| Thanksgiving Lessons |
[Nov. 28th, 2009|09:05 pm] |
I've learned a few good things about Thanksgiving this year.
1) Dressing is good with sausage in it. (I had crumbly breakfast sausage, not link sausage.)
2) Chocolate pecan pie is good warm.
3) Mimi's Cafe does have some things I like, like salads. I no longer feel the need to try to talk my mom out of going there when she suggests it.
4) You don't need to cook turkey until it reaches 180 degrees, like the old thermometers say. Take it out of the oven at 165. It may reach 170 after that, but it won't be too dry.
5) Sausage dressing could be a good one-dish meal. |
|
|
| Moving Stuff Around |
[Nov. 27th, 2009|06:43 pm] |
I cleaned piano bench and found papers that belong in my office.
I cleaned out my backpack finding papers that belong in my office.
I cleaned the bookcase headboard and found books for my backpack so I can return them to the library as well as other books for the office, living room, and to-go pile.
I cleaned my car and found grocery bags, papers, and maps for the office and car parts for the pantry.
I cleaned the spice rack and found extras that belong in the pantry.
I've reduced my clothing enough to fit perfectly in the drawers and closet several times, only to do laundry and find more.
My desk used to be clean, but has become a staging area again.
Surely I can get rid of all the stuff I'm not using and find places for everything so that the whole house can be clean all at the same time one day.
Right? |
|
|
| New Dictionary Test Word: "Aa." |
[Nov. 22nd, 2009|01:45 pm] |
Yesterday, while playing Quiddler, someone used the word aa, which several people did not know. The other people who did know it knew it because of games where knowing short words like that is helpful. I talked people out of challenging the use of this word because I learned in a survey physical geography class that it is the pointy kind of lava, as opposed to the smooth kind, pahoehoe (which sounded familiar to at least one other person even though it is of little use for the kinds of games that teach you words like aa, but then he had been to Hawaii).
Out of curiosity, our hostess looked up the word in her dictionary later, and it wasn't there. I don't remember what dictionary it was, but it was a hard cover dictionary of respectable size with the word "Riverside" in the title. One guest speculated it was some sort of religious text.
The next day, out of curiosity, I checked several books I have at home:
The American Heritage Dictionary, based on the new Second College Edition, 1983. In my mind, this is the book that Robin thinks is the best paperback dictionary ever but which never once has failed to disappoint me. I expected the word to be missing and it is. The entries go from a- to aardvark.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1974. This is the paperback dictionary I got to replace the previous one in the bedroom, although Robin thinks dictionaries with Webster in the title are terrible. I expected the word to be present, but it wasn't. It goes from a to AA.
That really surprised me. How could a word I remember from an introductory college class not be in a normal dictionary? But now I see that my replacement dictionary is not a college dictionary, and I have found in the past that college dictionaries are more likely to have the sorts of words I want to look up than other dictionaries are.
Geomorphology of the Earth, Karl W. Butzer, 1976. This is the introductory text of which I'd spoken. "The rough, jagged lavas associated with violent eruptions are less fluid and solidify at higher temperatures than basic lavas." No terms at all.
Perhaps my professor or TA was pleased with himself that he knew some terms for these from the Hawaiian, and they aren't, in fact, English terms at all. Like all those Eskimo words for snow.
The Random House College Dictionary, revised edition, 1984. This is the regular hard-copy dictionary I go to when I'm willing to get up out of my chair. I would have expected it to have the word before I had looked into my geology book, and it does. Between A-1 and AA is aa, "basaltic lava having a rough surface" (from the Hawaiian).
Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, based on the second edition of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 1996. This is an unabridged dictionary I got on clearance for those times when even my regular dictionary doesn't have the word I need. I expected aa to be there and it was. Also between A-1 and AA, "basaltic lava having a rough surface. Also a'a. Cf. pahoehoe." (from the Hawaiian)
The Penguin Pocket English Dictionary, 2004 - I got this small book in England so I could look up obvious easy words I found in books written by British people. All my other dictionaries are really of American English, though they don't say so. This being a small book from a country with probably no volcanoes, I was guessing aa wouldn't be there and it wasn't. It goes directly from a to AA.
My previous test word for dictionaries was macabre, but I'm afraid that since the radio show from which I learned this word became popular, all the dictionaries started picking it up. I can't test that theory at home because I only have ever bought dictionaries that included that word.
Still, a good test word can't be in all dictionaries, so it can't be too common of a word. It can't be in no dictionaries, but it needn't be too obscure (when I'm reading old books full of archaic words, I try to get the kind with lots of notes already in them so I don't have to look up all the words). Since I learned it in an intro class, aa doesn't seem too obscure to me.
Now that I have a proper measuring tool, I may have to replace my paperback dictionaries again. I like to have one in the bedroom for when I'm reading and one in the living room for when we're watching movies or TV.
