Really, I have a lot to say...

I keep meaning to blog, but life (and Facebook) always seem to creep in there somehow. Well, I'm feeling writy so here are some seemingly random thoughts, though they've been rolling around for some time.

So what do you think of when I say 9-11? FDNY? TSA? Al Queda? Airplanes and skyscrapers? Box cutters? Death, and fire? Undeclared war by non-state actors. The PATRIOT Act? Gitmo? The 20th hijacker? All the conspiracies? "Heroes"? Afghanistan?  How Bush squandered all of that by getting us involved in a useless war which killed more American people than the attacks in the first place even though the enemy wasn't really in that country, and there were no Ws of MD; the fucktard.

I don't think of any of those either. Every time the date rolls around, or when I see those digits on my clock, I only think of one thing.  That's my friend Walter's birthday.  I want you to know what a fine fellow he is.  Walter listened to pretty much all I had to say at work for about ten years.  He would hardly ever let me get away with sloppy thinking or hollow arguments.  His friendship and our conversations made me a better person, a better thinker, and a better promoter of my ideas (which are too numerous to count).  He and I were inseparable, until the day that I was released from employment there in Sunnyvale.  In a lot of ways, leaving there was really good for me, but in one way it was a real drag.  I no longer work with the man who taught me most of what I know about computers, critical thinking, and Occam's razor.  I miss spending time with my friend.

And he's not just a computer guru.  He's a great father and devoted husband.  (And I'm here to tell you that you don't get that way by just falling off of a log.)  He is a careful and thoughtful man, and an asset to all whose lives he touches.

We used to get together for lunch every first Friday after another friend of ours left there - for years we did this.  It was a way for me to mark time, and since he now works too far away, we just can't anymore.  I really miss those times.  I owe it to both of them to find a way to re-connect.  THAT is what 9-11 means to me.

So, yeah, um remodeling

Our kitchen has always been not quite right.  It had a diagonal walkway through it which cut through the work triangle.  Not so great.  And the family room has had a bare concrete floor since, uh 1996 or 1997.  And there is this HUGE beam that hangs down like a horse cock into the doorways from the dining room and kitchen into the family room which used to be a porch until it was enclosed about 45 years ago.  Not exactly like a horse cock, but dark, looming and intrusive like that.  And the dining room has always been cramped because it was essentially a big hallway with doors ON ALL FOUR WALLS, in the middle, and three of them at least 4 feet wide.

NO MORE!

Now, through the magic of construction debris, we have demolished that pesky wall between the family room and dining room.  Now there is just a few things left to do before we can enjoy our new kitchen:

1) Choose floor
2) Choose sink
3) Choose counters
4) Choose cabinets
5) Choose range
6) Choose dishwasher
7) Choose refrigerator
8) Create detailed plan for framing, electrical, plumbing, cabinets
9) Store items in spare bedroom to provide temporary kitchen and office
10) Move computer and office to spare bedroom
11) Clear family room floor
12) Provide dog door and floor space in living room
13) Fence corridor to dog yard
14) Provide temporary kitchen facility in spare bedroom
a) Counter with utensils (demolish)
b) Refrigerator
c) Microwave oven
d) Dishes
e) Washstand
15) Remove contents of cabinets to storage or temporary kitchen
16) Remove appliances
17) Remove counters and cabinets and sink
18) Remove lighting in Kitchen and dining room
19) Provide protection for windows in demolition area
20) Provide dust control measures for construction area
21) Remove ceiling and cellulose insulation
a) Kitchen
b) Pantry
c) Dining room
22) Remove all trim and wall board
a) Kitchen and Pantry
b) Family room wall adjoining kitchen and dining room up to ceiling
c) Dining room EXCEPT wall adjoining living room
d) Archway into family room from dining room
e) Pantry back and side wall
f) Built in bookcase in family room
g) Baseboards and doorway trim in family room and dining room
23) Remove electrical wiring per plan in kitchen, dining room, pantry, family room
24) Remove flooring and underlayment in kitchen to subfloor
25) Cut flooring to end under doorway into living room from dining room
26) Remove dining room flooring to subfloor
27) Patch flooring to match in doorway into the living room
28) Dispose of demolition waste
29) Reframe double opening into family room
a) Support kitchen and dining room roof rafter ends and ceiling joists
b) Support family room ceiling joists
c) Remove posts and beams
d) Cut family room ceiling joists flush to framing plane for wall under western kitchen and dining room roof edge
e) Provide posts and continuous 4” beam to support ceiling and roof loads in wall
f) Provide attachment hardware to connect posts to foundation wall and roof and rafters and joists to beam, and beam to exiting wall framing.
30) Reframe door opening into pantry wall and pantry extension into family room per plan.
31) Frame false wall behind refrigerator per plan.
32) Relocate natural gas supply to range location per plan
33) Relocate cold water supply to refrigerator false wall per plan
34) Revise heater ducting per plan
35) Install electrical per plan
36) Install telephone and Ethernet per plan
37) Install insulation in ceiling and walls per plan
38) Install and finish sheetrock per plan
39) Prime and paint walls and ceilings
40) Trim windows
41) Install cabinets
42) Install countertops and backsplash
43) Install sinks and disposal
44) Install finish electrical
45) Install dishwasher
46) Install flooring
47) Install baseboard and door trim
48) Install refrigerator and range
49) Move furnishings into kitchen dining and family rooms
50) Setup office in family room
51) Plan party to celebrate

