchblade a (safe, viable) reality. Like the Tesla before it, style is every bit as important as function when promoting a new technology. The Switchblade has style.
It seems to me that the main problem with flying cars is what to do with the wings. When the wings of the Terrafugia Transition mentioned in the other article are folded up, the car winds up looking like one of those billboard advertisement trolleys you see running around town.
As you can see: Not so with the Switchblade. With this design, the wings swivel forward and underneath the chasis, like a pair of jacknifes. And the rest of the vehicle's style: Sleek, you have to admit. In my personal opinion, aside from the outré (but obviously necessary) rear tail section, this little number meets my already-admitted desire that my flying car look like a Ferarri.
Anyway, best of luck to Samson in making their Switchblade a (safe, viable) reality. Like the Tesla before it, style is every bit as important as function when promoting a new technology. The Switchblade has style.
Supersonic Jets With No Sonic Boom On The Way
When the Concorde went out of service in 2003, it was one of the few times in modern history that consumer technology took a step backwards. Although ticket cost and passenger capacity were the principal reasons why supersonic flight never gained a foothold in the air travel market, the fact that supersonic flights were limited to flying over the ocean due to the sonic boom (thus limiting the ability to expand into other areas) was another reason for the Concorde's retirement.
Now two companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are working on concepts for supersonic jet designs that reduce or totally eliminate sonic booms in flight — something I did not realize was remotely possible.
However, if this "boomless" design does indeed become a reality (and engine technology improves at its current rate), by dint of market forces alone, I do honestly think that in the next 50 years, we will see a 1,000-passenger jet that can do Mach 3 — making the JFK-LAX flight under 2 hours — and selling tickets that aren't much more expensive than current costs.
Now two companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are working on concepts for supersonic jet designs that reduce or totally eliminate sonic booms in flight — something I did not realize was remotely possible. The Lockheed design uses an inverted parabolic shape over a V-shaped engine array. The parabola would control air flow in a way that would lessen the shockwave, NASA says. It also has improved range, payload and environmentally friendly designs.My personal opinion is that a "boomless" supersonic jet that can get someone from New York to Los Angeles in 2½ hours will do fairly well. However, the 100-person capacity and $10,000 ticket will continue to be a problem... forever. Unless the passenger capacity can go up by a factor of 10 and the cost of the ticket be divided by 10, supersonic flight (no matter how fast or "boomless" it gets) will remain a niche luxury market on very limited routes: Most people will never find it necessary to spend $9,000 to save 6 hours of time.
The Boeing concept, below, also uses a V-shaped twinned tail section, and like the Lockheed jet, it also places the engines on top of the wings. The Concorde, like nearly all current commercial aircraft, put the engines beneath the wings.
As Wired's Autopia blog notes, the design takes advantage of the wings as a natural sound barrier.
However, if this "boomless" design does indeed become a reality (and engine technology improves at its current rate), by dint of market forces alone, I do honestly think that in the next 50 years, we will see a 1,000-passenger jet that can do Mach 3 — making the JFK-LAX flight under 2 hours — and selling tickets that aren't much more expensive than current costs.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Daily Report: New Shoes Old Shoes
The work that Landlord Jumz did on the water system seems, so far, to have been a complete waste... or actually made things worse: The water still slowly drains out of the rooftop cistern through some unknown leak. The difference now is that instead of it being just the upstairs bathroom that has no water, it is the entire house that has no water.
God, I find the Filipino tendency to occasion repairs that consist entirely of half steps and duct tape to be hugely annoying. What is surprising here is that I thought that such tendency existed primarily in the bamboo hut segment of the population, but it seems that my eminently more-intelligent landlord suffers from the same Filipino affliction of "do as little as possible for as low a cost as possible" and then fool oneself into thinking everything is just like new.
And it's me who's paying the price.
I had a small company of welders come to the house today to watch a video on YouTube about how to build a smoker. It was a fantastically detailed 70-minute long video with the guy pointing out everything in detail, holding up a tape measure to show all the measurements... even if you didn't speak English, you could figure it out.
