Mad Scientist

Yesterday, I checked the pool chlorine, free chlorine, PH and alkalinity (those are the standard things you check) and the levels were ALL exactly where they're supposed to be! This was the first time I'd gotten these much sought after readings.

To get all of these readings takes some know-how and some patience. There's no luck involved.* In addition to the excellent readings, I also have eliminated the remnants of the cloudiness caused by the sub-standard Wal-Mart PH balance I'd added a week ago.

So, the pool is awesome!

Note: why check the PH of the water and then check the alkalinity separately?  Alkalinity is on one end of the PH spectrum (which runs from acidic to base AKA alkaline) I think I'm right about that, but there must be a reason that both are checked...




*remember: belief in luck means you believe that some people defy the laws of probability or you believe in cause without effect

I'm feeling a little odd today.

On this day in history...

June 29, 2006 is Irene Freak-Out Day.

Although not celebrated, this is a holiday in my Perpetual Calendar of all things significant and noteworthy. (The calendar dates back to 1992.)

Explanation of Irene Freak-Out Day:

The exact reason for the end of the friendship with Irene is related to her indignant reaction to our moving our business out of her building in Worcester, MA and moving into 26 Valley Rd. in Barre.

As far as I know, the reasons behind her reaction involved some expectation that we were going to buy a building and her business and ours were going to move into it...and/or we were just supposed to stay in her building indefinitely. I'm not really sure what were the reasons because they weren't ever verbalized even though I asked several times.

When we moved our travel business and art gallery to Worcester, we were very upfront about giving the move a one-year trial. After one year, we'd sold exactly TWO pieces of art, so we realized that being in Worcester didn't mean a larger customer base. Since it was about a 35-40 minute drive to Worcester and we'd found space in our hometown of Barre (The Tatman House) we decided to move.

When we told Irene, she didn't say anything and pretty much stopped talking to us altogether. Moving out was stressful and awkward. I had offered the July rent, which she refused.

The friendship ended at that point, which was very upsetting. We'd been the very best of friends for a couple of years, and an abrupt end to the friendship was totally unexpected.

That's the story from my point of view.

Music catalogue

I now have about 12 new songs for my next CD project. I hope to record them this fall. I've created the cover for the CD. Speaking of CD's, I have 2 huge boxes full of them. I have no idea what to do with them. I think I'll make sure they are all in my iTunes folder then I'll bring them to the swap shop at the dump.

Only 30 more days until solar energy system gets turned on

The town building inspector came today to inspect the solar panel installation. This is the last hurdle before National Grid comes out and installs a 2-way meter, and net metering begins....but what is Net Metering?

Net metering is an electricity policy for consumers who own (generally small) renewable energy facilities (such as wind, solar power or home fuel cells). "Net", in this context, is used in the sense of meaning "what remains after deductions" — in this case, the deduction of any energy outflows from metered energy inflows. Under net metering, a system owner receives retail credit for the electricity they generate.

Most electricity meters accurately record in both directions, allowing a no-cost method of effectively banking excess electricity production for future credit.

Net metering is generally a consumer-based renewable energy incentive.

But back to the town inspector.... he came out to "inspect" the system installation but all he did was talk to me about the nice location I had and how I no longer had "bad neighbors."  Then he counted the individual panels, not because it was part of the inspection, but just because he wanted to see how many I have compared to how many he has on his house. A little small talk about the weather and then he was gone. He inspected NOTHING. And, how much did it cost me to have him inspect nothing? 

About $100.

Still moving......

Yesterday, I set up the new office, that is, I placed the furniture in the room and hung a few things on the walls. Allen will now make it look organized and functional. I found it interesting that we've slimmed-down the business to the point that it all fits very neatly and compactly into one room (approx. 12 X 12). I think the next time me move (which is inevitable) we should be able to fit into a closet.

