magic.rox

Friday I removed our old dishwasher, pictured below.  It was an interesting exercise in reverse installation.

Sunday, Rachel, Taylor and I installed our new dishwasher.  It was a long time coming, as nobody would offer to do the dishes (including me).  Just look at the pile of dishes in the picture.  Luckily there were no major surprises installing the unit.  I had to change the route for the drain line, but nothing major.  I finished installation at 11:30 or so Sunday night.  As I finish writing this at 9:30am on Monday morning, those dishes are just a distant memory.

It is a nice “middle of the road” GE, Energy Star Compliant model :)  I was appalled at the lack of sound insulation on the unit.  Our 30 year old one had more, so we applied a nice layer of R-19 (left over from the garage renovation) to the top of it.  It made the fit perfect!  After running the unit, it’s actually quite silent for a dishwasher.  Was it our extra insulation, or pure design?  I guess we’ll never know.

There is only one major appliance left in the kitchen which was in the home when we purchased it 7 months ago.  As I previously wrote, the stove is probably on it’s last leg. The oven quit working for months then mysteriously started again after touching the display.

Future kitchen projects:  Countertops, Cabinet Facelift and Flooring.  We haven’t decided for sure yet, but I think we will be working on the cabinets soon.  After those are complete, we will have a new kitchen basically!

Rachel has moved up the higher education ladder, finally.  She accepted a position with the IU school of Informatics.  I cannot remember the exact position title, but I believe it is Director or Assistant Director of Graduate affairs???

I am thrilled for her, as she has been under-employed and under-appreciated since she moved to B-Town.  Her talents and abilities have yet to be unleashed.

With this new job, comes the honor of being my sugar mamma too

I will miss everyone she worked with at The Kelley School of Business MBA Program, Admissions office.  They have become a second family over the years.  Through parties, social gatherings, and personal events we have came to respect and love each other for who we are.  They even threw us a wedding shower (I’ll never forget that).  I hope her new office has the same feeling.

So here’s some words for those I will miss.

Terill & Joe:  I will miss the annual Christmas party.  The both of you are excellent hosts.  The “gay” bathroom is something I will never forget, in a good way.
Jenny:  What can I say?  Will you miss the love letters I wrote with deep passion in mind?  I will miss your love for life, and your high maintenance ways, as you are the closest thing I have had to a “girly girl-friend.”
Jeanie:  You are one of the sweetest persons I have ever met!  You helped us move in that blistering heat!  Your passion to help others is one that I will always remember.
Jim:  What can I say?  Your a great guy, who makes some killer guacomole.  I hope to hear from you in the future.
Lisa:  I love ya!  Your killer personality amazes me.  There is no “title” that can describe, or limit your possibilities.
Tim:  Your scandinavian ways never make me stop thinking.  Rachel and I will never forget how beautiful of a team Mary and you make.  We will always remember with joy, your vocal abilities at our wedding.  We need more people (and couples) like you in this world.
Brandon:  Call me, I promise we’ll go out for a night before you go off and leave me alone with Rachel.  I’m very interested in this “Property Management” thing.

If any of you need to reach me, you can via my website, LMLVideoservices.com

After my interviews with Monroe County Dispatch and Solution Tree, I felt hopeful I would receive some good news regarding at least one of the positions.

I didn’t.

Solution Tree called a day after my interview and actually said they offered the position to another person, which accepted.  That felt as if they were rubbing it in my face.  It felt as if it was a “mercy interview” anyway, as my wife worked there for a second job.

I received a letter from the director of county communications stating they enjoyed my “presence” at the interview, but have decided to pursue other applicants for the position.  All in all, a very nice denial letter.  No qualms there.

For some reason, I feel as if I’m “out of the loop” or just out of reality for that matter.  I was only in a position 5 years, I wonder how my father felt when he had to find another career after losing his job of 29 years.

Someday I will find something better, I just wish that day would come.

Another chapter in my ongoing computer problems.  I was actually writing a post regarding this when I received the infamous “blue screen of death!”

I discovered what actually killed my power supply.  Somehow (still a mystery to me) my power settings were disabled and deleted from my computer.  This created a painful situation for it.  Imagine if you had to run non stop 24/7 for months at a time, how would you feel?

