Where the Neanderthals Went

While unloading the latest half-yard of bare-dirt covering landscaping rock at the yurt, Mrs. Attila asked me how it was going. I had a flash of insight and told her that it could be worse. She could have sent me out for a couple hundred pounds of mastodon on sale in the next valley over. I can just picture Og muttering to himself as he headed out on a mastodon run for the little woman.

Lost Worlds

We had a film crew at the plant today working on an episode of the History Channel's Lost Worlds series. I had the opportunity to be an escort for these folks and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. They found a very entertaining Hanford retiree to be their on-screen subject matter expert, and it was great fun listening to him talk about the old days. He signed on in, I believe, 1947, so he saw the plant as an operating chemical separation facility. Interestingly, the on-screen host is an American History professor at Yale, where our retiree received his wartime commission. The remainder of the crew were all brits and interesting too, although I didn't get much time for conversation. The episode should air sometime in the late summer or early fall. I'm looking forward to it.

And More Plants

It never ends! There's still more dirt to cover.

Must...Have...Plants

The lovely lady must have plants! There is bare dirt to be covered back at the yurt. My friends, take Attila's advice. Kill the lawn and leave the yard bare. Lawns and gardens will rob you of all your time and the money you would have used to buy weapons and a faster steed. Worse, there is no end to them.

A Great Afternoon

Went out for a nice ride up in the Horse Heavens and snapped this on Nile-Mile Canyon Road.

Support

A pox on clueless tech "support" people! I'm trying to ditch Charter in favor of Verizon's DSL. Thursday, I received an email from Verizon telling me that my service was ready and to use the self-install kit to get on-line with it. All well and good, except that I had no signal to the modem. I call "support" and run through the guy's script to keep him happy. End result, since I"d earlier received an email saying that it would be up today, let's wait and see if they jumped the gun on the 12th.

Over the weekend I went out to the network interface box and connected the modem directly to the utility's side, bypassing my household wiring. No joy. I also measured the voltage across the red-green pair. Zip. Tonight after six, same drill with the modem and again, no-joy.

I am convinced there is no signal to the house and call "support" again. Again the guy wants to run through his script, AFTER I told him all of the above! How long is the phone cable? How the hell should I know, you sent it to me! How many phone jacks do you have? Dude, I BYPASSED THEM ALL, I HAVE NO SIGNAL! And the kicker, "Are you using Windows or a Mac?" I'm using a Mac, but have Windows and Linux machines. What part of I HAVE NO SIGNAL don't you understand? Well, sir, since you're using a Mac, I'll have to transfer you to our Mac technical support so they can schedule your technician visit. Fine, then for argument's sake, let's say that I'm running Windows. Okay, what kind of Windows? 98, but who cares? It's not an OS issue. Fine sir, I've run a line check and we'll transfer you to our dispatch agent to schedule your appointment.

Hi, sir, I've got tomorrow between 0800 and 1900, will there be someone home? No, you'll schedule the appointment Friday between 0800 and 1200. Fine, sir, I have you down for Friday between 0800 and 1900. No, you'll schedule the appointment between 0800 and 1200 if you want someone there. Well sir, I can only give you between 0800 and 1900, but I'll put it in your notes. Fine. Thank you for calling Verizon.

What a joke. These guys couldn't support my privates with a jock. I'm hoping that they'll at least send a phone guy on Friday, not some generic outsourced tech "support" weenie from God knows where.

Sleepy

Pet adoption day at Pet Smart is such hard work!

Our new plants!

The seven new plants we put in the front bed Sunday.

Mrs. Attila in her Natural Habitat

Starbucks.

Not at my best

Today's been one of those days. The cold that I've been fighting for a couple weeks came back yesterday and knocked me on my backside. Last night was awful, and I didn't get enough sleep to be able to put in a work day. I stayed home and have been trying to take care of myself, but the cold's been winning. Such is life. May tomorrow be a better day.

Good bye, Subie

Our last look at the Subie before it gets picked up by the salvage company.

Mourning

The mood in the yurt is distinctly morose these days. We had a minor accident with our '95 Subaru wagon a couple weeks ago, and our insurance company has decided to total the car. We've made 330,000 miles of memories with it, and it almost feels like we're putting down a family pet.

We've owned cars longer, but never put as many miles on one as we have this, and I can safely say that it's been our overall favorite. It's had two engines and two transmissions, but has been as reliable as anyone could hope. I've been trying to eke out as much life from it as possible, much to the chagrin of my mechanics, who are tired of working on it. While I'd love to give them the chance to work on a mid-life crisis Corvette, financially that's just not in the cards for a few years.

