tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47881521388837303552024-03-13T23:08:02.113-07:00Bear It Blog, Reflections from the BackporchBarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-60583264545267879132019-01-09T07:36:00.003-08:002019-01-09T07:37:24.659-08:00Cord Cutting: Prototype<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">My proof of concept system turned out great. I demonstrated to myself, at least, that I could bring in more channels than I could possibly want with an inexpensive antenna literally laid on a bed connected to a TV in an upstairs bedroom. My signal from ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS, UPN & others was crystal clear in this configuration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Still, there are some potentially interesting hurdles to overcome to actually have an OTA system that would make me comfortable with becoming a cord cutter. Chief amount them:</span></div>
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<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Is TiVo viable for my hypothetical setup?</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Do I need a Skinny Cable Subscription?</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">What are the actual economics?</span></li>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I have opted to address the first two questions by building a prototype system that can exercise the key elements of those issues.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Does the existing house cable complex work?</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Our house, built around the turn of the century (this one, not the last one) has quite a few cable bundles run through the walls and attic connecting all of the rooms to an unfinished area of the basement known to us as the wire room. When we moved in a few years ago, I had to redo many of the network cable connections to get them to work properly — the builder didn’t do a very good job with low voltage connections. This leaves me skeptical of any existing connection until I have tested them; for that matter, are there actually cables running where I need them to go?</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I think my final solution would have an antenna in the attic possibly with an amplifier connected over an existing coax to the wire room. The signal would then be carried to room where I want to have a TV and a TiVo to record shows and feed them elsewhere in the house. The TiVo would connect to the rest of the house over my proven ethernet system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">This raises two major questions:</span></div>
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<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Can I find useable coax between the locations in question?</span></li>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ll consider those in the following sections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Before moving to build the prototype, I headed into the attic to see if cables are accessible and if I have a place to situate the antenna. Our place has relatively large trusses and loads of blown insulation pilled high in the attic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Fortunately, some cables are visible in a few places which gave me a start on where to dig. After only a couple of minutes, I found two bundles that had been opened and coax connections spliced into them. I have no idea why the splices are there, but they provide easy access to cables that likely run to the wire room and that I can use since nothing in my house currently uses the existing coax cable infrastructure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As I mentioned, the trusses that support the roof are large with unusually large open spaces. These spaces offer plenty of places an antenna can be hung without interference and pointed in any direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The final thing I checked was the availability of 120V power for an amplifier, should it be needed. I found two boxes with available outlets in easy reach of the cable splices that I suspect that I will use.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">That all looks good the necessary elements are all in place in the attic, but it is harder to work in the attic than other areas of the house and I want to be certain my approach will work before playing in the insulation. Satisfied an attic installation would work, if I could make everything else work, I stopped the attic work and returned to building a prototype in more finished areas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The <i>wire room</i> in my house contains one end of more than a couple dozen coax cables that run all over the place. To make this work, I have to find a coax between the space contains my antenna (spare bedroom for the prototype) and the wire room. I also need a coax from the wire room to the location(s) of my anticipated TV tuner and perhaps other devices. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The big hurdle to using my existing coax cables is always determining which cable goes where I need it. Conveniently I have a</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 51, 255); color: #0433ff;"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Networks-IntelliTone-Toner-MT-8200-60-KIT/dp/B00N2S6RPY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1547043098&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=fluke+cable+toner&psc=1"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Fluke cable toner</span></a></span><span style="font-kerning: none;"> in my shop. This critter is not cheap, about $200, but this type of tool is incredibly useful in finding the right coax or other low voltage wire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">After some detective work, I found cables that ran where I wanted. I needed to re-terminate one of them which wasn’t installed correctly by the builder, but otherwise this was surprisingly easy giving me confidence that I can find the right cables. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Is TiVo viable for my hypothetical setup?</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">My family have been TiVo users pretty much since there have been TiVos. I am hooked on time shifting, commercial skipping and other handy features that TiVo gives me, as such, I really want TiVo in any video system that I use. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Unfortunately, the big fancy TiVo that is the hub of my cable bound system, a TiVo Roamio Pro that can tune six cable sources is absolutely useless trying to bring in an OTA source. </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dLjVm_7CVgc/XDYULBA5CwI/AAAAAAAABXg/GfVEpIZRUWIv-wKvRqxpsGVFMefhZdBEACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-09%2Bat%2B9.29.27%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="1404" height="61" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dLjVm_7CVgc/XDYULBA5CwI/AAAAAAAABXg/GfVEpIZRUWIv-wKvRqxpsGVFMefhZdBEACLcBGAs/s200/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-09%2Bat%2B9.29.27%2BAM.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;">Fortunately, I had a TiVo Premier XL sitting on a dresser (circa 2010), which has been serving as additional storage space. This bad boy can tune four cable sources and has a coax input labeled antenna, so I set this up connected to my antenna through the house cable system to demonstrate viability in my environment. </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RPVphUpiBr4/XDYULFE-jDI/AAAAAAAABXk/MMAYUnXYUt0gZp6zNEta1JBp7HQh-MzcQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-09%2Bat%2B9.53.33%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;">It didn’t work. Oh No! </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">After a bit more internet sleuthing, I learned that the Premier XL had lost the ability to tune OTA sources when TiVo added the XL suffix and the ability to tune 4 cable sources. Curiously, they left a vestigial coax connection labeled “antenna” which does absolutely nothing. </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RPVphUpiBr4/XDYULFE-jDI/AAAAAAAABXk/MMAYUnXYUt0gZp6zNEta1JBp7HQh-MzcQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-09%2Bat%2B9.53.33%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="620" height="67" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RPVphUpiBr4/XDYULFE-jDI/AAAAAAAABXk/MMAYUnXYUt0gZp6zNEta1JBp7HQh-MzcQCLcBGAs/s200/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-09%2Bat%2B9.53.33%2BAM.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;">Delayed, but undefeated, I visited m</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">y electronics boneyard to see if I had anything that might serve as a demo platform. I found a TiVo Series 3 first used in 2007 that sported a coax connection labeled Antenna. This seemed promising, it was old enough to be from the era of declining but still significant OTA usage. Worryingly, it predates the digital/analog broadcasting switch so it might just do analog; although, TiVo was a leading edge tech company in that period so hopefully they built in a digital tuner before digital broadcasting was required.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">After connecting up the Series 3, letting it run several system updates (it is eleven years old) and running the now familiar station scan on the antenna it worked! It worked really well. Signals are crisp. Recordings work as expected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The prototype totally works; although, there are some limitations. The Series 3 can’t be seen by our mainline Roamio box, so I can’t access OTA recordings from my family room with this box. A further limitation is the Series 3 can’t stream to anything. It can transfer recordings to/from my other TiVos, so this is a viable backup system for the next time Verizon gets into a squabble with a broadcaster. But, it’s not a viable replacement for my current system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">What I need is a <i>modern</i> TiVo that can record OTA signals. Fortunately there are two boxes that could fit the bill. The recently discontinued Roamio OTA (about $470 from Amazon) and the recently announced Bolt OTA ($500). The Bolt OTA has everything I’d want on a replacement TiVo for my main system, though with a respectable price tag.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Bottom line:</b> prototype works upgrading to my desired system would cost $500 and enable solid OTA recording and management capabilities.</span></div>
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BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-46952774319524788042019-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:002019-01-09T07:29:43.356-08:00Cord Cutting: Verizon - Tegna SpatThis past December 31st, sometime in the late afternoon the CBS signal carried by Verizon FIOS replaced the CBS feed with a looping "commercial" giving Verizon's side of a corporate dispute between themselves and Tegna a corporation that owns at least three stations:<br />
<ul>
<li>WUSA (9), the CBS station in Washington DC,</li>
<li><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">W</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">VEC (13), the ABC station in Norfolk, and</span></li>
<li><span style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-family: inherit;">WGRZ (2), the NBC station in Buffalo.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #111111;">Access fees appear to have been at the heart of the conflict. Tegna wanted more money from Verizon to allow the carrier to distribute their signal to Verizon customers than Verizon was willing to pay. </span><br />
<span style="color: #111111;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111;">The result of this corporate battle is the blocking of the network feed that carries popular shows such as the Big Bang Theory, NCIS and NFL Football just as playoff season began.</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #111111;">Fortunately, this conflict came to an end on January 3rd, restoring the network feeds in the three areas affected. Sadly, this type of battle is an ongoing and repeating issue as reported in this </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/01/03/verizon-tegna-resolve-dispute-restoring-cbs-washington-region-slew-blackouts-nationwide-remain/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7ef0b371cce1" style="caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17);" target="_blank">WashPost article</a> covering the resolution of this problem.<br />
<br />
My being very annoyed with both parties drove me to better understand the conflict and investigate solutions, or ways for me to be immune to the issue.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Network Access Fee</h2>
Television signal carriers (e.g. Verizon FIOS) pay the owners of Television signals aka Broadcasters (e.g. Tegna) for the right to distribute that content. In other words, the broadcasters charge the carriers to distribute their signals in parallel to the broadcast signal they send directly to consumers (at no charge). This strikes me as odd to say the least. <br />
<br />
I found an article written by RCN, another carrier that describes the situation from their perspective, I've included an illustration from that <a href="https://www.rcn.com/hub/about-rcn/programming-costs/" target="_blank">article</a> that shows the content flow.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2TmAIhvz15Q/XDNYTAKsp6I/AAAAAAAABW8/CuTkfWiH7AoTEIKrVtdEUZyyNliefJcWgCLcBGAs/s1600/tvprogramming_content_flow_rcn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="700" height="185" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2TmAIhvz15Q/XDNYTAKsp6I/AAAAAAAABW8/CuTkfWiH7AoTEIKrVtdEUZyyNliefJcWgCLcBGAs/s400/tvprogramming_content_flow_rcn.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable and other carrier subscribers enable two revenue streams to the broadcasters:<br />
<ol>
<li>Commercial revenue (eye balls on advertisements), and</li>
<li>Access fees from distributors,</li>
</ol>
while old-style viewers using antennas to receive the signal over the air (OTA) only provide commercial revenue.<br />
<br />
Basically the broadcasters are able to double dip on TV Viewers who view their product via a distributor rather than directly over the air. When they want a bigger piece of the pie, they can withhold their signal from the distributor denying the TV Viewer their content and placing huge pressure on the distributor.<br />
<br />
This whole situation drives me nuts. I pay too much to Verizon already and a corporation like Tegna can make that expense pointless. If only their was a way I could express my displeasure with both corporate entities and reduce their revenue.<br />
<br />
<h2>
What About Cord Cutting?</h2>
I've heard talk about <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/definition/28547/cord-cutting" target="_blank">cord cutting</a>, that is dropping the Television signal from the local carrier, typically replacing the video content with streaming over broadband (ironically often provided by the same entity that carries the video content being dropped) or other means. This approach makes little sense to the Network Operator lurking inside me (based on my work experience), replacing a broadcast signal efficiently distributed over a network to many customers with data streams carrying essentially the same content to each customers is just plain wasteful of network resources. Unfortunately, the powers that be, have built a world with financial incentives for the inefficient approach.<br />
<br />
The "cable" companies have worked on aggregating content for a long time and have become very good at it. A single subscription to a CableCo brings essentially all of the video content available to a household and makes it all accessible though a set top box that often integrates a simple recording device enabling time shifting of shows allowing consumers to never miss a favorite show. (My personal favorite is TiVo, though alternatives obviously exist). The CableCo's know they have a good product and they exploit that by charging fees for everything including rentals for those lovely set top boxes (avoiding those fees were one of my drivers to using TiVo).<br />
<br />
The CableCo customer pays a premium for the convenience of aggregation. Part of that premium goes to the broadcasters through access fees. The world of streaming television offers most if not all of the content that the CableCo carries in a more disjoint manner. Multiple agreements seem necessary to have all of the content and multiple "set top box" equivalents may be needed to view it. This is a less expensive approach that results in a harder to use solution. In other words, the consumer can reduce expenses by opting for what Clayton Christensen would call a cheaper, crappier product (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Technologies-Management-Innovation/dp/1633691780/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546870276&sr=8-1&keywords=clayton+christensen+innovator%27s+dilemma" target="_blank">The Innovator's Dilemma</a>), one where the consumer plays the role of project manager for content aggregation and management.<br />
<br />
I've known about cord cutting for years. My Brother cut his cord more than a year ago and he is doing just fine. The Tegan-Verizon dust up provided me with incentive to investigate doing it myself.<br />
<br />
<h2>
But, I Want my TiVo (DVR)</h2>
<div>
I have toyed with streaming. I already view some content on YouTube (for specific how-to videos) and HBO Go (to time shift specific content) through streaming on a somewhat regular basis. I access those streams using my smart phone, Apple TV, and TiVo. They take longer to setup and occasionally glitch while being viewed -- basically they never provide as seamless and easy an experience as viewing content on my TiVo.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I really like having subscriptions (one pass) on my TiVo to the shows I enjoy watching. I simply turn on the TV, hit the TiVo button on my remote, click "ok" to view my shows, and scroll through the content that has been recorded. This lets me keep up with all of my series and I get to ignore when they are actually broadcast. I have control of my viewing, being able to pause a show for my iterations is essential. As an added bonus I can use the skip function, when available, or the 30 second jump to obliterate commercial breaks or other delays (like zebras starring at video tablets) in my shows. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I don't want to watch a video stream where I must view commercials or wait for a break in the content to take care of a natures calling. I also don't want to be vulnerable to network glitches or corporate squabbles. Oh, wait, that last one is a problem, exactly the problem that instigated my looking for alternatives.<br />
<br /></div>
<h2>
OTA Television Viewing </h2>
Back in the olden days, we used to watch television via signal broadcast over the air (OTA) brought into our houses with an antenna. I thought those days were in my past, but perhaps it is not so. OTA viewing has several advantages that I have not considered until recently:<br />
<ol>
<li>Elimination of the distributer (CableCo),</li>
<li>Reduction of expense, and</li>
<li>Much better than expected signal.</li>
</ol>
Accessing broadcast TV directly over the air removes the need for a distributer, Verizon in my case, and takes me out of disputes between broadcasters and distributers. I move toward a world where a broadcaster who successfully negotiates higher fees from a distributer can be rewarded by a larger slice of a smaller pie. I like that, it feels like poetic justice.<br />
<br />
Ditching a CableCo, where monthly fees can easily exceed $100 and replacing them with an OTA solution at exactly $0 per month is an obvious financial incentive. Although, some channels are not available (e.g. TBS, SyFy, HBO) without some type of streaming solution. Still, given the expense of CableCo TV, cobbling together a money saving solution seems feasible.<br />
<br />
The big hurdle, in my mind, is the quality of that OTA signal. I remember the days of the rotating antenna on the roof bringing in a fuzzy picture displayed on a <i>huge</i>, 27 inch console TV. I don't want to go back to that. <br />
<br />
<h2>
Could an Antenna Work for Me?</h2>
I know that we converted from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television_transition_in_the_United_States" target="_blank">Analog to Digital</a> television broadcasts back in 2009. That means that the OTA signal of today is very different from the one I remember and, I hoped, would give me much better results and make this whole Cord Cutting thing appealing to me. <br />
<br />
One of my first steps was to do some googling to see what I might expect to receive. I learned that I am less than 30 miles from the broadcast antennas of my local ABC, CBS, CN, Fox, NBC and several more stations. Learned this information from a very useful website: <a href="https://nocable.org/availability-report/zip/20177-leesburg-va" target="_blank">nocable.org</a>. Below is a view of their estimated access from my location:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LttsTrzTNg8/XDNsPnWRzyI/AAAAAAAABXI/qpvSf1kWymQ96rnFmQrg3D84TyBOq78NQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-07%2Bat%2B10.10.13%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1232" height="257" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LttsTrzTNg8/XDNsPnWRzyI/AAAAAAAABXI/qpvSf1kWymQ96rnFmQrg3D84TyBOq78NQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-07%2Bat%2B10.10.13%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
My house is located on top of a rise with a relatively clear view toward those towers, obstructed only by a few trees. This makes me believe the estimated coverage is likely understating what I can pull in with an attic mounted antenna. I could probably grab the necessary signal with an indoor amped antenna placed in a window, in fact, I have a neighbor who does just that for one TV. But I don't want to block a window and I want the best possible signal.<br />
<br />
The best possible signal really means an antenna on my roof. Getting the antenna up high provides a good signal, putting it up even higher provides a better signal. On the other hand a roof mounted antenna is vulnerable to weather damage, is not visually appealing, and is (<a href="https://www.groundedreason.com/tv-antennas-fcc-hoa/" target="_blank">illegally</a>) prohibited by many HoAs. I don't want to see an antenna sticking out above my house and I definitely don't want to put holes in a perfectly good roof, so the highest I can go is in the attic.<br />
<br />
My house was wired with coax for cable TV running to nearly every room in the house. It was built when Cable was the rage so I have lots of unused coax (I currently use wired ethernet for my TiVo based video supplied by Verizon) in my walls. This makes getting the signal captured by an antenna in the attic to any room a matter of some cable detective work, a lot easier than running new cables.<br />
