Raincharm’s Weblog

And so we can move on to other pursuits.

Like Soccer. The Sounders are into the MLS playoffs. Unfortunately our shrine must have been lacking as they are now down 0-3 after the first leg of the openning session.

Sounders' Shrine, with a touch of Cardinals still up

Outside of a short walk and some mushroom picking destroying in the back yard, we were pretty much homebodies over the weekend. That is not to say we were not busy.

Unfortunately, most of my busy time has been focused on work.
Fortunately, working from home with few distractions has allowed me to jump into a project that should have been started last February. I may try closing my door at work on Monday, and see if I can continue to make progress.

Carl has been working on his projects, and house cleaning.
And – so cute – one of his former charges, now a kindergartener, missed him and wanted to see him. So her family came over for a short visit on Saturday.
That was after we walked to the Post Office and Carl did his homework.

The post office was necessitated by the deep freeze and snow in the Northeast, including NYC.
Ashlan allowed as how her winter wear was essentially nil, and could we send some her way.
Boots, hat, gloves, scarf, and jacket are now winging their way east. Hopefully they are not delayed by the weather already in place.

Homework has moved from WORD to EXCEL.
It seems to be an easier start. Maybe it will prove to be more intuitive.
I spent a good deal of my work time this weekend in ACCESS.

Now that was a baseball game worth watching.

At the risk of getting it all wrong, let me be brief.

They were up, they were down, they were tied, they were down, they were tied, they finally won.
They being the Cardinals.

The game lasted a LONG time. I don’t know exactly how long.
We started late (getting off work and to a watching location just doesn’t happen by 5 PM). Luckily we have a TiVo friend. Then there was a break to cook, get the food, ice cream from the new shop (the ice cream shop – and it did not turn into ice cream soup). And yet, we still finished the game watching it in real time.

Maybe the shortened time (no between innings commercials) added to the exertion. That is if you can call sitting on a couch exertion. Yells of joy, of agony, joy, stomping feet, agony, then joy. Really, how many errors should be committed in game 6 of the World Series. I am assuming it was cold, and that added to the inability to cleanly pick up a ball. But you really should not be running into your teammate. Other than maybe a consistent strike zone, the umpires seemed to get the calls correct.

But neither team was willing to let the game go, and go home. They each kept putting on the pressure. The fans and players all seemed so into the game.

We pulled all of the tricks out of the bag. Or rather put our toys back into the bag.
This is called packing up.
You never pack up before the game is over (fat lady singing – it is not over until that happens, so don’t tempt fate by assuming a win). But we have found that fate doesn’t pick up on which team you are hoping will win, so if you start packing up you can induce a come-back.
We did. Twice.
And they did (come back). Twice.
And then they actually got the Rangers out of an inning without allowing a run.
And then they scored.

And this is where it get strange.

At the beginning of the game Kevin said he had a dream that Freese hit a walk-off home run to win game 7. Close enough.

It is hard to imagine how tomorrow’s final game will match tonight’s’ game.
It has been 9 years since the World Series went to game 7.
If it even approaches game 6, it will be worth watching.

Just past noon today they breached a dam in Washington.
This is a breach through the bottom of the dam. Just a big hole to let the water flow out.

A better comprehensive report

Here is a brief snip from the news, and the accompanying article.

I watched it live during my lunch at work, and then kept it playing for a few hours into the afternoon. (I have two computer screens).

The initial blast of water was cool, but I thought the longer term roaring flood, followed by the receding edges was almost more interesting. And the most interesting was watching the upstream pool of water get lower, and lower, and lower, until it was just a muddy river. I only wish now that I could find coverage of the slug of muddy water meeting the Columbia River.

Week four of October, that is.
I thought I had better post before it was suddenly November.

Life has continued to move forward.
Baseball and Budget seem to dominate my life.
Baseball and Computers and kids have been dominating Carl’s life.
With a side of cars thrown in for good measure.

Baseball – I am rooting for the Cardinals, and therefore 7 games. Carl is rooting for 7 games, but I think he is leaning toward the Cardinals winning game 7. Several reasons, at least one of which is letting the hometown fans have a ball. And another is the relative factor.

Budget is what must get done at work. There are other things that must get done, but the GM is looking for the budget, so it gets priority.

Computer is there to fret about. Word test mostly done (a take home part still to go), and then it will be on to Excel.

Kids are there to play with, watch play, referee play, etc, etc, etc.

And cars? Tires, 5000 mile check-ups and traffic known as VIADOOM to contend with.
They are tearing down part of one of the major arterials. They actually have bypasses in place, but during the tear down stage they are not usable. So, alternative routes are the rule, and avoidance is my goal. 2 days down, 7 to go.

Back to the budget.

Today we spent doing a bit of this and that.
Studying, shopping, cooking.

Tonight we had a baseball game to watch, a soccer game to watch, a college football game to watch, and a soccer retirement part to go to.

So we cooked for the party, and started watching the baseball game.
Finally had to leave for the party.

Only to get there and remember it is TOMORROW.

A perfect way to end the day.
Well, at least the cooking is done.

Of course, by the time this is read it will be the day after Bob’s birthday.
Such is the way of the time zones.
And because it is Bob’s birthday – it is also my birthday. Happy birthday to me.

Bob (left) and Carl (right)

And it has been a relatively good day.
Certainly beats the pants off of yesterday.

