Shall I begin again?
Blogging. I am pondering a return. Shall I? What should I write about? Any opinions out there? Please share...
posted by Administrator at 22:17
0 comments
2011-10-07
2008-01-27
2008-01-24
Finished the Condo Renovations - Just in time to sell.....Convenient no?
In previous posts - and when I say previous, I really mean ancient (like, days of yore stuff here folks. Seriously. Scroll down if you don't believe me) - I have referenced my epic battles with renovations, and the endless task list that spawns therefrom.
It gives me great pleasure to say, that 2 kids, 3 jobs, 1 house, and 2 cantankerous renters later, I am finally finished the renovations on our Condominium.
Mostly.
I'd go into detail, but I like my sanity. The upshot comes in the fact that my push to finish is motivated directly by my desire to sell the place and bathe in hard currency [aside: Thanks to my home city for a tremendous real estate appreciation cycle - may you now halt and take a breather so I can hire some professionals to complete the renovations on my house at a reasonable price. One can wish.]
Ironically, I can now pause to consider the learning experience that these renovations afforded me:
1. When attaching baseboards, always check to make sure that the pocket door is open so as not to nail the door shut with brad nails. Always use construction adhesive to attach baseboards on either side of the wall in which the door is housed, as the brad nails that went through the baseboards and drywall will prevent the door from closing. Really good lesson. I introduced the Condo to a choice selection of my colorful vocabulary that day. Oh yes I did.
2. When your friendly neighborhood home improvement emporium says they can color match, what they really mean is - kinda. That's not what the sign says, mind you, but that's what it should say. What it does say is some pap about once they attempt to color match a can of paint, you've bought whatever crap concoction the "Decor Professional" has brewed for your painting pleasure. Not that you notice that sign when accepting the cheerful "sure!" that comes right after your question asking if they can color match your pathetic swatch of poorly chosen paint color. But what's really awesome is the feeling of trying to touch up a 4 year old paint-job with newly "color matched" paint, just to find that it's off just enough to be obvious to even the most color blind of humans, but not enough that when you go back to Home Depot to try and negotiate a reasonable resolution, the new shift of oh-so-helpful folks looks at you, laughs maniacally whilst twisting their freshly waxed cracker-jack "Evil Mustache" and points to the aforementioned sign. That was a great day. And I bought more paint from that fine establishment. I know - I'm still hitting myself.
3. The pain of re-construction or renovating is exactly equal to the joy of demolition raised to the power of the speed of light. Exactly. Trust me on this one.
There are more lessons, but the pain of recollecting just these three has been akin to slowly removing a hubcap sized oozing scab, so I'll end there, lest I faint.
So, needless to say, [aside: Why do people use that phrase? So daft.] I am tickled to be finished the project once and for all.
Why am I also sorry to see it go?
Pathetic.
-m@
It gives me great pleasure to say, that 2 kids, 3 jobs, 1 house, and 2 cantankerous renters later, I am finally finished the renovations on our Condominium.
Mostly.
I'd go into detail, but I like my sanity. The upshot comes in the fact that my push to finish is motivated directly by my desire to sell the place and bathe in hard currency [aside: Thanks to my home city for a tremendous real estate appreciation cycle - may you now halt and take a breather so I can hire some professionals to complete the renovations on my house at a reasonable price. One can wish.]
Ironically, I can now pause to consider the learning experience that these renovations afforded me:
1. When attaching baseboards, always check to make sure that the pocket door is open so as not to nail the door shut with brad nails. Always use construction adhesive to attach baseboards on either side of the wall in which the door is housed, as the brad nails that went through the baseboards and drywall will prevent the door from closing. Really good lesson. I introduced the Condo to a choice selection of my colorful vocabulary that day. Oh yes I did.