<br />
All of that makes me think OTA might work for me. <br />
<br />
<h2>
Obtain an Antenna</h2>
After some quick online research, I choose to buy three items from Amazon to give this thing a go:<br />
<br />
<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024R4B5C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">RCA Compact Outdoor Yagi HDTV Antenna with 70 Mile Range</a> - $42</span><br />
<span class="a-size-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"></span><br />
<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0024R4B5C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Winegard LNA-200 Boost XT HDTV Preamplifier, TV Antenna Amp</a> - $37</span><br />
<span class="a-size-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"></span><br />
<span class="a-size-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JGSC5AO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Channel Master LTE Filter Improves TV Antenna Signals</a> - $23</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PYXMfJgtMCY/XDNyu8syFvI/AAAAAAAABXU/0st3Aqk6P54V9-Bd3Ow9SvVojmkuwTICQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-07%2Bat%2B10.36.56%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="962" height="183" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PYXMfJgtMCY/XDNyu8syFvI/AAAAAAAABXU/0st3Aqk6P54V9-Bd3Ow9SvVojmkuwTICQCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-07%2Bat%2B10.36.56%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="a-size-large" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.3 !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><br /></span>
<br />
The antenna I picked has a lot of <i>prongs</i> and not very many <i>loops</i>. Those prongs, the long straight elements look familiar to people who remember TV before cable, they are used to bring in VHF signals (what everything used to be) they are what TV antennas used to be exclusively made of. Loops are used to capture UHF signals, us grey haired folks may remember them as a wire loop that was used to bring in those high numbered independent stations like channel 53. More on antenna design at <a href="https://www.tablotv.com/blog/vhf-vs-uhf-frequency-cord-cutters-ota-tv-antenna/" target="_blank">tablotv.com</a>. <br />
<br />
I wanted to concentrate on VHF quality as I had learned that my local ABC and CBS broadcasters use VHF and that they are relatively more difficult signals than the UHF broadcasters I hoped to reach.<br />
<br />
The antenna also happened to be the least expensive model I found recommended on more than one website. There are quite a number of sites that have antenna ratings, suggesting this is becoming much more of a thing.<br />
<br />
I don't know if I need the amp, I suspect I don't, or the LTE filter, but I wanted them in hand so I could have my best shot at making this work.<br />
<br />
When those items arrived, I was ready to setup my test system.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Test Antenna Setup</h2>
Before delving into my attic to install an antenna in a challenging environment, I wanted to quickly see if it seemed likely to work. To do this, I took the new gear to an unused bedroom on our top floor in the south east corner of our house and began setup there.<br />
<br />
I assembled the antenna and laid it on the bed pointing generally in a ESE direction (the direction suggested by notable.org) for my location. Wired it directly to a television and turned the TV on. Low and behold, it totally didn't work. Disaster?<br />
<br />
As it turns out, my TV needed to "learn" what stations it could receive over the antenna. I suspected that might be the case and delved into the menu setup options where I found an appropriate choice and launched a signal scan. The scan ran for something like 10 minutes though it seemed like hours. When it was done, it reported finding more than 50 stations.<br />
<br />
I immediately jumped to the broadcast network stations and found that I received all of them and that the picture was perfect. I mean perfect. None of the snow or drop outs I remember form the past. The signal was just great. I also could bring in a ton of "cruft" networks, I could tune a whole bunch of stations I have zero interest in. Just like my CableCo service -- but for free!<br />
<br />
<h2>
Next Steps</h2>
My prototype works beautifully. Now I need to do the following:<br />
<ol>
<li>Connect the bed sitting antenna to my house cable infrastructure,</li>
<li>Test the signal in a remote location through the house cables,</li>
<li>Investigate TiVo service for OTA,</li>
<li>Install antenna in my attic,</li>
<li>Understand what supplements I may want to OTA service</li>
<li>Delve into the economics of cord cutting</li>
<li>Say goodbye to my monthly cable bill.</li>
</ol>
<div>
I've already made progress on steps 1 through 4, but this post is reaching the point of silly long, so that will be covered another day.</div>
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<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-84440001087184640172018-01-27T08:29:00.000-08:002018-01-27T08:29:48.501-08:00Investing in Mutual Funds: 101<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px;">A friend recently asked me my thoughts on mutual fund investing, seeking advice on how to build a portfolio. Rather than just give him some notes, I choose to right a post so that anyone can see my approach. It's certainly not perfect. I strive for simple and easy to manage. I do not chase the latest fad. I talk only about mutual funds, the same thing can be </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="font-size: 11px;">accomplished with ETF's purchased through a broker, direct mutual funds save a middle man, they are easier, if you don't have a broker. </span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
Basic Concepts</h3>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">When building a portfolio, there are several things that I think are consistently true and/or things that you need to think about:</span></div>
<ol>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Time Horizon</b> — How long you expect an investment to grow? What do you think the money might be used for? Sooner and/or more critical translates to more need to protect principal which means more bonds and fewer stocks.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Risk Tolerance</b> — Beyond time horizon, how do you feel about (short term) losses? Are you ok riding out a market crash like what happened in 2008-2009? If you would feel compelled to sell stocks when they dive, you need more bonds and fewer stocks as that’s a horrible long term choice. Conversely, if you would buy more stocks during a crash, you have a high risk tolerance (and strong stomach) and can tolerate more stocks.<br />
</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Low cost beats high cost in the long run</b> — The hot sector today will grow cold. The ace stock picker over the last market cycle will fail in the next. The only thing that is certain is that the more they syphon as a management fee the lower their returns will be.<br />
</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Taxes reward long term capital gains </b>— Building up capital gains is a great tax dodge. You make more in the long run holding a broad index than hopping between the short term optimal index. This applies mostly to stocks. </span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Income generation</b> — If you want a cash stream, you can get it the obvious way, bonds and their dividends.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">You can also use dividend stocks or just sell small some stocks to harvest cash and a few gains. It really doesn’t matter, though bond advocates will argue otherwise.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Talking Heads are Not Your Friend</b> — The clowns who talk about the market are benefited by short term churn and FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt).</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">They get paid for eyeballs or worse by buying ahead of their advice.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Don’t do anything suggested by “Mad Money” shows, in fact, consider doing the opposite. By the time their advice has hit the air waves the market has already adjusted.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Diversification of Investments is not Spreading Your Investments </b>— Most funds buy the same stocks.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">If you buy an large cap fund, a tech fund, and an actively managed fund, you just bought a bunch of Apple and Alphabet stock which is exactly the same in each fund.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The same applies to different fund providers.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Buying shares in funds provided by different investment firms but the same general goals gets you the same underlying investments with more people to pay.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Larger Amounts Equal Discounts</b> — Many funds are available in lower cost flavors for higher balances.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Vanguard offers “Investor” and “Admiral” flavors of the same fund.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">They hold the same investments, but Admiral funds have lower costs and higher minimums.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Other fund providers do similar things. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></li>
</ol>
<h3>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Portfolio Building Blocks</span></h3>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Now into the building blocks of a portfolio. There are a couple of larger groups of investment types. In today’s world you balance, primarily between: Stocks & Bonds and between Domestic and Foreign. I believe these categories are essential to any medium ($20K or more) or larger portfolio.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">You can also delve into Large Cap vs Small Cap, Short Term Bonds vs Long Term Bonds, Established vs Emerging markets. Unless the portfolio is large and actively managed, I think these differences are mostly important to avoid being wildly unbalanced. It’s easy to screw this up than to get it right. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">To me, the building blocks of a portfolio (and an example of each, ticker symbol, morningstar rating and expense ratio) are going to be:</span></div>
<ul>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The examples are not glamorous. They cover their sectors and provide stability at low cost making them winners in my book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">You can also use blended fund, one that attempts to cover multiple sectors in an automated way. Some are called “balanced” funds and hold stocks and bonds in some more or less predictable way. Some of the best of the best of this type are Vanguard’s Target Retirement series. Those funds hold shares (with no additional cost) in the four building block funds I gave above. The adjust to more conservative weightings (more bonds) as they approach their target date. These are really good one fund portfolios. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The downside to Vanguard’s Target funds is a higher cost than the constituent funds in the admiral flavor. If the portfolio is large enough to qualify for Admiral class, those are the better choice. Here is an article from Forbes on this: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2013/06/05/the-trouble-with-target-funds/#5a08b4671b00"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The Trouble With Target Funds</span></a>. Here is a link from the Motley Fool about this fund type: <a href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/2016/07/04/why-vanguard-target-date-funds-are-the-best-in-the.aspx"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Why Vanguard Target Date Funds Are the Best in the Business</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Admiral shares of the basic index funds have a rather low minimum, $10,000 for Total Stock and an microscopic expense ratio of 0.04%! Total International Bond Admiral also has a $10,000 minimum and a lower expense ratio of 0.12%. The admiral shares will beat the Target Retirement funds built from the same components by a small but significant amount in the long run. If a portfolio can qualify for only one admiral fund, it will be US Stock, which is the biggest bang and makes a direct portfolio better.</span></div>
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Investment Allocation</h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The biggest choice, in my mind is how much to put into each of the component funds. The general rule of thumb is more stocks for longer time frames and higher risk tolerance. US ve International is tougher but 2 to 1 isn’t far from the mark. International seems positioned to beat the US in the next 5 years, so perhaps a bit more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There are some handy tools for coming up with fund weights, I suggest Vanguard’s reading there <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/how-to-invest/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">How to Invest</span></a> web page and follow the interesting links, this is available to everyone. If you have an account with Vanguard, the <a href="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/AnalyticsPageController?FW_Event=AnalyticsIntro"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Portfolio Watch</span></a> page is very useful for some basic analysis and a good <a href="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/AnalyticsPageController?FW_Event=AnalyticsDetermineTarget&view=215816006&cash=1.899999976158142&bond=19.100000381469727&stock=79.0&other=0.0"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">tool to set target allocations</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Larger portfolios, perhaps over $100,000 can benefit from a bit more specialization. This isn’t necessary, but can be helpful and it “feels” more like investing than the basic fund allocation. Perhaps a healthcare index with no more than 5% of the funds. Healthcare currently makes an attractive choice because of the meta trend of an aging population. Another choice would be energy which is largely beaten down at this point and likely to rebound. Doing this implies more active management and a future need to sell when the over weight is no longer appropriate. This is by no means necessary to a solid portfolio.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Closing Thoughts</span></h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">One final point, be sure to consider how investment firms make their money. If they make money on commissions, they will be benefited by churning a portfolio. Investment firms are in the business of making their shareholders money. That money has to come from their shareholders in one manner or another. One of the advantages of Vanguard is that they are owned by the their fund investors. They don’t have separate shareholders who funnel profits from their investment products. </span></div>
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One last thing, I am a total amateur at investing. I am just sharing my thoughts. Don't let them be a substitute for your decision making, </div>
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BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-32691973549911530912017-04-26T06:30:00.000-07:002017-04-26T06:48:42.762-07:00Happy Birthday, Littlest One!Birthday cards have sure changed. When I was growing up, my parents would give me a card, without failure, every year on my birthday. I rarely really wanted a hallmark card, they all said the same thing, a good message, but the same. A few of them survived my youth to make it into a keepsake box that I will always treasure, mostly because my mom and sometimes my dad picked them out signed them and gave them to me. Today, cards are becoming a thing of the past, often replaced with a quick post on Facebook or other even more passing wish. <br />
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To quote, Bob Dylan, <span style="font-family: inherit;">"</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ" target="_blank">the times they are a-changing</a>." Mister Dylan wrote some powerful lyrics, (and managed to make them nearly unintelligible when sung) this stanza is particularly fitting:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">...Come mothers and fathers</span></i></span> <i style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Throughout the land</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">And don't criticize</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">What you can't understand</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Your sons and your daughters</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Are beyond your command</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Your old road is rapidly aging</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Cause the times they are a-changing...</span></i></blockquote>
I think my children know, I will always try to lend a hand, and try not to criticize. They also know their parent's aren't perfect and we will slip, just as they will slip on this road we travel.<br />
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This year, I want to tell my littlest one, my youngest daughter, that I love her and I am proud of her. She is out there in the world, holding her own, owning a house, holding down a good position in a good firm, building a career, meeting people, riding horses, taking photos, playing games. I believe she is enjoying life, even if she sometimes feels highly and doesn't feel that joy from time to time. <br />
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To quote from yet another old time song written by Carly Simon, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/preview/T6lg6cdd6mtyghgjernbdgowogm?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics" target="_blank">Anticipation<span id="goog_1302559428"></span></a>....<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #474747;">We can never know about the days to come</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #474747;">But we think about them anyway, </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #474747;">And I wonder if I'm really with you now</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #474747;">Or just chasin' after some finer day</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #474747;">I'm no prophet and I don't know nature's ways</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #474747;">So I'll try and see into your eyes right now</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #474747;">And stay right here 'cause these are the good old days</span></i></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: #474747;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>...</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<i><span style="color: #474747; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">And tomorrow we might not be together</span><br /><span style="color: #474747; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">I'm no prophet and I don't know nature's ways</span><br /><span style="color: #474747; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">So I'll try and see into your eyes right now</span><br /><span style="color: #474747; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;">And stay right here 'cause these are the good old days</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">That last line has been something that I have always tried to carry with me. No matter the challenges of the day, these should be the good old days. Try not to wish only for a better future, or pine for the things that are past, make today the best day it can be, build treasured memories and know that:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I love you littlest one! </span><span style="font-size: 15px;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #474747; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Happy Birthday!</b></span><br />
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BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-73419927201693425032017-03-28T10:47:00.001-07:002019-05-07T05:52:31.350-07:00My Mother<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I started this piece very shortly after Mom passed away. It was hard too write and even harder to revisit to actually finish it up. I can't say I have reread the whole piece, but I think it's ok, and I want to share it with some people who have been important to me and my mother. I have also posted a brief slide show, which you are welcome to view on <a href="http://www.barrettphoto.us/Family/Barbara-Barrett-Page">BarrettPhoto.us</a>. Following is what I wrote late last year...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Barbara Ann Barrett — Born April 13, 1933, quietly passed away in her sleep from cancer on August 19, 2016, at about 7:05am. That is how I began her obituary posted on Adams-Green website. <i>Quietly passed away in her sleep</i> sounds like an euphemism, a wishful memory of what might have been, but in my mother’s case, it is remarkably accurate, though brief description of the event. I want to expand on that, provide a few more details from my memory for my memory, so that I can clearly, accurately, recall the related events that preceded it.</span></div>