Banana Phone, ring, ring, ring (it's a phone with a peel)

I've chosen a VOIP telephone service, it's called Ring Central. It's very complex (it seems complex now because I'm not familiar with its features). But complex is good; it has many features that will certainly meet all my phone service and PBX needs.

The service costs about $29.99 per month for unlimited local phone service. Each phone number you choose comes with a free number. I actually found consecutive phone numbers when running through the set-up process ((978) 894-1186, 1187, 1188 and 1189). I bought two phone numbers, so I actually have 4. Each number can send and receive faxes, so you can use a number for both or just assign fax activity to one phone number. Having an 800 number costs $4.99 per month. I'm in the process of porting my existing 800 number to Ring Central so I'll have the same 800 number... additional phone numbers, users and 800 numbers are only $4.99/month.

The service has excellent auto-receptionist features, all kinds of forwarding capabilities and a slew of other features: voice mail, call handling and forwarding, flip a call, fax, messaging, unlimited texting, activity logs, contacts, softphone, mobile apps, departments, customizable personal greetings, dial-by-name directory, call recording (legally tricksy), extensions, call screening, hold music, music during call transfer, customizable outgoing caller ID, customizable outgoing fax settings, full-feature IP phones, ring out, crazy amazing conferencing (up to 15 people), cheap international rates with a certain amount of free calls to select countries, email notifications for anything/everything and other features I don't have a handle on yet.

The service has assigned me an account manager and they want to make an appointment to go through the entire system with me over the phone.I'm definitely going to need this tour and I'll probably try to do that later today.

I'm optimistic that this will work well for the business. In the past, we've spent $29.00 on one 5-6 minute phone call to Australia, so having an unlimited local phone service for the same money is really a bargain. I have a 30-day free trial in the works, so I'll take this test-drive and see what the service has under the hood.

I'll update the service's performance and suitability to our phone needs in a future post.

The Eggman Cometh

To rent or not to rent. That is the dilemna.

It's not really a question. Just a psychological dilemma. Renting is inevitable. It's just going to take some time...and a whole lotta wine...

I showed the apartment yesterday without having advertized or even put a sign in the front yard. I wasn't ready to begin this arduous process. Plus, the apartment isn't empty or clean. Hmn, I don't even know where my 'For Rent' sign is.

The couple were pleasant enough, but hard to read. They really didn't say much of anything at all. The man asked how much it was to heat the place. Good question, rough answer. I estimated that it would cost between 250 and 350 dollars a month (every month of the year). That's a LOT of oil.

So it begins. The search for the elusive normal tenant. Today, I hope to go and clean the apartment and set the furniture up so that it looks presentable.

I updated the website (www.dionproperties.com/117) and the rental agreement and application. So, I'm ready to rock-n-roll. Hopefully, this time it will be an uplifting upbeat pop tune rather than a funeral dirge.

I'll mention the progress and experiences that I meet in upcoming blog entries. I'd say "wish me luck.' but that would mean that I believed that I could either defy probability, or that some things aren't a result of cause and effect. But I don't.

Although now, I'd welcome a little rental faerie.

What's up with ants, spiders and other insects (yes, I know spiders aren't insects) coming into houses? There's a huge planet out there for them. Why do they want to come in and risk getting stepped on by people? Is there not enough food outside of houses for ants? And when I see a spider waiting in a little corner where there's almost no chance of a little bug coming along to be entrapped in a web... uh, what's the point?

I'm not so sure insects are all that smart.

The big yard sale....

Yesterday, we had a big yard sale. It was a good yard sale, all it lacked was customers. There were  very few people stopping between 9 and noon. It picked up in the early afternoon. But in the end, we didn't really sell very much.

The highlights of the day were the Morning Star patty sandwiches that Emily made us, visiting with Tammy & Pee Wee and the drive home.

After paying Jake to help us bring everything outside, and at the end, helping to pack everything into Tammy & Pee Wee's van and truck... we made about $110.00.

Oh, I think I got a little suntan too.