In the end, I had to completely delete and reformat my C drive.  This is a problem for the majority, but I actually used to do this for fun.  Plus having 3 hard drives makes this task very easy, as I just move everything to the other drives, and back them up onto DVD just to make sure I don’t lose anything.  I am almost up and running again, as I am still working on my big job.

I am working on building a new PC, it will just take time.  I want this to be a pure “business” machine, which means I must use business funds.

My business, LML Video Services is no longer just a project I have in a room of my house.

Today, I registered it as a business with the Monroe County Recorder’s office.  I then opened a business checking account.  This is a huge step for me, as I can now officially say I own a small business!

I wonder who I shall make officers?  I know, Editor B and Bartender J can be my jesters, I mean officers.  If it wasn’t for their support, I wouldn’t be where I am today with this.  To get technical, I wouldn’t be writing this .rox blog without them.  Thankx guys!

This does come with some disadvantages though, as I can no longer use my business money for personal uses, darn.

Hopefully things will only grow from here.

I received a message from a person who works for John Mellencamp.  He asked John if he would like to sell the painting mentioned in Mike Leonard’s article.  John told him to tell me that he’s “really happy with this one and will probably keep it.”  He also said that “I should wait for another one of his paintings in the future.”

I replied to the persons’ message asking that I be informed when a painting becomes available.

So not now, but hopefully sometime.  To look on the bright side of things, I do have a contact now.

Just the thought of owning a Mellencamp painting makes me excited.

We are officially planning our spring break vacation now.  Since my daughter has told me that she didn’t really enjoy her recent trip to Oklahoma, we have decided to do something we know she will enjoy.

Rachel and Taylor have not been to Florida.  I haven’t been since I was 9ish.  That was a horrible vacation, as it was bone chilling cold (for Florida anyway), roads were closed, hell Disney and all the other resorts were closed most of the time we were there. 

We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but we are going to the Orlando area.  That is solid as a rock right now.  Hopefully I can borrow my mom’s car again (more room is a plus), Thanks mom!  The next step is figuring out a way to get to NOLA from there.

I have been yearning to meet Editor B & XY for a while now.  I feel as if this may be an opportunity that I do not want to miss out on.  I think a day or 2 wouldn’t be too much to ask, as we are staying in Orlando for 3.

I guess I’ll see how this turns out.

I swapped my “new” POS power supply for another today.

After speaking with the tech, he informed me of what could have caused this little disaster.  He informed me that the 12v section of the power supply went bad.  He then went on to tell me that when the L2 cache of the processor goes bad, it tends to short out the 12v supply.  He also told me that it generally takes a week.  (This is one of the few situations where I don’t know a whole lot BTW.)

He recommended to run some benchmark software for 24 hours.  When I first started running it, my CPU became hot, 95° C.  So I adjusted some BIOS settings and re-ran the app.  Now the temp is holding steady, in the mid 50’s range.

I hope this has solved my problem, but there is no real way to diagnose it (from what I know).

If it becomes the worse case scenario, my processor (an AMD Athlon X2 3800+, Toledo Core) is still under warrantee.  I also have my “old” processor sitting around as a backup.

This situation has proven to me that I need, not want, a backup computer.  I cannot run my business without it.  That is my next step.

I have always been a fan of the arts.  Whether it be performing, creative, or without a title.  One problem is that I do not have many “pieces” of art.  I purchased a print while in Oklahoma many years ago.  It was created by Ben Adair Shoemaker.  The artwork itself and the artists’ name struck a cord deep within my soul, as my family lives in Adair county, Oklahoma.

I feel as if I might start on a new path with art due to an article I read in the Herald Times.  My favorite writer (except J of course) has always been Mike Leonard.  He always writes very interesting things, about interesting subjects.

In his latest article, he wrote about a recent meeting with John Mellencamp.  As you may or may not know, John is also an accomplished artist.  John recently completed a 10′ x 10′ painting, and asked Mike if he’d buy it.

I have been a fan of Johns’ work, both music and painting since I have known about them.  I would like to have a piece of his, but have not been able to find a way to do so.  Hopefully, with Mr. Leonard’s help, I will have a chance.