Fathers Day

Sharon,
Thank you for first having and then helping me raise three such wonderful kids.  The experience has transformed me from a selfish scrawny dude into a selfish proud father.  I am in awe of what we have done together.  I present Exhibit A:

 

I never thought when I met you that someday far in the future we would be standing side by side when I took this picture, and that just looking at it would fill me with such pride in our children.  When I met you, I knew I wanted to be with you every day and make a life together with you.  I just didn't know how splendid it would turn out.  They aren't just handsome kids that smiled for this picture and returned to being brats.  On the contrary, they are kind and thoughtful people that have the respect of others.  They regularly impress our friends of all ages so much that they tell us what wonderful kids they are.  We have done so well.  I am proud beyond words.

When Jessamy graduated I was in awe of the spectacle.  It was so grand, and something that I never experienced.  I was so proud of my little girl who has grown into a young woman now.  She's really her own woman.  Since I am so bad at predicting the future (see above) I can't imagine how wonderful her life will be, though I'm sure it will be some amount of wonderful.

 

In a few weeks, Andy will leave the house for college himself.  It will be his first time living away from home and I know he's looking forward to it, mostly for the freedom it will bring.  I predict (see above) that his move out will be permanent.  He's a responsible and capable young man.  He'll call on us for support, but he'll get it done himself.

Danny (who fell out of his crib and broke his arm what seems like just a few months ago) embarks on his own odyssey of high school in a couple of months.  Holy crap!  I'm sure he'll do fine, finally realizing that he actually does need to finish most of the homework.

Wow, just wow.

Just wow

So we've been having a problem with file downloads here at the house for about TWO MONTHS and we made our (approximately) tenth call to support tonight after two hours of working to reproduce the problem while we DISCONNECTED the phone line from the house wiring entirely (well, almost).  After spending 30 minutes on hold, then 59 minutes on a call back from the supervisor (tier 2), and then the call dropping, and then another 25 minutes on the phone, we were assured (again) that the problem will be addressed by the technicians on their end and we will be notified to retry the connection.

If this doesn't work, we're going to another service provider.

In much happier news, it seems that not one but two of my children graduated recently; Jessamy from SFSU with her BA and Danny from eighth grade.  It is on to a job (somewhere) for Jessamy and high-school for Danny.  Needless to say I'm very proud of both of them.  Congratulations, kids.

How I write this [fragment]

I hardly talk about the process of writing this blog. [unsupported statement] I obviously don't do it on a schedule. [self deprecating humor] Since it started as a lark, I created the purpose and the rules as I went along, to the extent that there is either in any evidence.

The "rules"
I try to keep it interesting.
I try to keep YOU in mind, my gentle reader, since the set of YOU include people who've seen me naked, and those who would not care to; you are a diverse lot.
I try to be funny, or at least clever.  You already have a phone book around to read if you want boredom.

As for process; I just start writing.  No outline, or notes, or preparation.  Sometimes I think about it a little beforehand.  Mostly it's just, "I should blog" then I just start.  I always start with the title, then I follow that.

That's it.

And now to quote Freddie Mercury:

I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it
I thank you all
But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race
And I ain't gonna lose

So then two weeks went by...

Lessee...

There was the Cain's Crossing Renaissance faire in there:
Wake up in the dark
Get going not too long after that
Eat breakfast after two hours on the road
Get to site after picking up a friend
Get dressed
Do you folks have furniture for THE QUEEN????
What do you mean, a backless chair and ONE plastic 4 foot long table??
Do Faire All Day Long
Where's the FOOD????
Dance on the bumpiest mushiest turf ever
DINNER
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Repeat faire, with added rain mid afternoon, this time with adequate food & inadequate furniture
Pack up
Drive home
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

And I went to work about ten times, where I'm really busy, but the work is going well...
The company is growing well ($, not people)
The gear is going together better - more goes right than wrong
Service department (my other department) is undergoing transformational change - exciting!

Oh yeah, next Saturday we'll be the parents of a college graduate.  Way Cool!

The new workplace

Here it is, all filled up with stuff.  Looks like a good place to make tens of millions of dollars worth of product if you ask me.

If I was any prouder, I'd hand out cigars.