Note: in case you're wondering, aa is pronounced "AH-ah," which my professor said might be the sort of sound you would make if you were walking on this in your bare feet. |
|
|
| Request for Oral Surgeon Recommendations |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|09:52 am] |
Today I got an estimate for having my two lower wisdom teeth removed. The oral surgeon explained that since the two teeth are still under so much bone, he wants to drill them out which means he wants me anesthetized. So I'll need someone to drive me there and pick me up afterwards and I shouldn't eat or drink anything for six hours before the surgery. Then, and they do this for people under 25, they want to do bone replacement therapy--they put in something from a cow as a scaffold for my own bone to regrow over. After the surgery there would be mild discomfort for two to three days, but they would provide antibiotics and pain killers. (I should take those separately so that if I have a reaction, they'll know which one caused it.) I could brush my other teeth and carefully rinse my mouth. I should exercise my jaw several times an hour afterwards to keep it working properly.
That all sounds basically fine, but I think I want a second opinion. Why?
1) I expected that with my second tooth having come all the way through, the surgery would be easier or at least the same. I expected higher prices than my last estimate from four years ago due to inflation, but I didn't expect them to triple ($1993 vs. $697.50 after insurance). One assistant explained that they have new codes for anesthetizing and that the bone replacement therapy was optional.
Fortunately I found my earlier estimate and it doesn't show the bone replacement or the anesthetizing. Now they have to put me under and before they didn't? No one is explaining why.
2) I'm pretty annoyed with one of the other workers there who lied to me. He brought me for a second X-ray. I asked him why and he said he wanted a different angle. When he brought me to the machine, it seemed like it was the exact same angle. So why was he lying? If it was something to do with me, wouldn't he give me more instructions on keeping still this time or something? Nope, it turns out the processor was eating the X-rays. When they said they would like a third X-ray, I asked if I could wait until I came back for the surgery and the processor was no longer eating X-rays. I really don't want a million X-rays.
3) I'm pretty annoyed with the general flippant attitude. The surgeon actually asked me if I wanted my surgery done that day. After he had just told me that I should refrain from eating and drinking for six hours and have someone pick me up. I said no, I had had breakfast and driven myself there. Plus I'd like to find a week where it would be okay to miss work if necessary and I'd like to stock up on liquid foods. And this week might have been fine--why didn't they warn me that I might be able to have it done the same day? And why did the guy rush through his explanation and not give me a sheet explaining everything better so I wouldn't forget? He even admitted to having patients forget not to eat before surgery.
4) It bothers me that he thinks this surgery will lead to "mild discomfort" and that he thinks I would be insulted if he actually told me directly that older people like me can really use some help with regenerating our bone afterwards. What else is he trying to protect me from? I'd prefer people to just talk to me as if I were a reasonable, rational human being.
5) My insurance isn't paying much anyway, so I don't feel tied to this particular oral surgeon. (The price without insurance would be $2387.) And they could forward their X-ray to this guy if I decided to come back here.
Hey, not having to be awake during tooth extraction sounds good to me and having help re-growing my bone sounds wise. If he's a good surgeon and knows what he's doing, none of the rest matters (except making people re-take their X-rays repeatedly).
Nevertheless, do any of you recommend an oral surgeon in the Austin area? |
|
|
| Field Green Salad |
[Nov. 15th, 2009|03:10 pm] |
Wouldn't it be cool to plant your whole yard in salad greens? Just mow it, rake it into a laundry basket and blast it with the hose. Then it's time for a bring-your-own-dressing neighborhood party!
(This entry was created in response dandelion-type plants taking over more of my yard than usual. Unfortunately, most of them do not have the kind of leaves you want to put in your mouth. So sad.) |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Nov. 14th, 2009|05:47 pm] |
The article Life on Severance: Comfort Then Crisis really got me riled up, giving me the feeling that I'm already living in an idiocracy. It's about how a lot of people laid off with severance pay keep spending just like before, actually getting job offers but turning them all down because the jobs they're offered aren't as good as their last job used to be, and then, once they are out of money, deciding that maybe they better make some changes. The excuses for making no changes at all are that they think they'll get another job soon, they need to keep looking good and taking their contacts out to eat in order to help them find their next job or, my personal (least) favorite, they want to maintain their sanity.
The first guy they talked about got a $200,000 severance check plus had $100,000 in savings, and I couldn't help thinking to myself that if that were me, I would be done working forever. Of course he is not me but is part of a family.
If you got laid off, wouldn't you change your spending? If not right away, wouldn't it occur to you to at least think about it before you ran out of money (and maxed out your credit cards)?
**
The next day I realized that I don't actually know how I would spend differently if I were laid off. Would I sell my house and move in with my mom? No. Would I sell my car? Unlikely--not right off. Would I drive it less? I already drive it only once or twice a week.
