Our new president has extolled the virtues of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, pointing out that without Lincoln, he, Barack Obama, could never have become president. That may be true in part, but he leaves out a most critical piece of the story. Lincoln was assassinated during a time when the congress and senate were still arguing about what to do after the Civil War ended. There were some in power at the time who wanted to punish the South and not allow them full statehood along with the autonomy that implies, and even some who didn’t think slavery should have been abolished.
It was Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, who worked to insure that Lincoln’s legacy wasn’t lost in the transition. The congress tired to impeach him over the disagreement about what would happen, but failed to convict by one vote. I think Andrew Johnson is the most undervalued president in our history. It was his effort that kept our country headed in the right directions of unification and freedom for all.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
We are settling in to our new home
We continue to get settled in to the new house in Sugar Land, TX. And it is not without adventure and excitement.
Starting with the swimming pool. We spoke with three different pool maintenance companies, and settled on one who spoke with knowledge and experience. Before he started showing up though, I was experimenting with the valves on the pool pump, filter, and heater system. I was interested in learning how they work, and whether the pool-cleaning device (a Polaris 360, if you are interested) was working right. I managed not to get the valves put back just they way they were, and noticed the next day that the Polaris device was moving quite a bit more rapidly than before, and was generating a lot more thrust from its jets. I noticed this because the sweeper was regularly tying its hose in knots, which I had to untangle and set the cleaner free again. And the hose was starting to fail in several places due to the higher than desired pressure. The pool maintenance company has it adjusted more properly now.
Our master bath was carpeted when we bought the home. We both agreed a tile floor was more desirable, so we shopped, found a store and agreed on an installed price. That evening after we returned to the house, I wondered what was under the carpet. Tile, of course, but not at all what we wanted, so I advised the tile store that in addition to removing carpeting, a layer of tile would have to come up also. After a couple false alarms, the installers showed up and worked in earnest, generating copious quantities of dust and debris as they chiseled up the old tile. They cut the new tile with a hand held die grinder near the front door, generating more dust, and proceeded to get everything done but the grout in one day. When they pulled up the toilet in the master bath, another problem surfaced. The toilet base was cracked, but that was not the worst, the toilet had been glued to the carpet, and cemented into the floor. There was no mount flange either. So I had to buy a new toilet and call a plumber to make it right. The plumber came that evening, and worked 3 ½ hours to get everything done. The new toilet sits a bit higher, more comfortable for us older folk. The next morning, the installers finished the grout, and the master bath looks quite good. Our master bath was just like the US economy; all it needed was a financial stimulus package 50% larger than what we thought was needed.
The next project will be the kitchen sink. The current one is too shallow, and the faucet set leaks a bit. We will replace them with a stainless, single bowl that is at least 8” deep and a faucet set with a high rise spigot for ease of pot-filling. We’ll see how this project works out.
Starting with the swimming pool. We spoke with three different pool maintenance companies, and settled on one who spoke with knowledge and experience. Before he started showing up though, I was experimenting with the valves on the pool pump, filter, and heater system. I was interested in learning how they work, and whether the pool-cleaning device (a Polaris 360, if you are interested) was working right. I managed not to get the valves put back just they way they were, and noticed the next day that the Polaris device was moving quite a bit more rapidly than before, and was generating a lot more thrust from its jets. I noticed this because the sweeper was regularly tying its hose in knots, which I had to untangle and set the cleaner free again. And the hose was starting to fail in several places due to the higher than desired pressure. The pool maintenance company has it adjusted more properly now.
Our master bath was carpeted when we bought the home. We both agreed a tile floor was more desirable, so we shopped, found a store and agreed on an installed price. That evening after we returned to the house, I wondered what was under the carpet. Tile, of course, but not at all what we wanted, so I advised the tile store that in addition to removing carpeting, a layer of tile would have to come up also. After a couple false alarms, the installers showed up and worked in earnest, generating copious quantities of dust and debris as they chiseled up the old tile. They cut the new tile with a hand held die grinder near the front door, generating more dust, and proceeded to get everything done but the grout in one day. When they pulled up the toilet in the master bath, another problem surfaced. The toilet base was cracked, but that was not the worst, the toilet had been glued to the carpet, and cemented into the floor. There was no mount flange either. So I had to buy a new toilet and call a plumber to make it right. The plumber came that evening, and worked 3 ½ hours to get everything done. The new toilet sits a bit higher, more comfortable for us older folk. The next morning, the installers finished the grout, and the master bath looks quite good. Our master bath was just like the US economy; all it needed was a financial stimulus package 50% larger than what we thought was needed.
