Sean Dickson, a teacher convicted of lewd conduct in requesting some of his underaged students to pose for snapshots while suggestively sucking lollipops, was sentenced yesterday to four months in prison.
In my opinion, the sentence should have been longer, but that is what the prosecutor requested, and that's what he got.
Friday, August 30, 2002
House of Horrors - an update
Well, it's been three weeks now since we moved. The stove is still in the living room, and we haven't eaten a home-cooked meal yet. Our 100 amp service has finally been installed (so the stove will soon have a new home), but we've just noticed that the kitchen wall where the stove will go is only 27 inches wide (ever measure your stove?). I don't really mind that the stove will stick out the doorway some (that's a small annoyance compared to some). What I do mind is that there are NO stove hoods on the market that have less than a 30 inch width. Dodging the stove with my hips as I go through the doorway is one thing. Dodging the hood with my head will be quite another.
The plumbing still doesn't work... we're limited to one toilet flush per half-hour... fine for a single occupant, but woefully insufficient for a trio of occupants with similar bedtimes and waking times. Here's a picture of our BRAND NEW WHITE BATHTUB shortly after flushing our toilet or doing a load of laundry...
Well, it's been three weeks now since we moved. The stove is still in the living room, and we haven't eaten a home-cooked meal yet. Our 100 amp service has finally been installed (so the stove will soon have a new home), but we've just noticed that the kitchen wall where the stove will go is only 27 inches wide (ever measure your stove?). I don't really mind that the stove will stick out the doorway some (that's a small annoyance compared to some). What I do mind is that there are NO stove hoods on the market that have less than a 30 inch width. Dodging the stove with my hips as I go through the doorway is one thing. Dodging the hood with my head will be quite another.
The plumbing still doesn't work... we're limited to one toilet flush per half-hour... fine for a single occupant, but woefully insufficient for a trio of occupants with similar bedtimes and waking times. Here's a picture of our BRAND NEW WHITE BATHTUB shortly after flushing our toilet or doing a load of laundry...
Monday, August 26, 2002
Sunday, August 25, 2002
New York calling...
Yesterday, while my parents were here visiting my new home for the first time, I received a phone call. Since I was nowhere near a phone, my race to get there before "voice-mail" kicked in was unsuccessful. Later, I tried to retrieve the voicemail, but it was blank. So I retrieved the caller's number... it was someone in area code 718. I tried to look up the phone number using one of the internet's "Reverse Lookup" tools, but that failed. So, either the number was bogus, or it belonged to someone with an unlisted number.
If one of the people reading this weblog called to wish me a happy anniversary, then chickened out at the last minute, thanks for the sentiment.
Yesterday, while my parents were here visiting my new home for the first time, I received a phone call. Since I was nowhere near a phone, my race to get there before "voice-mail" kicked in was unsuccessful. Later, I tried to retrieve the voicemail, but it was blank. So I retrieved the caller's number... it was someone in area code 718. I tried to look up the phone number using one of the internet's "Reverse Lookup" tools, but that failed. So, either the number was bogus, or it belonged to someone with an unlisted number.
If one of the people reading this weblog called to wish me a happy anniversary, then chickened out at the last minute, thanks for the sentiment.
Friday, August 23, 2002
Happy Anniversary to me! And good luck to Michele!
August 23rd, 1990 was one of the happiest days of my life. Despite my being unemployed, the woman of my dreams had decided she would marry me anyway, and the drunken preacher (and I use the word preacher loosely) lost his place and made me say "I do" TWICE. My wife is always teasing me about my obligations being twice as binding as hers - just as I tease her that I'm not sure we're legally married.
The past twelve years have seen us raise her three children as a family, become grandparents once (with another on the way, I just found out yesterday), and go through some of the most exciting career progressions (low to high to low) imaginable. Through it all, we've remained committed to our love, faithful to each other, and thankful for what we have. We have been blessed with reasonably good health, both for ourselves and those we hold dear, and in balance, we can't really complain about much.
I deeply love and cherish my wife and hope that we will have many more beautiful, wonderful years together.
