How Much Confidence?

Last week we got the following notice from the complex management. I understand that maintenance needs to be done. I also hate to be at the mercy of the schedule of others.

So this was a little worse than normal. These notices are usually about pest control or smoke alarm inspection. They usually are restricted to a certain day or two. This one is spread over at least three weeks. 

The reason I hate these intrusions is that you never know when these folks will show up. They either have a key or are with someone from the complex staff. Will they come first thing in the morning while I'm still asleep? Will they come when I'm in the shower? Will they come while I'm taking a dump? It is just disrupting.

Besides spanning three weeks, this particular intrusion has other concerns. There are sprinkler heads in every room, including closets. I live in a two bedroom, two bath apartment that has 13 sprinkler heads. My understanding of fire sprinkler systems is that they are always full of water. The sprinkler heads are activated by heat. I would guess that the water in the system might get a little nasty over time. 

So what could go wrong? Repair/replacement of at least 13 nozzles on pipes in my ceilings. I was a little uneasy when I got the notice. That uneasiness increased exponentially on Tuesday. 

The day started out normally. I was out and about early before the Texas sun got too high and hot. In the late morning, the fire alarm went off. It was on steady for several minutes and then intermittent bursts for several more minutes. I checked on the alarm and found that 

some of the sprinkler guys were at the control panel in my building. OK, maybe these guys were new to the fire/alarm system at our complex. Not encouraging but also not devastating.

Then the crowning blow to my confidence. In the mid-afternoon there was a knock on the door. Three guys were there from the sprinkler company. They asked if they could come in for a minute to check out something. OK with me. They stopped at the first sprinkler head they saw which is in my front hall. The obvious leader of the pack reached up to take the chrome collar off the sprinkler and then used a knife to cut away some drywall ceiling so they could better see the sprinkler head. One of the guys was using his phone as a flashlight. Shouldn't workmen have a real flashlight? I pointed out that there was a hall light and kitchen light that might help. They mucked around with the sprinkler head for about 10 minutes.

Seems the sprinkler heads are circa 1986, not made anymore, and this company doesn't have a wrench that fits the connection. They were taking measurements to manufacture a tool for the job. I'm of an age that 1986 doesn't seem that long ago, but it is almost 30 years in the past. Wouldn't an established sprinkler company have tools to deal with old installations? They took one of my sprinkler collars I guess to help confirm their measurements. 

So, how much confidence should I have that this exercise won't result in a bunch of rusty water on my furniture, electronics, books, clothes, photos, ...?

For the most part, the complex management and staff does an OK job. The sprinkler guys who came by today were very nice. I'm thinking OK and nice is not the optimal combination for this task.

I did not see the sprinkler guys the rest of the week. Guess they are still trying to find or build a wrench.

The GFCI outlet has been installed without incident but there is a story there too. I'll relate that in another post.

I'll let you know how this sprinkler adventure turns out. Hope it isn't wet and rusty.

wjh

Very Random Thoughts - June 2015

• Most people who insist that the poor and disadvantaged pull themselves up by their bootstraps never had to do it themselves. Maybe their parents or grandparents did, but not them. 
• I'm pretty sure that reading articles or watching TV news stories about all the shit that can kill you can kill you. 
• Has their ever been a home project that turned out as easy as you expected?
• I wish weather alerts and breaking news bulletins could be filtered out of stuff I DVR. That severe thunderstorm was last week. 
• How come multiplications tables were taught 1 through 12? Why not through 13 or 15 or 20? Probably could have stopped at 10. 1x1=1, 12x12=144. 
• Did you know that vehicular deaths and firearm deaths per year are almost identical at about 33K. Both are disturbing.
• In 2013, 4,735 pedestrians and 743 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles.
• Normal reaction is now almost always overreaction.
• Politicians are very good at pointing out what is wrong. Few are even adequate at coming up with workable solutions.
• How come PBS Newshour Weekend is only a half hour? 
• Florists, caterers, event venues and wedding planners should have a very good year.
• Why are so many Christians paranoid and think their religion will be eliminated every time something goes against their beliefs? Don't they have enough faith in their god and a religion that has been around for 2,000 years?
• Commercials often say "real people, not actors". Aren't actors real people too?
• Fox News should be renamed Fox Opinion. 

wjh

Bedford July 4th Festivities

Because of the construction at Boys Ranch the Bedford July 4thFest was moved to the Old Bedford School and the library grounds. I wasn't sure how it would work, but it was fine. Everything but the classic car show was at the Old School. The food vendors were on the east side, the music stage was right next to the school's west wall and the kids' area was behind the school building.  