The next project will be the kitchen sink. The current one is too shallow, and the faucet set leaks a bit. We will replace them with a stainless, single bowl that is at least 8” deep and a faucet set with a high rise spigot for ease of pot-filling. We’ll see how this project works out.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Progress on the move
Our furniture arrived at the new house yesterday. My lovely wife supervised the movers as they unloaded and put things throughout the house. There are a lot of boxes to unpack, and furniture locations are close, but not final. The movers set up the beds, and it was good to sleep in our own bed last night. The next few days will be occupied with unpacking, putting away, and hauling the empty containers and packing material to the garage for pick up later. We will keep the wooden crates made for the TV, our antique clock, and our framed papyrus art work. The cable company will be here Friday to get us hooked up for TV, phone and internet. The dogs seem to be taking it all in stride.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Something nice actually in the news...
This morning CNN.com presented a nice story.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/cookie.factory.reopens/index.html
The gist of it is that (evil) Archway closed a cookie factory in Ohio earlier this year, and laid off the 300 workers. Another snack food company, Lance, bought the factory at an auction and is rehiring the workers previously laid off. As if that wasn't enough, Lance gave each of the 300 workers a prepaid Visa card worth $1500 just before Christmas, even though not all of them had been rehired yet. Lance said they wanted the town and the workers to know who they were. No doubt left that Lance are the good guys.
I get very discouraged by all of the bad news, reports of horrible things perpetrated by people onto each other, and most of all by an apparent trend to keep all of us in a state of fear over what might happen next. Yes, its a tough world out there. And bad things happen. But lots of good things happen, too. Most of the time its just one person being kind or considerate of another. But sometimes, its worthy of notice. Thanks to Lance Snack Foods for going above and beyond, for restoring hope, joy, but most importantly, self-worth in a population of previously laid-off workers.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/cookie.factory.reopens/index.html
The gist of it is that (evil) Archway closed a cookie factory in Ohio earlier this year, and laid off the 300 workers. Another snack food company, Lance, bought the factory at an auction and is rehiring the workers previously laid off. As if that wasn't enough, Lance gave each of the 300 workers a prepaid Visa card worth $1500 just before Christmas, even though not all of them had been rehired yet. Lance said they wanted the town and the workers to know who they were. No doubt left that Lance are the good guys.
I get very discouraged by all of the bad news, reports of horrible things perpetrated by people onto each other, and most of all by an apparent trend to keep all of us in a state of fear over what might happen next. Yes, its a tough world out there. And bad things happen. But lots of good things happen, too. Most of the time its just one person being kind or considerate of another. But sometimes, its worthy of notice. Thanks to Lance Snack Foods for going above and beyond, for restoring hope, joy, but most importantly, self-worth in a population of previously laid-off workers.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
A long cold business trip
I just returned from two and a half weeks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The purpose of the trip was to manage a technical problem with an electric motor. But the most memorable aspect of the trip was the weather. It was cold and snowy.
When I arrived, there was several inches of frozen snow in the ground, the temperature was well below freezing. I grew up in Milwaukee, and remember lots of snow from the days of boyhood, struggling with snow shovels, digging forts in the piles of snow, snowball fights, and ice skating. I also remember lots of snow from from the days of my early adulthood, but these memories center more on the work caused by snow instead of the joy.
It snowed several times while I was there. It actually got above freezing for a day, and the dirty slush on the streets melted and flowed away, and it was pretty nice out. But of course that didn't last long. I remember times when we wondered whether there would be snow for Christmas. A few years there was not. But snow came early this year to Wisconsin.
