Category: Daily Life

* Temperature is dropping rapidly! Starting to snow outside. Wood needs to be sized and chopped.

* Feel like crap. I got a resume and cover letter sent today BUUUT had a todo with the wife and she’s all ticked off so its tense around here but she’s really not tense about our spat or the spill on the couch or my thoughtlessness at not bringing her a caffeinated drink this morning; instead, she is tense about not knowing how the 13 yr old is performing in school today. We’ve had not feedback. A call by now would have been greatly appreciated but the Knox County Schools War is yet to be properly documented. It’s coming!

* Getting a long over closure done for one of those clients that paid nothing, wants the world, and is still around. This should end it though.

* I’ve confirmed that I’ve been given one last breath of air but my reserve tanks are empty. I have roughly 3 weeks to swim to the surface. I should have never gone so deep!

* Mind un-focused. Taking 25mg meclizine (placebo?) and settling in to send a resume and cover letter. Setting a 9:45am deadline for self.

* Back from taking a very calm but nervous 13 yr old to school.

* Time to take the 13 yr old to school. We begin with the search of pockets, bags, etc.

* First wave launched. The 7 yr old, 7 yr old friend, and 10 yr old have been dropped off at school. Apparently we’ve been arriving later than the other safety patrols because today we got there and couldn’t find a place to safely park! Now need to burn a half hour before taking the 13 yr old to school. I suspect I’ll be picking him up before lunch. I’m on pins and needles about the 19 mth old waking. I really want her to sleep but expect that she will wake any moment now.

* I began stretching again this morning. Let’s hope I keep it up. I’ve never felt as good as when I was stretching 20 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes in the evening and exercising. Stretching is good for the mind and body. In the past when I’d try stretching in the beginning my mind would be racing but after a few days it became a meditative moment. I bought Bob Anderson’s book eons ago when there were only 3 stretching books in the bookstore. Now there is like an entire section diguised as Yoga. I highly recommend Bob Anderson’s stretching book.

A New Day!

Let’s start the day off with a PayPal donation link:

This Morning

Wow! The day is starting off on an incredibly positive note. ExtremeTracking confirmed in email that they cause no pops or spyware. VTech replied in email with the same answer they gave over the phone except in email it said the line voltage dropped before 24 volts instead of 21..which again, a cable problem could easily cause that.

* Woke at 3:30 to a crying baby. Fire still going. Could not motivate myself to get up and program.

* Woke at 5:45 to the alarm. Then again at 6:04. Got out of bed at 6:08. Woke the 10 yr old. The 7 yr old felt mildy warm but I’d say it was night sweat and not fever. Woke him from his 12+ hour sleep and he said “I feel fine but hungry.” (skipped dinner)

Heavy Rain today!

Goals: Send resumes out, finances, fix usb port

* I know I need to stay up and work but I’m bushed. Grabbin’ zzs.

* Time to chill with the wife then perhaps return here for some late night programming.

* Realized for the first time today that people are actually reading this blog when I noticed people have been commenting! Very cool! Sorta thought I was writing to myself and using it as a strange way for my wife and I to bridge some communication gaps 🙂 I got a little apprehensive thinking that I’m airing too much dirty laundry but then again that’s part of the fun! Enjoy the reading!

The afternoon!

* Whew lots to say! Grabbed the 13 yr old for a companion and headed out to Cingular to pay a much needed overdue cell phone bill and sweat over the food bank account shrinking. Looks like we all are on a diet! Then over to the father-in-law’s for some fun fax repair work.

The Fax Saga

My two favorite things in the world are sitting on hold and dealing with BellSouth </sarcasm>

Summary: I own and highly recommend the VTech 20-2431 two line phone system. It’s expandable with up to 8 VTech 20-2420 handsets each supporting both lines and no wiring required. The only thing that gets plugged into the phone line is the base. It has great features including an intercom system. This is the one feature I wish they had done differently. With each handset having a built-in speakerphone, it seems like you should be able to globally or to a specific handset just start talking–like an in-home intercom. It rings and you have to pick it up. No big deal. Anyhow, I recommend this solution to my father-in-law that needs a home line and a business line in his house. For months my 2 lines worked fine and the fax machine was setup on the 2nd line then suddenly one day the 2nd line says “extension in use” and rings busy as long as the fax is hooked up. I figure a wiring problem and sure enough, I connect a shorter cable that has not been stepped on and it works fine. Now, the father-in-law tries to connect his fax to his VTech 20-2431 and gets the same problem. Now things are getting fishy so I email vtech and begin the troubleshooting. Note: The VTech 20-2481 has a built-in answering machine but I recommend the Bellsouth voicemail over a physical answering machine.

Solution:

1. Check wiring. All in order.
2. Send father-in-law to get new phone cable
3. Call Vtech
4. Sit on hold
5. Get technician and explain problem. Tech explains "line voltage is too low. Should be 21 volts" (I always thought phone systems were 12 volts) and that I need to call BellSouth.
6. Call Bellsouth
7. Sit on hold
8. Level 1 tech support schedules repair for father-in-law’s house and my house
9. Remember the new phone cord. Connect it and ta-da! The fax works!
10. Father-in-law and I debate cancelling vs keeping service calls.
    

11. Phone rings. It’s BellSouth (a technician or higher level support rep) “I’ve been talking to my supervisor and this problem doesn’t make sense”
12. Debate in mind keeping service call anyway
13. Tell Bellsouth that the problem is fixed and to cancel service calls
14. Continue playing with fax to realize that we should have asked Bellsouth Techsupport how to make the Bellsouth voicemail and fax machine play nice together
15. Call Bellsouth
16. Sit on hold
17. Technician answers and says they didn’t used to play nice together but that there is a BRAND NEW feature called Voice Mail Premium which cost “exactly the same as the regular voicemail” (for Complete Choice customers–which we both are). Voicemail Premium allows faxes to be delivered to a fax mailbox then printed to any fax you want at a later time. It fills the void very well! So if you are on the line and a fax comes through it goes to the fax mailbox. If you are away from home, your faxes are not missed. And you don’t have to set your fax machine to answer before the voicemail with some squealing in the person’s ear.
18. Added it to both houses! Feel very satisfied. Goes into effect at midnight (in hindsight I will probably have to rerecord the voicemail message.

* Next the father-in-law had me listen to a strange noise the car was making and troubleshot that as “get it back to the guys that rotated the wheels!” (metal grinding)

* Returned home to take the 10yr old selling girl scout cookies (I enjoy that a lot!)

* fixed dinner (shrimp and corn on the cob) and got the kids down then relaxed to some blogging.