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Life. Our life. It’s more like an insanely written Reality TV plot.
On this weeks episode:
- Parents fight stepford style grade school over insane amount of homework for 5th grade twins. <Insert Nun with Ruler picture here>
- Parents aren’t allowed to send granola bars with chocolate in school lunch. No candy allowed. WTF?
- One migrant teen moves in for the night because of fighting with mom and dad needs “alone” time with girlfriend.
- Other teen moves in longish term because mother is a nut and calls randomly to say “I love you” then calls back to yell and scream at him and tell him he’s a worthless turd. Figures living on our couch is more stable.
- Other teen moves in longish term to finish high school because her mom is just out on parole. She’s our token Mexican. Every white family needs one. She’s only a token though, never been to Mexico. <Insert racist joke here>
- Wife fighting cancer. Smoking pot legally. <Insert Cheech and Chong joke here>
- Father learning to cook and clean. <Insert disaster here>
- Teen daughter deciding whether to be goth or not. Failing every class in school. Why? Because.
- 11 year old daughter starts creating how-to art videos for Youtube.
- other 11 year old daughter runs the camera and handles computer work.
- Dog so old she scratches imaginary fleas. Barks randomly to the noises in her head.
- Mother Driving friends 1955 wagon. <Insert I love Lucy reference here>
- Father driving 1974 rusty superbeetle. <Insert break down here>
Like I said. Our life is like a bad reality TV plot. There’s enough going on in our lives to make it a second season without breaking a sweat.
I just got the bill from CHOMP, or the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula. It’s enough to give a person a real heart attack.
- 1 Simulated Heart Attack
- 1 overnight stay in CHOMP
- 1 bill for $15,656
Next time I think I’ll just take my chances.
Insurance should pick up 85%, either that or I call the bankruptcy lawyer. I figure I’ll be out of pocket around $2300 or so.
Here’s a pic from my friend John down in Dallas Texas.
Dallas Snow
(And yes, this is a weather event, not global climate. I know, I know)
Again this year the AT&T golf tournament in Pebble beach is happening. This used to be a fun event from what I’ve been told. Now it’s $60 a head to get in per day. Here’s a list of things your NOT allowed to take in with you, including any food, water, or a Camera. Why the hell go if you can’t even take a damn camera? Who’s stupid ass idea was that?!?! Basically after your strip search you get on a bus and in your fricken underwear you’re “allowed” the paid privilege of watching the tournament.
I don’t think so. I hope they bitch about low attendance all the way to bankruptcy.
Prohibited Items
Cell phones, PDAs, distracting devices, cameras, bags, backpacks, food containers, coolers, signs, banners, posters, televisions and radios, outside alcohol, non-service pets, bicycles, ladders, metal spiked golf shoes, weapons and any other item deemed potentially injurious, unlawful or dangerous as determined in the sole discretion of the PGA TOUR, tournament security personnel or law enforcement officials, are prohibited inside the entrance gate of the AT&T during the time period of Thursday through Sunday of Tournament week
I found this poem in a 1916 leather bound pocket book. It was made to fit in the pocket of a British uniform during WWI. It’s mainly filled with inspirational poems for soldiers at war, and has made for pretty interesting reading.
The Kings Highway by John Oxenham.
Lonely Brother
Art though lonely, O my brother?
Share thy little with another!
Stretch a hand to one unfriended,
So both thou and he
Shall less lonely be.
And of thy one loneliness
Shall come two’s great happiness.
As most know, I’m not a member of the “Church of Global Warming”. I am however a fan of things that help our environment and ourselves. As long as it makes sense.
Forcing people to get away from those horribly cheap and useful incandescent lights and make them use those expensive, mercury laden CFL’s CFD‘s. Oh ya, that makes sense, Not! But gee you “save so much in energy” which Has to be good for the environment, I mean Global Warming. Oh wait, please ignore the whole Mercury issue, you know. how according to the EPA if you drop one of those CFL’s CFD‘s you have to clear out the house and it’s now legally a hazardous waste area? Minor details, it’ll just be our dirty little secret? Okay? He’s a few bucks for your next campaign.