Apparently it didn't make any difference where the festivities were because the place was packed. The whole field in front of the school was full as were the open areas around the library. I noticed people also setting up at the areas of Boys Ranch that aren't closed by the construction and places in between. One big change this year was that the parking at Boys Ranch was open to the public and it was pretty near full by 7:00. Another change is that the temporary No Parking signs moved south and east from the usual streets and neighborhoods. 

Bedford again provided free parking and $5 per person shuttle buses from Pennington Field to the 4thFest site. I guess the thing to do is have a designated driver drop off a car full near the site then only pay for one shuttle ride. My better method is to walk the two or two and a half miles from my place to the venue. No parking hassle, no waiting on shuttles. Plus of course you get exercise and burn calories. Have another beer without the worry of gaining weight or getting a DWI ticket.

The food vendors were mostly about the same mediocre group that has been at past 4thFests. The usual carnival stuff. One addition was a large trailer that served funnel cakes. It was doing a booming business with lines all the way across the roadway. Never underestimate people's ability to consume junk food. Even saw a firefighter and a cop (of course) with one. The best choice I saw was a small tent serving pulled pork sandwiches and beef tacos. I had the pork and it was OK. There is always better quality and selection at the Labor Day BluesFest, probably because it is a 2½ day event that includes a barbeque cookoff. 

Besides the temporary change in venue, the big news was the addition of beer and wine at this year's 4thFest. Selection was limited to about four Bud brands and only one red wine. Still, they had Ziegenbock which is acceptable. It seemed to be successful since I saw a whole bunch of people drinking beer and absolutely nobody displaying drunken behavior. My only problem was that I went to get a final beer at 9:40 to watch the 10:00 fireworks only to be told that alcohol sales ended at 9:30. Oh well, better scheduling next time.

The band was OK. They played a varied mixture of rock songs from the 60's through the 80's plus a couple of contemporary songs. They are called Deja Groove and are a local D/FW group. My only complaint is that their breaks were longer than their sets. Since the 4thFest band is usually on (off & on) from about 5:00 to 9:30 maybe Bedford needs to have two or more bands doing shorter sets. 

The classic car show was not as large or well staged as other years. I think that was mostly poor planning since there should have been plenty of room, even more than there is at Boys Ranch. As usual there were some pretty nice rides and a few clunkers. Of course the best car was the same model that is always tops. It is a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. It is a car I always wanted. The closest I ever came was when my dad bought a '64 Chevy Bel Air but that is not even close to the same thing. Even after all these years it is a beautiful car. So much more interesting than the generic cars we have today. Back in the 50's and 60's, every car model had a distinct design and often a distinct sound. Not now, with few exceptions all cars in the same price range look pretty much alike. 

My few suggestions would be:

1. More trash cans and maybe some recycle bins for aluminum and plastic containers.
2. More continuous music. 15 minutes of music followed by 30 minutes of silence is not ideal.
3. Better lighting. This may be a problem only at Old Bedford School, but the hill between the Old School and Library was not well lit. A couple of concession stands were in the dark too but that may have been the vendor's fault.
4. A better layout for the classic car display. A more defined and better area.

So, the Bedford 4thFest seemed to be a success. I had a good time and that's the most important thing. There were a few things that need improvement but nothing major. Based on the major delays in the construction at Boys Ranch, I would not bet that the 4thFest for 2016 will be back there. That's OK because Old Bedford School has proved to be a very acceptable venue. 

Happy 4th, now 5th, of July to all. What's next, Labor Day?

wjh 

Great Music

I usually share a song on Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter on Sundays. It is my version of #SongSunday. It is a rather eclectic mix that goes from some 1930's swing to some recent songs. Recently I have been posting whatever song was #1 that week in 1965. That was a great year for music. The Beatles and every other British group had invaded us. The Beach Boys were going strong. Motown had many stars and hits. There were still some of the old pop crooners around. Folk music was fading but still alive. There has always been country music on the charts. 

Radio was the main provider of music in 1965 and it was the AM band. There were very few FM stations and no FM radios in cars. Car radios were one of the primary sources for our music. The radio stations and the Top 40 back then were not as specialized as today. It was not unusual to hear a Beatles song followed by Frank Sinatra, followed by The Temptations, followed by Brenda Lee, followed by an instrumental, followed by a country tune and so on. I'll show some examples later in this post. 

