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Review of yesterday’s show

Reviewing yesterday’s comedy hour(s):

  • Woke at 3:30am did pushups and situps. Feeling good about life!
  • Worked hard on client’s needs until 6:50am when I donned blue tights and put my underwear on the outside then heard what sounded like a mouse but turned out to be a two inch long beetle (evicted!).
  • 7:00am – Mother-in-law shows and I drive her to work and back making good speed and returning ahead of schedule.
  • 8:20am – Tommy is at school and the car is loaded with the STAR marketing display, paperwork, and television.
  • 8:30am I have purchased a new water pump for the Jeep at Autozone. Upon pulling out of the parking lot I take a small diversion into an autodealer to look at the perfect vehicle ($60k) for us and shed a small tear.
  • 8:40am I am 3 minutes away from the house. Cathy calls, "they are here and I am naked!" Lucky hvac guys. In all my days of pizza deliveries and housecalls I never got the naked people.
  • 7:43-45ish – I pull up to the house and see the hvac man in the yard. "Did Cathy tell you I was coming?" "No one came to the door. The dog just barked. Sounds mean."
  • 9:25am – $110 later, a DIY homework assignment later, and a promise from the hvac man to return when I’ve completed my homework, the leak in the ac is discovered, and unit recharged. It cools until the evening and at 3am we are back at 25.5°C (thanks Onlineconversion.com).
  • 9:35am – I’ve had breakfast and am at the high school picking up Tommy exactly when I said I would but can’t speak to the teacher because I am babbling on the phone.
  • 10am – we arrive at STAR before the previous class lets out and unload marketing materials into storage room in the barn. Discuss balance due (every half an hour it seemed like I was discussing money or giving someone money) and some paperwork.
  • 10:30am – a much needed break in air conditioning at Border’s to look at David Allen’s Getting Things Done
  • 10:50am – I am back at STAR mouth agape as I watch Tommy confidentally riding off lead (no volunteer on the ground holding his horse!)
  • 11:30am – after a couple of u-turns and a call to the wife, we are in Karns picking up a raffle prize we won.
  • 11:35am – stopping for gas. A dad and his daughter walk up on this hot day carrying a gas can. As they purchase gas I ask, "ran out of gas?" They reply, "about a quart mile up the road." I offer to drive them to their car then buy all 4 of us drinks. As we leave them at their car Tommy surprises me by remarking, "it feels good to help people."
  • 12:15am – after a small jaunt through BFE we are at Air Filtration (800-745-5811) buying replacement filters for the a/c. Btw, it is now in their computer that we must bring Molly whenever we pickup filters.
  • 1pm – back at the house working and dealing with angry client email
  • 4:50pm – Since the Jeep has a broken water pump and cannot move, and the station wagon is potentially dead; we have borrow the mother-in-law’s car (see 7am) for a couple of days. The borrowed car has a flat tire. Nail found, removed and patched.
  • 5:15pm – Noah at Karate and the rest of the crew invading the local grocery. Did you know that you could get on Homeland Security’s watch list for taking pictures at the grocery? At least the way the managers watched me you would think I was at an airport taking pictures.
  • 6:15pm – Pickup Noah from Karate and go to a different grocery that actually has good meat.
  • 7-9pm (things run together here). While preparing dinner, Molly barfs on the carpet. We clean the carpet. After dinner I return to working but Amy decides to flood the bathroom. I know this because downstairs I can see the water pouring through the ceiling.

In the end, I worked, napped a few hours, and was at the computer by 3am for the redux.

What this doesn’t convey is that throughout the day Cathy and I communicate via SMS (text messaging) like crazed telegraphers, and I talk on the phone paying bills, negotiating, doing sales, and scheduling appointments like an auctioneer that started the bidding too low.

Update: I forgot in the evening we offline when I rebooted the router and loosened a cable. Took a bit to find that one. Thanks for the reminder wife!

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Powell High School Teacher Screwed

I heard it on the radio this morning that a vice principal at a local high school is being investigated for having a sexual relationship with a student. With all these teacher/student sex scandals, I couldn’t help but wonder where were these women when I was coming to age?! Of course, can you really blame them? I mean, wouldn’t a teenage boy be like having a vibrator that never needed the batteries changed? And wouldn’t a school full of teenage boys be like working quality control at the vibrator factory? "Ooop. That one’s a dud."

So did she do it? Doesn’t matter. She cannot continue at Powell High School and who would hire her at this point? One way or another she got screwed. Of course, I’d say the sex part of this is sensationalism while the real investigation probably has more to do with "tampering with several students’ grades."

The roundup is here and here.

