Following Edge

Usually Mondays are a tempest of activity taking up almost every hour of the day as co-workers are re-energized from the weekend and need help moving forward on various initiatives. Since today was also Lauren's first day of orientation at Montessori school, requiring 75 minutes of my time, I'm afraid today you'll only get "leftovers" as opposed to original observations...

I was sorry to see that Joshua Kinberg was arrested yesterday and his amazing bicycle printer, made from spray chalk dispensers and the electronics from an old dot-matrix printer, was confiscated. Whether or not I agree with chalking your political message around New York, I found his bicycle to be a brilliant use for old dot-matrix technology. Check out the demo movie on his site. If you've ever seen an old printer, it'll be amazing to you.

You would think, with my entry into blogging, it has descended to the ultimate banality, but over the weekend I found the the Appliance Blog by Jake from nearby Springfield. He chronicles each day the appliances he repairs, in great detail. Visit and check out the intriguing categories: Air Conditioners, Dishwashers, Ranges, Washers, etc.

Off topic (if that's possible given the impossibility of determining the topic of this article), Lauren today followed up a very sweet moment where she said "Daddy, let's have a hug. I love you" with "Daddy, you're the Prince of Love", to which I could only say, "Honey, that's what all the girls say".

I commented on m/a/z/e's blog entry about his lifetime relationship with weatherman Dave Selesky because of my own lifetime relationship with weatherman Dave Sweeney. I was thinking... it's curious how two people can have something like that in common.

Then... this morning I was reading about Burning Man preparations in another blog when I realized that I was reading about Michael, who has chronic "health issues", is technical enough to speak well on wireless Internet and MD5 encryption, is partnered up with Anne-Marie and lives in Oregon. It's like I'm this fellow's evil twin (or vice versa). freaky!

Now, I don't spend much time looking around the Internet, so coincidences like these have to jump in my lap for me to see them and it's got to be amazing to find two in a few hours. Keeping up on technical news and local happenings has really become a lot easier since I started using an RSS reader (most recently switching to Keith's Feed application). Curious about seeing what's happening locally, I added "ORBlogs" to my list of RSS Feeds to see what other Oregon bloggers are saying about Oregon. That's where I found these two bits of synchronicity... maybe this level of connection to others is too much for me... I prefer to believe I am an island.

Lauren and I spent a bit of time this afternoon multi-tasking between our work and helping each other out. Lauren is very good at playing on her own, but occasionally wants me to help with something (putting a baby doll's Christmas dress on a totally different teen doll in this case) just to enjoy "working" together.

Things later in the evening turned a bit more confrontational as Lauren wanted to disagree about whether she should yell in the car ("Lauren, we don't want to hear any yelling in the car"... "But, we have to hear yelling in the car!") or whether she should hold my hand in a parking lot ("Lauren, I need you to hold my hand when I ask you to"... "Actually, it was running time!"). The good news is that this is going back to the previous big issue (being contrary) and away from the more recent big issue (ignoring requests completely). While it's a test to go back and address something that seemed to be resolved, experience tells me that this is a signal that the current big issue is coming to an end and a brief review of the previous issue is the last step. Now, what will the next issue be?

Honestly, Lauren is a real joy and it's much better to help her progress through new "issues" rather than have to revisit the same conflicts over time. She learns so quickly and interacts so warmly that it's an effort and its own reward to keep up with her progress. Plus, even though teaching her where "the limits" are is an important part of parenting, so is helping her with doll clothes.

Russian security researcher Yevgeny Kaspersky predicts the end of the Internet tomorrow, but I doubt it and think I'm well prepared anyhow.

(This post has been briefly summarized for you due to possibly sensitive content.)

I received the following letter from April, the Client Services Coordinator for Victoria's Secret in response to the letter I sent them [PDF] and which I wrote about previously:

Dear Mr. Moore:

I was recently made aware of the situation you encountered at our Valley River Victoria's Secret store. I apologize for any inconvenience or frustration you may have experienced and I assure you that this issue has been addressed with the appropriate individuals.

As a gesture of our sincerity, please accept the enclosed coupon good for 30% off your next purchase at a Victoria's Secret store. As per your request, I have also included a check in the amount of $11.00. It is our hope that you will allow us another opportunity to serve your future needs, as your continued patronage is of the utmost importance to us!