I emailed Mike asking if he knew someone to contact regarding purchasing a painting from John.  He replied stating he would contact John’s manager.  I hope things pan out.

-Interesting note:  My mother auditioned to be a backup singer for John back in the early to mid 80’s.  From what she has told me, everyone loved her voice, she was just too tall.

 

My mom is 6′ tall.

My ‘puter is down again.  My diagnostic abilities are somewhat limited at this point, but I strongly believe it’s my power supply again.

I wasn’t upset when the original one died, as it was a cheap case/PS combo.  I have read many times that when purchasing a PC case with power supply, the power supply should be changed immediately.

This ticks me off though, as I was told by this PC shop that the power supplies they sell are workhorses, and do not fail.  I’ve had the thing a friggin’ week!

As soon as I leave work (8:30am) I am off to the shop to get another, as it has a 1 year warrantee.  If the next one fails, I am not going to deal with this shop anymore.  They have not failed me until now, but I don’t have the patience anymore.

I have had many interviews lately.  Nothing seems to pan out though.  Today was my interview for the 911 dispatcher position.  It went well I think, but I’ve had the same feeling before.  I have been dreaming of this job since I first heard about it, and I believe my chances are quite good.

I have an interview Monday at my wifes’ second job.  This seems “iffy” at best to me, as I like the office lifestyle, but am not your “typical” office worker.

I will do my best, as I think anything (that has a decent salary) is better than my current situation.  I don’t mind my current job, I just hate the days and hours I have to work (12am - 8:30am Saturday through Wednesday).  The only reason I keep going is to keep my house.  I don’t want a foreclosure on my record.

I sent my resume to a place that would not disclose their name (it happens frequently around here).  I received an email yesterday regarding that position.  The email stated that the company makes “high-end” lamps, tables and accessories.  This is a warehouse position with some assembly required*.  I was shocked, no, furious about the salary, a mere $6.50 an hour!  Most warehouse positions in this area salaries’ are double that!  I wanted to send them an email stating how mad I was, but I didn’t.  I sent them a simple one stating based upon the salary I was no longer interested.

I know somewhere, there is something for me.  I just wish this search would end, and soon.  It has always been hard for me to get a job, let alone a career.  That seems to be the unattainable dream in my life.

I have learned many things after buying this house.

1.  Expect the unexpected.
2.  That home repair class in High School has paid it self off and then some.
3.  When one crisis is finished, another one is sure to follow.

I came home the other day to hear the sound of running water.   I saw a glimmer of water downstairs as well.   Our infamous leak was back!  This time I could see exactly where it was coming from though.  It was leaking stronger than ever, I would guesstimate around 1-2 gallons per minute!

When the house was built, instead of using quick set concrete or mortar to seal the hole for the water line, caulking was used.  After 33 years, it has given out.

So I quickly went to Menards and purchased some items, one of which being “Dry-Lok Fast Plug,” a quick setting cement.  This stuff claimed to actually seal an active water leak, and it does!

After some trial and error, and much needed help from my “women,”the leak stopped.  But solving that problem, only created a new one.

It rained cats and dogs the next day, and the leak was back, more than ever.  There was no dripping sound, instead I found that water was “sweating” or coming directly through our concrete block foundation.  This is caused by hydrostatic pressure that builds up next to the house.

This is just an assumption, but I believe there are insufficient drainage systems in place around the house.  The rear of the home seems fine, and shows no signs of any water being there.  The front is a different story though.  I believe part of the problem lies in the topography immediately in front of the house.

But alas, it’s winter and no major excavation can be done.  Which means the problem cannot be fixed at this moment.  I hope my uncle Ted can help me out on this one. 

So I guess until spring comes, we will have to deal with the problem.

We have a new guest in our home.  He only comes out about once a week.  We like to call him our “roomie” but his real name is Roomba!

We are all very surprised at how well the roomba picks up dirt and debris.  We are even more surprised at how well he picks up pet hair.

The cats don’t know what to think of this new guest in “their” house, but we like him lots.  The operation of the roomba (model 4160) is simple enough a child could do it!  You press the power button, and then the clean button.  When the roomba is done with the area, it simply stops and plays a delightful tune!