To my friend Michele who will be marrying Justin tomorrow, August 24th, 2002, I wish you luck, love, and success.
August 23rd, 1990 was one of the happiest days of my life. Despite my being unemployed, the woman of my dreams had decided she would marry me anyway, and the drunken preacher (and I use the word preacher loosely) lost his place and made me say "I do" TWICE. My wife is always teasing me about my obligations being twice as binding as hers - just as I tease her that I'm not sure we're legally married.
The past twelve years have seen us raise her three children as a family, become grandparents once (with another on the way, I just found out yesterday), and go through some of the most exciting career progressions (low to high to low) imaginable. Through it all, we've remained committed to our love, faithful to each other, and thankful for what we have. We have been blessed with reasonably good health, both for ourselves and those we hold dear, and in balance, we can't really complain about much.
I deeply love and cherish my wife and hope that we will have many more beautiful, wonderful years together.
To my friend Michele who will be marrying Justin tomorrow, August 24th, 2002, I wish you luck, love, and success.
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
About the move
We had tons (literally) of stuff to move, and the movers had estimated that a crew of 3 men could do the job in 12 hours. That's one heck of a large move. Well, they goofed. Their truck was pitifully small (it was a big truck, but no match for our accumulated belongings). It took FOUR truckloads to move us, and by the time we were done, the owner of the moving company had called in reserve crews. In the end, it took SIX people 14 hours to move us. They tried to charge us the whole shot, and I was open to some compromise (after all, their estimate was not binding). We settled on a revised figure that both of us could live with.
I want to keep the rest of this post short. If I don't, I will get too depressed. The new home is what I expected it to be, but not what I had hoped it would be. It was priced very low. That should have been a clue. By the time we're done, this house will cost us more than what we had budgeted for a home.
The good thing is that I'm now debt free. Equity from the sale of the prior house was sufficient to pay off my long-standing debts. Even the mortgage on the new place is less that what we owed on the old house - and the interest rate and monthly payments are significantly less. But the house itself is a nightmare.
The only things that do NOT require upgrading are the appliances and paint. In just the past two weeks, we've already completed extensive upgrades to the structure of the house, floor coverings, fencing... and will soon complete an overhaul of the electrical systems. What we don't have the money for (at the moment) are nice-to-have upgrades like reliable plumbing, heating, and air conditioning. Those things will just have to wait until I find a job.
I won't get into the gory details of everything that doesn't work. I can tell you that the pool (which was sight-unseen prior to making an offer on the place) turned out to be in excellent condition. This (and the quality of work done by the contractors we hired to spruce up the place) is the only saving grace.
That's it for now...
We had tons (literally) of stuff to move, and the movers had estimated that a crew of 3 men could do the job in 12 hours. That's one heck of a large move. Well, they goofed. Their truck was pitifully small (it was a big truck, but no match for our accumulated belongings). It took FOUR truckloads to move us, and by the time we were done, the owner of the moving company had called in reserve crews. In the end, it took SIX people 14 hours to move us. They tried to charge us the whole shot, and I was open to some compromise (after all, their estimate was not binding). We settled on a revised figure that both of us could live with.
I want to keep the rest of this post short. If I don't, I will get too depressed. The new home is what I expected it to be, but not what I had hoped it would be. It was priced very low. That should have been a clue. By the time we're done, this house will cost us more than what we had budgeted for a home.
The good thing is that I'm now debt free. Equity from the sale of the prior house was sufficient to pay off my long-standing debts. Even the mortgage on the new place is less that what we owed on the old house - and the interest rate and monthly payments are significantly less. But the house itself is a nightmare.
The only things that do NOT require upgrading are the appliances and paint. In just the past two weeks, we've already completed extensive upgrades to the structure of the house, floor coverings, fencing... and will soon complete an overhaul of the electrical systems. What we don't have the money for (at the moment) are nice-to-have upgrades like reliable plumbing, heating, and air conditioning. Those things will just have to wait until I find a job.
