unbound @ seema.org

2009-06-15T17:00:00.002-05:00

LotD

Interesting article about the costs of healthcare in the New Yorker.

"Health-care costs ultimately arise from the accumulation of individual decisions doctors make about which services and treatments to write an order for. The most expensive piece of medical equipment, as the saying goes, is a doctor�s pen. And, as a rule, hospital executives don�t own the pen caps. Doctors do."

Full article here.

2009-06-02T23:07:00.002-05:00

Geographically challenged

One thing that's bugging me about the Sonia Sotomayor story is people keeping saying her parents immigrated from Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is part of the US, so I'm not sure "immigrated" is the right word. It makes it sound like she's not American, that her parents weren't American, and that's not true. "Immigrated" in the same way that I moved from Small Mountainous State to Very Red State... well, maybe not quite. But the point is, Puerto Rico is part of the United States.

2009-05-24T23:24:00.002-05:00

Before you buy

True Car gives you values of what people are paying for cars in your zip code. It allows you to customize the car and then shows the bell curve of what a good price is, what a great price is, and you can deduce from that information when you're being taken for a ride. Just another tool to go along with the Kelly Blue Book, CarFax, Edmunds, and Consumer Reports, but this one really helps demystify what a good deal for a car is.

2009-05-20T21:01:00.003-05:00

My left foot

I went to the doctor today. In addition to Achilles tendinitis, which has been plaguing me for the past three years in both legs (especially bad in the left), I also have plantar fasciitis in my left foot. No word yet on the status of the knee as I still need to get some x-rays. It could be fine -- just irritated/swollen still from my fall in January -- or I could have actually torn/strained something or there might be something -- bone chip, maybe -- floating around in there, which might account for the intermittent pain and the locking-up in a prone position.

2009-05-19T21:28:00.003-05:00

Gah

The Honda Insight is so not made of buy. Just tiny and cramped inside -- my head nearly skimmed the ceiling -- with a dashboard that looks like a video arcade. The rear window is hard to see out of and then there's a random little icon that tells you if you are driving efficiently or not; it's hard to see the point when it's really the job of the hybrid to manage the fuel efficiency, yes? The car handled roughly and the model we test drove -- at 250 miles only -- was making a funky rattling noise already. Anyway, not liking the Honda Insight a whole lot. Only the price has something going for it, but it's only a couple grand removed from the Prius' base model. And oh -- the lifetime warranty that they're offering on Hondas -- could be a good selling point. Even so, if you're looking, I say go for the Prius.

2009-05-17T10:30:00.003-05:00

The best of times

I've spent the last few months worrying a lot. It's like every little thing that happens seems to be 1000 times worse than it probably actually is. I don't know if it's the overload of the bad economic news that I translate and take personally. As a result, it's been difficult to make simple decisions like, should I buy a new computer?

This computer still works very well but is slow as heck and makes it difficult to really get much done; even with DSL, it's like being on dial-up again. But then I think about the $300 to $400 investment for a new PC and I shudder at the expense. Is it really the time to go out and buy something? What if we are indeed sliding towards the Great Depression and we reach 30 percent unemployment? A new PC won't help put food on the table. What if I needed that $300-$400 and it's wrapped up in a more technological advanced but depreciable item?

It's the dilemma. We need to spend to get this economy going but even those of us who are still employed (knock on wood) and should be spending are pulling way back. Two-edged sword. Don't know how to get out of this mindset and the media doesn't help with its constant barrage of reminders on just how bad things are. It makes harder to get to the point where you understand that it's the best time to buy certain items (car, house etc), but it's hard to part with that money. Having a monthly note for a new car or new house antes up the stress level if indeed you lose your job and then can't find another one for months.

2009-05-16T09:24:00.002-05:00

Happy Milestone!

I've been remiss in acknowledging that my beloved Corolla hit 100,000 miles this week. We're currently sitting at 100,160. We've driven a long way together, baby.

2009-05-15T16:58:00.003-05:00

Where do I know you from again?

I admit it: I Facebook for the word games.

When I first joined Facebook, it was a novelty -- all these people I hadn't seen or talked or thought of in years were at my fingertips. I was going through lists of people thinking, "I know you, what have you been up to?" The emails started going fast and furious. It was amazing to find out that some people were married, had a baby or two or three, and then to find out where they live. I don't know what I was thinking -- that as my life progressed, was everyone else right where I left them? It's disconcerting to say the least.