One more trip around that persistent star

It's Allen's birthday! 

There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know.
- Lewis Carroll  

Moving.. and moving... and...

We moved the Innovative Incentives, Inc. corporate office again. This time, we moved it BACK to the building in which we were originally located when we first opened the office in July of 2000.

Here's the timeline of moves made by the nomadic corporation known as Innovative Incentives, Inc.:


July 2000 - 61 Pleasant St., Barre, MA
July 1, 2002 - 531 Summer St., Barre, MA
September 23, 2005 - 1200 West Boylston St., Worcester, MA
July 1, 2006 - Tatman House, Common St., Barre, MA
July 1, 2007 - Quabbin office Building, Barre, MA
July 1, 2009 - 550 Old Dana Rd., Barre, MA
July 1, 2011 - Quabbin office Building, Barre, MA
August 14, 2012 - 117 Pine St., Wheelwright, MA
July 1, 2013 - 531 Summer St., Barre, MA

Let music fill the air and do away with prayer....

We lost power last night for an hour or two. When the generator kicks in, you can hear maniacal laughter from within.

I'll have some new music to release in late summer or early fall. I have about 12 new songs but I don't think most of them will be included on this new CD.  My first CD included a wildly fluctuating collection of songs with styles as varied as could be. But this time, I'm going to try to make a CD of songs that go well together and make a coherent package. To that end, I think 5 of my new songs may be used and I'll start to focus more on writing songs that will meld together, I would even like to take it a step further and create what's called a concept CD, but that might turn out to be too ambitious for my second release. We'll see what happens.

Comedian Ricky Gervais (in regard to the Oklahoma tornado disaster) tweeted these words in response to the religious reaction to the disaster:

"Beyonce, Rihanna & Katy Perry sent prayers to Oklahoma. I feel like an idiot now...  I only sent money."

 

It's Father's Day, 2013

I wouldn't have known if the handyman building the pool deck railings didn't tell me.

To Tolerate or Not to Tolerate (a reprint of something I wrote a few years ago, updated)

Tolerance. "Leeway for variation from a standard."
Tolerate. "To put up with; endure or countenance"

When I think of these meanings (they are not the only ones)
for the word tolerate I find myself being annoyed.

Right now, someone, somewhere is apt to be tolerating
someone else. Initially, it sounds positive:
"an atmosphere of tolerance" or, "a disposition toward
allowing beliefs and/or behaviors of others when these
differ from one's own." I've come to think nothing could
be further from the truth.

Oh sure, there's a time and place for tolerance.
One might tolerate a humid summer night or a bad movie but in general,
when speaking about human interaction…

I do not think tolerance should be tolerated.

Pick someone at random and place them in a position
of being tolerated. Now tell them how lucky they are to be tolerated!
Did they thank you for this kindness you're shown them?

Tolerable. "Able to be tolerated; endurable."
Who wouldn't want people to have to endure them?

There are many groups of people targeted for this disguised practice of prejudice
and oppression.  You may very well belong to such a group. Maybe you're in
such a group and you don't know it. Or perhaps your membership in the
"to be tolerated club" is obvious.

As long as the differences between people are emphasized, the similarities
will be overlooked.  And what a shame that is when you consider that the similarities
outnumber the differences.

This charade of being accepting and open-minded should be exposed.
It is too easy to hide behind this socially acceptable mask. When people
distinguish themselves from others to the degree of having to
"tolerate" the other person,  they are building walls, not bridges.

This practice is only a small step away from bigotry, discrimination
and chauvinism (to name a few negative outcomes).

There are many examples of tolerance around.
Take a moment to recognize this hidden social malady for what it really is,
a polite way to discriminate.

Stop the hate... Don't Tolerate.