I've been looking at cars for a while, but don't have deep enough reserves on hand to pay cash, and not enough cash flow to feel comfortable with a loan. I should admit, that I'm picky about what I drive, and can't see spending less than $10k. The cars that I'd prefer (think roadster) are hard to come by under $20.

Mrs. Attila and I had a talk about it yesterday, and are going to embark on a grand experiment, trying to get by with one vehicle. My only hope is that we can make it last long enough to get some cash in the bank again. In the meantime, we mourn the passing of our Subie.

Love is in the air

Maybe I'm crazy, but I like Valentine's Day. I know, most of it is a marketing scam, but I'm the kind of guy that enjoys having an excuse to do something nice for my wife. I picked up the requisite card after work yesterday, and on the way back to the truck passed my favorite jewelry store. Knowing that Mrs. Attila wasn't expecting anything other than the card made it a no-brainer, I bought her a nice pair of earrings just to give her a surprise. Of such things are 30 year marriages made.

Sixteen tons

You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I've been neglecting the blog a bit lately, but having another birthday
roll around is a "good enough" reason to hit the keyboard. It's been
tough lately to do much of anything on the Net. We had a transformer
fire in the neighborhood a couple months ago that fried my main
computer. Five power cycles in less than 30 seconds as the transformer's
feeder breakers cycled to shed the load was enough to kill my
motherboard. Add one more item to the list of things to spend money on.

You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

We also spent about $1500 on car repairs a month ago. We've been trying
to eke out as much life as possible from the Subaru, and it's cheaper to
keep fixing it than it is to buy another one. At this point in its life,
the Subie's only worth about three grand, so this was a significant
fraction of the car's remaing value. No good deed goes unpunished
though, a few days ago the hood latch failed at highway speed. Estimated
repair cost $2900 with a $500 deductible. The insurance company is still
making up its mind whether or not to total the car, so we don't know yet
whether we'll have $500 out of pocket, or be springing for a replacement
vehicle. Add another item to the list.

You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I've been making do with an older pair of glasses for a while now. Last
week my work pair of safety glasses broke, so I had an excuse to get to
the optometrist for a replacement on the company's dime. Not being one
to miss an opportunity to save some time, I decided to order a new pair
of dress glasses for myself. Decent glasses are not cheap. Even with my
health plan's vision "benefit" I'm going to be out $364. Admittedly,
these are going to be a top-end pair with good frames, and Zeiss lenses
with photochromic and anti-refection coatings, but it's one more item on
the list.

And I still don't have the yard work paid for...

You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Iron Peak

Number two son dragged my tired arse out on a great hike yesterday. Our original intent was to hike up to Ingalls Pass but a full trailhead parking lot and lots of people milling about caused us to come up with a "Plan B". The Iron Peak
trailhead is just down the road, and having passed it on the way up, we knew there was nobody parked there. Solitude being what the doctor ordered, we headed that way pronto.

You will notice from the trail description that this is a strenuous hike. This is an understatement, particularly if you have not hit the trail all summer. But, knowing what I was getting into, I plunged onward and upward. And upward. And upward. Twenty-seven hundred feet upward to be exact. The "100 Hikes" guidebook says that this is a four hour hike. That's almost exactly what it took us. I'm sure young son could have done it in much less time had he been unencumbered, he never even started breathing hard, but I wouldn't have wanted to try doing it in less time.

For me, besides being out with the boy, the highlight of the hike was a very clear cougar track in the trail. That it was in a section of trail containing elk tracks told the story. I've never seen cougar sign before, and let me tell you, it was quite a thrill.

The whole day was picture perfect as the view of Mt. Rainier attests. Any day vertical is a good day, but one spent out in the boonies with family is hard to beat. Was I tired at the end of the day? You bet. Had a few blisters and a couple aches and pains too. Would I trade a minute of it? Not a chance.

Retirement

Today, twenty-seven years and two days after I received my commission, I retired from the Naval Reserve as a Captain. I can't say that I'm thrilled to be retired. Quite honestly, I'd much rather be starting my career than ending it. 'Tis not to be though.

Here's a list of the commands that I've been associated with over the years:

Naval Nuclear Power School, Orlando, FL
Nuclear Power Training Unit, Idaho Falls, ID (S1W, for those interested)
Naval Submarine School, Groton, CT
USS Archerfish (SSN 678), Groton, CT
NROTC Unit, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Naval Submarine School, Groton, CT
USS Michigan (SSBN 727G), Bangor, WA (patrols 19,21,23,25,27)
NCSO Seattle
COMSUBPAC DET 320
VTU 2210G
NCSO Pacific DET 222
PERSMOBTM Bangor
VTU 2213G

In all that time, I've seen a goodly portion of the world. Not enough to satisfy my curiosity, but enough to know that I like it here better than anywhere else.