I'd put off replacing or buying electronics (computer or camera) if what I have broke or I suddenly wanted something new, and I wouldn't travel. Other than that, my biggest fluffy expenditure is dance class. Because I take group classes at a nonprofit, they're considered to be quite cheap, and plenty of unemployed people have kept going to class, but it is $30/five weeks (times two because I cover Robin). I'd quit having fast food and try to spend a little less at the grocery store--I wouldn't start buying crap (fake whipped cream), but I might focus on recipes with cheaper ingredients (like beans or even dried beans).
In sum, I wouldn't change my spending much AT ALL, at least at first.
Clearly I would quit making charitable contributions (if I did get another job quickly, I could "catch up" if I wanted to). And I would quit contributing to my retirement savings. And all my other savings (next car, car repairs, house renovation, house repairs, health). My current savings and the payment for my saved vacation days would be gone in ten months if nothing vital broke.
I guess my biggest changes would be in job hunting. When I moved to Austin I found three jobs: one serving pizza at the student union for 19.5 hours a week and thus no benefits, one at a tutoring place for school kids for about 10 hours a week, and I did freelance tutoring of college statistics students for about 3 hours a week which all added up to $100 less than I needed if nothing vital broke. Who knows what sorts of jobs I could find if I tried now?
Baby lesson of the week - My baby niece can now sit up by herself. For several minutes at a time. Before she tumbles over, generally backwards. It's quite a struggle for her; you can see her using all her core muscles, plus other muscles such as her neck muscles and her eyebrow muscles.
It occurred to me that I can simulate this (somewhat) by sitting up straight on the bus instead of leaning back against the seat. I definitely get to use my core muscles, though not my eyebrow muscles.
Blog entry of the day - Something Good at All Mirth, No Matter - a great intro to a fun video. "Derek Hough (pro) and Joanna Krupa (model/contestant) got "Futuristic Paso Doble," which should have been an unmitigated disaster." Watch it once and you'll notice my favorite parts (the first drum ripple and the dramatic pauses at the word "stop"). Watch it again, focusing on the man this time, and notice that he actually gets down on one knee, one after the other, at one point. |
|
|
| New Charity Decisions |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|07:24 pm] |
It's getting to be that time of year again when I decide on what charities to support financially. This year I've decided to put all my contributions toward environmental causes.
My first question is: What are the most important environmental concerns? Here are my guesses.
* global warming - said to be dooming us to live as we know it to oblivion within our lifetimes. Eh, maybe that's one.
* ocean health - I think there's so much noise in the oceans that whales always have headaches, and people fish by scraping the geography off the bottom of the sea and now the mass of trash in the oceans is greater than the biomass in the oceans. We're not talking about some hick-town pond where the locals dump the refuse from when they clean out the garage, we're talking about the oceans.
Or maybe a better answer is pollution: atmospheric pollution, air pollution, water pollution, genetic pollution, nanopollution, noise pollution, light pollution. Sometimes it's too much of a good thing; sometimes it's actual bad things. |
|
|
| Texas Book Festival |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|11:29 am] |
I went to the Texas Book Festival yesterday and had I nice time.
One thing about a festival like this is that they research good books and list them together in one place (the schedule) and so it's a good place to look for recommendations. I don't really just like nonfiction books on depressing topics, but I do admit to using the "if you like this guy, you might like these other guys" features, and so that's what happened.
I got there early to wander around and get a feeling for how things were organized. The most important thing I learned was that the store set up to sell books of all the authors with the proceeds helping to finance the festival was charging full price for the books. To get the book I was thinking I might want to get would have cost me half again as much as buying it new from Amazon and quite a bit more than waiting until I can find it used.
No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process
The main author I wanted to see was Colin Beavan, No Impact Man. I got to his presentation early and had no problem getting a seat--I later met the first person who was turned away once the room got full.
First I learned the proper pronunciation of his name which is Collin Bevvin (I was guessing Collin Beevin). He didn't talk much about his personal journey, which is my favorite part of his work. He did say that eating beef is worse for the environment than transportation, which sounds unlikely, but which I've now heard from more than one source. I mean are people clear-cutting rainforests to grow grass for cattle, and do cattle really fart that much? Their solid wastes are totally awesome for the earth. I really like hamburger. I'll have to do more research.
The best thing he did was list the four things he most recommends people do to reduce their negative impact on the earth:
* stop eating beef
* drink tap water instead of bottled water; one consequence of bottled water is that it leads to increasing the number of freshwater sources that are controlled by companies instead of by the public. Also, tap water is gravity fed rather than transported in trucks.
* take an eco-sabbath - take one day of rest a week where you don't buy anything or go anywhere.
* get involved politically
Another thing he said surprised me in a good way. His main goal is to find ways for people to reduce their impact while improving their lives. He's not about self-denial. He's all about a benefit-based approach. (Of course, a lot of times the benefits might be hard to notice until you actually try the change like he did.)