So, why am I ranting on this. Well, one of the blogs I like to read has a big deal on replacing 5 light bulbs with these new wonderful LED lights that just Must be better for the environment. Each light is 12 watts and is replacing 75 watt lights (why they aren’t already 60 watt bulbs is a good question).
Anyhow if you figure 5 75 watt bulbs (which is what he’s replacing) running 8 hours a day 7 days a week 30 days a month with a cost of $.11 a kilowatt hour (that’s the hosed up price I pay to Enron, I mean PG&E). So, doing the math it turns out that it costs $9.90 a month for those 5 lights. Doing the same math with 60 watt bulbs turns out to be $7.92 a month. For the new nifty LED’s it would cost $1.58 a month. Better right?
So, we have $9.90 a month vs $1.58 a month at the two extremes. Now the cost of the LED’s. $98 a pop, for a total of $490 plush shipping and tax. We’ll just call it $100 a light for ease. So, to make up the cost of the LED’s at the extremes would take a total of (Incandecent cost per month – LED cost per month) * X months >= $500. X months turns out to be 60 plus change. So, to get break even on buying these would be 5 years. Taking into account the savings in electricity.
Now for maintenance costs over those 5 years.
A regular incandescent bulbs lasts about 7500 hours or roughly 2.5 years per bulb at 8 hours per day. But to buy a pack of 4 is a $1 or so. In 5 years you’d need to replace on average 10 bulbs total. So, total maintenance cost for bulbs, less than $10.
LED bulbs. $100 a pop. Life span 50000 hours, or just over 17 years. So they would need to be replaced an average of one every 3 years and change. So, over 5 years you’d average replacing 1.5 bulbs, or $150.
So, if you buy these nifty LED’s and replace your existing 75 watt bulbs you would save about over the course of 5 years (break even time for initial cost). $10 in incandescent replacements – $150 in LED replacements, or -$140 total.
Your total savings over 5 years is -$140. Yes, replacing your existing horribly wasteful incandescent bulbs with those wonderful “Green” bulbs will Cost you an average of $30 a year.
If you replace the 75 watt bulbs with 60 watt bulbs the total savings over 5 years would be roughly $118.80 in energy savings. Yes, you SAVE $24 a year by using 60 watt bulbs rather than 75 watt bulbs.
Using 60 watt bulbs instead of LED’s would save you an average of $54 a year.
So why switch to CFL’s CFD‘s and LEDs? Besides to make all those lobbyists happy? Well to “SAVE THE WORLD FROM GLOBAL WARMING! Oh wait, it doesn’t? It makes it worse? Um, my bad, never mind. 
Don’t read the fine details. Just shut up and go with the crowd. You need to save the world right? Sheeple. Nothing but a bunch of sheeple.
Just my 2 cents on the subject. Sometimes using old technology makes more sense than trying to use nifty new tech. Incandescent bulbs are made of a bit of glass, a tungsten filament , metal base, a bit of glue, and some vacuum. Done. CFL’s CFD‘s? All the same except replace tungsten with Mercury vapor and add all the crud that goes into the ballast. LED’s? Who knows what chemicals are used to make all the parts for those lights. I guess I could do the research, but I’m figuring it’s not going to be good for the environment. Not from what I know of chip making.
Update: CFL is Compact Flourescent Lights. CFD is Computational Fluid Dynamics. You can see my confusion.
I just ran across this article on EurekaAlert.
New Study finds possible source of beta cell destruction that leads to type 1 diabetes.
The following paragraph pretty much sums up the whole article, at least to me.
It is generally understood that inflammation plays a vital role in beta-cell destruction. But the precise factors are not well known. A protein-based enzyme found in beta cells, 12-LO produces specific lipids that cause inflammation and can lead to the death of beta cells in laboratory models. In fact, EVMS researchers have demonstrated that deleting the gene that produces 12-LO prevents the development of Type 1 diabetes in mice.