Looking back, I'd like to think that I left the navy better for my having been in it. I know that I'm better because of it.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

In honor of the day, here's me pirate name matey.

My pirate name is:

Bloody Jack Kidd

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Remembrance

The world changed five years ago today. The news came over the radio on the way to work and life would never be the same. A month before, I had relieved as the commanding officer of a Naval Reserve Personnel Mobilization Team and my gut told me that I would soon be back in uniform. Twelve days later my team was mobilizing itself and it would be twenty-three months before I returned to civilian life. We were comparatively lucky because we were able to stay close to home while performing our mission. Those we mobilized went throughout the world. Of the more than 2,000 people we processed, all but two went willingly. In all, more than 14,000 naval reservists answered that initial call, and over 5,000 are on active duty today.

It has been very hard for me to get through the day today as I remember what our country endured five years ago. The anger and the agony of that day still burn within me, and I doubt they'll ever go away. May God help me if they ever do.

Never forget.

A Confession

I am a Terrible Person. There, I've said it. In the eyes of my neighbors, I've committed the most grievous sin. I have killed my lawn. I could be a wife-beating, incestuous, mass murdering, racist, neo-Nazi serial killer and lived with my neighbors in peace, but this, apparently, is unforgivable.

Yesterday, as we were returning home, ironically from a trip for gas to power the mower, a woman we have never seen before stopped her car in front of the house and asked my better half why we let our lawn go. Bless her, my wife asked why it was any of her business. I have never been prouder of the dear girl.

"Because I drive by it every day and it's an eyesore" was the response. Now please note that we live in the middle of a desert. Shrub steppe, actually, but desert is close enough. If God had intended for grass to grow here, He would have provided more than our annual average of nine inches of rain. Also note that on the other side of the woman's car is an overgrown vacant lot, currently the home of construction equipment for my neighbor's next "good idea" and that apparently caused her no pain. Ah, but I get ahead of myself. The wife's answer was a classic that shall live in family lore forevermore: "Don't look."

"Are you renters?" We've lived here for 15 years and owned it the entire time, but as my wife said, "It's none of your business." You should also know that for someone who drives by every day, she's not very observant. We've made tens of thousands of dollars worth of very visible improvements to the property and have had the same car in the driveway for ten years.

At this point the woman (I'm being polite here. The words hag, harridan, busybody, snoop, and of course, the b-word, all come more readily to mind.) indignantly told us that we were Terrible People, rolled up the window of her POC Buick and left in a huff.

Had I had more time to engage in conversation with her, I might have thanked her for noticing the "white trash" look we were going for, and let her know my plans to put an old transmission in the front yard along with a new bathtub Madonna. I could have also told her that she should be patient because the money from the basement meth lab hasn't started to kick in yet. Or, my personal favorite, I could have told her that I enjoy having the only yard in the neighborhood that can be seen from space. None of these are the truth. (Well, that last one does tickle me a bit.)

The truth is more mundane, and in large measure due to busybody neighbors like the one that accosted us. A number of years ago, when I had a wonderful lawn, my neighbors decided that our previously unincorporated neighborhood should become part of the city of Richland and voted to make that happen.

Not long after that first exercise of power, the same neighbors decided that all of our septic systems had to go because, gee, being on the city sewer system was just so much better. They voted that one in too, and here is where the story really takes off. The contractor they hired to do the job of installing the city sewer lines and hooking us up destroyed my irrigation system. The six grand that job cost, left me without any spare cash to relandscape what had been lush and green a short time before. As noted, without water, grass does not grow here and the lawn died a slow, agonizing death.

Since that time I've helped put two children through college. Between direct cash outlays and loan payments, over thirty grand has left my wallet to date, with expenditures of about $750/mo continuing until the loans are paid off. I suppose that someone who wasn't a Terrible Person would have told the kids to buck up, the lawn must come first, but I failed my neighbors and supported the kids.

The oven, stove, range hood, and even the kitchen sink have all needed to be replaced since the lawn died. A non-Terrible Person, would have sucked it up on hard tack and cold beans like a true Man-of-the-West, but I let putting food on the table come before the lawn. I have no shame.

When the hot water heater died, we could have just saved water by taking short, cold showers. Being a Terrible Person though, I let my family's comfort come before the greening of the lawn. Please, put me in the stocks and throw rotten food at me.