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Mom’s battle with rectal cancer began in the fall of 2013 at the same time I had a life threatening health crisis. My intrepid wife had us both in the hospital, different hospitals, shuttling between to oversee our care. Mom’s doctors, unsurprisingly suggested a witches brew of chemo, radiology and surgical treatments, steps that might stop the disease but with a high cost in side effects and life altering changes. </div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">This was Mom’s second cancer. Her first was bladder cancer more than ten years ago. She beat that cancer under the care of Doctor Simon Chung. He gave her an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_pouch"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Indiana Pouch</span></a>. Allowing her to avoid an external pouch, giving her good control of her body. The procedure defeated the cancer, no chemo, no radiation needed. Unfortunately, recovery from this major surgery was very difficult. Mom spent the better part of four months in the hospital dealing with a variety of complications. On discharge, she was totally bed bound, very weak, desperately needing to build strength to do anything. She struggled through rounds of rehab, eventually learning to tenuously walk with aids and support. She was getting around with the aid of a walker, still living on her own, when the second, unrelated, cancer was diagnosed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mom having been through a major cancer surgery and not wanting to go through another titanic battle, one that would leave her with an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostomy_pouching_system"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">ostomy pouch</span></a>, decided she did not want the surgery. She would have chemo and radiation and live out the rest of her life as her best version of herself. I don’t recall much of her early treatment, I was still seriously ill and in and out of the hospital fighting my own fight. Have I recently mentioned my dear wife, Linda, who had to support both of us during this time, facing the possibility she might lose us both? From what Linda has told me, Mom’s radiation treatments made her terribly sick and had to be stopped not long after they had started. Mom’s oncologist, Doctor Ravneet Grewal, crafted a chemotherapy regime that largely held the tumor at bay, actually reducing its size, though at a fairly high cost in terms of Mom’s comfort with her being subject to bouts of diarrhea lasting for several days each week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In early 2014 my health started to improve, having had an adequate does of <a href="http://www.bodydynamicsinc.com/the-tincture-of-time-the-virtue-of-patience-the-wisdom-of-happines/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">tincture of time</span></a> as prescribed by my medical team as the best answer to my health problems, Linda and I struggled with how we could help my Mother. We clearly foresaw that she was not going to be able to continue living on her own, she would have to have more help. Our first step was to call Dan Dalrymple, a family friend, the man who had very quickly used the resources of <a href="http://www.foxcraft.com/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">FoxCraft</span></a> to install railings and other aids in our house when I came home from the hospital restricted to a wheel chair, challenged to raise an arm let alone climb our stairs (fortunately, my son was able to get me up and down those stairs, I still don’t know how). Dan called in resources from FoxCraft and we considered what we might be able to do to adapt our house in Herndon to accommodate my mother living with us. Sadly, nothing made sense, moving Mom in would be hard and the resulting changes to the house undesirable in the long term and really not effective.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">What about moving? That could do the trick. In stepped Betsy Madden, another family friend, now a Real Estate Agent, who offered her help. We could sell our house, Mom’s house, and buy another that could accommodate all of us. The new house might offer a quieter environment, a bit more <a href="http://www.dictionary.com/browse/bucolic"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">bucolic</span></a>, (go ahead, look that up, I did!) and be something appropriate for Mom’s last days. This would be so much work, especially with me needing a wheel chair, walker, or strong arms to even get around. Betsy assured us it could be done, tackling things one by one, step by step. She brought in simply wonderful resources to help us. Betsy called on Sherri Salamone, <a href="http://rightangleinteriors.net/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Right Angle Interiors</span></a>, a fantastic interior designer to build the pre-sales punch lists for both houses and make the myriad choices required. Betsy brought in Debbie Clark to help us “declutter” and organize, so we could move with less trauma; Debbie was able to teach us how to let go of hundreds of things that were just taking up space and making moving seem impossible. Of course, FoxCraft provided the brains and brawn required to get both houses ready for sale. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Betsy went searching for a house that could accommodate everyone and some of our wish list items. She found a proverbial gem in the raw on Firestone Place in the River Creek community just outside Leesburg VA. The home was built next to a mirror image, same model, that had an elevator. It had a wonderful waterfall pond/stream with a covered porch that offered a very nice view of trees and Goose Creek. The new place had space on the lower level that could accommodate an in-law suite and enough space to do everything we dreamed of. We called in Dan and Sherri, they liked the place, thinking it could work for us, despite its, at the time horrendous appearance and poor condition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mom was generally holding her own during the summer and fall of 2014, but we could tell it was only a matter of time before she could not safely be on her own. On one of our visits, we found her passed out and unresponsive in her chair, she hadn’t eaten and was suffering from <a href="http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/diabetes-hypoglycemia"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">hypoglycemia</span></a>, adding more urgency to moving her in with us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Our ‘new’ Firestone house had to have her suite pounded out, something that could accommodate her, a wheel chair, handicapped access to a bath room and a means to move between the main and lower levels. Fortunately, FoxCraft stepped up, yet again, this time principally in the person of Rick Cheney, who, with the help of other FoxCraft folks, pounded out the first stage of the remodeling quickly, building her suite and a home theater, allowing us to move Mom in with us in Leesburg. A stair lift from <a href="http://www.areaaccess.com/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Area Access</span></a> didn’t hurt either. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mom was with us for all of 2015, living a more-or-less normal life, as our house was pounded into its desired configuration, most significantly with a new kitchen and elevator providing her access to all levels, including the garage so she could travel outside without steps. The new kitchen prominently included a <a href="http://porch.com/advice/design-baking-station/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">bakers height</span></a> island designed to accommodate a wheel chair and allow Mom to be literally in the middle of the kitchen without being in the way (something that was always a key concern with Mom — not being in the way). All of this work was spearheaded by David Cribbs, another superstar from FoxCraft.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As 2016 approached, the side effects of chemo were catching up to my Mom. Her bouts of illness after each treatment were getting more intense and lasting longer. At times stretching from one treatment to the next, with no time in between to actually live. We tried a different oncologist who offered a plan that might work, but proved to be even worse, putting Mom in the hospital again, from side-effects. During this visit a few especially empathic nurses suggested investigating hospice services. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">At this point, we knew for a fact certain that Mom was going to die from this cancer and that treatments were extending her life but at a tremendous cost in suffering. Hospice’s focus on quality of life, palliative care and support seemed exactly what was needed. Together with my Mom we decided that she would enter home hospice care as provided by <a href="http://www.capitalcaring.org/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Capital Caring</span></a>. Mom did not want to be in a hospital kept alive by machines, tied to tubes, she wanted to be at home, with family, giving and receiving love as she had all her life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">After we made this decision, Capital Caring quickly swept in with support and assistance. Our case manager, Tracy Peart, a dear, sweet person, helped us stop the medications that Mom was on, that were not helping, she made sure we had those mediations that would help, teaching us about <a href="https://www.drugs.com/morphine.html"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Morphine</span></a>, <a href="https://www.drugs.com/search.php?searchterm=Haloperidol"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Haloperidol</span></a>, <a href="https://www.drugs.com/search.php?searchterm=Lorazepam"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Lorazepam</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.drugs.com/search.php?searchterm=zofran"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Zofran</span></a>, what they do and how even their side-effects could be used to treat symptoms in hospice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mom improved for a few months after the chemo stopped. She became strong enough to go on short walks, traveling past our neighbor’s house a few times and able to sit on our porch and listen to the sound of falling water while looking at the flowing creek and trees swaying in the breeze. That period passed like an all too brief Indian Summer right in the middle of our actual Winter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Her final health decline began as the leaves popped and the flowers blossomed. As her strength waned, she spent more and more time in bed, with occasional trips in her wheel chair to sit on the ramp that Rick built gazing out our under-deck windows at the waterfall, gold fish pond and scattered flowers blooming from the lily pads. The “basement dungeon,” her words, always spoken with a gleam in her eye and a smile on her lips, we had built was decorated with memories of a wondrous life but filled with love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As the weather warmed and the calendar turned to August she became totally bed bound, requiring much more care and placing more strain on us. Tracy suggested adding additional support, which we did though <a href="http://visitingangelsleesburg.calls.net/?gclid=CIGynLnu3M4CFUFZhgod94kE_A"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Visiting Angels</span></a> home-care, never have I encountered a more appropriately named organization. Visiting Angels sent us Crystalbell, a young lady who helped us with the harder aspects of caring for a person confined to their bed. Like so many people who were involved in Mom’s care, Crystalbell was a godsend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Those first weeks in August were hard. Mom was slipping away. She couldn’t eat, could barely drink, was having a hard time remembering where she was, and was often in pain. We knew she was near her end. So did our kids, Brian and Shannon, who both came home, with the support of their respective managers/companies, so they could be there for their Grandma, mother, and me. Mom held on longer than anyone expected. She had visits from our pastors (Stephen Smith-Cobbs, Becca Messman), her sister (Mary), and quite a few others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">She hung on for days, mostly sleeping, occasionally asking for some Coke to drink, and talking a bit. One of her last evenings, she was more alert than usual and reviewed the story of how she met my Father, her first jobs, visits with the Werners, and looked at some photos. It was a wonderful evening, though it was long and I was tired. No one was sleeping very much. Brian, Shannon, and I seemed to set up an informal rotation, including Crystalbell, so Mom would be alone as little as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Tracy, Becca and others counseled us about Mom’s impending death. I have always felt bad that my Father had died alone, in a hospital, after I went home from a visit. They each told me that people often hold on, while visitors are present, choosing to pass in private. Mom knew I have been tormented by my Dad’s passing, though she didn’t understand as well as my councilors did from their experiences. She wanted me to forgive myself, and I suppose I have. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Late in the evening of August 18th, Mom began to gurgle as she breathed, something that is sometimes called the <a href="http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/fundamentals/death-and-dying/when-death-is-near"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>death rattle</i></span></a>. It is caused by secretions in the throat that can no longer be swallowed. The sound is terrible for loved ones and care givers, but Mom was beyond being bothered, unaware of the noise. Brian, Shannon and I had been up late with her, not wanting to leave, until Shannon told us all to go to bed as the rattle stage could last for days and we were all exhausted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">On the morning of August 19th, I rose about 6AM and made my first trip of the day down to Mom’s room to check on her. Really to see if she was still breathing. I suppose I was relieved to hear her breathing, but terribly sad to hear the gurgle again. She was unconscious, beyond suffering, but no longer really living. I sat at her bed side, holding her chilled hand talking to her about much and nothing for about half an hour, until I decided I had best go have breakfast and get up for the day. Shortly after I came upstairs, I heard Brian heading down to see her. He was down for only a few minutes when I heard him come back upstairs and call to me to come down to help him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mom had turned her head and spit up a bit on her blouse. We cleaned that up and sat down on both sides of her, holding her hands. Her breathing was slow but had cleared remarkably, which made me happy. As we sat there, her breathing became much slower. Time passed. A breath. More time passed. Another breath. After what seemed a long time, I checked for a pulse and found it. Brian reminded me a pulse could continue for a while without breath. We both held our breath and Mom’s hand as we watched over her. I checked her pulse one more time, felt nothing, a surge, then nothing. Brian called Shannon who told her Mom, called her Uncle Roy and joined us. I called the hospice, they sent Nurse Tracy. Linda joined us in Mom’s room. Roy and his family came. Eventually Mom’s body was taken away. Her spirit had gone to join her beloved Chuck. She had carried on for more than twelve difficult years without him. We love you mom, Gma, SillyGranma, Barbara, Barbie, Barb...</span></div>
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BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-58844198780726067782017-03-08T06:46:00.000-08:002017-03-08T14:45:23.677-08:00J&S Travel Memory Books<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2LPIdhKRYAU/WMAhRZ3eMSI/AAAAAAAABLU/APb9WRdmcFkL4qhUDSryyPLtOGoYqvtpACLcB/s1600/Galapagos%2BAdventure.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2LPIdhKRYAU/WMAhRZ3eMSI/AAAAAAAABLU/APb9WRdmcFkL4qhUDSryyPLtOGoYqvtpACLcB/s200/Galapagos%2BAdventure.png" width="160" /></a>A few years back I discovered photo books as a way to make my images from travels a powerful tool for bolstering my memory and enjoyment of vacations and other trips. Before that, I had taken pictures, often printed some of them, looked at them and put them in a box or drawer. When I looked at them years later I really couldn't appreciate what I was looking at. The images just didn't work as a way to really remember the event. Putting those images into book format forced me to really think about what I saw, adding some organization and narration, allows my to save the memories much more accurately and gives me something that I can look at long after the fact and once again enjoy the experience. These books, for many people have become the ultimate souvenir.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>My 2017 book on a trip to Galapagos included a QR code on the back cover. This linked to the book on the publisher's website, unfortunately, their indexing seems to change over time, making the link useless and irreparable from where I sit. So, I have changed that link, now it points at this (hopefully) permanent page, that I can edit if the link to the book changes.<br />
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<a href="https://www.adoramapix.com/app/showbook/BarrettJG/book/Galapagos-2017-v1-3a/" target="_blank">2017: Galapagos - Orbridge Tour with GCC and W&L Alumni</a> (AdoramaPix)</h4>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LPIdhKRYAU/WMAhRZ3eMSI/AAAAAAAABLk/_3aoRkR9zu0o2WJ885JCz_EXJGFsgh9VgCEw/s1600/Galapagos%2BAdventure.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LPIdhKRYAU/WMAhRZ3eMSI/AAAAAAAABLk/_3aoRkR9zu0o2WJ885JCz_EXJGFsgh9VgCEw/s400/Galapagos%2BAdventure.png" width="322" /></a>This book is thick (1"), fairly hefty, and amazing! It's 100 pages long and has more than 500 images on its pages. I printed it in the largest format available, 12x9 inches. As of March 2017, AdoramaPix charges nearly $220 for a copy, certainly none trivial, but the quality is amazing. The pages are stiff and covered in real photographic print images. I like the Luster finish that presents tack sharp images in a finger print resistant finish.<br />
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AdoramaPix c<span style="font-family: inherit;">an </span>print the book in two smaller sizes, 8x6 and 6x4.5 inches. The smaller size drops the price though the large images loose considerable impact and the text, especially the smallest size becomes hard to read.<br />
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A comment from one of the travelers:<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i>Our copy of the Galapagos Memory Book that you created arrived today. It is beautiful and certainly memorable. We are so happy that you made this available for us. We will treasure it forever. -- C. Cleveland, March 2017</i></span><br />
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You can see the book in soft copy or order it through Adoramapix's website at this link: <a href="https://www.adoramapix.com/app/showbook/BarrettJG/book/Galapagos-2017-v1-3a/" target="_blank">2017: Galapagos - Orbridge Tour</a><br />
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As of today, AdoramaPix offers a small reward for referral accounts, $5 to new accounts that place orders of more than $49 on an account opened by referral. The account making the referral also receives a $10 credit. I like those credits, if you are going to order my book, please consider creating your Adoramapix account from my referral link: <a href="https://www.adoramapix.com/app/referral/5642013" target="_blank">J&S AdoramaPix Referral</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/interests/blackhills-yellowstone-tetons-june-2015-gcc-v1-1-12335111?vk=FJ8KizVKaT" target="_blank">2015: Blackbills, Yellowstone & Grand Tetons - Orbridge Tour with GCC, Dartmouth, NYU, NC State Alumni</a> (Mixbooks)</h4>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uX9Pctffyzc/WMAtkNW9ssI/AAAAAAAABLo/RPdJ3DEblQ0d-uBkqpDDbQR_RL9P2xnCgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-03-08%2Bat%2B11.12.04%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uX9Pctffyzc/WMAtkNW9ssI/AAAAAAAABLo/RPdJ3DEblQ0d-uBkqpDDbQR_RL9P2xnCgCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-03-08%2Bat%2B11.12.04%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I intend to come back to this post and add additional information, right now, it is a rushed way to provide editable links to the latest version of books that I have shared with others.<br />
<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-92204928334953896162017-02-23T06:12:00.001-08:002017-02-23T06:22:11.405-08:00Creating a Flickr AccountI use Flickr to display my favorite pictures and occasionally in support of group projects. Those group projects sometimes require new accounts to be setup by people who may be a bit confused by the process. This post is intended as a walk though of the account creation process that may help them out. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>Here are the steps and screens I went through creating (another) new Flickr account.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">First, go to </span><a href="http://flickr.com/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">flickr.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"> which should get you a screen similar to the following (they change the ad background frequently):</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DLWrfTP2Nw/WK7msnELs5I/AAAAAAAABJA/BoXZmwMLCbAB3oAVAyNRHksCnA10VP77ACK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.42.18%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DLWrfTP2Nw/WK7msnELs5I/AAAAAAAABJA/BoXZmwMLCbAB3oAVAyNRHksCnA10VP77ACK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.42.18%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">I then clicked the "<b>Sign Up"</b> or the "<b>Join Flickr"</b> button, they both do the same thing, I believe. The next screen should look similar to this:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7V9eYg6haGU/WK7nF0xnkaI/AAAAAAAABJM/_p-BhvapVioeWQQ9vukFXe_1pnNF3VnlgCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.43.19%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7V9eYg6haGU/WK7nF0xnkaI/AAAAAAAABJM/_p-BhvapVioeWQQ9vukFXe_1pnNF3VnlgCK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.43.19%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">You’ll need to fill in your name, email address, password (I always recommend a unique, non-trivial password), birthday and optionally gender. I don’t know of anything that uses gender on the site, perhaps it is profile thing. You can, and probably should use an existing email address that isn’t currently associated with a Flickr account. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">After filling out the form, click the "<b>Continue"</b> button. When I went through the process making this email, my browser hung, it just kept working. I closed the window, went to Flickr again and it started right up again, asking me to prove I wasn’t a robot. I presume that was a one off error and you should see a screen like this right away:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6MSkt-uBSOg/WK7ngFO1UnI/AAAAAAAABJY/peNhA2a__ew1cl-a6og8H-xTskySJKLrACK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.49.36%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6MSkt-uBSOg/WK7ngFO1UnI/AAAAAAAABJY/peNhA2a__ew1cl-a6og8H-xTskySJKLrACK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.49.36%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was given a simple task, clicking the correct boxes on the screen shown below. I suspect they will offer one of many tests designs to defeat a robot and coincidentally confuse people. You should be able to puzzle out what they want and do the appropriate thing.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wo6QQa7f1IM/WK7nvrjg4QI/AAAAAAAABJk/Dl9cvpqM9_IavxkASC_ejv36JntnRRF-wCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.50.16%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wo6QQa7f1IM/WK7nvrjg4QI/AAAAAAAABJk/Dl9cvpqM9_IavxkASC_ejv36JntnRRF-wCK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.50.16%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">