I grew up in Jacksonville, FL which is a fairly large city. We had at least two great Top 40 radio stations all the time and usually a couple of other stations trying to break into that lucrative market. WAPE, the Mighty 690, was the big gorilla on the dial. It had a 50,000 watt transmitter and could be heard from central Florida to North Carolina along the Atlantic coast. Here is an example of what WAPE sounded like in 1965 -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjYf2JKuitk


The other big radio station was WPDQ, 600 on the dial. PDQ was always the #1 button on the car radio and The Big Ape was #2. The other three or four buttons varied based on what the parents listened to and what other stations were popular at the time. The only other station I remember listening to was WIVY that was somewhere in the 1200 frequency. I had a friend who was a radio DJ wonk so at some time during my youth I visited all three radio stations studios. WAPE was a stand alone station south of town in Orange Park with an indoor/outdoor pool that flowed into the lobby. WPDQ was in downtown Jacksonville in an old office building. WIVY was in San Marco in what  was then a new small office building. My friend and I could easily go there after school and watch the DJ at work. I think all three stations are gone now, at least their AM versions.

All the albums and singles were on vinyl back then. Albums were on 33⅓ RPM 12" LPs. Singles were on 7" 45 RPM records. Even the radio stations played vinyl records. Most radio studios had at least two turntables and queueing up the records was a DJ skill so there was no delay or scratchy static before the music started. Most of us didn't have a large collection of records for two reasons. One was they cost money and two most homes had one record player and it wasn't in the kid's room. Radio was the free alternative. Many of the DJs back then were pretty entertaining too.

So, back to the main topic. Top 40 music was diverse. Here are some of the top 20 songs from July 3, 1965 - 

• #1 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
• #2 I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) - The Four Tops
• #3 Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds
• #4 Wonderful World - Herman's Hermits
• #5 Wooly Bully - Sam The Sham And The Pharoahs 
• #6 Cara Mia - Jay & The Americans
• #8 What The World Needs Now Is Love - Jackie DeShannon
• #9 Seventh Son - Johnny Rivers
• #10 I've Been Loving You Too Long - Otis Redding
• #12 Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte - Patti Page 
• #15 What's New Pussycat? - Tom Jones
• #16 For Your Love - The Yardbirds
• #17 Crying In The Chapel - Elvis Presley
• #18 Back In My Arms Again - The Supremes
• #20 A World Of Our Own - The Seekers

That's a pretty diverse list of some pretty terrific songs. I'm not saying that every week was like this, but it was not that unusual. Some of the popular groups of the time missing from this weeks hits are The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Dave Clark Five, The Temptations, The Miracles and many others. These other groups would be in the top 20 in a week or two. Here are the top 100 songs of 1965. Artists and groups often recorded two, three, maybe four full albums in a year so it often wasn't long between hits. 

It was a great time for music. Rock, R&B, Soul, Folk, Pop, Country and who knows what other genres were in play. Now days we are more diverse as a country but our music outlets are far less diverse. It is impossible to hear Country music on an Urban radio station or Rap on an easy listening station. If you want diversity in your music you have to make your own playlists in Google Music or iTunes. You can also shuffle diverse stations on Pandora or Spotify. In 1965 the radio DJs did the mixing and shuffling for us with information and humor between songs and all for free. 

I'm not complaining, I have plenty of options for music these days. I'm just glad that my options in 1965 provided me with great diverse music. I never got locked into one genre. I can't imagine listening to only one genre of music all the time. If you do, expand your horizons. There is a lot of good music out there, often in surprising places. 

wjh

It Seems Simple To Me

This has been quite a week for social change. First we had the uproar over the Confederate Battle Flag ignited by the white supremacist's terrorist murder of eight African-American people. Then today we had the US Supreme Court's ruling on same sex marriage. The SCOTUS decision is more historic, but both events are important. They push our country toward a more free and equal society. I already wrote a post about the battle flag dustup.

The upholding of the right for LGBT couples to marry was too long in coming. I fully understand the religious objections to this ruling. I support their right to refuse to allow gay couples from marrying in their churches or for priests, pastors, rabbis, mullahs or other clerics refusing to perform those marriages. I don't agree with them, but they have that right. I don't think that governments and public enterprises have that same right. They are here to serve all segments of our society. 

I find it amusing that so many people fear that this SCOTUS decision will ruin our country. About 3½% to 4% of out population identifies as LGBT. How can that small a percentage take down the most powerful country in the world? Seems a little paranoid to me. All people in the United States deserve the opportunity to be happy. They deserve to be treated equally. 

The "slippery slope" argument is another example of grasping at straws. What if the next push is by pedophiles to allow marriage to children. What if someone wants multiple wives. What if brothers and sisters want to get married. What if a father wants to marry his daughter or a mother her son. Well, children are a special circumstance. They are not able to make adult decisions or enter into binding contracts. Harming a minor, not just sexually, is a crime. I can't imagine that incest would ever be a big issue. How many siblings do you know that would willfully cohabit after adulthood. Multiple wives, if all parties are adults it doesn't much bother me, as long as multiple husbands is also OK. It seems to me we currently discriminate against certain religions that allow multiple spouses. Isn't that a violation of religious freedom? Oh wait, for the most part religious freedom in this country actually mostly means Christian religious freedom. 