I won't get into the gory details of everything that doesn't work. I can tell you that the pool (which was sight-unseen prior to making an offer on the place) turned out to be in excellent condition. This (and the quality of work done by the contractors we hired to spruce up the place) is the only saving grace.
That's it for now...
Monday, August 19, 2002
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
I'm still alive - barely!
No time to post right now. Just wanted to tell you all that the move went horribly. Even Murphy would have been pissed off. My personal PC is still in boxes. I just finished setting up the internet gateway server so my wife could get on the internet to see if our bank account still has funds.
I will post all the gory details, anecdotes, and a summary of the past week's activity in the next few days. Until then, keep healthy.
No time to post right now. Just wanted to tell you all that the move went horribly. Even Murphy would have been pissed off. My personal PC is still in boxes. I just finished setting up the internet gateway server so my wife could get on the internet to see if our bank account still has funds.
I will post all the gory details, anecdotes, and a summary of the past week's activity in the next few days. Until then, keep healthy.
Monday, August 05, 2002
Happy 55th - take 2
My parents celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary last month. My sister decided to give them a surprise anniversary party. What better surprise than to hold it a month after the fact. Today, all my out-of-town relatives showed up to surprise my parents. Just as I had done yesterday at my wife's family's party, I decided to be unofficial photographer. After filling the camera with 74 pictures, I did a quick on-site edit, freed up room for about 10 more shots, then filled the camera again.
Tonight, I was able to post the majority of the pictures on a private website for my family to view.
Starting tomorrow, we've got three more days to pack. The schedule is: Monday - finish packing the storage room; Tuesday - pack up the Home Theatre; Wednesday - pack up my office (and take down this internet connection). Thursday, we move. And Friday, the cable guy is supposed to hook me back up.
I'll be too busy to post often until Friday, and I won't have much time to read many of the sites I normally visit daily... so I'll apologize in advance to anyone whose site I don't get to.
My parents celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary last month. My sister decided to give them a surprise anniversary party. What better surprise than to hold it a month after the fact. Today, all my out-of-town relatives showed up to surprise my parents. Just as I had done yesterday at my wife's family's party, I decided to be unofficial photographer. After filling the camera with 74 pictures, I did a quick on-site edit, freed up room for about 10 more shots, then filled the camera again.
Tonight, I was able to post the majority of the pictures on a private website for my family to view.
Starting tomorrow, we've got three more days to pack. The schedule is: Monday - finish packing the storage room; Tuesday - pack up the Home Theatre; Wednesday - pack up my office (and take down this internet connection). Thursday, we move. And Friday, the cable guy is supposed to hook me back up.
I'll be too busy to post often until Friday, and I won't have much time to read many of the sites I normally visit daily... so I'll apologize in advance to anyone whose site I don't get to.
Saturday, August 03, 2002
Happy Anniversary, Edna & Bob!
I just got back home a few minutes ago, having attended the 50th wedding anniversary of my wife's aunt & uncle. They're really wonderful people, and the extended family was there in full force. Unfortunately, at that age, minor aches and pains (as well as more serious ailments) can keep you down... and two of Edna's sisters (whom we had hoped would be visiting from out of town) were unable to make it. Despite this, the event was well attended with representations from four generations present.
It was an opportunity to see people I hadn't seen in quite some time - to renew acquaintances and catch up on news. A few months ago, I had decided to try the newer NiMH batteries, because they were supposed to be much better (i.e. longer lasting) in digital cameras. Tonight was the acid test. Although we had two sets of batteries with us, we only needed one set to take 72 pictures (that was the limit on the camera's memory). If I had had more memory, we could have taken more pictures - the batteries held up quite well.
Anyway, I may post a few pictures featuring my wife, kids, and granddaughter. Now that the freebie jpg crunchers are no longer available, I will have trouble posting low-bandwidth pictures. If anyone knows of any FREE ones still available, please let me know in the comments.