The welders, after watching it, first asked me to draw them a plan, apparently because they still couldn't figure out — after looking at 70 minutes of detailed video — what they were looking at. Then they asked ME to go out and buy all the necessary parts to do the build and they would weld the thing together. Then they asked ME to at least put together a list of every part necessary to build the smoker as if I were the welding and fabrication guru.
Again: As little as possible.
It was payday today, so I sent Epril off to CDO to get cash and pay bills. (We still don't have an ATM in Jasaan — this place's one true drawback.) Hopefully the Parasat Cable installation will be tomorrow. Epril came back with some McDonald's chicken sandwiches for my dinner. (Very happy.) I watched Wimbledon on television.
Oh. Epril bought me new sandals today. I started wearing them, but then Epril told me, "No Jil, those are your good sandals. You aren't allowed to wear those every day. You only wear those when we go in to town. For around the house, you have to wear your old sandals." She then brought me my old sandals and took my new sandals away.
God bless a wife who will treat me like a 6 year old from time to time. Not because I need it; because it's emotionally fun and endearing, and a little mothering is like a warm blanket no matter how old we get.
At 10:00, I (joined by sister-in-law Susan) went over to Steve Wallis' house to watch World Cup. It was my team, Brazil, against the Netherlands. The play started off so well for Brazil, and the first half was everything I expect from my brasilieros. Then, the second half came along and it seemed as if all of the spirits from the Brazilian players excorporated and settled in the Dutch players, while the Brazilian players became zombies. They wound up losing 2–1.
God, I find the Filipino tendency to occasion repairs that consist entirely of half steps and duct tape to be hugely annoying. What is surprising here is that I thought that such tendency existed primarily in the bamboo hut segment of the population, but it seems that my eminently more-intelligent landlord suffers from the same Filipino affliction of "do as little as possible for as low a cost as possible" and then fool oneself into thinking everything is just like new.
And it's me who's paying the price.
I had a small company of welders come to the house today to watch a video on YouTube about how to build a smoker. It was a fantastically detailed 70-minute long video with the guy pointing out everything in detail, holding up a tape measure to show all the measurements... even if you didn't speak English, you could figure it out.
The welders, after watching it, first asked me to draw them a plan, apparently because they still couldn't figure out — after looking at 70 minutes of detailed video — what they were looking at. Then they asked ME to go out and buy all the necessary parts to do the build and they would weld the thing together. Then they asked ME to at least put together a list of every part necessary to build the smoker as if I were the welding and fabrication guru.
Again: As little as possible.
It was payday today, so I sent Epril off to CDO to get cash and pay bills. (We still don't have an ATM in Jasaan — this place's one true drawback.) Hopefully the Parasat Cable installation will be tomorrow. Epril came back with some McDonald's chicken sandwiches for my dinner. (Very happy.) I watched Wimbledon on television.
Oh. Epril bought me new sandals today. I started wearing them, but then Epril told me, "No Jil, those are your good sandals. You aren't allowed to wear those every day. You only wear those when we go in to town. For around the house, you have to wear your old sandals." She then brought me my old sandals and took my new sandals away.
God bless a wife who will treat me like a 6 year old from time to time. Not because I need it; because it's emotionally fun and endearing, and a little mothering is like a warm blanket no matter how old we get.
At 10:00, I (joined by sister-in-law Susan) went over to Steve Wallis' house to watch World Cup. It was my team, Brazil, against the Netherlands. The play started off so well for Brazil, and the first half was everything I expect from my brasilieros. Then, the second half came along and it seemed as if all of the spirits from the Brazilian players excorporated and settled in the Dutch players, while the Brazilian players became zombies. They wound up losing 2–1.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Daily Report: Misread Signals
Landlord Jumz finished his repairs on the house, which included some new doorknobs, fixing the kitchen sink, fixing the ceiling in the office bathroom (which I didn't really care about since nobody goes in there, except me maybe once or twice a week), and doing something to the water system so that all the water flows on a single system (instead of having the top 2 floors run off the rooftop reservoir, with the ground floor running off the street supply).
Jumz also ran a water pipe directly from the rooftop reservoir, along the outside of the house along the back wall, through a hole in the wall next to the sink, along the wall of the master bathroom, through the air behind the shower curtain rod, and directly to my shower head to provide it better water pressure.