I've stopped actively looking for people to friend on Facebook. Part of it is because I've found everyone that I do want to be in touch with. Some of them are people I'm regularly in touch already (Hi Liz!), but others we haven't had any contact -- not even a Christmas card -- in years. In two cases, I knew I knew the person, but couldn't remember from where: high school? college? camp? Somewhere else entirely? It was mystifying to me. It then occurred to me that I have three groups of friends on Facebook.

The first group are the people I actively keep in touch with and even see in person regularly. The second group are people I don't keep in as close of touch anymore, maybe a Christmas card here and there, or an IM chat/email exchange every now and then, but we haven't seen each other in years. However, with this second group, there's still an active fondness and a definite desire to hang out if ever we're in the same geographic region again. And finally, the third group - people I have met/spent time with during the high school/college years, but never developed close enough relationships with to keep in touch later. Most of the people in this group are from high school.

Then there's the fourth group: people on whom I once spent time with but don't have any desire to renew any kind of acquaintance with them for whatever reason. I always feel bad when I ignore those requests/emails, but my thoughts have been lately, "What happens if I renew my friendship/acquaintance with this person?" Would it add to my life? Would I be happy that this person is back? Clearly there was a reason why I made a choice to minimize contact, so why would I start up again, knowing that no good could come out of it?

To me, that's the ultimate dilemma. I like using Facebook to send quick messages to my RL friends and planning meet-ups etc., and I like looking at the pictures and news from people who are in the second group. The third group is moderately amusing and nostalgic. The fourth group just plain out stresses me out because my instinct to do right and be polite is mitigated by the fact that sometimes people are oil and water and no good can come out of an attempt to stir the pot and come up with something new and equally unappetizing. Or something.

Facebook for the word games is a whole lot less complicated and less fraught with emotional social issues.

2009-05-11T22:16:00.002-05:00

Tech note

I didn't want to enable comment moderation, but the first comment spam showed up in the previous post. I'm still not requiring login, but I am requiring the letter code picture thingy to deter further spammage. I apologize for the inconvenience. The offending comment has been removed from this blog.

2009-05-03T21:54:00.001-05:00

LotD

Going Dutch -- How I Learned to Love the European Welfare State.

"... does the cartoon image of it � encapsulated in the dread slur 'socialism,' which is being lobbed in American political circles like a bomb � match reality? Is there, maybe, a significant upside that is worth exploring?"

2009-04-24T17:49:00.002-05:00

Days gone by

Someone emailed me recently, requesting a copy of a story I wrote for Virtual Voyager Season 8. Must have been 7 or 8 years ago now. I had forgotten the title of the story or even what it was about (actually, that last isn't so surprising -- I regularly forget what my stories are about). I wasn't even sure I had a copy, but luckily I did. Those were fun days. Yup.

2009-04-23T18:46:00.003-05:00

LotD

I'll be out of pocket for the next 10 days or so, but in the meantime, entertain yourselves with Etiquette Hell. There are some classic stories on the forum, as well as on the website itself. Much fun.

2009-04-15T21:28:00.002-05:00

Tea party

Seriously cranky as they made me late for my abs class. And then stood in my way when I was trying to get to the post office to pay my taxes. Maybe that was their point, but seriously. It's especially ironic that these protesters were using public gathering places, funded by taxpayer dollars, for their gathering.

Taxes are taxes and I honestly have no feeling about them one way or another. Certainly not enough to spend precious working hours when I could be proving my value to my employer and earning money to pay the taxes that provide for our brave armed forces, our roads, our schools, public servants including law enforcement, and help those who have lost their jobs somehow make ends meet when times are tough.

Do I wish sometimes my tax dollars were spent differently? Yes. But in the end, when I drive down our beautiful new 16-lane highway, I can only be grateful for what taxpayers bought that makes my life so much easier. It's an honor and a privilege to pay taxes.

2009-04-13T21:39:00.002-05:00

Amazing Performance

I can't embed the video, but you really have to check out this video of Susan Boyle. Absolutely amazing rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables. And a good lesson on how/why not to judge a book by its cover, so to speak.