I just got back home a few minutes ago, having attended the 50th wedding anniversary of my wife's aunt & uncle. They're really wonderful people, and the extended family was there in full force. Unfortunately, at that age, minor aches and pains (as well as more serious ailments) can keep you down... and two of Edna's sisters (whom we had hoped would be visiting from out of town) were unable to make it. Despite this, the event was well attended with representations from four generations present.
It was an opportunity to see people I hadn't seen in quite some time - to renew acquaintances and catch up on news. A few months ago, I had decided to try the newer NiMH batteries, because they were supposed to be much better (i.e. longer lasting) in digital cameras. Tonight was the acid test. Although we had two sets of batteries with us, we only needed one set to take 72 pictures (that was the limit on the camera's memory). If I had had more memory, we could have taken more pictures - the batteries held up quite well.
Anyway, I may post a few pictures featuring my wife, kids, and granddaughter. Now that the freebie jpg crunchers are no longer available, I will have trouble posting low-bandwidth pictures. If anyone knows of any FREE ones still available, please let me know in the comments.
Friday, August 02, 2002
The Chair
The following anecdote was in my email today. Thanks, sis, for the terrific piece...
An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one-question-final-exam after an entire semester dealing with a broad array of topics.
The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on his desk and wrote on the board:
"Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."
Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair.
One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute.
Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an A when he had barely written anything at all.
Here was his answer:: --- "What Chair?" --- (drag your cursor over the area between the --- marks to read the student's answer)
The following anecdote was in my email today. Thanks, sis, for the terrific piece...
An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one-question-final-exam after an entire semester dealing with a broad array of topics.
The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on his desk and wrote on the board:
"Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."
Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair.
One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute.
Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an A when he had barely written anything at all.
Here was his answer:: --- "What Chair?" --- (drag your cursor over the area between the --- marks to read the student's answer)
We've got Bees
My son pointed out a few days back that there seemed to be an inordinate number of bees entering a crack at the seam separating our bricks from the vinyl siding. I already had a can of hornet/wasp/bee foam, which had been used earlier this season on a new hornet's nest. Instructions on the can indicated that the treatments should be applied at night - when the bees are less likely to be active. So, several nights ago, I carpet bombed an 8' long portion of the seam (to quicly seal off any escape routes), then, as per can directions, I penetrated the outer foam layer with the enclosed wand and tried to find the main point of entry. I then blasted a large amount of foam into the crack.
The next morning, I noticed two things... one, there were lots of bees entering and leaving the crack; and two, the place where I had inserted the wand was incorrect. That evening, I decided to try again. This time, I made a mental note of where the entry crack was BEFORE I carpet bombed... then I went for the kill. The difference from the previous night was dramatic. When I inserted the wand, there was no resistance - it just seemed to go into a vast cavity. Then I let loose with the foam, and it was several seconds (maybe 5 or 10) before foam started pouring back out the hole from which I had entered. Contrast this with the previous night's attempt, where foam started pouring out of the crack as soon as I pulled the trigger.
This time I was supremely confident. The next morning, I looked out the window, only to see bees... lots of bees. For each bee that entered through the crack, there was another one leaving, carrying what appeared to be remnants of the foam. The damned bees were cleaning house! I've decided not to try again. First, I'm not even sure whether the bees are spending the night inside the cavity (there's no way to see inside to find the nest). Second, if they are there, I'm afraid I may cause them to become more adverturous and look for other potential places for a hive - like inside the adjacent vent (which leads to our bathroom), or inside the dog houses, or even through the dogdoor (that's only two feet away) and into the house.
We'll be out of here in five days. I'll just have to suppress my immense fear of bees, and try to endure. Let the next owner deal with it.
My son pointed out a few days back that there seemed to be an inordinate number of bees entering a crack at the seam separating our bricks from the vinyl siding. I already had a can of hornet/wasp/bee foam, which had been used earlier this season on a new hornet's nest. Instructions on the can indicated that the treatments should be applied at night - when the bees are less likely to be active. So, several nights ago, I carpet bombed an 8' long portion of the seam (to quicly seal off any escape routes), then, as per can directions, I penetrated the outer foam layer with the enclosed wand and tried to find the main point of entry. I then blasted a large amount of foam into the crack.