2. When your friendly neighborhood home improvement emporium says they can color match, what they really mean is - kinda. That's not what the sign says, mind you, but that's what it should say. What it does say is some pap about once they attempt to color match a can of paint, you've bought whatever crap concoction the "Decor Professional" has brewed for your painting pleasure. Not that you notice that sign when accepting the cheerful "sure!" that comes right after your question asking if they can color match your pathetic swatch of poorly chosen paint color. But what's really awesome is the feeling of trying to touch up a 4 year old paint-job with newly "color matched" paint, just to find that it's off just enough to be obvious to even the most color blind of humans, but not enough that when you go back to Home Depot to try and negotiate a reasonable resolution, the new shift of oh-so-helpful folks looks at you, laughs maniacally whilst twisting their freshly waxed cracker-jack "Evil Mustache" and points to the aforementioned sign. That was a great day. And I bought more paint from that fine establishment. I know - I'm still hitting myself.
3. The pain of re-construction or renovating is exactly equal to the joy of demolition raised to the power of the speed of light. Exactly. Trust me on this one.
There are more lessons, but the pain of recollecting just these three has been akin to slowly removing a hubcap sized oozing scab, so I'll end there, lest I faint.
So, needless to say, [aside: Why do people use that phrase? So daft.] I am tickled to be finished the project once and for all.
Why am I also sorry to see it go?
Pathetic.
-m@
posted by Administrator at 06:49
0 comments
2006-12-16
Gaza / Israel / The West Bank / Palestine
I'm quite sure that my words will not make any difference to anyone whatsoever, but I'm thinking it, so I'll write it. It is a blog after all, and perhaps if I write when things come to mind, it will be less neglected. Maybe someone who can change things will read it - maybe it will change the world. Probably not, but I suppose in this age of information, anything is possible.
I sit here reading about the plight of people living in Gaza and the West Bank. I say 'people' for a reason, since I firmly believe that all people are equal in worth, no matter what descriptive appellation may be attached to them. Yes - these are people, just like you and me. But there seems to be a difference, and it's quite vexing.
What I'm having a hard time understanding is this: How can a group of people not understand after so many years of doing the same thing that what they are doing is absolute insanity? Surely some of the people who live there want peace. Surely some people will watch their neighbor bundle up their child with explosives and send him to die a pointless death, and ask themselves, is that how much a human life is worth? And then perhaps they will realize that terrorism of this nature is pointless and is would be better to seek peace at any price. I recognize that terrorism / guerrilla warfare has succeeded before in certain situations, but I submit that in this case it never will. Israel, notwithstanding the rantings of Iran's Ahmednejad, isn't going anywhere. It's just too strong militarily, notwithstanding it's subjective failures recently in Lebanon. Also - It has, arguably, a legitimate claim to existence. Palestine also has a legitimate claim to existence. In any case, and I do mean any, the failure to seek peace, instead relying on terrorism to accomplish an impossible goal, is absolute and utter folly.
Perhaps I don't understand the objective. What is it that someone wants who lobs RPG's into a neighborhood, with children playing in yards and parks? Maybe someone will tell me that without the violence that has occurred up to this point, the Isrealis wouldn't be in a mood to negotiate anything, since they don't want a state of Palestine to exist just as much as some people living in Gaza and the West Bank don't want Israel to exist. But I just don't get it - Is it religion based? I sure hope not. Yes, there's been reams written on injustices and atrocities committed by many religions in the name of God, but eventually people within those religions spoke up to end it, or the particular ideology faded away, or something, and it ended. Please let it be the case here that we're close to an end of this. Are there no religious leaders in Gaza and The West Bank that think that what people are doing is pointless and wrong? Where are they? I wish they'd speak up.
Here's the thing - peace is obtainable. Perhaps it wasn't before, but I think it is now. Perhaps some people don't believe that. Perhaps some people don't want it. Perhaps some people like to live amongst death and suffering. I just can't fathom why those people seem to control the outcomes of the lives of people living in the West Bank and Gaza. Does anyone living there want peace? Where are they? Why don't we see/hear them? Is this just an example of the unintelligent removing themselves from the gene pool? I only speculate since I have very few explanations to offer up that make any sense to me. Why don't some of these people want to live a better life? It's obtainable. They can do it. A vast majority of the world would support any effort to achieve it.