We look forward to your next visit to Victoria's Secret!

Needless to say, my faith in Victoria's Secret and the retail panty industry is restored. Of course, Anne Marie probably fears that my determination to pursue any minor inequity is now renewed. Renewed? It has never waned! By the way, I don't think I've mentioned that I got 4 free bags of wood pellets for complaining to the manufacturer about bad packaging.

One of the major companies that my work works with wants to offer us an "exciting new offering", which almost always means that it's time to be cautious.

(This post has been briefly summarized for you due to possibly sensitive content.)

Almost in joking, I have always told Anne Marie that there is no chance that the drug industry will ever invest in finding a cure for diabetes because all of the huge income that almost all of the pharmaceutical companies make from diabetes medications, glucose testing equipment and supplies and hi-tech (recombinant DNA, fast-acting) insulin. The diabetes management industry is huge and even an expensive cure could never generate more money for drug companies than ten million or more lifetime customers. I've always facetiously said that the early deaths of millions of people would not be a factor to them.

Now, however, the situation is becoming more obvious as donations and private funding have supplemented the weak government funding for diabetes research at the Massachusetts General Hospital (at Harvard) and very important breakthroughs have been made in the last few years that could lead to a cure in just a few more years. If the drug companies assisted in funding this research in the same way they support research into erectile dysfunction, generous private donors would not be needed, but that's not the case and donations are needed.

Lee Iacocca, whose Iacocca foundation has supported diabetes research since his wife died of diabetes in 1982, says that human trials, one of the final stages in the research, could begin soon if there was enough funding. This week, he donated 1 million dollars and I (not being a multi-millionaire) today donated $400, which is enough to be painful. I firmly believe that this is likely to be the way to find the cure and that my contribution is badly needed. Statistics say that a cure could add 10 years to my life. Seems like I should have donated more, if I had it to give.

TIME TO HIT YOU UP! Will you consider making a donation at the Iacocca Foundation to this effort? You know people that have or will get diabetes since 1 in 16 people get it. Wouldn't it be a good feeling to know you've helped to cure this disease and add 10 years to people's lives?

Thanks.

We share part of a long driveway (an easement) with neighbors that rent a small house next to our property. This sign ("Slow Down or Get Beat Down") has now graced the entrance to our little farm for almost 3 months. Even though it alarms our visitors (sorry if you've been one of them), we haven't made an issue of it because these folks have shown that they enjoy conflict and we haven't wanted to give them an excuse to escalate things further. But, this week they've resumed stopping cars in the driveway and yelling at folks coming to visit us (none of whom are Mario Andretti but "Sunday drivers" like my mother and father) and taken up threatening me directly if I don't stop people from "speeding" up the driveway.

Now, we get along fine with the couple that owns the house these hotheads rent. In fact, they built our house and lived here for years before giving up small farm and geodesic dome life for the challenge of 100ish acres a bit further out in the sticks. So, I did some research and drove out to visit with them today to see if we could buy their little rental house so we could have a little more control over our environment. The good news is that we agreed about the importance of having Anne Marie and myself own the house, and we'd be close to deciding on a price. The problem is that they are in a position where they don't want a bit more than $120,000 in cash. Many of us wish we were in that position. They want to finance us at 7.5% to generate some income for themselves, but it's hard when our great credit and the current low rates let us get less than 6% from the bank.

They're going to talk to their accountant about whether they can save themselves from tax hell if they take cash for the property. It was good progress, even if it's not as good as making the deal and it's always great to visit with them since they have a new colt and we're curious for stories from their new business burying horses. While it's a trick for Anne Marie and I to finance two houses on our income, I think our frugal and careful finances will give us enough latitude that I am optimistic about making a deal.

So, to our neighbors, I'm tempted to say "Chill Out or Get Bought Out"...

The clouds are parting for me today. I mean that in a metaphorical sense, of course, since it's been over 90 degrees with hardly any clouds since Monday. Nonetheless, all the indicators point to improvements:

- The temperature is reported to be returning to the mid-80s starting tomorrow and continuing for at least a few days. Having grown up in Oregon, I am never happy when it's over 89 degrees and am happiest when it's overcast and wet.

