I’ve updated my resume page, and I’ve cleaned up some trackback spam from some of the older links.
Keeping ahead of the trackback spam is particularly annoying. My email spam filter grabs the notifications of new trackbacks and throws them in the spam folder when the trackback itself tastes like spam. Since there are some 700 new messages in that folder every day I rarely cull through it looking for false positives. So trackback spam can go unnoticed for several days. I’ve switched the notification email address to my Gmail account, hopefully I’ll see them sooner that way.
Recently I put new tires on the Lexus, and then when it immediately developed a wobble in the steering wheel at any speed over 50 MPH, took it back once for balancing and once more for a front end alignment. Today my car is in the dealer’s service department for some schedule maintenance and I asked them to investigate the continuing wobble.
The verdict is that the tire store installed the WRONG tires on the car. In addition to the size of the tire there is a speed rating. The tires that were installed on my car have a speed rating of 95H. The Lexus recommended tires are 97H. Same maximum speed, but a slightly softer rubber compound. The dealer (who has always treated me respectfully and whom I trust) feels that this is the source of my wobble. He said they could try to re-balance the front wheels but he doesn’t expect that to help. As he put it, “rather then spend your money we thing you should take it back to the tire store.”
I am not looking forward to the conversation with the tire store manager. Even though I have had the car back to his shop twice in the past four weeks for problems resulting from the tires they installed, I am fearful that they’ll want a brand new pile of money for a brand new set of tires. Something I frankly can’t afford right now.
Stay tuned…
When The Hunt For Red October was first released my best friend from high school, who was in the Navy, serving on a nuclear fast attack boat, told me about it and said I should read it. Based on his recommendation I bought a hard back copy that I still have today. The politics and world situation are different today, so the story line doesn’t have the same impact as it did in the early 1980s, but it is still a very good book.
Rating: Worth re-reading if only to see how things once were
Tonight I had occasion to visit a Best Buy. I had previously been dimly aware that the console gaming world is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new Wii system. Rounding the corner into the parking lot I was presented with a line of tents. And warmly clad nerds huddled together in the frigid 37 degree air.
Camping. On a sidewalk. Concrete. For a game. One that you’ll be able to buy any old time soon. Somehow having it first is important.
I don’t get it.
Perhaps I am not as nerdy as I thought.
Last Friday I received a voice mail from the insurance adjuster assigned to my claim telling me that my claim had been completed and that I should be getting a check in the mail within seven to ten business days. Knowing that I had a $500 deductible on the policy I was surprised, as I felt the depreciated value of the items stolen would be less than the deductible.
Color me pleasantly surprised.
The formula used on the “personal property worksheet” I received from my insurance company started with a full replacement cost figure and then calculated a depreciation amount. I had though they would start with the original purchase price and depreciate that value. Starting with the current replacement cost greatly increased the total amount of my loss, and even after the deductible was subtracted from the total I will regain about $645 of my lost property.
I now have a year to replace the items taken and track the receipts. By submitting the receipts to my insurance company in a subsequent claim I can recover some (or all) of the depreciation applied, about another $266.
Not a bad deal at all.
Writing something at least once a day on ones web site is not as easy (for me anyway) as it sounds. There are days when I have several ideas for things to write about and share via my site. I’d venture to say that maybe half of all the ideas I get never make it to the screen. Either because I start the posting and decide that I don’t want to share it, or because the idea happens when I am not conveniently in front of my computer, ready to type away. Many a good posting has been composed while standing in the shower or driving the car; only to be lost in the same way half remembered dreams are lost upon waking.
So today’s posting is really a posting, except that it fulfills (technically) the need to put something new on my site for November 13, 2006.
Just over a week ago, Nekko had her follow up visit at the animal hospital. At the time I expressed my frustration at having to inject her twice a day with insulin to the doctor. He firmly, but politely, explained to me that there was really no option. The longer lasting insulin wasn’t nearly as effective, especially with felines, as the twelve hour stuff. In short he said that I had to find a way to inject her on a regular schedule as close to every twelve hours as possible.
I am happy to say that I have been successful in achieving that goal for the past ten days. Her favorite hiding spot is under my bed, which being king-sized, leaves her plenty of room to hide. Not wanting to move the bed and chase her I needed a way to guarantee me access to her for a shot. By sliding an air mattress under the bed and inflating it I was able to cordon off half of the space there resulting in her being within arms reach from the other side.
Now when I need to inject her I simply “chase” her under the bed and, once she is there, lay on the floor and reach under to give her a shot. I am greatly pleased that I am now (finally) giving her the insulin on a regular basis. Already I am seeing some changes in her urine output that signal, perhaps, that her blood chemistry is becoming more stable. Over the Thanksgiving holiday she will be staying at a local veterinarian’s where they will be able to test her blood and give me an idea of whether the insulin dosage is correct.
Coordinating my schedule in order to be at home every twelve hours (actually anywhere from nine to fifteen, but still) isn’t easy. I may yet have to resort to hiring someone to come into my home and inject Nekko when I want to be away and don’t want to board her. Also, it would be nice to have someone on hand in case of emergency.
One of the best ensemble movies of recent years., <a href=“http://imdb.com/title/tt0240772/" title=Ocean’s Eleven”>Ocean’s Eleven is well paced and acted. I’ve watched it again and again and still delight in its presentation and style.
Rating: Very much worth owning a copy of
Many of you, who have home owners or renters insurance, may have a “replacement value” clause. The common misconception is that when your insured widget, gewgaw, or family heirloom is lost, damaged, or stolen you’ll get enough money to go get yourself a new one. This is a nice misconception, but a misconception nonetheless.
Reality is, once you successfully jump through all the claim process hoops, all you get is a check for the current depreciated value of your trinket, bauble, or antique. Then you have a year to replace the missing, destroyed, or pilfered item. Keeping the receipts then allows you to jump through new hoops to get a second check, for the difference between the first check and the purchase price of the replacement.
All of this is fine and dandy, unless the insurance adjuster assigned current value is less than the deductible on your account. In which case you get zilch. In my case the stolen camera is no longer state of the art, it’s not even county of the art any more. I highly doubt that the depreciated value is going to be anywhere near my deductible amount.
When Bicentennial Man first came out it was a bit of a sleeper, it wasn’t until I rented it and watched that I realized what a good movie it actually was. Robin Williams shines as a robot seeking humanity. Poignant and moving, this movies is one of my favorites.
Rating: Excellent from start to finish