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<div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">After completing that puzzle, and hitting the "<b>Verify" </b>you should see a verify account screen as shown below:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aNghx65gsPc/WK7n-0EyRtI/AAAAAAAABJs/hqOj1z3QjOgk_PnhvB2UXR1ZZieuImcGwCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.50.38%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aNghx65gsPc/WK7n-0EyRtI/AAAAAAAABJs/hqOj1z3QjOgk_PnhvB2UXR1ZZieuImcGwCK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.50.38%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">
Hit the “<b>Send me an Account Key</b>” button and then head to your email. The screen will update, giving you a field to enter the new account key.</div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">
<b><i><u>Don’t click anything on this screen until visiting your email to</u></i></b><b><i><u> getting your account key.</u></i></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">
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<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">
You should receive an email shortly after you hit the “Send me an Account Key” button. Mine appeared as follows:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NiWKkzoPLo4/WK7p83ohOJI/AAAAAAAABKE/1TEZJKs3WqofEMCHubLEtSZAZDebCoJSgCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.53.40%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NiWKkzoPLo4/WK7p83ohOJI/AAAAAAAABKE/1TEZJKs3WqofEMCHubLEtSZAZDebCoJSgCK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.53.40%2BAM.png" width="391" /></a></div>
<div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">After getting the five digit code, go </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">back to Flickr to enter the code in that verify screen. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J0LU7WUpqso/WK7py0-avLI/AAAAAAAABJ8/00gQPb0LDQQZe-Ws9iG_q2KryqMWdM6VwCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.52.15%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J0LU7WUpqso/WK7py0-avLI/AAAAAAAABJ8/00gQPb0LDQQZe-Ws9iG_q2KryqMWdM6VwCK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B7.52.15%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"> Then hit “<b>Verify</b>” and you should see a success screen:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTgS70KOY7k/WK7rW5PIDdI/AAAAAAAABKQ/yDQRVTm_ycg5dzsWDjT9_oWtHZ8Zbc7YACK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B8.21.17%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTgS70KOY7k/WK7rW5PIDdI/AAAAAAAABKQ/yDQRVTm_ycg5dzsWDjT9_oWtHZ8Zbc7YACK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B8.21.17%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Go ahead and click "<b>Let's get started</b>" </span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;"> Y</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">ou should receive a Welcome screen similar to this one:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n9viQ8_ckcs/WK7ruSDDhLI/AAAAAAAABKc/MXPXtYvl5i4qr7xSKCNCgTyciBLZb55SQCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B8.23.23%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n9viQ8_ckcs/WK7ruSDDhLI/AAAAAAAABKc/MXPXtYvl5i4qr7xSKCNCgTyciBLZb55SQCK4B/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-02-23%2Bat%2B8.23.23%2BAM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px;">It will be pre-filled. You can change your Flickr screen name or accept their suggestion. When you are ready, hit the “Next” button and continue. If the Flickr screen name is already in use, a common problem, you need to change it at least a bit and try it again. At this point, you’re done and can see any public Flickr pages or do anything else you'd like with the Flickr program. </span><br />
<br />
If you want to give the new account a spin looking at some of my various albums, you can follow this link: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jns_photo/albums" target="_blank">J&S Photo Flickr Albums</a><br />
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<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-79074471996203931042016-02-11T08:02:00.004-08:002017-02-23T06:13:56.239-08:00What the Heck Royal Caribbean?I've been on several Royal Caribbean cruises. Generally been very happy with them, thrilled even, a few bumps, but I'm happy to book another cruise. <br />
<br />
I do have a bone to pick with their web site and technical support. It seems my Crown and Anchor Society account is in a permanent state of broken. I've tried email support, I've tried calling them, they seem either uninterested in the problem or incapable of helping. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Here's what happens when I try to logon to <a href="http://www.royalcaribbean.com/" target="_blank">www.royalcaribbean.com</a>:<br />
<ol>
<li>I enter my userid and password</li>
<li>I receive a failure screen with this message: <span style="color: #cc0000;">The user information you entered does not match our records. Please verify your information and try again. </span><span style="color: #999999;">(Screen Shot 1)</span></li>
<li>I select the <span style="color: #0b5394;">Forgot Username or Password?</span> link and follow instructions to reset password.</li>
<li>I receive a password reset email and click the link.</li>
<li>I enter my new password, which is identical to what I entered as my password originally</li>
<li>I receive an error message stating: <span style="color: #cc0000;">The New Password must not be the same as the Old Password.</span> This confirms that I had my password correct in the first place. <span style="color: #999999;">(Screen Shot 2)</span></li>
<li>I am logged in (notice the Log Out choice at the top of screen shot 2) despite the error message. WTF?</li>
<li><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="color: black;">I enter a different password as my new password and again receive the message: </span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">The user information you entered does not match our records. Please verify your information and try again. </span><span style="color: #999999;">(Screen Shot 3)</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
The next time I want to logon to RoyalCaribbean I have to go through exactly the same steps. Actually step 5 and 6 are not necessary, they just confirm that I could remember my password when Royal Caribbean apparently could not and that they logged me in, despite messages to the contrary.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here are the annotated screen shots, in case anyone at Royal Caribbean actually wants to to try and correct this problem.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Screen Shot 1: Initial Failure Message</h3>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50Owae8PtfU/VryvmcmMOKI/AAAAAAAABBo/AxVPrryvAtI/s1600/Royal%2BLogon%2BError%2B1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50Owae8PtfU/VryvmcmMOKI/AAAAAAAABBo/AxVPrryvAtI/s640/Royal%2BLogon%2BError%2B1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Screen Shot 2: Duplicate Password Message and Logged In</h3>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pfYmqTey3kQ/Vryvtwn5XPI/AAAAAAAABBw/suMggdkKzXE/s1600/Royal%2BLogon%2BError%2B2.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pfYmqTey3kQ/Vryvtwn5XPI/AAAAAAAABBw/suMggdkKzXE/s640/Royal%2BLogon%2BError%2B2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3>
Screen Shot 3: Rejected New Password Message, Still Logged In</h3>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dKhdIjca8ew/VryvyzKtDTI/AAAAAAAABB4/opnzAf0oG1M/s1600/Royal%2BLogon%2BError%2B3.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dKhdIjca8ew/VryvyzKtDTI/AAAAAAAABB4/opnzAf0oG1M/s640/Royal%2BLogon%2BError%2B3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
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BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-78356582293631545112015-08-11T08:27:00.002-07:002017-02-23T06:14:08.908-08:00Mixbook Opportunities for ImprovementI've created three nearly 100 page books with Mixbooks at this point and I'm willing to use it again, so it has some definite upsides, but it also has some "opportunities for improvement," things that just drive me nuts or feel a need to fix a book and reprint it. These things really should be fixed.<br />
<br />
I'll go into my major beefs with Mixbooks below.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h4>
Fuzzy Previews in Web App</h4>
Mix books allows very large, high resolution images, I imagine there is an upper limit, but I haven't found it yet, even after using a 13 image pano from raw, a very large image. That's good.<br />
<br />
What isn't so good is that it uses a relatively low-rez and apparently fixed size preview for rendering the previews that are used to create the book. This causes near panic in everyone who sees a big two page spread as a fuzzy, grainy mess, that desperately needs to be fixed. From experience, I know that pages like this will print just fine, but they look horrible, set off alarm bells and generally lead to a gut check when hitting that final button which is only relieved when the finished book arrives.<br />
<br />
This problem could be avoided if Mixbooks would generate a better preview for large images, like page spanners, for use in the GUI. Alternatively, a notice that the actual image is sharp overlaid on the fuzzy preview could suffice.<br />
<h4>
<br /></h4>
<h4>
No Automatic Page Numbers</h4>
Adding page numbers is a pain in Mixbooks. <br />
<br />
My earlier books were created using Apple's Aperture software. With Aperture I would click a few boxes and page numbers would appear on each page in the position I indicated. They were correct and automatic did I mention they were correct?<br />
<br />
Mix books has a help page on how to add page numbers. It amounts to placing a text block on a page, position it where you want, type in the number you want, repeat this for every page and change it when you move pages around. The result is keeping numbers aligned and correct is very challenging.<br />
<h4>
<br /></h4>
<h4>
No Bleed Warnings for Images</h4>
I often have images positioned to "bleed" off the page, that is extend to or beyond the edge of the page on one or more edges. If an image isn't a "bleed" I like to leave a consistent border of background or white around all of the edges.<br />
<br />
This seems to be easy to do in Mixbooks, especially since it's composition tool shows what looks like (but isn't) a preview of the printed page. The problem is the creation interface is guessing at the actual page borders. When the book goes to print there is some margin for error and some of that margin is beyond the displayed page area.<br />
<br />
This means a perfectly positioned image, hard up against the preview edge, may print with a sliver of background between it and the page edge. This is impossible to see in the preview and wrecks many bleed images. The workaround is to assure that bleed images go safely past the edge of the page, which has to be done very manually on each image and is difficult to check.<br />
<h4>
<br /></h4>
<h4>
Odd Gutter Behavior for Page Spanning Images</h4>
Images can be set to span pages. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, some images set to span pages leave white gap on one side of the gutter interrupting the image. The workaround is to be sure to not have page spanning turned on unless you really want it on an image. This is tricky to check for and needs to be handled on image insertion.<br />
<h4>
<br /></h4>
<h4>
Difficulty Judging Font Sizes</h4>
I have a problem getting font sizes right. I like 11 point or larger fonts in the GUI but generally hate them on the printed page, they seem comical in printed books. This is despite my screen being large enough that I work on a preview that is as large or larger than my printed books.<br />
<br />
The workaround is simple, use 10 point or smaller and trust they will look good printed. <br />
<h4>
<br /></h4>
<h4>
Difficulty Aligning Images/Text with Small Gaps</h4>
Getting the gaps between pictures right is a challenge for me. I like small, uniform gaps. The GUI allows mouse dragging, which is very imprecise but does include snap to alignments so elements are easily left, right, center, top, bottom aligned. It also allows pictures, but not text to be "nudged" a small amount with the arrow keys. This makes tight alignment of images possible but text is restricted to drag and hope.<br />
<br />
The GUI would be improved if a grid could be turned on and adjusted for alignment. I would set the grid to my desired spacing and things would be much easier.<br />
<h4>
<br /></h4>
<h4>
Flaky Flickr Connection</h4>
I tried using Flickr as a way point for my last creation. It really speed up the upload process. Lightroom can send images directly, quickly into Flickr. Mixbook can load images from Flickr very quickly. All of which speed things up and felt really good.<br />
<br />
That is until my book started to lose images, finished pages sprouted ugly X symbols where my pictures once were with a small text saying the image was no longer available.<br />
<br />
I think the problem was triggered by changes in Lightroom that were published to Flickr. Mixbook seemed to then get unhappy and drop the connection. Saying the image was no longer available, when in fact it had just been updated. <br />
<br />
Mixbook could offer an option to sever the Flickr link when loading images into it's GUI. Or take some other action to avoid these nasty "X's." As it stands, this feature is far more dangerous than useful.<br />
<h4>
<br /></h4>
<h4>
Page Sizes not as Advertised</h4>
I ordered a hardback and layflat version of my latest book, in the landscape 8.5x11 inches size. I was a bit surprised when they arrived that they were obviously different sizes.<br />
<br />
The plain hardback version had pages measuring 8.375 x 11 inches. The exterior measured 8.875 x 11.375 inches. Almost what I expected.<br />
<br />
The lay flat version had pages measuring 8.062 x 10.5 inches. The exterior measured 8.5 x 10.75 inches. Noticeably smaller than the advertised page size. Certainly enough difference to create bleed and alignment problems.<br />
<br />
Another difference, the lay flat pages are thick, really thick. The 93 page book in lay flat is 1 5/8" thick while the "normal" edition is closer to a 1/2". This results in a very unexpected and disappointing size for the layflat version. I definitely would not recommend this "premium" format.<br />
<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-18910111087513647392015-06-20T20:27:00.000-07:002017-02-23T06:14:17.482-08:00South Dakota / Wyoming Travels<h2>
Black Hills, Yellowstone & Tetons</h2>
Linda and I recently traveled with a group of Grove City alumni on an Orbridge tour of National Parks and Lodges of the Old West. I had intended to write daily, or almost daily blog entries but that plan ran afoul of three problems:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Blogger is crippled on an iPad, it needs keys that don't exist on a touch interface,</li>
<li>Internet access is spotty at best in South Dakota and Wyoming,</li>
<li>The trip was packed with activities allowing little time to write or reflect.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Once home I began work on a photo book which I've now finished. A somewhat useable embedded version follows:</div>
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<object height="380" width="490"><param name='movie' value='http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=12335111&mode=production&pid=12335111&autoplay=true' /><param name='wmode' value='transparent' /><param name='FlashVars' value='b=12335111&mode=production&pid=12335111&autoplay=true' /><embed src='http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=12335111&mode=production&pid=12335111&autoplay=true' FlashVars='b=12335111&mode=production&pid=12335111&autoplay=true' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='transparent' width='490' height='380'></embed></object><br />
<div style="font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 11px; height: 26px; padding: 2px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.mixbook.com/"><img alt="Mixbook - Create stunning photo books, cards and calendars!" src="http://mixbook.s3.amazonaws.com/images/mixbook_player/logo_embed.png" style="border: 0px none; margin-bottom: -3px;" /></a> | Design your own photo book with Mixbook's easy online editor.</div>
<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0Rapid City, SD, USA44.0805434 -103.2310148999999943.8980029 -103.55373839999999 44.263083900000005 -102.9082914tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-39980684202866473962015-03-25T14:41:00.000-07:002015-03-25T14:42:45.850-07:002014: A Moving YearI just finished my first year family year book. We're anxiously waiting arrival of the hardcopy. I can share a soft copy here though.<br />
<br />
<object height="490" width="380"><param name='movie' value='http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=11610268&mode=production&pid=11610268&autoplay=true' /><param name='wmode' value='transparent' /><param name='FlashVars' value='b=11610268&mode=production&pid=11610268&autoplay=true' /><embed src='http://www.mixbook.com/flash/mixbook_albums.swf?b=11610268&mode=production&pid=11610268&autoplay=true' FlashVars='b=11610268&mode=production&pid=11610268&autoplay=true' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='transparent' width='380' height='490'></embed></object><br />
<div style="font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 11px; height: 26px; padding: 2px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.mixbook.com/"><img alt="Mixbook - Create stunning photo books, cards and calendars!" src="http://mixbook.s3.amazonaws.com/images/mixbook_player/logo_embed.png" style="border: 0px none; margin-bottom: -3px;" /></a> | Design your own <a href="http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books" style="text-decoration: underline;">Photo Book</a> with Mixbook's easy online editor.</div>
<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-39708802563311987932015-02-10T09:01:00.003-08:002015-02-10T09:01:49.476-08:00John Oliver v Big Pharma<br />
<br />
John Oliver on a recent episode of Last Week Tonight, did another really good piece, this time on Big Pharma and their practice of sending young, pretty, people to buy influence with our doctors. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/YQZ2UeOTO3I/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YQZ2UeOTO3I?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
A key element of it was advertising the existence of another government web site listing lots of doctors: <a href="https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov./" target="_blank">openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.</a> This one provides a glimpse into payments made by pharmacutical companies to doctors for lunches, entertainment, <i>education</i>, or just plain old brides, oops I meant honorariums and travel.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The web site currently only shows data from August to December of 2013, with additional data by June 2015. The drug companies of course started playing games to hide their activities immediately, Johnson & Johnson reported their influence purchasing under 15 different names, making their efforts harder to identify. More critical analysis of the data is available at <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/our-first-dive-into-the-new-open-payments-system" target="_blank">propublica.org</a>.<br />
<br />
Even as obfuscated as the data is, it provides our first view into what the drug companies are paying to push their pretty little pills to our doctors. Allowing a bit of information into the medical market.<br />
<br />
This whole thing is driven by that horrible socialistic Obama Care, providing previously unavailable information to help people make informed decisions (in other words it is promoting a fair market!).<br />
<br />
By the way, my family physician, got marked as accepting a lunch valued at $18.75 from Pfizer. I'm feeling rather confident that he is not being influenced by Big Pharma; although, his willingness to question the need for tests already had me convinced.BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-4367216577798827552014-11-21T07:19:00.001-08:002014-11-21T07:20:04.328-08:00Mom's Moving Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9_FPpD8i9gU/VG9XWBF-mEI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/gq2flzVTUNU/s1600/DSC_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9_FPpD8i9gU/VG9XWBF-mEI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/gq2flzVTUNU/s1600/DSC_0005.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
There is something bittersweet in moving my Mom out of her house that she shared with my Dad for his final years. A house she had lived in, alone, for near on a decade. It's not my childhood home, far from it, but it was my parent's home.<br />
<br />
Taking things apart, backing out screws, that I knew my Father had assembled years ago, I could almost feel my Dad with me. I could hear his voice echoing in my head as he explained where they should be placed, which were important and which we're not. So many things that he taught me over the years, that are just part of me, came back to me.<br />
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I didn't just find labels on boxes. The breaker box in my parent's house was completely labeled. Each breaker neatly labeled, each with its own computer printed label.<br />