The next morning, I noticed two things... one, there were lots of bees entering and leaving the crack; and two, the place where I had inserted the wand was incorrect. That evening, I decided to try again. This time, I made a mental note of where the entry crack was BEFORE I carpet bombed... then I went for the kill. The difference from the previous night was dramatic. When I inserted the wand, there was no resistance - it just seemed to go into a vast cavity. Then I let loose with the foam, and it was several seconds (maybe 5 or 10) before foam started pouring back out the hole from which I had entered. Contrast this with the previous night's attempt, where foam started pouring out of the crack as soon as I pulled the trigger.
This time I was supremely confident. The next morning, I looked out the window, only to see bees... lots of bees. For each bee that entered through the crack, there was another one leaving, carrying what appeared to be remnants of the foam. The damned bees were cleaning house! I've decided not to try again. First, I'm not even sure whether the bees are spending the night inside the cavity (there's no way to see inside to find the nest). Second, if they are there, I'm afraid I may cause them to become more adverturous and look for other potential places for a hive - like inside the adjacent vent (which leads to our bathroom), or inside the dog houses, or even through the dogdoor (that's only two feet away) and into the house.
We'll be out of here in five days. I'll just have to suppress my immense fear of bees, and try to endure. Let the next owner deal with it.
Packing - the Devil's work
The Devil invented packing and packing material. It was invented to frustrate obsessive compulsives like myself. And I'm finding out that obsessive compulsive procrastinators make lousy packers. It has taken me the better part of three hours to pack five boxes. Worse, each box contained only one "item". The items are stereo components, and the reason for the slow progress is that I must ensure that each box looks just like it came out of the factory. That means cleaning the components, individually, on every surface. I'm glad the cotton swabs are already packed, otherwise I'd probably be "detailing" the components. As it is, a soft cloth will have to suffice. Each box is being packed with all original manuals, cables, remotes, and packing material (if this sounds familiar, it's because I went through this in the storage room - and have yet to tackle the massive number of components in the Home Theatre and my computer room). Cables are being meticulously labeled, at both ends, to ensure that rehooking the systems will not take me as long as the original configuration.
I've already resigned myself to the likelihood that I will run out of time, and have to start throwing things haphazardly together come Wednesday night. I had forgotten that we have some pressing social commitments this weekend that will eat up valuable packing time. I'm sort of glad, because I hate packing... but it does cut into the available time.
Packing, and my project have kept me so busy lately, I really haven't had much time to update my weblog. I have taken time to read through my daily list, though even the number of times I visit each page daily has been curtailed. Things should get somewhat back to normal next Friday or Saturday, after the cable guy has restored my internet connection.
The Devil invented packing and packing material. It was invented to frustrate obsessive compulsives like myself. And I'm finding out that obsessive compulsive procrastinators make lousy packers. It has taken me the better part of three hours to pack five boxes. Worse, each box contained only one "item". The items are stereo components, and the reason for the slow progress is that I must ensure that each box looks just like it came out of the factory. That means cleaning the components, individually, on every surface. I'm glad the cotton swabs are already packed, otherwise I'd probably be "detailing" the components. As it is, a soft cloth will have to suffice. Each box is being packed with all original manuals, cables, remotes, and packing material (if this sounds familiar, it's because I went through this in the storage room - and have yet to tackle the massive number of components in the Home Theatre and my computer room). Cables are being meticulously labeled, at both ends, to ensure that rehooking the systems will not take me as long as the original configuration.
I've already resigned myself to the likelihood that I will run out of time, and have to start throwing things haphazardly together come Wednesday night. I had forgotten that we have some pressing social commitments this weekend that will eat up valuable packing time. I'm sort of glad, because I hate packing... but it does cut into the available time.
Packing, and my project have kept me so busy lately, I really haven't had much time to update my weblog. I have taken time to read through my daily list, though even the number of times I visit each page daily has been curtailed. Things should get somewhat back to normal next Friday or Saturday, after the cable guy has restored my internet connection.