The trip afforded an opportunity to visit friends and family, as the business side of things dragged on slowly. That part was fine, it is always good to visit the ones you love and appreciate. I rescheduled my return to Texas several times, and finally got back. The technical part of the trip continues to be a concern, and will hopefully work itself to a successful conclusion in another few days.
When I arrived, there was several inches of frozen snow in the ground, the temperature was well below freezing. I grew up in Milwaukee, and remember lots of snow from the days of boyhood, struggling with snow shovels, digging forts in the piles of snow, snowball fights, and ice skating. I also remember lots of snow from from the days of my early adulthood, but these memories center more on the work caused by snow instead of the joy.
It snowed several times while I was there. It actually got above freezing for a day, and the dirty slush on the streets melted and flowed away, and it was pretty nice out. But of course that didn't last long. I remember times when we wondered whether there would be snow for Christmas. A few years there was not. But snow came early this year to Wisconsin.
The trip afforded an opportunity to visit friends and family, as the business side of things dragged on slowly. That part was fine, it is always good to visit the ones you love and appreciate. I rescheduled my return to Texas several times, and finally got back. The technical part of the trip continues to be a concern, and will hopefully work itself to a successful conclusion in another few days.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
On the road again
I am not sure where home is right now, but within a few weeks it will be Sugar Land, a southwestern suburb of Houston. We close on our house there on Monday the 15th of December. The movers will be at the house in TN on the Monday afer Christmas, and I will be there as well on Tuesday evening. Wednesday, the wife & I will celebrate New Year's Eve on the road, probably in Memphis. With the dogs. We will hopefully make it to Houston the next day, New Year's Day, but if not, certainly the next day. Then within afew short days we will be unpacking and getting our household set back up.
For the last few weeks, I have been traveling. Mostly business, but the week of Thanksgiving was with my lovely wife in TN. I spent a few hours in Houston before hitting the road again, this time to Milwaukee to see about an electric motor that is causing some problems. I also managed to get over to a little town north of Flint Michigan to see a potential customer. I will hopefully get to (finally) fly back to Houston on Thursday. Lots of things to do in preparation for the move. Being here in the frozen Midwest will help the company, but it is starting to encroach on my ability to have a personal life. The weather has been cold and snowy. Times liek this make me question that whole global warming thing. Winter seems to have come quite early here, and deposited a considerable snowy mess.
For the last few weeks, I have been traveling. Mostly business, but the week of Thanksgiving was with my lovely wife in TN. I spent a few hours in Houston before hitting the road again, this time to Milwaukee to see about an electric motor that is causing some problems. I also managed to get over to a little town north of Flint Michigan to see a potential customer. I will hopefully get to (finally) fly back to Houston on Thursday. Lots of things to do in preparation for the move. Being here in the frozen Midwest will help the company, but it is starting to encroach on my ability to have a personal life. The weather has been cold and snowy. Times liek this make me question that whole global warming thing. Winter seems to have come quite early here, and deposited a considerable snowy mess.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Real Estate dealings
Our home in TN is for sale, and has been for quite some time. Now that the election is over, we are starting to get some calls and showings. We have an open house this weekend, Sunday afternoon. I hope our agent does well and ends up bringing us an offer or two.
Meanwhile, in the Houston area, I have made an offer on a house in Sugar Land. The owners have countered, and I have made a counter to theirs. If the deal works, it will be good, but we have a couple back-up houses that are quite nice was well, just in case the deal falls through. If we can manage to get both houses closed within a month or so of each other, life would be good indeed.
I am looking forward to living with my wife again. This living apart is not very much fun. See you soon, dear.
Meanwhile, in the Houston area, I have made an offer on a house in Sugar Land. The owners have countered, and I have made a counter to theirs. If the deal works, it will be good, but we have a couple back-up houses that are quite nice was well, just in case the deal falls through. If we can manage to get both houses closed within a month or so of each other, life would be good indeed.
I am looking forward to living with my wife again. This living apart is not very much fun. See you soon, dear.
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