I know, I know. It's a very complicated problem. It's got lots of history. Lots. I get it, I really do. But perhaps the weight of all that needs to be left aside for awhile. Perhaps by focusing on the future a solution can be found. Why is it so hard? Why? Why is dying preferable to peace? Why not just be done with it and say - Hi there world, all of us here in Gaza and the West Bank are tired of dying and living miserable lives. We going to (choose one:) open a bistro / plant a garden / visit grandma / go on vacation / listen to music / pray / play with the kids / make love. Let us know when you've drawn some lines on a map somewhere and decided who I should pay my taxes to and who I should complain to when I don't like how the postal service is running. Wait - Here's a representative sampling of 100 of us - take them with you to help out so we have some say in it.
Now I come to this confusion having lived in a very prosperous nation. Everyone I know has a lot to lose. I'm more motivated sometimes to turn the other cheek because I've got property, a wife and children, a job, a city I love to live in, a car, plentiful food. I don't want to upset the balance. I'd rather lose an argument than find out the person I'm arguing with just happens to be unstable and is liable to shoot me dead on the spot if they get too animated. We've built public institutions in which we debate and find solutions to common problems. Sometimes it seems like a terrible waste of time and resources to fix simple problems, but we have the time and resources to expend on it, so we do. And it has the wonderful benefit of being non-lethal. It's a little inefficient, I'll grant you, and we make huge compromises to keep as big a majority of us as happy as we can, but it beats sending a kid off to blow him/herself up, or sitting down on a bus and getting blown up by that kid.
I'm not sure I have a point. After all - my blog is titled marginally interesting. Perhaps it should be titled pointless ramblings. Wait - a point is forming, yes there it is. I don't understand why people are dying trying to achieve something that they can get without dying. Here's an idea - Why doesn't everyone in Israel, Gaza, and the West bank put down the weapons and figure out how to live in peace? It just can't be that hard. Obviously I'm wrong - It is hard - evidently.
I just don't understand why.
I sit here reading about the plight of people living in Gaza and the West Bank. I say 'people' for a reason, since I firmly believe that all people are equal in worth, no matter what descriptive appellation may be attached to them. Yes - these are people, just like you and me. But there seems to be a difference, and it's quite vexing.
What I'm having a hard time understanding is this: How can a group of people not understand after so many years of doing the same thing that what they are doing is absolute insanity? Surely some of the people who live there want peace. Surely some people will watch their neighbor bundle up their child with explosives and send him to die a pointless death, and ask themselves, is that how much a human life is worth? And then perhaps they will realize that terrorism of this nature is pointless and is would be better to seek peace at any price. I recognize that terrorism / guerrilla warfare has succeeded before in certain situations, but I submit that in this case it never will. Israel, notwithstanding the rantings of Iran's Ahmednejad, isn't going anywhere. It's just too strong militarily, notwithstanding it's subjective failures recently in Lebanon. Also - It has, arguably, a legitimate claim to existence. Palestine also has a legitimate claim to existence. In any case, and I do mean any, the failure to seek peace, instead relying on terrorism to accomplish an impossible goal, is absolute and utter folly.
Perhaps I don't understand the objective. What is it that someone wants who lobs RPG's into a neighborhood, with children playing in yards and parks? Maybe someone will tell me that without the violence that has occurred up to this point, the Isrealis wouldn't be in a mood to negotiate anything, since they don't want a state of Palestine to exist just as much as some people living in Gaza and the West Bank don't want Israel to exist. But I just don't get it - Is it religion based? I sure hope not. Yes, there's been reams written on injustices and atrocities committed by many religions in the name of God, but eventually people within those religions spoke up to end it, or the particular ideology faded away, or something, and it ended. Please let it be the case here that we're close to an end of this. Are there no religious leaders in Gaza and The West Bank that think that what people are doing is pointless and wrong? Where are they? I wish they'd speak up.