• The latest furnace guy says he can give us a quick fix for just $200. That should buy us enough time to figure how a new furnace will fit into our larger remodel plans. Time is good, and he seemed to really know his stuff. Not so pressuring either.
• The car has a new shoe, and I will be getting a wheel lock key. Apparently I should have had one all along, and it is just a really good thing that I have not had tire problems away from the dealer.
• Breakfast at the french bakery. Ummmm. Almond croissant and apple turnover (shared) with Carl. Took in a half dozen croissants to share. There were lots of, “Where is this place,” kind of comments. (You can not believe how I had croissants spelled before I checked – jeeez.)
• Lunch out as well – Chicken Frutteto Salad: Grilled chicken, mixed greens, fresh apple, bacon, glazed walnuts, gorgonzola with reduced fat honey mustard dressing. Shared a Four Seasons pizza: Prosciutto, salami, artichokes, mushrooms, fresh & roasted tomatoes.
• And fresh baked cookies from one of my fellow October birthdays at work. There are five of us within 7 days or less.
• We are having dinner in. Mimosa’s, sausage, fruit and whatever else shows up.

And tomorrow – we might just go walk on the viaduct before it gets torn down. It is supposed to rain, but this is a chance that will not come again.

Actually, it is the tire that is screwed, and me that is tired.
Sitting in a Les Schwab, waiting for the tire to be repaired. At least I noticed the low tire before I was on the freeway, and left before the stores were all closed.

Update: Tire is more than just laden with a screw. The location is such that the tire can not be repaired. And apparently there is some sort of lock on the lug nuts that the fine Les Schwab establishment does not have. The guy is acting like I have some sort of a key. I would think I would remember something like that.

So fill the tire with air, and head the last 20 miles toward home.
Before leaving: Let Carl know my new time frame and destination, Call the Toyota dealer (home of the tires on the car, including the screwed one), Call my carpooler for ride tomorrow, get gas.
Made it home. Made it to the dealership to drop off the car. Made it home again.

Yeah, Cardinals!

The World Series is always fun. We get together with friends for most of the games.
Last night was no different, and we had snacks and chili. And TiVo, which meant that we could all get there from our respective daytime pursuits, and pause to get food ….. And we had almost caught up to real time as the game ended.

This morning, started as many mornings do – with the need for a shower and hair wash.
So I am washing my hair, and “Ka-BOOM”

I knew right away that the metal waste basket in the bathroom was involved. (Very old style, a remanent of the former owner.) I mumbled something and in my head immediately blamed Carl. I assumed he had thrown something in there. (Why hand it off when it can be thrown and caught, is his motto.) But there was no further sounds, so I peered around the shower curtain. Apparently when I got conditioner out of the conditioner bottle I had moved it just slightly toward the edge of the tub, and that was enough to send it slipping, slowly, over the rounded edge. The wastebasket happens to be next to the tub, and so was the receptacle of said conditioner bottle. Now, it did not just slip in, the bottle did a full somersault, ending bottom down, pump up, and the wastebasket was moved about two inches.

[I realize how dull my life is, when this is the major point of my morning.]

Oh – and the eagle was hanging out next to the bridge this morning. I wonder if he/she was waiting for the sun to come up and illuminate the fish better.

OK – suffice it to say it has been a very strange day.

• Braces manuever took three technicians
• Furnace – new blower motor for $900 or new furnace for $3200-$5500 (depending on model, efficiency, etc, etc, etc)
• Kids kicking kids during a game on a playground and the other parent doesn’t think an adult who suggested they should stop the kicking should intervene, “They will work it out for themselves.” “Yes, perhaps because the less agressive kid will probably just stop playing this game, and miss out on the fun – because they were being kicked and the kicking kid would not stop by themselves.”
• Software is a tool. But if you are not the primary user of said software, don’t be surprised if they take away the tool because they (the primary user) doesn’t understand that you do use it, believes in fact that you do not use it, and doesn’t really care that you don’t have another readily identifiable means of getting the data you use from it. (Unless you rebuild the old spreadsheet you used before you had software that got the information for you much more automatically.) Don’t worry – you can just estimate the time you spend on tasks better than if you ask your folks to enter the actual time they spend. Because they won’t enter it properly, so the data you get really has no meaning. (Yes I am sure my WAG will be MUCH BETTER THAN data that is not 100% precise.)
•  Teachers get tired of having students that don’t type quickly.
• Earthquakes will happen. I work in an are on a fault, next to a big fault, and it will be my fault if we are not ready to react. But don’t worry, my WAG will let me know how much time I spend to not be ready.

OK – enough. I needed to write it down.

And one of the potential contractors is helping me get information about furnace alternatives.

(I probably shouldn’t post this, but I don’t think anybody that it would offend will read it.)

As in, “Do Not Disturb”.

As in, this was how my telephone at work was set today. So, if you tried to call me, it went right to message. I kind of enjoyed it. Actually, I forgot I had set it and marvelled that I was actually able to get a letter out. Of course, while getting the letter out I realized there were a whole raft of forms that needed to be updated (we raised some fees – and no we are not a bank, or an airline). In other words, the day flew by.

And when I got home I immediately got on the telephone. We are checking references for the three contractors we interviewed last week. They all sound like gods of remodelling. Good to hear though. The people are anxious to tell us how good they were. Next up will be the due diligence check of their licenses and BBB stuff. Hopefully we will come to a decision in the next few days.

And now – the furnace blower is making god-awful noises.
Hopefully just a fan belt or some inexpensive piece to be replaced. …