It’s little (big) steps like this that will eventually lead to a cure for type 1 Diabetes. No more shots, no more pump, no more sticking my finger over and over again. In my 12 years as a diabetic I’ve stuck my fingers (roughly) 17,500 times.
I’m finding it difficult to keep up the web page, at least with a semi happy tone, with the 800 lb gorilla called Cancer sitting in the room.
When you wake up in the morning thinking about it, and go to bed at night thinking about it, and it’s always in the back of your head during the day. It takes a concerted effort to ignore sometimes.
I don’t want this site to become just one upsetting fact after another on this trip we are on, and it’s definitely a trip this whole family is taking together. I don’t want to put up posts every time the doctor comes back with more bad news. And yet, that’s my first thought. Crap, another tumor, post post post.Which isn’t what I want this web page to be. It’s supposed to be about the whole family and how we’re living our lives. Right now, that’s a little focused on just one thing, but that doesn’t mean a lot of other things aren’t happening.
So, if I’m not posting about the cancer, it’s not because nothing is happening, it’s because I am avoiding it. It’s better to post happy things and ignore the hot pink 800 lb monster in the room.
And yes, this rant is because her cancer spread and she’s now got more tumors. So piss off and have a happy day!
As most who know me know, I’m working with the Navy on a project called NPOESS, or the National Polar orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System. This was supposed to be a fairly long term stable position, which is why I moved over from eHPC to the NPP/NPOESS team. NPP stands for the NPOESS Preliminary Project.
Well, like any good government project it’s been fraught with politics, budget overruns, inefficiencies, etc. In fact the launch of the NPP satellite has been delayed again from January 2011 to November 2011 because the primary sensor released the magical blue smoke during a power up test. The original launch date was 2006, so you can see there’s been some serious delays.
Anyhow. Spaceflight Now has an article discussing NPOESS.
Today the White House is announcing that NOAA and the Air Force would no longer continue to jointly procure the polar-orbiting satellite system called NPOESS,” the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s budget summary stated.
I’m not sure how this is going to effect my contract, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to do something. I suppose the title of the article says it all.
Budget slashes NPOESS weather satellite program
Anyhow, we’ll see how it plays out.I’m betting we’ll continue with the NPP portion of the program at least. Which is what I”m actually working on currently, getting ready for the full project later.
So, for now it’s continue working as normal. No worries, no panic, no resume.com. So why the post? In case anyone runs across the article and knows what I’ve been working on, they won’t think “Oh Crap!”. Nah, things are what they are. Having this happen wasn’t a big surprise.
Here’s a pic of the NPP satellite. Not sure if it’s before or after that magical blue smoke appeared.
The NPP spacecraft under construction. Credit: Ball Aerospace
How do you detect stupid? Here’s a good hint
Progress Report For Hickey, Megan as of 2/1/2010 Summary Report PERIOD 1(A) 1(B) 1(C): UNSCHED 1 (Teachers: HS_Staff, PG) Current Grade: Absences: 6 Tardies: 0 PERIOD 2(A) 2(B): FRENCH 1 (Teachers: Olin, Janine) Current Grade: F Absences: 6 Tardies: 0 PERIOD 3(A) 3(C): FOODS (Teachers: Schueneman, Adrian) Current Grade: F Absences: 1 Tardies: 0 PERIOD 4(A) 4(B): PE - CORE 9 (Teachers: Buller, Todd C) Current Grade: F Absences: 2 Tardies: 0 PERIOD 5(A) 5(C): GEOGRAPHY (Teachers: Morgan, Ronald Christopher) Current Grade: F Absences: 1 Tardies: 0 PERIOD 6(A) 6(B): INTRO TO ART (Teachers: Muhl, Norman B) Current Grade: -- Absences: 2 Tardies: 0 PERIOD 7(A) 7(C): ENG 1 (Teachers: Keller, Sean B) Current Grade: F Absences: 6 Tardies: 0 PERIOD 8(A) 8(B) 8(C): Community Service HS (Teachers: Paris, Kristin) Current Grade: <48 Absences: 0 Tardies: 0
How the hell do you fail PE and Food???? WTF?!?
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