He also shared a website with more information: noimpactproject.org. See ideas on how to change yourself and, because you just can't do some things by yourself, ideas on how to change the world. I am going to be checking out these resources.
Personality note: I am a little afraid to see authors in person. It's quite easy to imagine that I could like a book written by a person I don't like. Certainly I like the acting of some actors I wouldn't like. But that didn't happen in this presentation.
Mr. Beavin did dress like the "schlub" he calls himself in his book. And although he claims he likes to make trouble, when he jokingly asked his moderator whether he would like a breath mint and the moderator took that as a serious hint, it was him and not the moderator who turned bright red.
The National Parks: America's Best Idea
I went and got some lunch, which was rather mediocre, and ran into someone I knew 15 years ago in conjunction with volleyball and juggling. He is a contractor now, though not because he lost his job: he quit his last job!
Next I went to see Dayton Duncan. My favorite thing he said was that a twelve-hour film doesn't give a writer a lot of space to work with. He was able to fit more than twice as much information into the book version of his video.
He did admit that he allowed himself more rambling in the book because he knew you could flip back to the pages where he rambled off the trail to get yourself re-oriented in a way you just can't do in a movie. I suspect the writing isn't as bad as he makes it sound, though.
He didn't cover every national park and he didn't even cover the entire history of the parks, but everything that's happened since the 1980's has a parallel earlier in history that he did cover. He made this book sound interesting, and I may check it out.
Personality note: Mr. Duncan is a crybaby. He's very emotional and several times paused to pull himself back together after recalling various touching personal moments.
Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil
I also saw Peter Maass. Although he's a reporter, he calls himself a narrative writer, not political or economic.
One of the most interesting things he learned was that oil doesn't create many jobs. Once the oil wells are up, it takes very few people to man them. And so although you might expect that finding oil in your country would be good for your country, in fact the money that is made tends to be concentrated in just a few hands due to the nature of how oil is extracted. And that sudden increase in wealth makes the currency worth less and actually hurts a country's other industries. Finally, so much wealth concentrated in so few hands often inspires the owners of those hands to get very self-centered and icky.
If this bothers you, he recommends checking out Oxfam America's work on oil, gas, and mining. They are currently working to support legislation requiring oil, gas, and mining companies to disclose their revenues in developing countries--this would help the countries' residents get a better idea of how many improvements their profiting governments could afford to make for them. They are also challenging leading oil, gas, and mining companies to respect communities' right to know about the effects of mining on their neighborhoods and to decide whether to allow it.
The author said that he had a three-year contract to write this book but that it went two years past deadline. This is because he found that all the statistics and things he wanted to discuss killed the narrative and made the book boring. He found it very difficult to make the book interesting, and that's why he went over. So I'm thinking I might check out this book
Personality note: The author's first idea when he decided to write the story of oil was to get oil-related jobs. But since he is "slender," has all his teeth, and has a degree from UC Berkeley, he was laughed out of interviews. He calls this fortunate because "an oil field is no place for amateurs." It's interesting that an ex war correspondent, who also had guns pointed at his head while writing this book, feels that it would have been even more dangerous to get a job in oil fields because he actually knows how to handle having a gun aimed at his head.
After three talks, I wanted to go home and take a nap, so I did. I normally try to get all the value I can from an event, but this weekend I was really more in the mood for doing whatever made me feel good. |
|
|
| Back yards suck |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|11:13 am] |
The Texas mountain laurel tree I planted a decade and a half ago died this year. I don't know why. Maybe it was getting too much sun after the shade trees died of old age. The two figs that used to be shaded are dead, too. The red oak we planted a few years ago that was taller than the house, though still skinny as a rail, died this year, too. My eve's necklace I planted last fall is clearly dead--the pretty green thing next to it which I had hoped was coming from the same roots is now clearly a whole different plant covered in inch-long spikes. An Arizona Ash that's non-native is dying, probably of old age, but the death started when the city folks trimmed it from around the power line were trimmed.
What's left? A million paper mulberry trees are everywhere. A million beggar's lice. My Afghan pine is still okay, I think. It's even making pine cones now. But I'm really in the mood to pour concrete over the whole disaster. Actually what I'm in the mood for is to torch it.
[Must not torch own back yard. Still greatly enjoy living indoors in unburnt house.] |
|
|
| Organic Milk Sucks |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|09:07 pm] |
I've been reading No Impact Man in preparation for the Texas Book Festival where the author will be speaking tomorrow. It occurred to me only yesterday that the book might be in a nearby library, and, what do you know, it was.
I've read a bit of the No Impact Man blog*, describing an interesting experiment where a man tries to get his family to the point of making no net negative impact on the earth. Of course he can't do it, but he gets far closer than I would have imagined and his life is far better than I would have imagined while he was trying. (To read about that journey online, I recommend starting here.)