2009-04-12T20:51:00.002-05:00

Annual ritual

I just realized, in the middle of "The Amazing Race," that I need to make my annual pilgrimage to the US Post Office on the 15th. So now it's that last minute scramble to check and recheck my work (I actually did my taxes back in late January/early February), print out all documents, make sure they're labeled correctly, etc. I don't mind the actual prep; it's the post office bit that makes me a little bit insane. No fun at all. No wonder so many people conveniently "forget" that they owe taxes.

2009-04-11T23:25:00.001-05:00

LotD

Baseball link today -- unassisted triple play. I'm actually looking for a triple play in which no one touched the ball. It's a question in George Will's most recent column and I just can't think of how on earth this is possible. Any help would be most helpful and welcome.

2009-04-10T13:51:00.002-05:00

My A-ha! moment

So I'm working some freelance webdesigns and I can't believe, in nearly 12 to 13 years worth of doing this, I never figured this out -- have two index.html pages, one labeled index and the other index2, and work off the index2, and use that as the browser preview/experimental pages. See, in the past I've always just worked off the index page and then I'd find something nutty, would change it, save it in order to preview, and then realize, dang it, I can't undo. By doing it this way, I was actually able to preview, see if I liked it, and then if it worked, save it over the other index file, without losing hours worth of work.

I'm sure this has been obvious to everyone for years, but man...

2009-04-09T22:58:00.002-05:00

Must have

Three must-haves I carry in my car trunk: a flashlight, jumper cables, and an air compressor for the tires. All pretty self-explanatory, and it just seems incredible to me to not have them. I once got stuck out late at night on a freezing winter evening (pre-cell phone days) with a dead battery because I forgot to turn off the car headlights. Luckily there was someone there who could jump my car and I was able to get home, no problem. Since then, I've always had jumper cables in my car and I've probably jumped about a dozen cars or so. They're not expensive -- maybe $20 to $30 -- but what they give you in peace of mind is so much better.

I also recommend an air compressor. These things are definitely not expensive -- I bought mine for about $20 at AutoZone. This is one of those items that you pay upfront for, but then really appreciate. Previously, I used to have to either go to the garage to get my car tires inflated or search out a gas station to fill my tires. I don't know about you, but the gas stations I always stopped at were either broken or missing a gauge (I have one of those in my car now too). Plus, you always had to have quarters if they didn't give you free air with purchase of gasoline. Now, with my air compressor, it takes about two minutes to fill up the tires in the comfort of my own garage.

I calculated it costs me about $1.50 to fill up all four tires at the gas station and when gasoline cost $4/gallon, it was about 70 cents to travel 4 miles to the gas station. So it's about $2.20/month to fill up my tires. I've owned the pump for more than a year now, so I've easily made that money back. Plus, it's just *convenient*. I can justify cost all I want, but really, it's just the convenience of knowing I can plug this thing into the cigarette lighter in the safety of my own garage and it's just all around better situation.

So, I definitely recommend just having jumper cables and air compressors for tires. It's an up-front investment, but I think worth every penny. Adding a flashlight and a tire pressure gauge for kicks isn't a bad idea either.

2009-04-08T22:16:00.005-05:00

Rant o' the day

I really dislike, when you're looking for a service, how some vendors make you call them to get the price. I like vendors who put their prices online, easily accessible, so I can figure out whether they're in my budget or not. If they're not in my budget, I move on and I don't waste their time or mine. I know why they want me to call -- so they can convinced me that regardless of whatever they're charging, it's worth it. And vendors want that personal contact so they can keep track of who's interested -- a semi-anonymous hit on their website isn't particularly sexy. But since I only have so much time in a day to research and make phone calls (read: lunch hour), I automatically skip over anyone who doesn't publish their price points on their website.*

The key here, vendors dear vendors, is that your website isn't about YOU. If it doesn't have what I'm looking for on it, then you don't get my business automatically, even if you're the most awesomest awesome ever. Other people might fall so in love with your product, they'll call you and be okay with whatever you quote, but those of us who have a specific dollar amount in mind don't want to waste your time or ours. So please, please, put your prices on your website and save us all some time.

* Excluding car mechanics, though it's nice for routine maintenance like an oil change to know how much it's going to cost up front..

2009-04-02T18:59:00.002-05:00

Who are all these people

Line of Succession to the British Throne.Countess Wilhelmine von Wuthenau-Hohenthurm probably has just about the same chance of being queen of England as Prince Charles has becoming King. I can just hear the introduction now: "I'm Countess Wilhelmine von Wuthenau-Hohenthurm and I'm 1,596th in line to the throne of Britain. Nice to meet you."