Here's the thing - peace is obtainable. Perhaps it wasn't before, but I think it is now. Perhaps some people don't believe that. Perhaps some people don't want it. Perhaps some people like to live amongst death and suffering. I just can't fathom why those people seem to control the outcomes of the lives of people living in the West Bank and Gaza. Does anyone living there want peace? Where are they? Why don't we see/hear them? Is this just an example of the unintelligent removing themselves from the gene pool? I only speculate since I have very few explanations to offer up that make any sense to me. Why don't some of these people want to live a better life? It's obtainable. They can do it. A vast majority of the world would support any effort to achieve it.
I know, I know. It's a very complicated problem. It's got lots of history. Lots. I get it, I really do. But perhaps the weight of all that needs to be left aside for awhile. Perhaps by focusing on the future a solution can be found. Why is it so hard? Why? Why is dying preferable to peace? Why not just be done with it and say - Hi there world, all of us here in Gaza and the West Bank are tired of dying and living miserable lives. We going to (choose one:) open a bistro / plant a garden / visit grandma / go on vacation / listen to music / pray / play with the kids / make love. Let us know when you've drawn some lines on a map somewhere and decided who I should pay my taxes to and who I should complain to when I don't like how the postal service is running. Wait - Here's a representative sampling of 100 of us - take them with you to help out so we have some say in it.
Now I come to this confusion having lived in a very prosperous nation. Everyone I know has a lot to lose. I'm more motivated sometimes to turn the other cheek because I've got property, a wife and children, a job, a city I love to live in, a car, plentiful food. I don't want to upset the balance. I'd rather lose an argument than find out the person I'm arguing with just happens to be unstable and is liable to shoot me dead on the spot if they get too animated. We've built public institutions in which we debate and find solutions to common problems. Sometimes it seems like a terrible waste of time and resources to fix simple problems, but we have the time and resources to expend on it, so we do. And it has the wonderful benefit of being non-lethal. It's a little inefficient, I'll grant you, and we make huge compromises to keep as big a majority of us as happy as we can, but it beats sending a kid off to blow him/herself up, or sitting down on a bus and getting blown up by that kid.
I'm not sure I have a point. After all - my blog is titled marginally interesting. Perhaps it should be titled pointless ramblings. Wait - a point is forming, yes there it is. I don't understand why people are dying trying to achieve something that they can get without dying. Here's an idea - Why doesn't everyone in Israel, Gaza, and the West bank put down the weapons and figure out how to live in peace? It just can't be that hard. Obviously I'm wrong - It is hard - evidently.
I just don't understand why.
posted by Administrator at 05:34
0 comments
2006-08-17
Miraculous
Well, it's been an interesting week. Last day of work Friday, woke up Saturday, had breakfast, did some shopping, hit the hospital to watch the miracle of life made manifest in my 2nd child being born, watched a movie. You know the usual boring weekend.
Seriously. No, seriously. That's an amazing thing to behold - especially when it's a scheduled c-section. Pretty civilized I must say. Well I can say that we wouldn't have done it, rather, my wife {probably} wouldn't have done it had my genetics not combined against her to yield offspring with tremendously large melons. I take total responsibility. But she was, for the record, all for it. She did feel a little guilty though. Not - Hey, let's reconsider this 'cause I'm feeling way too guilty now that I'm hearing that other poor soul scream her lungs out next door - But, you know, kinda guilty.
Baby is well - all parts checked and prodded as appropriate. Mother tolerated the zipper installation reasonably well, so all is good. Now, let's see about that cry suppressing bypass circuit...
Seriously. No, seriously. That's an amazing thing to behold - especially when it's a scheduled c-section. Pretty civilized I must say. Well I can say that we wouldn't have done it, rather, my wife {probably} wouldn't have done it had my genetics not combined against her to yield offspring with tremendously large melons. I take total responsibility. But she was, for the record, all for it. She did feel a little guilty though. Not - Hey, let's reconsider this 'cause I'm feeling way too guilty now that I'm hearing that other poor soul scream her lungs out next door - But, you know, kinda guilty.
Baby is well - all parts checked and prodded as appropriate. Mother tolerated the zipper installation reasonably well, so all is good. Now, let's see about that cry suppressing bypass circuit...
posted by Administrator at 04:58
0 comments
2005-04-07
My kingdom for a comment!