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BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-48098854608303626322014-11-21T06:58:00.002-08:002014-11-21T07:03:37.177-08:00An Adult Decision<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My daughter has loved horses since a very early age and has been fortunate to have had a horse since she was in elementary school. She’s actually had three horses, Hope, Paddy and Aiden. The first two were technically her mother’s critters, but Shannon was always the priority rider.</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When it came time for her to move up from her pony, Hope, we started shopping for a larger horse that would be able to carry her into competitions and had Paddy in the barn before Hope left.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When Paddy reached his limits at the preliminary level of equestrian eventing and age was limiting him, we went looking for a new horse again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Aiden, an off the track thoroughbred, looked to be Shannon’s ideal horse. He was very green, having just left his </span><i style="letter-spacing: 0px;">career</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> of racing but was large, athletic, with good ground manners, and a willingness to learn. He looked like exactly the horse Shannon could train and take forward into competitions as her horse.</span></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">Shannon has worked diligently with Aiden, teaching him dressage and jumping skills that are at the heart of eventing. She took him to several low level events and he showed promise, combining some aptitude for dressage (Paddy’s weak suit) with the athleticism to clear the highest obstacles Shannon put in front of him. Unfortunately, Aiden has come up lame several times, usually right before a competition forcing Shannon to scratch and put him in a rehab program.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When we purchased Aiden, we put him in her name, making her the official owner. This past year we gave Shannon a lump sum of money to fund her horse addiction, giving her full responsibility for her large beast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Over the past summer, Shannon started considering her future with Aiden. She was now aware of the costs of horse ownership, having been responsible for writing all of his checks and his propensity for lameness, something we had rarely dealt with before, but Aiden is a thoroughbred, a horse bred for speed, not durability, and that showed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">She came to the conclusion that she needed to sell him. He was never going to compete at the preliminary or higher levels of dressage and she had other opportunities for her time, being a senior in college. This lead her to make, what I suspect was her toughest decision (so far), and sell him without a plan for an equine replacement. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">She searched for a good home not the highest bidder and placed him with a friend of a friend where he should have a good opportunity to recover from his current lameness and perhaps compete at a lower level or just be a horse, more than capable of pleasure riding or being an excellent companion in the field.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">I know this has been difficult for Shannon. Her handling of the situation, I believe shows good judgement. I expect she and Aiden will do well moving forward and Shannon is free to make other life choices, unencumbered by a commitment to a very large critter,</span></div>
BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-44245087661219671392014-11-04T05:44:00.001-08:002014-11-04T05:45:35.811-08:00My Daughter the Swordswoman<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G-mHlF4s3ts/VFjUjzYonVI/AAAAAAAAA48/_YN_1Pm2Hr4/s1600/Swordmanship-thumbnail_sq-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G-mHlF4s3ts/VFjUjzYonVI/AAAAAAAAA48/_YN_1Pm2Hr4/s1600/Swordmanship-thumbnail_sq-150x150.jpg" /></a>Shannon went swording this past weekend at another renaissance festival. She's performed at other ren-fests previously, but always <i>mounted, </i>showing off her equine skills and knowledge. This time she went as a participant with the <a href="http://www.swordcircle.com/" target="_blank">sword circle</a>, a group led by teacher Alex Foster, of young people who are learning and demonstrating historical sword techniques from the late middle ages and renaissance periods.<br />
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I believe Shannon met the folks from the sword circle at the <a href="http://bearitblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/stone-tower-glenn-renaissance-faire.html">Stone Tower Glen Renaissance Festival</a> where she hammed it up on horseback as a performer and went over to watch the boys sword fighting until things quieted down and she proceeded to beat up the boys in a series of sword duels until she faced the groups leader who she battled to a veritable draw.<br />
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Shannon took several of her sword club's member, <span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comitatus_(classical_meaning)" target="_blank">Comitatus</a>, with her to participate. Shannon has been the president of this group for three years, if my memory serves correctly. She has taken the group to other festivals, notably the <a href="http://www.rennfest.com/" target="_blank">Maryland Ren-Fest in Crownsville MD</a>, though this may have been their first as participants rather than visitors. </span><br />
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Shannon was dipped early into medieval atmospheres of various levels of realism since an early age, having played D&D with her parents and friends and attending Ren-Fests at an early age. I thrilled that she has found a way to participate in them and show of some skills earned with handwork and not a few bruises.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-85722831230622868952014-10-01T06:32:00.000-07:002014-10-01T06:33:31.774-07:00What Is That Car?<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-ie7RmlUEg/VCwBw5bbudI/AAAAAAAAA4c/9Eb-K6fU0z0/s1600/970909_618638444821022_241016582_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-ie7RmlUEg/VCwBw5bbudI/AAAAAAAAA4c/9Eb-K6fU0z0/s1600/970909_618638444821022_241016582_n.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a>Today is my birthday, it's something that happens every year. At this point I'm pretty used to them. This one will be way better than last year's though. Which I spent in the hospital uncertain if I would every have another birthday. All in all, the day has prospects of being a very good day.<br />
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Since it is my birthday, I treated myself to a (to me) yummy breakfast from McDonald's (with way to many calories). That's a tasty treat, but better yet was a question I heard on the drive home....<br />
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What is that car?</h3>
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I heard the question from a man who had rolled down the window of his F150 and stuck his head out while he ogled my ride. "It's a Porsche Boxster," I replied. "I like it, I had a GT3," he said.<br />
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For those who may not know, a GT3 is basically a Porsche race car in street legal form. It dwarfs the Boxster in many respects, including cost. Drivers of elite Porsche cars typically look down their noses at the <i>entry level</i> car that I drive.<br />
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His comment is a testimony to the redesigned Boxster breaking the image of the <i>hair dresser's</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>car, with deep air scoops and hard lines added to the typical Porsche curves. It also doesn't hurt that I choose the (no cost) option of deleting the name Boxster from the car's exterior.BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-79085723864757552802014-09-05T19:19:00.000-07:002014-09-05T19:19:35.924-07:00Home Owner Warrenty Follies<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yr22ZYiZS9s/VApgosdCo6I/AAAAAAAAA20/N8hMtz1OHNI/s1600/210_email_banner.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yr22ZYiZS9s/VApgosdCo6I/AAAAAAAAA20/N8hMtz1OHNI/s1600/210_email_banner.gif" /></a>One of the <i>perks</i> added to the house that we recently purchased in Leesburg was a home buyer's warranty from <a href="http://www.2-10.com/" target="_blank">2-10</a>. This type of warranty protection is often added by the seller to entice buyers, hopefully engendering confidence and a higher transaction price.<br />
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In our case, we asked for a warranty to be added to the deal as the price was being negotiated. It seemed like a good idea costing us essentially nothing and offering a promise to fix major components of the house that could go belly up shortly after we moved in.<br />
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Opportunity #1: Garage Door Opener</h3>
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The first major element that we found <i>broken</i> in the house was a garage door opener that when engaged, made hopeful noises but didn't move the garage door. Finding this on day one, motivated me to learn more about the warranty coverage.</div>
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The warranty basically operates like health insurance for our home. When something goes wrong, I can contact the warranty company for a repair, they may authorize a repair which will have a $75 deductible applied. If the service man gets here and it ends up not being covered (there are crafty loopholes making it hard to be certain what is covered) I'll get stuck with the whole bill.</div>
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I wan't happy with the garage door openers in the house to start with, plowing $75 or more into making them work wasn't appealing when a new one wasn't a whole lot more money, so we opted to skip the warranty and just put in new openers. </div>
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Opportunity #2: Dishwasher Buzzes with Only One Cycle</h3>
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The second major element we stumbled into was the dishwasher being mostly broken. I knew it had issues from the home inspection, it was reported to have a buzz when drying, but was workable. It turned out that it buzzed constantly unless actively washing or being open and it sometimes refused to even run the one cycle it was stuck on. As our first few weeks in the house passed the buzz got more annoying and the frequency of totally not working seemed to increase until we just had to do something about it.<br />
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Since a new dishwasher could easily run $500-$800, a repair at $75 seemed like a good choice so I contacted 2-10 about the issue. Their web site was unusable beyond allowing me to register the warranty and providing an option to upgrade my coverage, though I have no idea what would be better or how much more it would cost. It did have a phone number, so I called them.<br />
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First Week</h4>
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The pleasant person I spoke with at 2-10 took down relevant information and said an appliance repair person would call me within 24 hours to schedule a repair visit. </div>
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After a week, I checked the website and learned that my repair was in progress and I should contact the repair company for more information. Since I had no idea who the repair company was, I called 2-10 and learned that the repair company had tried calling me on my cell phone but was unable to reach me. Oddly, my cell phone had no missed calls or messages, perhaps they had actually dialed my number and Verizon selectively erased all traces of the call .</div>
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The 2-10 rep called <a href="http://www.expressappliancesinc.com/contact_us" target="_blank">Express Appliances</a>, the company that had been selected for the repair, and managed to setup a next day service call.</div>
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The next day, a tech arrived and tore the dishwasher apart far enough to see a clearly burned out control board and rather broken lower dish rack both of which needed to be replaced. Of course, neither part was available. They would be ordered and should be in within a week. When the tech put the dishwasher back together it still buzzed but refused to do anything else, after the first pass repair it went from mostly to totally broken. Yes, it was worse after being <i>fixed</i>.</div>
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Second Week</h4>
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We waited through our week of <i>part on order </i>hoping it might arrive early and get us out of our manual dishwashing mode to no avail.</div>
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Third Week</h4>
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As our second week of waiting for the part that was supposed to be in within a week ground on our patience was got thinner. I called Express Appliance and was told that 2-10 had put a hold on the parts and was considering replacing the unit. </div>
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I then called 2-10 and was told that wasn't correct. After spending quite a while on hold and describing the problem repeatedly, I was told they would approve the parts order and I would be contacted with more information.</div>
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The next day Express Appliance called and let me know that the parts were on order and should be in within 5 to 7 business days. They told me they will call when the parts are in and a repair visit can be scheduled.</div>
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Forth Week</h4>
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We're currently in the 4th week, waiting on the parts which will hopefully be in soon, though I am not holding my breath.</div>
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I've got no idea if my experience with appliance repair via 2-10 warranty is typical, but it certainly hasn't been a good one. Seemingly they are much better at selling policies than repairing appliances, which is disappointing but not exactly shocking.<br />
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<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-33095211373397278592014-08-31T17:42:00.000-07:002014-08-31T17:42:04.568-07:001983: Graduation -- Where Are The Jobs?This is the second of my <i>career</i> posts, it focuses on my attempt to start my working career with a Bachelor of Science degree, double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy (I think they were having a two-fer on the word "and").<br />
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Setting the Stage</h3>
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The job market back in 1983 was rough across the country, even worse in Western Pennsylvania with the coal and steel industries in collapse and layoffs everywhere. I wanted to work near where I grew up, I liked the area, the people, and I wasn't a huge fan of change.<br />
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Fortunately, I thought, I had chosen a top-notch school, Carnegie-Mellon University, an in demand major, engineering. I had grades to be proud of, graduating with University Honors (meaning my GPA qualified me to complete an undergraduate research project with a mini and I mean mini thesis), and I had plenty of resume stuffers in the form of President of Fraternity, Buggy designer, sports (intramural though they were). I even had some work experience. I thought I had ticked all the boxes and my search should be productive.<br />
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Career Center</h3>
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I spent quite a bit of time at the career center at the start of my year. The career center staff reviewed resumes, offered minimal advice and scheduled on campus interviews from many employers. What they didn't do was provide any type of <i>mock</i> interview or other guidance for how to do well in an interview. That is something I would have benefited from, as it was, I signed up for interviews early and often, figuring I would learn by doing. Fortunately, CMU attracted a lot of employers who wanted to talk to engineering candidates; I could afford to use early interviews as practice.<br />
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I've always been very much an <i><a href="http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/extraversion-or-introversion.asp" target="_blank">introvert</a></i>, I'd much rather quietly read a book than go to a party. Sitting down in a small room across a table from a stranger who had the power to move me on in the interview process or send me away was very intimidating. After several train wrecks that passed as interviews I started to gain a comfort level that let me present myself reasonably, though each interview was physically exhausting. <br />
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I managed a modicum of research on each company before I met with their representatives. This was largely limited to reading company literature and a few magazines available in the career center, very little being available on the nascent Internet. I tried to dream up a few relevant questions based on this information to demonstrate my deep interest in each company, which of course wasn't all that deep, I basically just wanted to earn a job offer or three so I would be employed after earning an expensive and difficult degree.<br />
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Each company was carefully added to my tracking sheet, recording when I had the interview, with columns for rejection, plant trip dates, etc. I was adding 2 to 3 lines per week to the sheet, spilling over onto additional pages as I frantically interviewed and waited for responses.<br />
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We'll Keep Your Resume on File</h3>
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Several weeks after the first interviews, responses started to trickle in. The first several waves were uniformly polite forms of "<i>don't call us, we'll call you" </i>or more simply <i>"go away.</i>" I logged the responses and posted the rejection letters on a growing pile attached to my fraternity house door room as I'd seen in years past. The fall of 1982 was particularly brutal, the stack of rejection letters on many doors become impressively thick before snow started to fly.</div>
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Plant Trips, Really?</h3>
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Eventually a few plant trip invitations started to be mixed into the sea of rejection letters. This was good news, the next step in the job hunt and perhaps a path to a real job offer.</div>
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Each invitation was cause for excitement, optimism, and another attempt at research. Just what does Timken do in Ohio that I might be useful at? Where is Chevy Metal? Oh, Flint Michigan, that could be fun. IBM wanted to talk to me in Kingston NY. Each trip was an adventure, traveling on my own, having a company pay my bills, awesome.</div>
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Some of the plant trips were not much more than on campus interviews with other people from the company with a tour thrown in. One put me on the spot to present something from my honors project, which I did badly. A couple asked interesting questions, one that stuck with me: <i>cost, quality, schedule, which is the most important?</i> The correct answer I was told was schedule, though in hindsight, I imagine my hedging answer of they are all important was the worst possible answer.</div>
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One thing that was jumping out at me, was that there was zero, none, zilch, interest in me from any Western PA based companies. I was going to have to move away from Pittsburgh for a job, if I could find a job.</div>
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Waiting and Waiting for an Offer</h3>
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As my final semester of my senior year began, I checked my mailbox with increasing intensity and wished I had an answering machine for my room phone. I imagined receiving an offer letter from each of the several, perhaps six, companies that had invited me for a plant trip. </div>
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I remember tearing open several letters and being disappointed to find a check for reimbursement of travel expenses. Money was tight, being disappointed at receiving in the mail was a reflection of my sense of urgency boarding on desperation to receive that elusive first job offer.</div>
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The spring semester offered fewer on campus interview opportunities, but I signed up for all that I could, each being possibly a completion for my quest. Each interview was added to my tracking list and I tried to follow up each with a written thank you note, having learned that, that might improve my chances of taking a next step.</div>
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Eventually I started to receive responses from the plant trips. As I started to read each one, they were oddly familiar; the words easily translated to "<i>don't call us, we'll call you.</i>"</div>
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An Offer, An Internship, Say What?</h3>
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Out of the blue I received an unexpected letter from big blue, IBM that is. I had already be turned away after my trip to IBM in Kingston NY, when I received a letter offering me a summer internship at IBM's Research Triangle Park (RTP) location. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I probably marked IBM RTP as an IBM site I would be interested in working at when I was on site in Kingston. Heck, I marked pretty much every site as a good one by that point in my search. I was feeling rather desperate. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm pretty sure I never marked internship as a possibility on any application. What would I want with a three month job after graduating with a four year degree and no plans to attend graduate school? On the other hand, the grass was beginning to grow as time moved on toward graduation.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3>
Another Offer, A Real Job, A Lowball Offer</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Shortly after the surprising letter from IBM RTP, I received an offer for a permanent job. Oddly, I can't recall the company making the offer, but the salary has stuck with me. They wanted me for about $20,000 per year. That was a lot more than nothing, but it was a heck of a long way from over $30,000 that was expected by CMU engineering grads that year.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Seeking Advice</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With graduation staring at me and offers for an internship and a lowball in hand I finally did what I should have done long ago, make an appointment with my undergraduate advisor, Dr. R. to seek his advice.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dr. R. listened to my situation and answered quickly that I should take the internship and go to graduate school. That sounded like a decent idea, but the deadlines for graduate school had long since passed and I couldn't imagine having to go home to my parent's house, unemployed while waiting for the spring semester to begin.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At this point in my life I hadn't learned to listen to what people were saying and what they might be meaning. I was totally tone deaf to the possibility that Dr. R. was hinting at, but I knew graduate school was expensive and I was not about to ask my parents for yet more tuition money.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Eventually Dr. R. spelled out the obvious for me, application deadlines were not cast in stone, exceptions were made for strong candidates (though I didn't consider myself as such) and fellowships were available to pay for advanced degrees in certain fields. He advised me to apply to CMU for an advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Finally A Plan</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Filling out a graduate school application for a school I was currently attending turned out to be really easy. As I was completed my application I learned that Dr. R. was the chairman of graduate admissions for the Mechanical Engineering department and that he was one of the top recipients of outside research funding. My prospects suddenly seemed a lot brighter with the IBM internship serving as a lovely bridge to graduate school which someone else might well pay for.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Fast Forward a Bit</h3>