2009-04-02T18:52:00.002-05:00

jemima made me do it

Between 50 and 100 monkeys

I'm most like Between 50 and 100 monkeys.

2009-03-29T09:16:00.002-05:00

Software recommendations

My computer has been plodding along lately. It's probably tired -- it's about 7 1/2 years old, which is something like 100 years old in computer years. But it works fine for my limited usage -- mainly surfing the internet, writing the occasional story/letter, and playing word games. So it's in my best interests to keep it running and this week, I took a stab at trying to reduce the recent sluggishness. The good news is, as far as I can tell, no virus infection. I ran several different programs and I do have some difference in performance, so that's good. The best part is that all the programs I ran are free for home use. So here's a list of free software that can make your life (and that of your computer's) easier.

Lavasoft's Ad-Aware - this program is pretty darn good for searching out malware and again, it's free for home use. One word of caution -- I had a heck of a time with the Anniversary Edition of Ad-Aware; it installed but then wouldn't run. It turns out to be an issue with the registry. If you've had a previous installation of Ad-Aware, it leaves behind some "junk" that the AE edition can't handle. Which leads me to my next piece of recommended software.
CCleaner -- Jerie recommended this to me years ago, but I admit to not being great about using it. When I ran into the aforementioned problem with the Ad-Aware AE, I remembered this program. It's basically a registry-cleaner. It goes in and finds orphan commands, files, etc., and cleans them out for you. In my case, most of the issues had to do with remnants of programs I had previously installed/uninstalled, such as an earlier edition of Ad-Aware. It's worth running. It was amazing just how much "stuff" the uninstallers leave behind to clutter up your system.
Avast -- I replaced McAfee with this free anti-virus software and I'm much, much happier with it than McAfee. I guess I believe its real-time protection more than I did with McAfee because Avast is pretty shrill when something happens -- either online or downloading email -- that it doesn't approve of. Its GUI is pretty easy to deal with and did I mention it was free? Note, you still have to register the software with Avast within 60 days of installing it on your computer.

I'm also running ZoneAlarm firewall on my computer instead of the built-in Windows firewall, however, I find ZoneAlarm to be kind of a pain. It is constantly nagging at me to update software (no more than 15 days apart each time) and with every update, you have to "retrain" the software to remember all the programs permitted to access the Internet. I guess this is how ZoneLabs gets people to upgrade to the paid version of their software. For free software, it's not bad if you're looking for a firewall. Just be ready to need to update every two weeks or so.

And then back to Ad-Aware. I ended up uninstalling Ad-Aware AE and re-gressing back to an earlier version of Ad-Aware (I still happened to have the *.exe file). That worked just fine. If I'm feeling really bold this weekend, I might try again with the Ad-Aware AE. Right now, due to the issues I had with the installation of Ad-Aware AE, I can't recommend it and would suggest, if possible, to keep your current, working version of the software, or find a *clean* site that will allow you to download an earlier version.

2009-03-25T20:44:00.004-05:00

The L word

Layoffs have started here in Sweat Sock City. I say this with a bit of awe because until about two or three months ago, we were pretty well insulated from the financial malfeasance that was virally spreading across country and through the global market. But all good things must eventually end, and it was only a matter of time. Friends are losing their jobs to layoffs now and it seems every day, there's one more person without work. It reminds me a lot of 2000-2001 when a lot of people I knew got laid off and it was hard to know what to say, what to do. Everyone eventually rebounded, got back on their feet, and are/were doing well. It's just a job, it's not who you are. Still, it's hard. I guess the old adage of hoping for the best and preparing for the worst was never more true than it is today.

2009-03-18T21:01:00.002-05:00

LotD

New Mexico bans the death penalty.

"Faced with the reality that our system for imposing the death penalty can never be perfect, my conscience compels me to replace the death penalty with a solution that keeps society safe," [Governor Bill] Richardson [said].

Only 35 more states to go...

2009-03-16T19:44:00.002-05:00

LotD

I've been re-learning the art of web design and what makes a good site, and uh, what makes a site suck. So I've been hanging out at the site where I first learned, years, and years ago, Webpages that Suck and stumbled across the worst websites of 2008. Oh. Gosh. Anyway, it's worth a look if you, like me, are looking at redoing your website or just want to tidy your site up a bit.