Well well. There are people out there, you know, reading random blogs. Who knew? I have no idea how Justin Speers found my blog, and there is an equal black hole in my brain where any knowledge of how to find another blog might have resided. Trust me, I looked.
This does bring up an interesting thing though. Why did I have a little rush when I found out he read my marginally interesting verbosities? I suppose that this is why people blog - it's a bit of a kick! A web page that talks back to you! Genius.
So here's to you, my first of hopefully many cyber-visitors. May your blog have many commentators that shower you with acknowledgement of your greatness and justification for your existence. I am downing a caffiene free (bleh) diet (bleh) pepsi (bleh) in your honour. [aside. . .why am I drinking CFDP you ask? Why, simple. Dr. Pepper being the absolute King of all soft drinks, and me, fancying myself as a conossieur of such things, am hopelessly addicted to it. Therefore, since I'm trying to lose weight, trying to limit my intake of caffienated beverages to prove I am not addicted, and since caffiene free diet Dr. Pepper does not exist, I am left with CFDP instead. I drink it ruefully, stung by the additional self-loathing created my my wife telling me that the aspertame will give me cancer. Pity me.]
Until next time...
-m@
This does bring up an interesting thing though. Why did I have a little rush when I found out he read my marginally interesting verbosities? I suppose that this is why people blog - it's a bit of a kick! A web page that talks back to you! Genius.
So here's to you, my first of hopefully many cyber-visitors. May your blog have many commentators that shower you with acknowledgement of your greatness and justification for your existence. I am downing a caffiene free (bleh) diet (bleh) pepsi (bleh) in your honour. [aside. . .why am I drinking CFDP you ask? Why, simple. Dr. Pepper being the absolute King of all soft drinks, and me, fancying myself as a conossieur of such things, am hopelessly addicted to it. Therefore, since I'm trying to lose weight, trying to limit my intake of caffienated beverages to prove I am not addicted, and since caffiene free diet Dr. Pepper does not exist, I am left with CFDP instead. I drink it ruefully, stung by the additional self-loathing created my my wife telling me that the aspertame will give me cancer. Pity me.]
Until next time...
-m@
posted by Administrator at 05:08
0 comments
2005-04-06
My wife doesn't believe me
Well webbers, my wife didn't believe me when I told her the other night I had my own blog. Perhaps it had something to do with my inability to direct her to the proper URL.
I'm guessing that was a tad unconvincing.
However, here I am nonetheless, blogging away.
I finished our bedroom headboard today, a brilliant idea I must say, and it looks fantastic. Next up on the unending list of home projects, the downstairs bathroom wallpaper (must go). Or I suppose I could finally install the end gable of the kitchen cabinetry, thereby facilitating the long overdue completion of the baseboards in the rest of the house. Or perhaps I could look into replacing the taps in the upstairs bathroom since just this morning I had to resort to using pliers to turn them since I stripped the threads off the one remaining handle that we were switching between the cold and the hot.
You get the idea.
Um, I'm not sure anyone is reading this, and it actually might be solely for my own amusement that I'm continuing to write, so I'll stop for now.
Stay tuned...
-m@
I'm guessing that was a tad unconvincing.
However, here I am nonetheless, blogging away.
I finished our bedroom headboard today, a brilliant idea I must say, and it looks fantastic. Next up on the unending list of home projects, the downstairs bathroom wallpaper (must go). Or I suppose I could finally install the end gable of the kitchen cabinetry, thereby facilitating the long overdue completion of the baseboards in the rest of the house. Or perhaps I could look into replacing the taps in the upstairs bathroom since just this morning I had to resort to using pliers to turn them since I stripped the threads off the one remaining handle that we were switching between the cold and the hot.
You get the idea.
Um, I'm not sure anyone is reading this, and it actually might be solely for my own amusement that I'm continuing to write, so I'll stop for now.
Stay tuned...
-m@
posted by Administrator at 21:47
1 comments