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To my delight, the plan worked. I was immediately accepted as a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering. I was offered a fellowship funded by the DoE and supervised by Dr. R. that would pay my tuition and provide a stipend ($600 a month if memory serves) which was sufficient for room, board, and a bit more. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I spent the summer at IBM RTP, learning quite a bit and was set to return to CMU in the fall of 1983 as a grad student, having utter failed in my search for a full time job.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
What Did I Learn?</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My social skills, were a disaster. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I had tried to get better interacting with people. I had leveraged my time in the fraternity and in group projects to push my comfort level, but I was still was not good with strangers. I needed to spend time getting up in front of groups and talking so I wouldn't look horribly uncomfortable, I really wanted to avoid this, but it was obvious that I needed to do it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Interviewing was going to take practice. I had acquired more than a bit through this process, but clearly I was not succeeding.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Most importantly, I learned to think about the message behind the words when someone was speaking to me. I totally missed that Dr. R. could essentially wave his hand and my issues would go away. He offered me a direct path to success and I just didn't see it until well after the fact. In hindsight this was my most important lesson from this experience.</div>
BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-80847794281317970502014-08-30T14:41:00.000-07:002014-08-31T07:55:52.977-07:001996: Taking America Off Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.cleancutmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/aol-logo-american-online.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>This is the first, of what I expect will be many trips in the way back machine to some of my significant career experiences, things I did that worked out and likely some that didn't. I'll try to address both what happened and what I was able to learn as a result.<br />
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This is based on my recollection of events. I have almost certainly, unintentionally, <i>edited</i> events in my memory, I'm trying to be accurate, but memories can be shifty at time. Ultimately, its my blog and my story, so I'll apologize ahead of time for any errors, but I'm not going to worry about it (much).<br />
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<h3>
AOL's 19 Hour Outage</h3>
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I think it was August 7th, 1996, a day we ended up calling Black Wednesday when AOL suffered its longest service outage, usually referred to as AOL's 19 hour outage. Arguably, it wasn't an outage for that period, as it started with a normal service window. The <i>outage</i> began when AOL failed to come back online at the end of the window. The details are a bit fuzzy at this point, the actual unscheduled outage was 14 or 15 hours. Though, it doesn't matter, it was a huge amount of time for the service to be down. <br />
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I'll be coming back to this outage in the future, for now, I'll point out that it was a <i>network event</i>, driven by a failure in the IP networking of the service. This <a href="http://news.cnet.com/AOL-mystery-explained/2100-1023_3-220635.html" target="_blank">CNET piece</a> was posted the week of the outage and has some of the feeling of the time.<br />
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It was shortly after this event that I assumed responsibility for the AOL IP networking group that had been at the heart of the outage. I stepped into the role desperately short of actual networking knowledge but fully aware that AOL could ill afford another outage mess and that my employment very reasonable depended on such a disaster not happening.<br />
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<h3>
Something is Desperately Wrong</h3>
</div>
I had been in my new position for about a month, when in the early evening, the start of our prime time, a time when any hiccup was likely to make national news, that we started having unexplained problems in various subsystems that spanned data centers. The operations team quickly gathered in our Network Operations Center (NOC), as usual most of the team was still working at about 8PM when things started going sideways. We immediately began cataloging the problems in search of a cause.<br />
<br />
No software or configuration changes had been made in the past few days, eliminating the most common cause of this type of problem; the system was clearly in major distress as our user count, the number of people actively using the service was below where it should be and was bouncing up and down to the tune of multiple thousands of users per minute. The issues were sporadic but so wide spread that nearly every AOL session was being affected.<br />
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The wide spread and transit nature of the problems made it feel like a network problem, the component of our system that all other elements depend upon that could vanish out from under portions of the system and recover quickly.<br />
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<h3>
Steve Case Joins Us in the NOC</h3>
After what seemed like hours of focus, but was in reality closer to 30 minutes, Steve Case, the CEO of AOL quietly walked into the NOC, presumably to see what was happening for himself. I think he spoke with Matt Korn, my manager, and quietly watched as we hurriedly reviewed screens of data ran various non-destructive tests in our attempts to identify the specific problem cause(s) and theorized various causes and possibly solutions.<br />
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The pressure we felt was escalating as the clock raced on toward prime time, our customers were suffering through a <i>poor </i>online experience, and our CEO was watching, keenly aware of our recent network <i>SNAFU</i> which had earned us so much unwanted press attention. This situation was relatively unique, America was clearly Online, as we had most of our modems in operation, but the system was degrading, heading to what appeared to be a disastrous prime time crash, I could almost see the headlines as we grasped at straws.<br />
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<h3>
Maybe A Memory Leak in the ATM Switches</h3>
One of the theories for a root cause was a memory leak in the ATM switches that stitched together the Vienna and Reston facility. This was the element that my team was least comfortable with and a piece that could affect, or is that afflict, any component of the system that depended on cross site communication.<br />
<br />
We had worked with a network vendor for many hours during the 19 hour debacle, as they walked through various trouble shooting procedures with no success looking to identify a specific bug causing our outage. The technical support people for the ATM switches were proposing a similar approach to find the problem while maintaining our rather miserable ability to provide service to our customers.<br />
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Pretty much any memory leak can be <i>fixed</i> rather quickly by rebooting the device with the problem. This doesn't fix the leak, but it prevents the symptoms from appearing for some time. We were using a (mostly) redundant pair of ATM switches, so in theory we could and should reboot one pair, let it come back and then reboot the other. This approach would take longer but allow traffic to flow the whole time, though somewhat restricted. It also assumed that things were relatively <i>normal </i>which did not seem to be the case.<br />
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<h3>
Reboot the ATM Switches </h3>
It was with this information and background that I turned to our network engineer who was hands on with the switches and asked him to reboot all four of them, simultaneously, now. Someone, Matt Korn, I think, asked the question, likely for Steve's benefit, "isn't that going to take us offline?" I answered, yes, we're going to knock everyone offline by doing this, but the system should be able to recover quickly and have us in good shape for our maximum load. I spoke with more hope than confidence, but I think I saw a slight nod from Matt.<br />
<br />
The commands were entered and the ATM switches blinked off and then on as they began their startup process. As the power indicators flickered off, our user count plummeted to zero as a massive outage hit the AOL system. At my command, with my management chain looking on, in the early evening, I had taken America Online, offline, perhaps intentionally starting another back breaking outage.<br />
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We quietly watched the messages scroll past as the switches fired back up and communication started flowing. Our routers picked up next, seeing the cross site links available, they rapidly reestablished communication between Reston and Vienna. Some components of the service resumed quickly, on autopilot once data started flowing, other components required more attention, but in all cases recovery started happening. The network was once again passing bits as it was supposed to.<br />
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As I looked up from our screens, with cold sweat clinging to the back of my neck, I saw Steve and Matt quietly walking out of the NOC. Disaster had been averted.<br />
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<h3>
Why Did I Make That Decision?</h3>
The experts at our vendor were advising us down a trouble shooting path that had no promise of a quick fix. It could let them find and fix the problem, benefitting all of their customers at the expense of ours. This option held little promise in my mind. My objective was restoring our service, to heck with their other customers.<br />
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The problem arose after an unusually long period of system stability, with our devices running for literally a couple of days without a reboot, a painfully short period, but still longer than we were used to. This suggested a memory leak as a possible cause, the type of thing that is fine for a period of time and then causes services to fall over.<br />
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The system problems were far reaching but intermittent, suggesting something that could crash or block quickly and clear just as quickly on a selective basis, the ATM switches were the only single component that I could think of which could cause this type of pain on such a wide scale.<br />
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Rebooting all four simultaneously would cause a 100% outage to AOL, a choice with an obvious downside versus rebooting each of the two pairs in sequence, something I knew we were <i>supposed</i> to do in this situation. My concern was that if something was wrong in the ATM world, the two switches kept up while the other two rebooted could share the problem with the newly started switches causing a short recovery followed by a re-entry into failure, something we experienced many times on Black Wednesday, the 19 hour outage.<br />
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Bouncing all the switches gave us a guaranteed if temporary fix to a potential memory leak with a confident recovery path afterwards, assuming a leak was the cause. Fortunately, our diagnosis was correct, bouncing the switches took America off-line, but only for a few minutes, allowing a recovery fast enough to keep us out of the late night news across the country.<br />
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<h3>
What Did I Learn?</h3>
This was my biggest crisis management moment at AOL. I ended up very satisfied with my ability to gather data and make quick and decisive choices taking risks appropriate to the possibly rewards. I can't say that I didn't <i>know</i> this before the event, but that had been in theory, after this event, I felt confident making tough decisions quickly. That quickness element being key in a crisis situation such as this, waiting for more data would have just have dug our hole deeper.<br />
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As a network novice, I heard advice from people with years of experience. Remembering the vested interest of my advisors was key as I ended up ignoring the most knowledgable and depending on those whose biases were most closely aligned with my need to solve the problem <b>NOW!</b><br />
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<br />
<h3>
<b>Postscript</b></h3>
The next morning, my team came to me with a plan to remove the ATM switches. They were out of the network at our next maintenance window. Everyone in the network team was keenly aware of how close we had come while dodging that bullet. Evicting those switches couldn't happen fast enough to make us happy.<br />
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In hindsight, this was a decisive moment in my career. Never again did I have management higher than my immediate manager ever ask me to justify a choice related to the network. I had a massive amount to learn, but I now had the confidence to do it.BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com012100 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191, USA38.9507382 -77.36390410000001314.036520700000004 -118.67249810000001 63.8649557 -36.055310100000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-74005119757063444802014-07-29T22:00:00.000-07:002014-08-30T14:38:47.655-07:002014: July Health CrisisThis past Friday (7/25) my coughing jags and mild fever got to annoying for my very patient wife, she told me I needed to go the doctor. While it didn't seem too serious to me, I certainly didn't feel well and if Linda wants someone to go the doctor, they certainly should.<br />
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<h4>
First Doctor Visit, 7/25</h4>
Dr. Harding had picked this Friday to get an early start on his vacation, so I got a same day appointment with another doctor in the Town Center Family Medicine practice. As I ran down my symptoms, fatigue, no endurance, persistent headache (the kind where it seems someone is driving a nail ever deeper), fever (100-101.5°F), general aches, and joint pain in my hip, I realized I was describing the flu minus nausea, which according to <a href="http://www.webmd.com/lung/walking-pneumonia" target="_blank">WebMD</a> is a good summary of the symptoms of walking pneumonia.<br />
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My doctor agreed and said that a patient reported symptoms diagnosis would be walking pneumonia at this point. He listened to my lungs, heard crackling and listened some more. He had me say "Eeeeeeeeeee" a bunch and reported that in my lower right lung it sounded like "Aaaaaaaaaa" which is another pneumonia sign, the same place he heard crackles. He was reasonably confident in the diagnosis, and wanting to get a cure started ASAP, prescribed a strong antibiotic (Levifloxacin) and a wicked strong cough medicine (Hydrocodone polistirex & chlorpheniramine polistrex pennkinetic). <br />
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One slug of the cough medicine and my cough vanished, I mean gone, didn't cough again after taking the med as long as I didn't let it expire. It also made me pretty much looped and sleepy for the first time in a week or more. I had been exhausted, but not sleepy and was unable to sleep. With the cough med in me, I slept for the majority of the next 24 hours.<br />
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The antibiotic as expected, had no obvious impact, though I thought I could feel some improvement. The most direct measurement seemed to be my fever which was remaining stubbornly between 101 and 102°F when I wasn't on aspirin/Tylenol/ibuprofen, all of which knocked the fever down quickly and kept it in check for a number of hours,<br />
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I stayed strictly in rest & recovery mode popping meds as needed to keep my 100.X° F in check for the next two days.<br />
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<h4>
Fever Pushes Past 102°, 7/27, Sunday</h4>
Sunday evening Linda added checking my temp to the vital signs we routinely check. She took it once, said something like "oh shoot" (but with more of an "i" in place of the "oo") cleared the thermometer and for the second time saw 102.7° F pop up. She wanted to take me to the ER. My brain came up with the idea to call a nurse line for advice. I tried to find one associated with our health care provider (Anthem) but came up empty. <br />
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My next idea was to call my physician's office and try to reach the oncall doctor. After leaving a message I had a return call from my Doctor's office in less than 5 minutes. A quick review of my symptoms and recent history got us quickly to a go to the hospital recommendation, exactly what my wife wanted to do when she saw that over 102 thermometer.<br />
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I interrupted Brian's shower to tell him what was going on, not intending to make him go on another hospital trip. When he heard my plan, he came back immediately with "that's a bad plan". "You can't drive in your current condition and Mom has taken her sleeping pills making her nighttime driving skills questionable at best." He said he could be ready to drive us to the ER in 5 to 10 minutes, I agreed and went off to gather a few items. When I got downstairs, toward the garage, he was already standing there ready to go. Brian is an amazing young man, yes I am biased, but truth is truth.<br />
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<h4>
INOVA Loudon ER 7/27-28</h4>
We arrived to a quiet ER waiting room. It appeared to have just one other patient, after checking in, they asked us to sit, we just barely sat down and a nurse came out and called "Joseph Michael." I heard my name, as did the other likely patient, we both stood up but our respective support groups remained seated, the nurse clarified "Joseph and Michael, yes, both of you."<br />
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I rode the short distance to my ER exam room where a nurse immediately started asking questions, after less than a minute she was interrupted by an ER Doc who asked his own questions, saying he wanted to get my care started as soon as possible. I have never had a shorter time between walking through ER doors and seeing a doctor.<br />
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They listened to my lungs, reporting nothing that sounded like pneumonia, ordered up a chest x-ray gave me an IV pain killer which also controls fever and an IV antibiotic. The tech arrived to take me to x-ray about the time the doctor was completing his initial exam so off I went for another x-ray.<br />
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The ER doc told us he wanted to admit me to the hospital around midnight. He didn't bother with the typical "23 hour observation" dodge that hospitals so seem to like these days. At about 2 AM admission was on course and we managed to send my family home, Linda was nearly asleep walking, good thing Brian was with us.<br />
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<h4>
First Day In Hospital 7/28</h4>
I was taken up to my room about 3AM and given a brief exam and orientation. I've never been in Loudon Hospital before, but it is an INOVA facility so a lot was familiar. My room was a double and my roommate looked to be having some issues, groaning and such, he also liked to have his TV on and blasting even when asleep. I have a very hard time sleeping with a TV in view especially if I can hear it, so this looked to be an unexpected challenge. <br />
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My nurse and team finished their check in things about 5AM and I tried to sleep, totally failing. My team did manage to persuade on roommate to use headphones and I was able to pull a curtain to block my direct view of the TV but the glow of the TV, my roommates lights and groans combined with my pain to keep me far away from sleep.<br />
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<h4>
Pain Killers, Please</h4>
Predictably I had at least one painkiller control freak or another making sure I didn't get <i>too much</i> pain killer. The initial dosage was pathetic. The web site drugs.com, says this about initial IV Dilaudid dosage: <i>The initial starting dose is 0.2 to 1 mg every 2 to 3 hours. </i>It goes on to discuss patient tolerance to opiates (of which I have a quite a bit at this point) and other factors all of which lean to a higher dose. They started me on 0.5 every 4 hours. That dosage helped for a bit, like an hour, but once again put me in a battle for painkillers with my medical team. It only took 12 hours or so to get my dosage bumped up to 1.0 every two hours, even that seemed inadequate.<br />
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I continue to be amazed at the different attitudes in nurses relative to painkillers, Quite a few nurses and even some doctors seem to be afraid of them, want to not give them if they have any choice, but there are nurses that care more about patient's well being than fanatical adherence to safety guidelines, I'm very glad the second group exists.<br />
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<h4>
More Tests</h4>
Yesterday's chest x-ray came back inconclusive for pneumonia. The doctor suggested the result could be caused by my relativly dehydrated state which kept the pneumonia from fanning out, or something like that. I may need a new x-ray now that I have been hydrated. The team did order a CAT scan of my hip and an Ultrasound of the area. The ultrasound was clean, confirming that I am not pregnant but not helping otherwise.<br />
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The CAT scan was painful as it required me to lay still and flat on a hard bench, driving my hip nuts. The feeling was familiar, I think I have had that pain before at previous CAT scans for my pancreas. This "abscess" may have been brewing for a long time, beaten down but not eliminated by various antibiotics I have taken in the past year.<br />
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<h4>
Call Button Follies</h4>