Here is my simple solution to all opposed to same sex marriages. Live and let live. Allow the LGBT community to have the same rights as the heterosexual majority. If you are against same sex marriage, don't marry anyone who is the same sex as you. Likewise if you are against interracial marriages, don't marry anyone outside your race. If you are against marriages between people of different religions, marry only within your religion. If you are against marriage outside your nationality, only marry within your culture. The list goes on. The solution is always the same, marry only those you want to. Nothing in the SCOTUS decision says you have to marry a gay or a Black or a Hindu or an Italian or a blond or someone who is short, left-handed, tall, bald or blue-eyed.

Just say no but allow the rest of the adults in this country to make that same choice. It only seems fair to me. It also seems to be the compassionate, empathetic and tolerant attitude.

It seems simple to me.

wjh 

Overreactions "R" Us

Many people are unwilling to let any tragedy go without overreacting. I have written before about how the pendulum of public opinion swings widely from left to right but very rarely settles in the middle. The most recent example is the uproar about the Confederate Battle Flag.

At the peril of being called a racist I am adding a picture of the flag in question. It is part of our country's history, an ugly and tragic part, but nevertheless a part. 

Before I get too far into this post, let me state unequivocally that I do not think that the battle flag or any other flag of the Confederacy should be flown at a state capitol or many other government sites. I will not go so far as to propose banning it completely from all government property because there are probably state owned museums, battlegrounds and cemeteries where I think it would be appropriate. I don't think states should issue "specialty" license plates with the Confederate flag on them. Mississippi needs to remove the stars and bars from their state flag. 

That being said, those that are demanding the banning of the battle flag are completely delusional about what freedom of speech entails. Freedom from being offended is not part of the deal. If Walmart, Amazon, eBay, Sears (does anybody still shop at Sears?), or other retailers want to stop selling the flags or products with the insignia that is their choice. I can't imagine that these products were a big seller that contributed much to their bottom lines. What I am sure is that there will be a huge surge in the sale of these items and a cottage industry will be born. 

A couple of weeks ago no one was talking about the Confederate Battle Flag. Now it is the cause of all racism in this country. Many staunchly proud or mislead Southerners are outraged that the flag is under attack. Many African-Americans and civil rights activists are outraged that the flag hasn't been banned. The right needs to admit that this symbol does not belong at a state house. The left needs to accept that the flag is coming down at government sites and hopefully will soon at the South Carolina capitol. If the South Carolina legislature is too stupid to remove it then there should be protests and boycotts every day until it is. 

Regardless of what the various state and local governments decide there is no way we can justify banning the flag. If people or businesses want to display the symbol that is their right. In fact, it will make it easier for us to determine businesses we may or may not want to avoid or people we may or may not want to associate with. I'm not saying everyone that supports or displays the battle flag is a racist. Many are proud southerners who believe the flag represents that pride or honors their ancestors who honorably fought on the side of the south in the Civil War. Most of the Confederate soldiers were not slave holders although they did probably support slavery. Remember, it is almost always unfair to judge our ancestor's behavior based on today's mores. 

I consider myself a proud southerner. I was raised and educated in Florida. I was always thankful that my parents moved to Florida when I was very young, especially when we went back north on vacations to visit the relatives. I have lived virtually my entire adult life in Florida, Georgia and Texas, all staunch Confederate states. There is much for the south to be proud of. There are also things in the south's past, some fairly recent, that she should not be proud of. 

Let's try to not overreact to the current situation. The terrorist who killed those people in Charleston is a racist. The Confederate Battle Flag is not why he did it. The talking heads and activists on both sides of the issue are fanning the flames. Hyperbole is the norm.

The white supremacist terrorist murder of those eight people in Charleston is an atrocity. The flying of the Confederate flag and laws governing that in South Carolina are wrong. This too will pass hopefully with further steps towards equality for all. Let's all work toward fixing our racial divide and let's all never support banning words, ideas or symbols.

wjh

Very Random Thoughts - May 2015

• Regardless of how much or how recent the rain, someone's sprinklers will be on. Seems the bigger the house the more likely the faux pas. 
• I remember the Mission: Impossible TV show. That crew outwitted the bad guys and rarely used any violence. Tom Cruise has completely trashed the franchise with standard violent over the top action movies. 
• How come when you forget an item at the grocery store it is the exact ingredient you needed that night.
• Believing in god is not the same as believing in religion.
• When we get self-driving cars will we still need a designated driver for nights out on the town?
• I've often wondered how political reporters and correspondents can keep a straight face. I would be tempted to laugh out loud and shout WTF when listening to politicians.  
• Granting others equal rights does not mean you lose yours. 

wjh