One quote from the book confirmed something terrible I suspected. For milk to be certified organic, dairy cows cannot have any antibiotics ever. That is so stupid. They are trying to get people to quit giving their cows antibiotics for no reason. But when the cows are actually sick in some way that can be cured by antibiotics, I want those cows to get antibiotics. If you want your dairy to stay certified organic, however, and a cow gets an infection that can't be cured without antibiotics, you have to get rid of the cow. (The dairy farmer quoted says you have to send it to slaughter.) I really don't want to support that kind of idiocy anymore. I'm going to look more closely at my options at Wheatsville.
* Currently, the blog link starts a video, with sound. Usually it's not that annoying, but I'm warning you in case you're at work with the sound on. |
|
|
| The Mysterious Room 323 |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|07:02 pm] |
Today I had to make a delivery to Main 323. It was a surprisingly interesting journey. Here are the steps I took.
1. Start walking up the steps near my office.
2. Notice that the steps only go up to the second floor; come back down.
3. Have a vague memory that the big elevator doesn't work for the lower floors.
4. Take the small elevator to the third floor.
5. Find rooms 301 and 302; no one really knows about 323, but I should probably try the other elevator.
6. Take the big elevator to the third floor.
7. Find a sign explaining that I am on the third floor of the Tower, and that if I want to be on the third floor of the Main Building, I need to take the elevator to the eighth floor. “We didn't say this would make any sense.”
8. Take the elevator to the eight floor.
9. Find room 323, but it is open to staff only (and the door is locked); others are instructed to go to room 7.
10. Take the elevator to the ground floor.
11. Ask someone in room 7 if I can leave my delivery. She tells me that the person receiving the delivery is on the third floor. I tell her that I'm apparently not allowed in there. She tells me the person has a mailbox she could leave something in. I say that would be great. |
|
|
| Too Much Shade |
[Oct. 27th, 2009|08:34 pm] |
Now that the weather has cooled off enough that sunshine feels good again, I can't find any.
I live and work in the city, with nothing but buildings, concrete, asphalt, and a little grass and trees. In the summer, shade is scarce. For example, at my bus stop at work, there is a tiny rectangle of shade from the roof over the bench. (The shade is not over the bench, but several feet away.) The nearest decent shade is under a tree several yards away.
Now that I want some sun, the shadow from the stadium across the street is covering all four lanes of the road plus the sidewalk and several yards into the grass. I have to stand almost as far away to get any sun as I used to have to stand to get any shade.
I don't know why I never noticed that before. (Probably because they finally built the other half of the stadium, which was illegal, but after a couple of decades, we finally voted in a city council that approved this exception.)
Amazon product reviews of the day - Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable (Price: $500 new, 1 used: 2,499.98, 1 refurbished: $999.00) - although this is a real product, I see no evidence than anyone has actually tried it except that only 3 are left in stock. Sample quotes:
"Transmission of music data at rates faster than the speed of light seemed convenient, until I realized I was hearing the music before I actually wanted to play it. ... I'm still having a major existential hangover." - Matthew Sidor "seadour"
"Due to the high flux conductivity, this dishwasher safe Dedicated Link Cable has very impressive dimensional rift preventability capabilities." - L. Klop
"If you wear this cable around your neck, you get +2 to your AC and the ability to become invisible once per day. They don't tell you this in the product description but it's true: I'm invisible right now." - mw383
"OBSOLETE. Saw it on Antiques Roadshow last night. All the new cables use mithril, high purity copper is a joke." - alyssa
|
|
|
| Sweet Potatoes |
[Oct. 24th, 2009|12:57 pm] |
I've always told myself I'd rather pay extra to buy my sweet potatoes in a can and not have to deal with raw sweet potatoes. But Robin got a bunch of sweet potatoes with his other vegetables in his CSA delivery.
I didn't even know what they were at first. They looked sort of like carrots, except that most of them were awfully fat. And they looked a little like potatoes, but like very long, skinny potatoes.
I found a recipe for sweet potato pie which started with raw sweet potatoes. I boiled them. Then it said to remove the skin. I wasn't totally sure if it was just the very thin dark outer layer that was supposed to come off or whether there was a thicker layer.
Above is one of the more carrot-shaped ones. You can easily see the skin peeled away and you might also be able to see the edges where a thicker layer came off.
Robin tells me just the thin skin layer should come off.
And getting the skin off reminded me of hard-boiled eggs. It seems like it could be easy. It could be possible to take off large expanses all at once, but what actually happens is that mostly just little bits come off at a time. It got a little easier at the end, probably not due to any gain in skill on my part but because the sweet potatoes had cooled off more. I did drain off much of the hot water and run cooler water over them, but waiting may have helped.