When I push my button to call a nurse, which I needed to do at least once every two hours for pain management, a call screen on the wall opposite our beds lights up. Sometimes it stayed lit until a nurse checked on me, often it quietly went out. Apparently, the display says, in small type which bed issued the call, but reading comprehension seems to fail often, or perhaps it is simply a poor design. <br />
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Truth is, its a horrible design that forces nurses to look at the wall instead of the patients, so of course they choose the patients and just tap the button to silence the call without looking.<br />
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At one point I saw my roommates nurse/tech reach past the curtain to turn out my call light almost immediately after I hit it. I still had my hand over the button so I hit it again, and once again I saw a hand flash out to turn off the call light. I tried a third time with the same result. I waited for them to go and tried one more time, this time it stayed on for quite a while and eventually my nurse showed up.<br />
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This was very frustrating, happening several more times. I think the hospital needs a much clearer differentiation of who is making the call to keep the bed nearer the door from shanghaiing the staff on a regular basis.<br />
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<h4>
Another Sleepless Night</h4>
To no one's surprise, my night passed sleeplessly, with a drone of various noises from my roommate and a glow from his lights and TV, accompanied by my bed's ceaseless shifting of air with occasional stabbing pains as the bed shifted my hip. My nurse started turning off his TV when he was asleep, but that never lasted long as he would wake, turn it back on and almost immediately start sawing logs again. I figured eventually I'll get used to the sounds or so tired that I will be able to sleep, eventually.<br />
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<h4>
Rubber Pancakes & Sugar-free Syrup, 7/29</h4>
I asked for pancakes and bacon for breakfast, rather surprised that was an allowed choice. The two silver-dollar pancakes that arrived were slightly warm, no where near hot enough to melt the imitation butter sent with them but I decided to dig in anyway. I poured the sugar-free Syrup on them, the syrup looked like maple syrup and smelled like maple syrup but didn't taste like anything edible I've encountered. The pancakes felt like they were stamped from rubber. I ate a few bites and gave up. The two bacon strips were nicely crisped, relatively thick and quite tasty, other than seeming like something I shouldn't eat, they were quite good.<br />
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<h4>
Breaking Health News, 7/29, 12:30</h4>
I was just informed that the CAT scan of my right hip shows an abscess (likely puss collection, normally an infection) on/in a muscle which runs over my right hip. The scan didn't cover the whole area of interest, they were looking at the joint, not muscles over it, so an additional scan is needed. The tentative plan is to do a new CAT scan, then hope that interventional radiology can go in and remove the abscess in a closed procedure and that the abscess tests out as a simple infection.<br />
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It appears this may be the root cause of all the symptoms.<br />
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<h4>
Follow-Up CAT Scan and Drainage Procedure, 7/30, Wednesday</h4>
The next day I had a follow-up scan which confirmed the extent of the abscess and the plan of treatment. Essentially, they want to drain the pocket of ick and leave a drain line in it, connected to a bag to collect the stuff. Also, they want to culture the bacteria to see what it is and what it is vulnerable to in terms of antibiotics.<br />
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The drainage procedure went smoothly. I was wheeled down to Interventional Radiology, hooked up to more bags of saline and meds, sedated and woke up with a tube coming out of my right side, just above the hip. The doctor told me he drained 110cc of fluid from the abscess, and that wasn't all there was in the pocket of badness. This puts the abscess at roughly the volume of a tennis ball (137cc), which had grown inside a pocket formed between my right hip bone and various muscles. No wonder my hip (and leg) hurt.<br />
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<h4>
Waiting for Results, 7/31, Thursday</h4>
<div>
The next stage of treatment depends on what the culture tells us. It might say the bacteria is dead as a result of the heavy IV antibiotics, vulnerable to a specific treatment or perhaps many. I need to wait, so I do, mostly patiently, I am a patient after all.</div>
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<h4>
Bateria Identified, 8/1, Friday</h4>
<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l65RFWGUEqM/U-y6tM2KzsI/AAAAAAAAA1A/9OeP7sN1wk0/s1600/lossy-page1-220px-Streptococcus_anginosus.tif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l65RFWGUEqM/U-y6tM2KzsI/AAAAAAAAA1A/9OeP7sN1wk0/s1600/lossy-page1-220px-Streptococcus_anginosus.tif.jpg" /></a>The culture came back positive for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_anginosus" target="_blank">Streptococcus anginosus</a>, it is one of the <i>normal</i> bugs that most people carry around in their heads and one of the buggers that can give you strep throat. It can cause brain and liver abscesses, presumably similar to what I have; but, mine is in muscle far from my breathing passages and a medical oddity.<br />
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The good news is that this bacteria is vulnerable to nearly every antibiotic treatment available, so I can use something as simple as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampicillin" target="_blank">ampicillin</a> (a penicillin derivative) to kill it, after other potentially hidden and perhaps more serious infections are ruled out.<br />
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The doctors are quite concerned about the bacteria being located so far from their normal home. The leading suspect is another unidentified infection that seeded my hip abscess. A strong possibility is a strep infection on my heart or valves, something that definitely would need attention asap. To determine this, I'll need an electro cardiogram, apparently with <i><a href="http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-bubble-echocardiogram.htm" target="_blank">bubbles</a></i><b style="font-style: italic;">, </b>to clear my heart as healthy (or not).<br />
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A bubble test seems an odd choice, it is a variation on an ECG that gives a better view of heart valve functioning and potential valve leakage, something that I have shown no signs of so far and none of the Doctors can explain why I need it.<br />
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Unfortunately, the hospital can't do a bubble test until Monday, so I get to wait in the hospital over the weekend.<br />
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My family came in to visit this evening with a special treat, a truly sinful cupcake from the cupcake shop in Leesburg. The durn thing cost something like $4 and spiked my blood sugar to 211 mg/dL, the highest I have ever measured, but boy was it good. I really needed something to lift my spirits, my family bearing sweets was just the ticket. :-)<br />
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<h4>
Waiting in the Hospital, 8/2, Saturday</h4>
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A boring day, trying to eat and stay motivated. I complained to Doctor Bassi about growing depression and that I thought I should be placed back on antidepressants, with this hospital stay starting to bear strong resemblance to my last ordeal and my thoughts turning black on occasion. Bassi acknowledged my concerns and made noises about writing the order.<br />
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Shannon came in for a visit in the afternoon. She had come home this weekend so that she could see me and she delivered with several visits, just her spending time with me. We talked about all kinds of things both important and trivial. She held my hand and helped me with things like getting up while not yanking on my bag, never shying away from an unpleasant or potentially embarrassing experience.<br />
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The best part of her visit, she helped me convince the nurse to take me off my IV and let me walk around a bit in freedom. Shannon and I immediately seized on the chance to get me outside in the really nice weather. We walked quite a distance, about half way around the outside of the hospital, taking a <i>selfie</i> in front of the hospital to prove our travels. This time with my daughter was precious, lifting my spirits far higher than they had been since my admission.<br />
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Waiting in the Hospital, 8/3, Sunday</h4>
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Another day in the hospital waiting. No signs of antidepressants, other than Shannon. This place is looking like a bad version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_California" target="_blank">Hotel California</a>, complete with a new roommate who is great at groaning, poor at bathing (I can smell him from my bed), and a fan of Indian food which his wife prepared for him in our room, stinking to high heaven. His son stayed the night as a companion care giver, talking until 3AM and then snoring loudly enough to keep me awake the rest of the night.<br />
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So When is that ECG Going to Happen? 8/4, Monday</h4>
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After my morning attempt at a nap, my roommates family having temporarily allowing the room to quite and stink a bit less, I became more anxious about when the ECG was to be performed. The results of that test seemed to be the only things between myself and freedom. I feared that they hadn't even scheduled the test and laid into my poor nurse when she asked what was wrong.<br />
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My fears turned out to be well founded, the test had not been scheduled, they knew I it was needed since Friday but no one (Dr. Bassi, to be specific) had bothered writing the order. My nurse told me she was chasing the doctors. I told her, I was on the verge of pulling my own IV and walking out of Loudon hospital, as I didn't think I was receiving appropriate care.<br />
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My nurse came back and told me they wanted a <a href="http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/test_procedures/cardiovascular/transesophageal_echocardiogram_92,P07986/" target="_blank">ECG with TEE</a> test and that it could be done later this evening or tomorrow. My experience in this hospital suggested that, with that schedule I could expect the test by maybe Wednesday. I told my poor nurse that was not good enough and I wanted discharged, now! I'd walk out if they didn't move along. She asked for just a bit more time, offered to get the Hospital administrator for me and dashed out of the room.<br />
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She came back in a few minutes and told me the test was scheduled for 3PM, just an hour from now. Since I hadn't been allowed food or drink I could have the procedure <i>real soon now</i>. That seemed about as good as it could be, so I settled down for another, hopefully shorter wait.<br />
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<h4>
Tee Test is Negative and Discharge, 8/4, Monday Evening</h4>
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The TEE test showed that my heart was clear of any visible infection meaning I didn't need a strong IV antibiotic and I could be discharged, which the nursing staff set about making happen with uncharacteristic speed. They offered me a meeting with hospital management, which I declined, not wanting to spend an extra minute in that place. </div>
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I was given a prescription for 5 days of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampicillin" target="_blank">ampicillin</a> and a painkiller along with instructions on how to manage my drainage tube and bag. I was told to measure the discharge, when it fell below 15cc per day for two days, I could go back in to have the tube removed. <br />
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Needless to say, I took these instructions and with Linda's help, we bolted for the door.</div>
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<h4>
Healing at Home, 8/5-8/8</h4>
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As usual, Linda and Brian took great care of me at home. Helping me with my drainage bag, showering, moving about, providing encouragement and support, making sure I took my meds on schedule and offering me pain killers and pouring out boundless love and support. <br />
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With this care, I improved rapidly. My discharge falling below the 15cc line on the first day home and making a bee line toward clear and zero. We called for my followup appointment to have the tube removed and were told that Monday was the first available time, meaning another weekend wait, though this one was at home.<br />
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<h4>
Tube Check and OMG Dr. Bassi is Incompetent, 8/11</h4>
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I started fasting at 11PM Sunday night, so I was mighty hungry around noon when I went in for my CAT scan of my hip and then headed toward Interventional Radiology (IR) for the tube removal. The IR department was backed up, so my 1PM appointment slowly headed toward 3PM as my blood sugar level trailed off toward problems as my fasting continued.<br />
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I asked for a blood sugar test and measured in at 83, not yet the 70 threshold for <a href="http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html" target="_blank">hypoglycemia</a>, but heading that way. I could feel symptoms starting to come on and agitated for attention which got me moved from the waiting room to a bed and an IV was started, to at least get me hydrated and perhaps help with a bit of sugar.<br />
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The IR doctor, Dr. Varma, checked my drainage and told me it was far to yellow and he thought the infection was active. The CAT scan showed a second pocket of pus, which had not drained, but appeared to <i>communicate</i> (that's flow in colloquial speech) into the larger pocket which appeared to be well drained. <br />
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Dr. Varma's jaw nearly hit the floor when I told him I was not on antibiotics, that I had been prescribed just 5 days worth which corresponded with my drainage clearing and then clouding again as the infection roared back when the ampicillin ended. He demanded the name of my infectious disease doctor and then roared off to call Dr. Andrabi with smoke coming from his ears.<br />
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When he came back he told me that I had an appointment with Dr. Andrabi immediately after I leave IR and he had a plan. Dr. Varma proceeded to irrigate my abscesses, determining that the pockets were well connected and was otherwise satisfied that the drain was working.<br />
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Linda and I headed to Dr. Andrabi who asked about how I was and what meds I was on. She almost blew a gasket whey I told her I had been on 5 days of antibiotics and that my drainage was clear until they stopped. It seems she ordered 5 days of meds after my tube was removed. Dr Braindead, oops, I mean Dr. Bassi managed to translate that to 5 days after discharge which caused the whole infection thing to roar back after providing my bacteria with a bit of Darwinian training in how to resist ampicillin. Dr. Andrabi's anger, obviously rooted in care for my health was heartening. She is a doctor who truly cares about her patients. Dr. Varma also gets points for seeing the problem and sending me immediately to her for help.<br />
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I left her office with a prescription for <a href="http://www.drugs.com/augmentin.html" target="_blank">Augmentin</a> and an understanding that I needed at least 5 days of meds AFTER the tube was removed. I will not allow that mistake to be perpetrated on me again.<br />
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Recovering at Home, Again, 8/12-8/14</h4>
The new antibiotic seems to have knocked the infection bugs quickly on their tails and is stomping them while they are down. I feel much better, again, back to being annoyed by the bag more than having my leg and hip hurt. The drainage is once again minimal and mostly clear. I have a followup with IR on Monday and Dr. Andrabi on Tuesday. <br />
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Dr. Harding, our family doctor, checked me out on Tuesday and said things look to be in order / getting better as they should. He joined in the chorus of amazement at Dr. Bassi's 5 day antibiotic prescription.<br />
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Apparently I am on a relatively clear path to recovery now. I am intentionally holding myself back, emphasizing rest over other pressing tasks that I feel need my attention. I'm telling myself I'll get to them after I beat the dickens out of this infection.<br />
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BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com1Loudoun Hospital Center, Leesburg, VA 20176, USA39.0772222 -77.476388839.0740002 -77.4814313 39.0804442 -77.4713463tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-73806368202357903192014-07-24T09:04:00.001-07:002014-08-30T07:21:25.539-07:00New House - Network, What Could Go Wrong?What could possible be wrong with a network installed and dare I say "operated" by a lawyer? Of course, the answer is just about anything. When we saw the house, I was stunned to see the "wiring closet," a section of unfinished space where a spaghetti mess of UTP and COAX were tied, sometimes literally in knots with some terminated into female connectors, some with male connectors, some stripped back several inches, untrimmed ends pocking into other cables, and some undecipherable labels on a few cables.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cKo5FX6Mbi4/U9EK94UGxWI/AAAAAAAAA0c/xWCpBN4LP7Q/s1600/10563062_831540986864099_8306026075891475522_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cKo5FX6Mbi4/U9EK94UGxWI/AAAAAAAAA0c/xWCpBN4LP7Q/s1600/10563062_831540986864099_8306026075891475522_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>My first step was to try to segregate the UTP (network and phone) cables from the multitude of COAX and trace them. As each was traced it was labeled with a neat color coded tape label so I could skip the tracing next time. When that was said and done, I was down to only about a dozen mystery cables. The network cables were plugged into a switch that I literally zip tied on top of the box. The coax cables went into a couple of bundles.<br />
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The result, definitely not pretty was an organized mess, something I could work to improve and I thought something that might help performance of the network.<br />
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<h4>
Network Performance Failure</h4>
It was not long till my son tried to use his computer to play WoW and immediately discovered that the network was horrible, with disconnects and latency galore. He <i>fixed</i> it by going to a wireless connection, bypassing some of the mess that is our wired network and let me know about it. I thought I was retired, but I seem to have inherited another broken network.<br />
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Initial Repairs</h4>
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I knew the terminations on some, many, most of the connections were poor at best, so I started triage on the most important connections. The signal from Verizon comes into the house and up to the office router, an Airport Extreme, and then back to the basement to connect my 16 port switch. That path is used by every bit coming or going from the house, so I took a careful look at the wiring in the office.</div>
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Needless to say, I didn't like what I saw. Two jacks hanging on their wires, one of them with an excessive amount of unsheathed wire. </div>
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Looking at them more closely, even the <i>good</i> connector was pretty bad. All eight wires had been pushed into their slots, presumably by hand as they were loose and not trimmed. I punched them down and trimmed them. The connector that has the long run of unscathed cable I cut back a distance, tossed the unrated terminator and used a new Cat5e connector.<br />
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Immediate Results</h4>
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In a word, very good, ok, that was two words, but you get the idea I expect. After these changes the network is running much smoother. Not as good as it likely should but much better. I still have the disaster in the basement that needs to be cleaned up and no doubt a mess in every wall jack in the house, but it is much, much improved.</div>