The washing machine also gave up the ghost somewhere in there and joined it's recently departed brother, the dryer, in appliance heaven, and darn if I didn't make the wrong choice again and let money go to their replacements rather than grass seed.

Then there was the 30th high school reunion trip, the trip to DC for a friend's wedding, or the trip to Minneapolis for the wife's step-mom's 100th birthday that a better person would have given up. Oh, and I can't forget the trip to Germany to spend a few days with our daughter. I'm a Terrible Person for giving those things a higher priority than the lawn.

I also mistakenly spent nearly two years out of town and away from the lawn. Someone who wasn't a Terrible Person might have found a way to do yardwork and avoid going when duty called me back into the Navy to command a Personnel Mobilization Team for the Global War on Terrorism.

My truck died while I was gone, and darn if I didn't spring for a used one to replace it. I didn't really need to be coming home to see my family on those weekends anyway.

I almost forgot the eleven grand for a new HVAC system this past winter. Someone who wasn't a Terrible Person would have stoically endured the cold and this summer's heat. Not me, I let my neighbors down again.

Now, adding insult to injury, my dear neighbors have once again decided that they knew best how I should spend my money and have passed another "neighborhood improvement." This time we get curb and gutter and sidewalks. Wow, how has the property ever survived the forty years since the house was built without it? Nine thousand, six hundred this time. Oh, and what if I had done the right thing and replaced the irrigation system? That's right, I'm sacrificing several feet of front yard to the new sidewalk, and would have lost the sprinklers again.

I guess the new roof will have to wait.

Disappointment

This has not been a good day on the electronic devices front. Palm seems to have misplaced the PDA I sent them to repair, and the cell phone I wanted to buy seems to have undergone a last-minute change rendering it unsuitable for us in the good ol' US of A.

My Palm TX has been suffering from greatly reduced battery life for a few weeks now, so I sent it in for repairs. Two days ago, they sent me an email saying that it had shipped:

SRO# - S1-XXXXXXXXX
ORDER TYPE - REPAIR
PART# - 180-10098-00 - Palm TX, Multilingual


Dear XXXX XXXX

Your recent repair order with Palm has been completed. The repaired device has been shipped to you at the following address:

XXXX XXXX
XXXX XXXXXXX XXX
RICHLAND WA 99352


You should be receiving the device within the next three business days via DHL. To check current shipment status, click on the link below.

http://track.dhl-usa.com/atrknav.asp?ShipmentNumber=XXXXXXXXXXX

IMPORTANT:
Package tracking numbers are pre-assigned at our distribution center. After you receive this email, it may take up to the end of the next business day for tracking information to become active in DHL's system. If the link above contains no information, check it again in 24 hours.

Note that it should have been picked up no later than the end of the next business day, i.e., yesterday.

This morning I checked the tracking site at DHL and found no information,
again, so I called them and asked why. The answer was that the package hadn't been turned over to them yet! This did not please me, so I sent an email to Palm. The response was that it had shipped and that I should check DHL's website.

Right. That's what I'd been doing, as I had made clear in my first email. The second email bordered on the uncivil, basically asking, exactly where was my device since neither they nor DHL seemed to have it. Amazingly enough, now that I'm home, DHL shows it was picked up about an hour after my second email, a full day later than promised.

Probably not coincidently, Celestica, the company doing the repair has a location just across the Rio Grand from Pharr, TX, where DHL says the device was to be shipped. Outsourced customer service strikes again. When will companies learn that success means underpromising and overdelivering, not the other way around.

Now, on the HTC MTeoR front: I was on the phone with a vendor this morning when her tech-support folks overheard she was talking with me about the MTeoR. A key selling point with this phone has been that it's a true worldphone with full coverage on all GSM 3G systems both here and abroad. It now seems this isn't quite the case. Being a tri-band GSM/EDGE phone and a 2100 MHz UMTS phone is a deal-breaker for me since Cingular uses both the missing 850 MHz GSM band and the missing 1900 MHz UMTS band. It's a shame, really, because the MTeoR, as described in HTC's literature would have met my needs very, very nicely.

On the plus side of that whole experience though, was a very nice email exchange about Qualcomm chipsets in HTC phones with Dovid at On the Go Solutions. Dovid starts his emails with B"H. I was curious, so I googled it. The Wikipedia entry the popped up says that it means, Baruch hashem (Hebrew "Blessed is God"). I share the sentiment. As I told, Dovid, I didn't get much Hebrew in my Lutheran catechism class.

BTW, if the quality of their sales and tech-support staff is any indication, this is a company worth dealing with, even if their prices are higher than most other vendors.