So now I have about four pounds of sweet potatoes. It's time to try some new recipes. |
|
|
| If My Statement Were a Crystal Ball |
[Oct. 24th, 2009|08:08 am] |
[Note: if this looks boring just read the two shortest paragraphs below.]
I received my annual Social Security statement this month. It shows that I have had Social Security earnings for 30 years now. The earnings for each year are listed and those listings are separated into groups of ten years. This makes it easy to see a pattern in my earnings history.
During the first ten years, 1980 - 1989, my earnings ranged from $579 to $6,005 per year. Then in 1990 I earned $14,888. (I got my first full-time non-temporary job on December 18, 1989.)
During the second ten years, 1990 - 1999, my earnings ranged from $14,888 to $24,430. Then in 2000 I made $30,299 (almost as much as my first ten years put together). That was when I quit working as a typist and got a job that actually used my degree. Of course I immediately ran back to the university and I took a pay cut to do it, but that pay cut wasn't very large.
During the third ten years, 2000-2009, my earnings ranged from $28,395 to about $42,000. (The figure for 2009 isn't shown, but I can make an estimate.)
So, if this pattern holds, I can expect to make a significant jump in income next year to, say, $50,000. Woo hoo!
On the other hand, you could notice that the first decade I increased my income infinitely over the previous one, the second decade I made six times as much as the first decade, the third decade I made twice as much as the second decade. In that case, you might guess that in this next decade I can't expect much of an increase at all. But since I plan to retire halfway through the decade, and pension income and IRA income don't count as Social Security earnings, a total about the same as this last decade also implies that a big jump in income is in my near future.
I wonder how that's going to happen. |
|
|
| Non-phone |
[Oct. 18th, 2009|05:01 pm] |
Robin got a new 32GB iPod Touch to test as part of his job. It has everything he likes about the iPhone except the phone plus you don't have to get the expensive phone service contract. (I'm tempted to call it the non-phone, though it also doesn't have a camera or a microphone.) He's decided to get one, inspiring his co-workers to welcome him to the 21st century. He will use it for everything he used is Palm for and more.
I used to have an electronic device, too (a Revo). I used its databases for keeping track of loads of things like restaurants (including what we already tried and did or did not like), grocery store prices, and books and movies I want but don't already have. It was done in by a totally amazing thunderstorm, during which I actually gave up on the umbrella (not so useful with extremely high winds) and decided I would just get soaked, especially after having to cross a creek to get home from work. Meanwhile, water had seeped through the layers of things in my backpack until my Revo was no more.
They stopped making those. I replaced it once anyway with a used one. That also broke, though I no longer remember how. I got disgusted and went back to paper for some things and looking things up on the computer before leaving the house for other things.
Apple's website advertises the Touch as a pocket computer as well as an iPod and a game playing system. Here are the computer uses it touts:
* wi-fi - this didn't work at the hardware store where we were. And when we were looking at a map on the way to the restaurant, it kept covering it up with a message saying that it couldn't tell where we were, saying to press a button to get rid of the message, like 8 times within the last mile.
* Safari - web browsers are great, but they are less thrilling when you can't get on the internet as happened to us today.
* e-mail - again, less exciting without the connection.
* keyboard - they call it fast, but it's not fast like typing. It's two-finger typing all over again. Robin swears it's miraculous, and even with his man fingers, it always guesses the right letter. He admits that he is careful and does have to look at the keyboard while typing. For a device smaller than even my hand, that sounds great.
* maps - again with the networking
* social networking - deja vous
They don't actually mention things like word processors, databases, calendars, to do lists. You know, things where you input the information yourself. Robin has already found a calculator he loves for $2. He assures me that there are other great software programs out there super cheap or free. It may actually already have more available programs than any other sort of computer because of how they reward non-employees to write them.
The iPod Touch might be an excellent device to drag on vacations instead of my computer as something to load my pictures onto when I run out of room on my camera.
On the other hand, it is completely vulnerable to water.
To those of my readers with iPhones or iPod Touches, what are your favorite and least favorite uses? |
|
|
| More Sabbatical Thoughts |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|11:28 pm] |
Today I had more thoughts about sabbaticals.
* I could cash in my vacation by just actually taking it.
* But then I wouldn't have a new job afterwards.
* I could just keep job hunting while working. Then I would have a new job and I wouldn't have to get so desperate.
* But then I wouldn't get to take a bunch of time off.
* Or cash in my vacation. Or roll over my retirement money.
* I could request a break in service between jobs so I could cash in vacation money and roll over retirement money. (Don't know if that's allowable.)
* All other jobs are even worse than the one I have (while looking at other job descriptions).