- The cold I caught early this week made a turn for the worst and had me dragging for a couple of days. With the help of a whole bottle of NyQuil and a whole box of DayQuil, I made it through and woke up feeling almost healthy today. I'll be happy if I don't have another cold until deep in the winter, when I might expect to have one.

- We may have rounded the final corner (after going around in circles) with Apple about their GSX service not working (as reported previously and as further reported later). Things are working fine now which I could attribute to my good work reporting trouble to Apple over the last two weeks or just good luck. Either way, I'll be happy to put GSX behind me until their next upgrade. Keep your fingers crossed.

It has a truly ironic feeling to spend time on some of the hottest days of the year preparing for the winter. Over the weekend and again yesterday evening, I played the part of the ant in the fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper and made sure that our carport was stocked with 8,080 pounds of wood pellets and that our hay loft was stocked with 7,000 pounds of hay.

You can see from the pictures the result of my personal effort with the wood pellets. For only $475, we'll keep our house at least a comfy 72 degrees for a year. It's a great deal compared to heating with electricity.

No pictures of the hay because I have horrible hay fever. It's yet another irony to collect so much hay only to spend my time avoiding it. A very strong and energetic kid named Joe is nice enough to deliver the hay in a pickup truck and lift all 45 bales into the loft above our barn. Bless him. As appreciative as I am, you should have seen Snickers, our 17-year-old Mustang/Saddlebred Mare. When the pickup piled with 20 or more bales of hay came around the barn and into the pasture, she believed that her prayers were answered and buried her head in the hay with a smacking of her lips. Our other Mare, Shadow, has a reasonable wariness of pickup trucks, so she wasn't as much of a problem as Snickers, who I had to drag off to the orchard and keep at bay with the electric fence.

The bad news from all of this is that my effort stacking the wood pellets must have taken quite a toll on me. I now have a horrible cold (again some irony on one of the hottest days of the year) and I've had to take it somewhat easier today.

I hope you'll also spend some time this summer remembering the moral to the fable of "The Ant and the Grasshopper":

"It is best to prepare now for the days of necessity."

A few weeks ago, Anne Marie got a mailer from Victoria's Secret offering that the holder of the enclosed card could bring in up to 6 of their friends and everyone would get a free Pink panty. Anne Marie showed it to me and wondered how she could round up a few friends. I took a look at all the fine print (as I love to do) and told her that myself, herself and Lauren were easy friends to take since the promotion didn't provide any limitations for age, sex or family relationship. As you may have figured out, this is the way my mind works. We put off going while we considered whether there was an easy way to bring four more friends with us.

Now, before I go on and in case you don't follow Victoria'a Secret merchandise closely, let me tell you that these Pink panties are not all pink. It's a name for a line of bras and panties and sleepware that comes in blue, pink, black, white and other colors in solids and various patterns. I didn't want you confused that we were talking about "pink panties" when we are talking about "Pink panties".

In any case, as the expiration of the promotion neared and we had to head into Vicky's anyhow since we were looking for Kamala's girdle (see previous post about that), we gave up on finding four more friends and headed in, just the three of us. We all had Pink panties chosen, but when I presented the card and panties, I was told that "toddlers don't count" (read "toddlers" with the same tone as "sewer rats" here to understand the tone). After I pointed out the discrepancy between the offer and the policy, the clerk let me know it was just their store policy, so I had to pay for one panty.

Maybe they didn't want to give panties to little girls, but it seems like it could be easy enough to spell out the terms before they enticed us to come into the store. Anne Marie knows I'm a fellow that reads every contract, loves to know all the details, and is like a bulldog when pursuing an inequity, so she calmly said, "You're not going to let this go, are you? Poor Victoria's Secret".

So, feel free to look over the letter I sent out today (PDF) asking them for a refund plus compensation. I'll let you know what comes of it.

Often programming involves only a small bit of writing programs and much more time debugging or waiting for something. I'm facing both of those currently.

(This post has been briefly summarized for you due to possibly sensitive content.)

After a strenuous day trying to get time to work on my current project (Product Fetch) between the normal flowing, ringing and beeping of my work day, and my continuing saga with Apple's GSX problems, and spending half of my lunch break chasing a goat (Malvolio) who got loose, I am ready for some lighter thoughts.

So, let me tell you about my girdle idea.