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<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com4Loudoun County, VA, USA39.102874330687996 -77.4976835312539.004295830687994 -77.65904503125 39.201452830688 -77.33632203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-58593500387711828562014-07-17T05:35:00.001-07:002014-08-30T07:21:39.152-07:00New House - Kitchen, First Impressions<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">We just moved into our new house in Leesburg. It has plenty of issues and I mean plenty. The number of things needing attention are just overwhelming. Perhaps the most important to us is the Kitchen, which we knew going in was a write off and rebuild proposition and nothing we have experienced so far has changed this impression.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Overall</span></h4>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ehyjudK3Gxs/U8m3_df-TrI/AAAAAAAAAa0/EpuV8JWlrvU/s1600/IMG_9399.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ehyjudK3Gxs/U8m3_df-TrI/AAAAAAAAAa0/EpuV8JWlrvU/s1600/IMG_9399.jpeg" height="239" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The kitchen is dominated by black and white with some stainless thrown in all built on the omnipresent cherry hardwood floor which covers most horizontal surfaces in the house.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> It's also a mess, but that's a transient problem and a lot better than a day ago.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The cabinets are white, I would assume they’d be sleek, modern looking, but the doors are edged with a fancy curve and crowned with a compound arch, touches I would expect on a traditional wooden cabinet. The doors have a cheap plastic feel and sound accordingly when closed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The countertop appears to be a high quality marble, nicely finished. It’s black with some flecks of color, giving it a harsh contrast to the cabinets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Appliance are mostly stainless steel following the current trend. The exception is the built in oven, which is white. I’d guess the oven is older, perhaps the only original component of the kitchen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My overall impression on the kitchen is simply, <i>yuck.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Floor Plan</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">The kitchen has a large wall opening in longest wall that gives it a good view of the the backyard through the family room. The sink is placed beneath the opening, effectively giving it a “window” to the beautiful view to the outside and into the family room. The dishwasher is to the immediate left of the sink, not very far from an adjoining wall which contains cabinets, al of the upper cabinets having a glass inset door. At it’s other end the refrigerator. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">The center of the kitchen is dominated by an island containing a large cooktop and an elevated eating counter, mounted so high that only a very tall stool could be used to sit at it. The counter is so high, it is effectively limited to a standing counter for tall people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The island is separated by a narrow passage from the walk-in pantry. The passage is wide enough for one person, the door, or a tall stool, but only one of those. The pantry is a nice feature, but the floor space between the island counter and pantry is so narrow that it really reduces the usefulness of the space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Next to the pantry is a built in double oven, well, oven and microwave. Past that are more cabinets and counter space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Appliances</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Dishwasher</b> — Stainless steel GE Profile unit that appears to be pretty “high-end” unfortunately, it is pretty well broken.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The touch buttons located on top of the door, so they are hidden when the door is closed, don’t do very much.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It refuses to change cycles or do anything other than turn on.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The unit is very quiet when running, much quieter than what we are use to.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Unfortunately, it also has the unpleasant feature of buzzing, loudly when the door is closed and it’s not washing so it has to remain open when not it use, ugly.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This will be the first appliance replaced.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YAQW9xDeqUs/U8m3_cBrw8I/AAAAAAAAAas/q7sNA-jgS8M/s1600/IMG_8525.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YAQW9xDeqUs/U8m3_cBrw8I/AAAAAAAAAas/q7sNA-jgS8M/s1600/IMG_8525.jpeg" height="108" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Cooktop</b> — Pretty nice looking GE Monogram gas unit. It seems quite functional, my only quibble with it is the location on the island, I’d rather have it sitting squarely onto of a conventional oven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Oven/Microwave</b> — The only non-stainless appliance in the kitchen, a GE Profile Performance uni. This built in wall unit has a typical size (smallish) and seemingly complex controls. I’ve not yet puzzled out how to use the microwave, it has many settings, a lot more than I think it needs. The oven is smallish, just like our old house. A separate microwave and a conventional oven/cooktop combination seems like a better choice to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Garbage Disposal </b>— It’s pretty quiet, munches things up, and just works. Hurray! Something that I am happy with.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLz-T_5CvZc/U8m3-mlPoDI/AAAAAAAAAbA/sA3BNPZF3qQ/s1600/IMG_1802.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLz-T_5CvZc/U8m3-mlPoDI/AAAAAAAAAbA/sA3BNPZF3qQ/s1600/IMG_1802.jpeg" height="320" width="143" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G0fxKw3eNhw/U8m3--h1fiI/AAAAAAAAAak/CLoqRs7cq4o/s1600/IMG_2876.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G0fxKw3eNhw/U8m3--h1fiI/AAAAAAAAAak/CLoqRs7cq4o/s1600/IMG_2876.jpeg" height="86" width="200" /></a><b style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Refrigerator</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> — A Whirlpool Gold stainless creature. It’s pretty big, has lots of buttons and I can’t figure out what many of them do. Who ever decided kitchen appliances should be complex enough to send me to the internet for “how to” instructions for something like a chilled water dispenser should seek</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> advancement in a different field of employment. It also has a broken bottom drawer mount and rather different shelf layout. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That's all of the </span></span>appliance<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, no two of which are from the same line. The majority are GE built. That's a typical selection for us, though they may be a bit "light" for the type of house we are in.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Cabinet Layout</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">In addition to being white and plastic feeling, the cabinets look to have been selected almost randomly.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Some of the units are really wide, with two foot wide drawers, so wide as to make them prone to overloading or being left half empty.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Other sections are narrow, with what seems like a 10” upper cabinet shoe horned in, next to a really wide cabinet.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Several of the doors swing in the wrong direction, making access more difficult. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The lower cabinets have partial shelves, some of them anyway, others have complete shelves, and a few have none at all. I don’t see a pattern to it at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">Overall</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">The current kitchen is basically “yuck” with some broken, silly and odd tossed in. The good news is the lack of redeeming features makes this a definite target for our first major renovation.</span></div>
BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0Loudoun County, VA, USA39.10074291025164 -77.503176695312539.002164410251638 -77.6645381953125 39.199321410251642 -77.3418151953125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-45031162788332014382014-07-02T08:01:00.000-07:002014-08-30T07:21:58.527-07:00Parent/Child Debts and Major Crimes (TNT TV Show)[Reposted from Facebook]<br />
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A few evenings ago, I watched an episode of "<a href="http://www.tntdrama.com/videos/major-crimes/season-3/episode-2/personal-day.html" target="_blank">Major Crimes</a>" (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659626/" target="_blank"><i>Personal Da</i>y</a>) that contained a scene that I found quite moving and worth commenting on. The scene was at the end of the episode, a portion often devoted to the main character's (Sharon, played by Mary McDonald) personal life. This episode followed the pattern. Her acquired charge, a mid-teen boy (Rusty), who witnessed a murder and came from a very troubled situation, including prostitution to survive, opened a serious conversation with Sharon, the only effective parent figure he has ever known.<br />
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<i>SIDEBAR: The Watch TNT app, available for iDevices and I presume others, is free but requires a cable sub and navigation to the appropriate episode, I can't provide a direct link, and don't know how to clip the segment to appear directly in this document. The scene starts at about the 38:40 mark of the streaming (no commercial version).</i><br />
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It started with him having mixed emotions about visiting his birth mother who had been forced into a drug rehab center and Rusty's obvious fear that Sharon would be threatened or hurt if he went to see his birth mother. That quickly lead to a poignant and comical scene with Rusty sincerely promising to repay Sharon for everything she has done and is doing for him, while Sharon beamed at the young man with obvious joy in her heart. She, of course, once again forgave that debt, the debt that Rusty imagined he owed her.<br />
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The comical element of the scene, to me, was the thought that a child can ever repay the debt owed for a good upbringing in a healthy environment. In any conventional sense that debt is too large to begin to pay back, any "earnings" a child from such a home acquires can typically be traced to that upbringing, thus increasing the debt, not repaying it. On the other side of the ledger, a child who is happy, able to be a loving and independent person pays enormous dividends of happiness, satisfaction and pride to his parents, reflected in actress Mary McDonald's expression. Making the idea of paying back that debt ridiculous from the parent's side of the equation.<br />
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I now fortunately, find myself in a situation where I can "payback" a small portion of my parental debt. My father died several years ago, he passed away in a hospital bed at night, alone. I had stayed with him through the night at least once and have always regretted reading while I could have been plying him to retell stories, sharing my childhood memories with him one last time, letting him die alone in a hospital bed. He expressed only two concerns to me as he lay there. One, did I think that animals, particularly his dog, Tyson, could join us in heaven. He reminded me that church doctrine says that animals have no souls and thus can not be in heaven. I answered him confidently, that it couldn't exactly be heaven if Tyson wasn't there to greet him, the doctrine must be wrong, I think he accepted my argument, and I know he smiled.<br />
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His second concern was that the love of his life, Barbara, my mother, would be taken care of. There is no one and nothing for which he cared more; he was both concerned that she be taken care of and I believe confident, that my brother and I would make certain of that. <br />
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This is where my currently blessed situation comes in. We are engaged in the combining of two households as we sell our house and my parents to purchase a new larger (yes, a larger, purchased past 50, go figure) house that can accommodate all of us and an elevator. My biggest enabler in this effort is my lovely wife, who is both willing and supportive of the idea of adding her mother-in-law to her immediate household so that we can share time and love with her in what is likely to be her final chapter.<br />
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I can feel my father looking down on me, beaming and laughing as I attempt to "payback" a debt that I owe to both of them. A debt that I can never hope to repay and yet I know a debt that was forgiven before it was acquired.BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-58565625605576780152014-07-02T07:40:00.000-07:002014-08-30T07:22:13.771-07:00Why Write This Blog & Why Is It Called That?<h3>
Why Write This Blog?</h3>
About a week ago a Facebook friend commented on one of my posts "thanks for the blog" that was quickly followed by my daughter telling me she thought I should write a blog. Initially that seemed a silly idea, it still seems an odd one, after all, I am not all that "interesting" a person. I don't see lots of folks clamoring to know about me or to discuss issues with me.<br />
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On the other hand, when I looked at my Facebook posts and thought a bit more about it, it seems that I have already been writing blog entries, though with a tool pretty poorly adapted to that purpose. with that thought in mind, I started doing some surfing to better understand what a blog is, or shoud be, and what makes a successful blog. I found several interesting pages, to which I am likely to return:<br />
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<li><a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-12-dos-and-donts-of-writing-a-blog" target="_blank">How to Write a Blog: 12 Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Blog</a></li>
<li><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;"><a href="http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/tp/WritingBlogPeopleRead.htm" target="_blank">How to Write a Blog People Want to Read</a></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://m.wikihow.com/Write-a-Famous-Blog" target="_blank">How to Write a Famous Blog</a></span></li>
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Nothing really special about that list, just a few likely candidates from a google search, but they contain at least a bit of wisdom and are based on far more experience than I possess, so I should give them some credence.<br />
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As I read through those pages a couple of things became more clear to me, the first is a rather consistent drumbeat to "focus" that is pick a general topic and make your blog really interesting to readers seeking information on that topic. This seems tough to me at this point, I could focus on management/career experiences, raising children, home improvements, politics, photography, my experiences growing up. I've already "blogged" about those things in various ways in the past and seem likely to do so in the future. Not exactly a sharp focus.<br />
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If my focus isn't a specific topic, perhaps identifying my target audience would help, that's a question much more to my liking, one I have asked myself many times as I started to address a topic. This is much easier, I've been writing these things for myself, my family and anyone interested in what I have been up to. The later set is likely best defined as friends. That also helps to define what success might look like, not hundreds or thousands of followers, but some family readers who comment on what I have written. Perhaps this is a form of an autobiography written in installments.<br />
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Why is it Called That?</h3>
Names are important, as are Internet addresses (URLs). They help people find things and they help people remember them. This is something repeated in all of the advice threads and something I have found to be true in many other areas. This means naming this critter is non-trivial and something I am historically poor at.<br />
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A name should reflect the content of a thing as best it can, while being short and crisp.<br />
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Since I am planning on making this Blog mostly about myself, my experiences, and my opinions, it makes sense that my name should be in the title. When my father wanted to lock his name into someone's memory, he would always say "Barrett, like in Grin and Bear It, just not spelled that way." This often worked for him, and seems appropriate for me to use. Making it shorter though would be good, thus the opening of the name "<i>Bear It.</i>" <br />
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Putting the word "<i>Blog</i>" into the name seems an easy choice. "Bear It Blog" has a good, if really basic rhythm, labels the page for what it is, a blog. But it provides no insight into what the contents might be.<br />
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What are those contents going to be? Honestly, I am not sure at this point, but it seems fair to say that they will be "<i>reflective</i>" writings, at least they have so far. Most of my writing has literally been done on the back porch of our house, where I can think and write while sitting in an area that promotes, in me, thoughts that feel reflective. Thus adding "<i>from the Backporch</i>" to the title and giving me:<br />
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<b>Bear It Blog, Reflections from the Backporch</b></h3>
Other important blogging questions like frequency, style, on and on, exist. I suppose I will allow the answers to develop overtime as they will. I'm not intending this as a money making endeavor or as some powerful political document, just a simple place to share my thoughts and experiences with people who may be interested.</div>
BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com012808 New Parkland Drive, Herndon, VA 20171, USA38.935421 -77.39028718.585696 -118.698881 59.285146 -36.081693tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4788152138883730355.post-79482411953348875832014-06-29T09:02:00.003-07:002014-08-30T07:22:24.359-07:00Stone Tower Glenn Renaissance Faire<br />
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<b>Daughters of Epona Perform at </b><b>11th Annual Faire, </b><b>June 28-29, 2014</b></h3>
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The "Daughters" my daughter, Shannon, her friend Marissa riding their horses, Aiden and Dolly, respectively. Joined by one of Marissa's equine students as their squire for the performance.</div>
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The performing company, <a href="http://www.medievalfantasiesco.com/StoneTowerGlenn.htm" target="_blank">Medieval Fantasies Company</a>, has been doing this for eleven years. This was Daughters of Epona's second appeiarance with the company, having done well enough at their initial performance to be invited back to join the Company, and even having their expenses paid, or partially paid to be more accurate.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBVXKQT50lE/U7AoZDzBquI/AAAAAAAAAGA/d-TY7szogGY/s1600/JGB__6095_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBVXKQT50lE/U7AoZDzBquI/AAAAAAAAAGA/d-TY7szogGY/s1600/JGB__6095_edited-1.jpg" height="320" title="One of the Natural Chimneys" width="209" /></a></div>
The venue for the performance was the Natural Chimneys Regional Park in Mt. Solon, Virginia. Which is about 20 minutes south east of Bridgewater, our daughter's college. My wife and I drove down Saturday afternoon to watch her performance.<br />
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The transformation in our shy little girl was amazing. She has grown into quite a young lady, yes, I know I am biased, but it's my story and it has the additional benefit of being true.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UKZAfFnFqXE/U7AoUVWeqlI/AAAAAAAAAEo/byPzL8Y1zuM/s1600/JGB_6009_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UKZAfFnFqXE/U7AoUVWeqlI/AAAAAAAAAEo/byPzL8Y1zuM/s1600/JGB_6009_edited-1.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XsNS7QZ86Ak/U7AoUQnUt7I/AAAAAAAAAEk/8sgjOx0DvpA/s1600/JGB_6020_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XsNS7QZ86Ak/U7AoUQnUt7I/AAAAAAAAAEk/8sgjOx0DvpA/s1600/JGB_6020_edited-1.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a>Shannon addressed the crowd with with enthusiasm and more than a little ham. She both remembered her script and improvised for the crowd. <br />
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Her partner, Marissa was also engaging, both talking with the crowd and with Shannon in what was, to me at least quite a performance.<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The act included a bit of Dressage and a very short bit of jumping. The Company was concerned about the young ladies jumping the triple stacked hay bails, so they opted for single high which, while lacking in visual drama, did make us feel better as we watched our daughter jump her six year old, thoroughbred without her helmet.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The finale for the performance was the "Finger and the Ring." A bit where the two young ladies attempted to skewer a series of "rings" placed upon a set of poles, very </span>reminiscent<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> of several </span><a href="http://www.ponyclub.org/?page=Games" style="letter-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">Pony Club game events</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">. The "competition" was preceded by some extended dialog with Shannon asking Marissa if she was married or was getting engaged, very much tied to the pole they were using to </span>capture<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> the rings being a finger. I thought it was a cute setup and fun to watch.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ewOUhBnmd7U/U7AoXIBHARI/AAAAAAAAAFY/MC1FKRt-ezU/s1600/JGB_6075_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ewOUhBnmd7U/U7AoXIBHARI/AAAAAAAAAFY/MC1FKRt-ezU/s1600/JGB_6075_edited-1.jpg" height="640" title="Shannon Reaching to Skewer Another Ring" width="422" /></a></div>
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I hadn't mentioned it, but Skyler, our faithful family, err, Shannon's faithful dog was also in attendance. He was unfazed by the strange goings on, happy to meet people, and even happier to lick them or be petted. He did seem happy to see us (as was Shannon, Marissa and Jonathan). I think Skyler was less happy to see us depart, staring at us as we walked away until we were totally out of his sight.</div>
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On a side note, this Blogger tool, is almost a What You See is What You Get (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYG" target="_blank">WYSIWYG</a>) piece of software. The "almost" part is unfortunate. My composition looks a lot better in authoring than display mode. One example is font consistency, I used just one type size for body text but it seems to vary when I have it setup into preview mode. I suppose I shall see what happens when I hit publish....Well, it turns out I can edit the raw HTML. I found four font settings that seemed extraneous, I removed them and the preview looks better. I'd say Google scored an almost on WYSIWYG, sadly, they are not in the business of horseshoes, hand grenades, or even nuclear warfare (as far as I know).</div>
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<br />BarrettJGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13661298773362110388noreply@blogger.com0Natural Chimneys Park, 94 Natural Chimneys Lane, Mount Solon, VA 22843, USA38.359231 -79.077198238.3343275 -79.1175387 38.3841345 -79.0368577