Even better, when the battery is low, the roomba will even make it’s way to it’s charging base station and charge itself!  How cool?

A couple of years ago it was all about the dyson, and we tried a friends.  To be perfectly honest, it did not impress me at all.  The roomba does though, especially at half the cost of a dyson!

So much has happened since I last posted.  This will be a mish-mosh if you will, of thoughts, ideas and updates.

Personally this has been a trying week for me.  I had an interview at IU for a position, but due to the weird hours I currently work, I accidentally overslept and missed the interview.  It was a way out of this crazy lifestyle I am currently living.

We have a new problem with the house, flooding!¬† The last couple of weeks has been very rainy in Bloomington.¬† We knew the house had flooded when we purchased it, but thought it was a one time deal, we were wrong.¬† I called some “waterproofing” companies.¬†¬†That was¬†a joke.¬† The first company said that they would rip all of our concrete block walls out and replace them, plus they would sell me some backfill rock that is “patented and revolutionary” for only $5995.¬† I can understand this in extreme situations, but this isn’t major flooding.

I had my dad get a hold of my step-uncle (long story) to take a look at it.¬† He did, and told me he thought it was leaking at the point where the water line comes into the house, which is directly under our front door.¬† I ripped out everything in the vicinity and did not find any significant signs of a place for water to come in, but cleaned the area and sprayed some “stuff” on it.¬† I guess after tonight we’ll see the results, as it’s been raining all day.

I have met a kind spirit at work, something that is lacking majorly here.¬† His name is C.J., he’s a very interesting man, who happens to be the same age as my father.¬† He is into the same things I am, and we always have something to talk about.¬† The other day he gave me a video monitor he no longer used (an upgrade I needed badly).¬† I will miss him when I leave.¬† I will make sure to give him all of my info when that happens though.

I received a new client for my video business.¬† He told me over the phone he has over 80 tapes he wants transferred to DVD.¬† I received his first shipment last Tuesday and have been working constantly on them.¬† I sent him a shipment of 8 DVD’s today.¬† I hope he enjoys the care and hard work I put into his family’s memories.

I have learned that I do have some limitations when it comes to transferring video now, so I am hoping to correct these issues as soon as the funds become available.¬† The current plan is to build another computer, using some of the available parts I have on hand, and moving some from my current computer.¬† I don’t need a power machine, just a decent one.¬† So I’m checking out my options.

Yesterday I shut off my computer and did some wiring work, installed a new surge protector and my computer wouldn’t come back on.¬† Turns out my power supply had went bad.¬† I was somewhat scared because this was one thing I hadn’t done on a computer yet.¬† $42 later, I have a bigger power supply installed (by me).

I must say something about Editor B’s speech.¬† I was not there, and only saw a snippet from Anderson Cooper 360, but I’m sure it was amazing.¬† After watching almost every episode of ROX, I have a good idea of how he spoke.¬† I hope XY got it on video?¬† It’s still hard for me to understand how it is taking so long to recover.¬† All I have to say is Andrew, how long did it take Florida to rebuild and recover?¬† I know I’m merely speculating, but come on, without New Orleans, this country wouldn’t be anything like it is today.¬† What do you think made westward expansion possible?¬† We the people need to remember that.

As anyone who has lived in this area knows, the “working wage” isn’t swell, and the costs of living are as high as the sky compared to it.

The Herald-Times published an article today regarding this issue, which rattles me to the core.  Some of these statistics are downright frightening.

Here are some excerpts: 
To afford a two-bedroom apartment and cover other expenses, someone working a minimum-wage job must work the equivalent of 100 hours a week. Or make $12.88 an hour for an average 40-hour work week.  (It took me nearly 5 years to earn a few cents less an hour than that.)

An estimated 59 percent of renters are unable to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in Bloomington, compared to 44 percent of the statewide percentage, according to the Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homelessness Issues report.¬† (I couldn’t afford to live by myself and never have.)

Just for pure informational purposes, a co-worker of my wife rents a “1 bedroom apartment w/ den”.¬† Her rent is nearly what our mortgage payment (including P&I)¬†is on a 1800 sq. ft. home with .48 acres.¬† We live around 10 miles away from her.