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Must be hot to be cool

No, I’m not talking trends or hipsters. I have to turn off my air conditioning unit so it can defrost before the repairman gets here at 9am. Since it was recharged 3 years ago that implies we have a small leak but probably not worth tracking down at this point.

Today’s schedule? Make miracles before 7am. 7am drive mother-in-law to work so that we can abuse her car today. 8am (having driven across town and back in the morning rush) drive Tommy to school so that he is there by 8:30. 9am Be at house to receive hvac repairman. 9:25am break sound barrier giving check to hvac man and pickup Tommy (15 minute drive reduced to 5 minutes). 10am have Tommy in Lenior City (30-40 minute drive reduced to 20 minutes). 11:30am be in Karns to pickup raffle prize we won. Noon pickup air filters from Air Filtration near what used to be the one red light in Karns. 5:30 have Noah at karate. Between noon and 5 work 10 hours.

Global warming is not being caused by greenhouse gases. I am causing global warming by constantly bending the fabric of time!

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We are environmentalists! To heck with cars!

It’s official. The Jeep has a bad water pump and no roof so it sits on the driveway and if I would fix the water pump it would only move on sunny days and can only hold 4 of our 7. And, the car is going on blocks until I can give her some TLC ($$$). What should have taken 20 minutes last night took 3 hours and we may have damaged the engine in a bad way. The money she needs makes so sense putting into her. It is time for a new car and we just don’t have the means at this time.

Anyone know some ugly junker, fairly mechanically sound, that someone is trying to give away?

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Look Ubiquitous or Be Watched

Travelling? Think twice about taking a picture out the window at 30,000 feet. Don’t shift those eyes at the security gate! Definitely do not joke with the staff. These are things that could get you on Homeland Security’s watch list! Just like those annoying end of the month traffic violations that aren’t given to you to match a quota, federal air marshals "don’t have quotas."

The air marshals, whose identities are being concealed, told 7NEWS that they’re required to submit at least one report a month. If they don’t, there’s no raise, no bonus, no awards and no special assignments. [Source]

The top dogs deny it of course.

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Of Being Poor

A nice article explaining why our system keeps the poor down.

So, let’s have a little less talk about how the poor should learn to manage their money, and a little more attention to all the ways that money is being systematically siphoned off. Yes, certain kinds of advice would be helpful: skip the pay-day loans and rent-to-pay furniture, for example. But we need laws in more states to stop predatory practices like $50 charges for check cashing. Also, think what some microcredit could do to move families from motels and shelters to apartments. And did I mention a living wage?

If you’re rich, you might want to stay that way. It’s a whole lot cheaper than being poor.

See also (exact same text as the link above).

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I need a Boston Legal fix!

I’ve forgotten my question. I don’t like this feeling.

This morning I turned a cheery Tommy at 8:01 into a teary, upset child at 8:27. I left the house with the 4 year old in shaky tears, the 10 year old hiding in his room, and the 13 year old withdrawn. Why? I made the greatest parental mistake of all; I lost my temper and yelled. I figure it will take months if not much longer to reverse the damage done in a brief moment of lack of self-control and regain my children’s trust. I felt it coming. Had I simply asked, "What would Alan Shore do?" this could have been prevented.

I am guessing that maybe I have 30 years left in me. I don’t want to do any more yelling for those 30 years. I’ve had enough.

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I need sponsors!

Blogathon food

I am turning on the heat. We have this week ONLY to find sponsors for Blogathon 2006! I have joined forces with Barry, Jay, and Cathy to help raise a contribution to Farm Aid by blogging every thirty minutes starting at 9am EST on this Saturday July 29 and continuing for 24 hours.

The mission of Farm Aid is to keep family farmers on their land. Family farmers are our only guarantee for fresh, local food. Our goal is to bring together family farmers and citizens to restore family farm-centered agriculture. Family farmers ensure safe, healthful food, protect natural resources, and strengthen local economies. [Source]

I once thought Farm Aid was just something Willie, Neil, John, and others sang songs about after Band Aid sales went down. I have since learned about Farm Aid and corporate farming. I feel the family farm is important to our culture, the quality of our food, and local economics. I believe in Farm Aid’s mission and ask that you support me during Blogathon 2006 with a donation to our cause.

blogathon banner

Thank you Michael Silence for the announcement!

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Help! I’m trapped in an Apple store.

meatapple

Sarah is at a Podcasting class as part of Apple Camp at the new West Town Mall Apple store. I thought I could drop and run but they require a parent to stay present during the workshops.

Today Sarah is with 3 other students that look 8, 19 and 12. Their focus is audio podcasting. I want to get each of the family members their own MacBook. That would be sweet!

There are other workshops.

You know… Makes this a little ironic!