* But my job is making me David-Banner stressed (while doing my job). Every Single Day. I get a big headache or a barely controllable urge to sleep. Not to mention all the growling urges when I have to deal with people doing things that don't make sense. Like keeping old labels around so they can attach themselves erroneously to new courses. Like saying two classes are both the same and different, and I have to figure out how to let them count in audits. Like saying a class is both always repeatable no matter what and also may be repeated only with permission and only when the topics vary. I can't just do my part of today's 300 course schedule changes, I have to keep contacting people and asking them what the heck they are thinking first.
* My life is just going to suck, one way or another, for at least the next 5.33 years.
Stupid brain. Not helping.
Informal class of the day - Solar Design and Installation (Saturday, 11/7/09, 10 am - 4 pm) - "a hands-on laboratory for students interested in training or retraining for a career in the emerging "green collar" industry. It is a unique program grounded in over 20 years of solar installations. Class will include a simple introduction to electricity, photovoltaics, and componentry involved in a solar array. In a hands-on format, it will guide students through the fundamentals of designing and installing their own system. By the end of class you will have received 4 hours of hands-on electrical lab time. Protective goggles, gloves and a plastic apron are required, and will be provided. Students must be 18 or over to register. Class will meet off campus, and will include a one-hour lunch break." Robin and I signed up; feel free to join us if this sounds fun. |
|
|
| Fantasizing about Sabbaticals |
[Oct. 15th, 2009|11:04 pm] |
I have this idea now that I would like to take a sabbatical.
By "take a sabbatical," I mean:
* prepare to leave my job--clean my office and finish up a reasonable amount of documentation
* quit my job without having another one lined up
* don't even look for a job for eight months
* meanwhile, do something impressive so that I seem interesting instead of like a loser deadbeat
* get another job
What would my impressive thing be? It should be something I'd actually want to do. I'm thinking learn Spanish or write a book. Or both. Writing a book sounds more impressive than learning Spanish, though I suspect learning Spanish would be much more time consuming for me.
There would be a few minor technicalities to work out like money to live on, insurance, and how to actually get another job in a reasonable amount of time (i.e., measured in months rather than years).
A bonus is that I would get paid for my unused vacation (a little over two months) at my current pay rate (not counting longevity pay). Another bonus is that I get credit toward retirement for any fiscal year during which I work at least 4.5 months. I cross that line January 15. I would have until the following year in spring to find another UT job and get credit for the 10-11 fiscal year as well. Another bonus is that I could roll my 403(b) (work retirement money) into a place with better choices and lower expenses. I might also be able to get some consultation work from my current employer.
I've never done anything this scary/stupid (on purpose). I would be endangering my chance to comfortably retire at age 52 (5.33 years from now). On the other hand, lots of people do scary things like this, and some of them are my friends and can give me hints. Some hints won't apply to me and some I won't like. Here are some I know about already:
* pay off my mortgage - I might be able to do that, but I'd rather hold the cash for flexibility
* live on my spouse's salary for a while; later we can live on my salary - I don't have a spouse, plus neither one of us makes enough for both of us to live on in the style to which we've become accustomed
* line up a job ahead of time that will let me hold off starting for a couple of months - nooo, I want many months! Plus is that even possible?
Even if I don't do this, thinking about it might lead to another idea (like working half time for a while) that I might do.
I've also been reading about job burnout but not getting any good ideas from those readings.
Baby lesson of the day - I got to feed my niece yesterday. Here was the general procedure:
* I put food on the tiny spoon.
* I showed it to her and waited for her to open her mouth.
* She grabbed the spoon and helped put it in her mouth, though her aim could still use some work.
* She sucked on the spoon for a while.
* The spoon lost all its flavor.
* She took the spoon out of her mouth and let go of it, perhaps even flinging it to the side. A tasteless spoon is of no use to her.
I think there's a lesson here somewhere in getting rid of things you are no longer enjoying, even if those things did once give you great enjoyment. |
|
|
| I'm in Therapy |
[Oct. 6th, 2009|08:43 pm] |
I went to a physical therapy appointment the same day I had my mammogram because it was in the same building. Actually, because my shoulder problem is almost, but not quite healed, and I wanted to finish up the healing and get ideas on how to prevent this problem in the future.
Well, first the physical therapist tested the extent of my injury very thoroughly. She had me move my arm in various ways and compared that to my other arm. She even used a measuring tool (seemed like a protractor) of some kind. There were actual significant differences in how far I could move my arm, generally about 15 degrees. The difference feels more like 3-5 degrees, but that's because I'm compensating.
She also pushed against my arms in various directions and had me push back, very politely calling my good arm "strong." Ha!
Then she massaged and pushed against parts of my shoulder in various ways that reminded me of a massage therapist, only it never really hurt.
Then she pulled out a model of a human shoulder joint and explained how it's the most amazing joint in the body. I said that the hip was also a ball-and-socket joint, but she said that the hip socket had a better edge for holding the ball of the hip bone in whereas with the shoulder joint you really need all your muscles and ligaments to be working properly.