I found the above picture on the internet. I added my comments, of course.
It's interesting to me that the message here is meant to be somehow positive.
I don't see it. It looks like it was designed to promote the toleration of different religious or other groups of lucky toleratees. (uh, that's not a real word).
But to me, it's ridiculous and soooooo NOT THE PRACTICE of any religion
I know of at all. Religions are the bastion of intolerance and discrimination.

Thrasher

...and I don't mean Skateboard Magazine.

Thrasher is a song by Neil Young and can be found on the Rust Never Sleeps CD. I hadn't heard of this song until a friend (Buzz Buzzizyk AKA Maximum Traffic)  mentioned it in a letter. He said it was one of his favorite songs, or maybe he said it was one of his favorite Neil Young songs. I don't remember.

In any case, I downloaded the sheet music from Music Notes and started playing the song on the keyboard. I downloaded the actual song from iTunes to help me get used to and learn to play it well. I'm going to send Max the CD when it's done. I think he'll like that.

BTW, do you like the links peppered throughout this post? I've never done that before in anything I've written. I'm not sure if it's annoying or interesting.

Into every life....

A freakin' 2-3 weeks of RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. This means no pool (it's been ridiculously cool) and no outdoor gardening and only sporadic running. I don't think this climate change thing is very funny.

I suppose reading it might make matters worse. they might start stoning people and sacrificing animals and other odd behavior.

"A Universe From Nothing" - Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins

I came across the video and decided to share it here.

Enjoy.

it's a solar kind of day

Today, there's a residential sized solar array being installed on my roof. It's a very noisy project. It is supposed to provide me with all my electrical needs. We'll see. Even if it provides most of my electricity, it'll still be a good deal.

Living in another locale--but still in Very Barre, MA

Last October, we moved into a new house on the other side of Barre. This house has almost 3000 sq. ft. on two levels and a huge master bedroom suite with a cathedral ceiling and loft. And by cathedral, I don't mean it has a Sistine Chapel mural :). The back of the house has a 10 X 40 foot deck. The house has an open first floor plan with a kitchen island (with counter-top stove), a walk-out basement, a two-car garage, a farmer's front porch and is ten years old but looks newer. In fact, there's not much evidence that anyone lived here for the last ten years. The entire house has high quality construction.

This property abuts the Phillipston Wildlife Management Area. We have two somewhat distant neighbors, although they aren't really visible through the trees. Well, not at first. Both neighbors seem to have some aversion to their own privacy and have cut down a lot of trees. But for the most part, we're still pretty secluded.

There is a 600-foot dirt driveway that feels like a road as it winds around curves in between the numerous tall trees. As you can imagine, it is quite a lot of work to clear snow from this driveway in the winter. At the roadside, there's no indication that you've arrived at our driveway. The only clue is our mailbox across the street with a house number on it.

The house came with a pool, and this summer we put in a new filter and pool liner and have the pool up and running. As it turns out, I love having a pool! I do a lot of work outside on the property, planting bushes, trees, perennials and making paths, rock "sculptures" as Allen calls them and lots of other landscaping projects. Whenever I get too warm, I either walk over and stick my head in the pool or jump right in.

We've made a lot of improvements to the house in the past 8-9 months. We removed all the carpeting from the 3 bedrooms and small office upstairs as well the master bedroom on the first floor and installed red oak flooring. All the walls were painted and major electrical projects were done. This summer, a fence will be built around the pool's deck and some rather large looming pine trees will be taken down before they rudely fall on the house.

The biggest project of all is adding solar panels to the roof; they're being installed today! They are expected to produce all our electrical power. How cool is that?

This house is very modern in comparison to the log home we previously owned. It's taken me all of the 8-9 months we've been here to get a handle on a decorating scheme that makes sense. The log home was rural and country-casual. This house isn't "casual" at all. Its style is colonial. I don't know why it's called that, the name colonial sounds like it would be reminiscent of the architecture of colonial times, but that's not the case. At least not to me.

Over the last 14 years, we've moved three times and this is our third house in Barre, MA. I think we like it here in Barre and we will stick around for a while.