Well, (a) it certainly does provide better water flow in the shower, (b) no guests will see the "wall pipes" up in the master bathroom (though now that I've written about them, probably somebody will ask), and (c) the resale value of the house isn't my concern. I just think it's a bit jungle, if such an adjectival usage exists.
Of course, if Jumz had just replaced the clogged spigot in the master bathroom to which the shower head was attached (which I did point out to him), it would have had pretty much the same effect as the "wall pipes" with a tenth of the effort, a tenth of the price, and had no effect on the house's appearance. Oh well: I recommended if he was going to replace the pipes (in the walls), he should put in a larger diameter vertical main. That's sort of what I got, just not where I expected.
Anyway, we'll see if the water system stops bleeding off now. That was the major problem: Whatever water was put in the reservoir overnight when the pump was on would drain out by mid-afternoon. All of the other concerns that still need to be addressed are secondary.
It was a dreary day all day today. Ednel and I tried making cheese sticks out of some leftover mozzarella. Note to self: The cheese definitely has to be frozen first before putting in the fryer. Oh well.
My home security alarm system (named Tyson) went off at about 2:00 this morning, and I have to say I provided a poor response. At the first flurry of barking, I stuck my head out the window and told Tyson to be quiet. Then, when he started barking again, I did the same, thinking if there was a third time, I'd have to give him a beating. I then thought better and put on my robe and went to see if anything was actually amiss.
Tyson had cornered a cat in a crenel/cliff up on the second floor back patio. Instead of telling Tyson "good job" for raising the alarm regarding this (in his eyes valid: in my eyes not-so-serious) breach in our defenses, I told him to be quiet again. (The cat, seeing me show up and thinking that her evening had just gone from bad to worse, opted to jump the 20 feet down into the neighbors' yard below. I saw her shadowy figure stalking off in the gloom, so she survived the leap.)
Anyway, I'll have to remember now not to pooh-pooh the Tyson Alarm again, and make sure that I thank Tyson instead of admonishing him next time.
Jumz also ran a water pipe directly from the rooftop reservoir, along the outside of the house along the back wall, through a hole in the wall next to the sink, along the wall of the master bathroom, through the air behind the shower curtain rod, and directly to my shower head to provide it better water pressure.
Well, (a) it certainly does provide better water flow in the shower, (b) no guests will see the "wall pipes" up in the master bathroom (though now that I've written about them, probably somebody will ask), and (c) the resale value of the house isn't my concern. I just think it's a bit jungle, if such an adjectival usage exists.
Of course, if Jumz had just replaced the clogged spigot in the master bathroom to which the shower head was attached (which I did point out to him), it would have had pretty much the same effect as the "wall pipes" with a tenth of the effort, a tenth of the price, and had no effect on the house's appearance. Oh well: I recommended if he was going to replace the pipes (in the walls), he should put in a larger diameter vertical main. That's sort of what I got, just not where I expected.
Anyway, we'll see if the water system stops bleeding off now. That was the major problem: Whatever water was put in the reservoir overnight when the pump was on would drain out by mid-afternoon. All of the other concerns that still need to be addressed are secondary.
It was a dreary day all day today. Ednel and I tried making cheese sticks out of some leftover mozzarella. Note to self: The cheese definitely has to be frozen first before putting in the fryer. Oh well.
My home security alarm system (named Tyson) went off at about 2:00 this morning, and I have to say I provided a poor response. At the first flurry of barking, I stuck my head out the window and told Tyson to be quiet. Then, when he started barking again, I did the same, thinking if there was a third time, I'd have to give him a beating. I then thought better and put on my robe and went to see if anything was actually amiss.
Tyson had cornered a cat in a crenel/cliff up on the second floor back patio. Instead of telling Tyson "good job" for raising the alarm regarding this (in his eyes valid: in my eyes not-so-serious) breach in our defenses, I told him to be quiet again. (The cat, seeing me show up and thinking that her evening had just gone from bad to worse, opted to jump the 20 feet down into the neighbors' yard below. I saw her shadowy figure stalking off in the gloom, so she survived the leap.)
Anyway, I'll have to remember now not to pooh-pooh the Tyson Alarm again, and make sure that I thank Tyson instead of admonishing him next time.
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