Then she explained that there's a tiny little space inside there that can get quite cramped when you don't use certain muscles in the back of the shoulder. And people who sit crouched in front of the computer all day like I do or slumped forward driving in their cars tend to be weak in this area. So finally she gave me an exercise to do.
I stand in front of a wall and lean my elbows and forearms against the wall so that my upper arms are parallel to the floor and my hands are clasped. I put one foot in front of the other (and a little to the side). Then I raise my shoulders and then lower them as far as I can using upper back muscles. Basically, this feels a lot like getting into proper dance position for smooth ballroom dances. She said she's happy to see that ballroom dance is getting popular for just this reason. (I later remembered that most instructors don't actually get around to teaching that for social dancing. Will I have the heart to tell her?) I am to do several sets of ten of those each day.
Then she gave me another exercise which is to sit with my feet flat on the floor and lower my shoulders the same way, making sure not to arch or slouch my back, and hold it down there for ten seconds. I am to do that several times a day. She said this should be no problem because I can do it sitting at my desk or sitting on the couch watching TV. I can also do it riding the bus.
Then she had me set up four more weekly appointments plus a fifth (probably final) check-up appointment.
I wonder how much this would cost without insurance. I wonder if it will work.
Savings story of the day - My car was in the shop so they could fix the air conditioner again. Third time's the charm, right? I asked what payment methods they took. He said, "Visa, Mastercard, [long pause], cash, and checks." I asked, "Is there a cash discount?" He said, "Ten percent." And that's how I saved $87.50. |
|
|
| Doctor Visit Sort of Appropriate for Halloween |
[Oct. 3rd, 2009|08:23 pm] |
I don't like my new mammogram place.
My old place was in an old Victorian house full of old overly fancy furniture, at least in the waiting room, and was walking distance from my job. It felt more like going to have tea than going to have a mammogram. My new place is a regular boring doctor office place.
The lady doing my mammogram did not laugh at any of my jokes. Her usual response was "What? Oh."
She did ask me some questions as if she were making conversation, but I got the impression that these were the same questions she trots out to all her patients and then she doesn't listen to the answers because she doesn't care.
She acts like some kind of an artist instead of a technician. I know she's got to line things up properly, but her numerous comments such as "hold your arm up," "turn your head more," face your feet this way," made me feel more like a fashion model than a patient, and not in a good way. (See Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation" for an example of what I'm talking about. Of course he had it much worse. I didn't have to exude any particular emotions.)
You know how when people take your blood pressure, they pump up the blood pressure cuff until it is uncomfortable? And then sometimes they pump it up just a little bit more? And then some of them pump it up a little more after that until you start thinking, "Just how skinny do you think my arm is" and it hurts? But then fortunately they start slowly releasing the pressure right away.
Well, mammograms are like that only they squoosh you four times instead of once. (They squish each side horizontally and vertically.) They also make you stand perfectly still for many seconds while they're taking the picture, but then they reduce the pressure all at once. And then they go check the pictures and if there's any blurriness or any other problems in any of them, they re-do the bad ones.
My new mammogramist (is that a word?) definitely made me hurt on both vertical pictures and then she insisted on re-doing one of the vertical pictures and hurt me again.
There's no bruising or anything, and I'm sure she did a fine job. But that doesn't mean she's not some kind of sadistic artist wanna-be in a Frankensteinian lab. And it doesn't mean I have to like it. |
|
|
| Get Inspired |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|08:17 pm] |
It's Friday!
Book excerpt of the day - from Stephen Bury's Interface, about a stroke victim with a new computer chip healing technology.They set an ambitious schedule for him, worrying that they might stress him out and overwork him, and he left that schedule in the dust. First thing in the morning, the physical therapists came in, at first helping him move his limbs, later, when he got the hang of that, running him through exercises. Then the speech therapist came in and got him to put his tongue and lips in certain positions, got him to make certain sounds, and then to string those sounds together into syllables and words. Following an afternoon nap, the physical therapists would come back in and work on the parts of his body that they had missed in the morning. During the evenings he could relax, watch TV, read.
He exercised his speech during physical therapy and he exercised his body during speech therapy. He also exercised both of them while he was pretending to take his afternoon nap, and then he exercised them all evening long when he was supposed to be taking it easy. He even woke up in the middle of the night and exercised. Motivating. I actually brushed my teeth when I didn't feel like it last night, guilted into it by that fictional guy.
Video of the day - Hotel Survival with George Egg. If you think your kitchen sucks, check out this guy cooking in a hotel room. This brings back memories of when I cooked in a dorm room for a summer using only a hot pot. I was not as smart as this guy, and my food was not as good.
I love how he actually uses things found in hotels like the little cup and the Bible. He does have one knife they don't explain; I'll assume he's not traveling by plane. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
livingdeb's journal