First a little background. Anne Marie was a nurse for about 20 years before we had Lauren (amazing work history for a 29 year old, eh). Our daughter Lauren was born by caesarian section and the first time Anne Marie stood up after the birth, she was doubled over in pain over Lauren's crib reciting a colorful string of curses that probably have helped form Lauren's unique language skills. It's not an understatement to say that moving around after abdominal surgery can be painful. Anne Marie's best friend, Judith, recommended that wearing a girdle might help (because it has helped after her surgery) and brought one to the hospital for her. Anne Marie said the difference in pain level was like night and day.

So, this weekend, we were visiting our friend Kamala, who has just had a wonderful baby boy by caesarian, and we recommended it to her. It got us to thinking, "why doesn't anyone know about this or recommend it if it's so effective"? I searched the Internet and didn't find hardly any reference to it. Although there's plenty of information about comfort during pregnancy, it seems that the mother's comfort after birth is not a big concern. Anne Marie found it curious, but, the way my mind works, I'm thinking there's an opportunity here.

How about a web site to promote and sell girdles specifically for this use? I may try to convince Anne Marie this is a good small home business idea. It would be a public service to just provide the information online, but selling our "recommended" girdle is likely to get some response as well. There's only one sort-of competitor out there, but they sell theirs for $63 plus shipping. Getting them for $5 at WalMart leaves a lot of room there for discount and profit.

Well, you can see how my mind works. Probably, nothing will ever come of this, which is too bad for women with abdominal surgery. But, if Kamala reports good results, I might have to think more about this with Anne Marie.

That's enough talking about girdles to de-stress from work. Next time I have to unwind, I'll let you know about my "Pink Panties" debacle.

Tired is the word of the day. While I am pretty tired every day, most likely a result of ongoing thyroid imbalances from treatment for Graves' Disease, some days I am almost too tired to be useful. Normally, Tuesday is a bad day for being tired since I spend half the day with Lauren, but we actually had a fine time playing at home, going out for lunch and running a couple of errands. It's amazing that the simple things can be so satisfying without expending much energy.

The most tiring part of the day was dealing with the fact that Apple's GSX software integration almost totally stopped working today after I wrote some decent things about it yesterday. Maybe Apple saw the undecent things I wrote yesterday and decided to break the system for me. (That would be amazing since Apple usually doesn't listen to me at all.) But, it was tiring to spend a great deal of time today collecting data and logs to report the errors instead of having undivided attention for Lauren this morning and attention for my current project this afternoon.

Anne Marie was afraid today was going to be tiring as she prepared to take the horses out for a ride with Lauren's Oma Sally. But, it turned out to be a nice ride and less tiring than she expected. I know that the few times I go out riding each year, I find the process very tiring (yet also very enjoyable), so I'm glad someone has enough energy for it.

Speaking of energy, my best friend David took inspiration after I had coffee with him yesterday and wrote software to create his own blog. I don't have the energy to do anything that fast, but I did help him out in registering his new domain name, fluffygerbil.com. I suspect that the name indicates that David's blog is likely to be a bit softer than mine, or perhaps just fuzzier. Best of luck to him. Go visit his site to check it out.

A new software needs to be created, but time is short and documentation is slim. Ah, well.

(This post has been briefly summarized for you due to possibly sensitive content.)

Lauren, Anne Marie and I went for an 11 mile bike ride along the Fern Ridge Trail. Since we frequently share Lauren with her grandmother on the weekends, it was a big decision whether to spend our "Lauren day" going out in our little boat on the lake, going to Enchanted Forest in Salem, or going for a bike ride. Each seemed important to do while Summer is still with us, but after an hour mulling it over and doing chores, the decision made itself since both the trip to Salem and taking the boat out require an early start (is this a good method of decision making?). The ride was really nice and the longest ride we've taken by far.

What really got me thinking, though, was that Lauren started riding her trike around the house before we started our ride and reported that she was going to ride her own bike. I told her that she would need to ride in the trailer behind me in order to keep up (which turned out to be fine with her), but her request made me think about next year. She's been getting better and better at pedaling the demo bicycles at the toy store, so it seems likely that this might possibly be the last year for the trailer (which will be good for my endurance) and that Lauren may be riding along with us (which may be bad for my patience) next year or the year after that. Things change so quickly from year to year with Lauren.