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Google + No More

I decided to ditch Google +.  I felt it was more than I wanted to keep up with and I really did not keep up with it very much.  I think I gave it a fair shot, labeling my friends, getting followed by strangers and putting all my other Google services at risk since I did not feel the need to use my real name.  I like the fact that it is there and pushing FB to make improvements, but there is no real benefit to me using it.  Maybe when Google finally achieves complete world domination and forces everyone to get a Google ID, I’ll relent.  But until then I’ll keep it simple posting to my three blogs and FB.  :^)
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My Horse Threw a Shoe

Thursday started as any other. Out the door early, I had payroll to finish up, things were looking promising.  I took my oldest to school.  I thought I heard someone honk at me as I was getting on the highway, but could not really tell.  Finally, about halfway to work, someone did get my attention and informed me of the flat tire.

I was right at an exit, so I crossed three lanes of Airport Freeway and found a parking lot.  Sure enough, the rear diver side was completely flat.  I had not even noticed.  I went straight to work getting all the spare items out to get it changed and get back on the road, but I could not locate the special tool for removing the lugs.  I searched the entire car.  Nada.

I got on the phone to call my wife to bring my tool kit that I thought might have it.  She did not pick up her mobile or the house for 20 minutes.  Turns out she was watering the garden and could not hear them.  So by now I am getting later and more mad by the moment.  She finally arrives and the special item is not in the box nor is it in her van.  This thing is gone.  Then I recall getting my tires rotated about two months ago.  They must have misplaced it since I have not had a reason to look at the spare items since then.

We pack up and go to Discount Tire.  As usual, the line is out the door.  I get up to a counter and they are able to get me the item, no charge thankyouverymuch, and we are back on the road to my vehicle.  I get the tire changed in short order and get back on the road, now and hour behind. 

You would think that is the end of it, but halfway again, I get a wobble and noise.  I figure the spare is going flat, pull over and take a look.  Apparently, I have not tightened the lugs completely (palm face smack).  That done, no further issues getting to work.

So kids, what have we learned?  Make sure you have all your spare items, in good working order.  Checking it about once a month or every other just to make sure it is ready when you need it.  Next, no matter how much you trust the people working on your car, check that you got all your items back and the tightened thing properly.  Finally, learn to change a flat and check your own work.  Make sure the replaced tire is snug all the way around.

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My Fellow Americans…

I decided to listen the the President’s address on jobs, though I don’t normally tune into this sort of thing.  I was impressed with the plan he laid out and was hopeful that some progress might be made.

Of course, I knew what the reaction would be.  The republicans are so very predicable.  Rather than come up with a plan, they want to whine about how all the poor rich people will get hurt if this plan goes forward.  Poor hedge fund managers would have to pay their fair share of taxes instead of the incredibly low capital gains tax.

I understand the rich already pay more under our graduated system.  I also know they have plenty of money to purchase people to shelter much of that money to avoid pay those taxes.  Rich people, and certainly rich banks, do not create jobs. They don’t build schools.  They don’t build hospitals, or roads or pay off the unusually high debt it takes to go to school.  They buy opulent things or stash their money in banks (that got bail out money) to make loans to the plebeians that worship the rich and try to act like them by buy junk they don’t need.

The nation needs to work and updating our aging infrastructure is a good way to do that.  I encourage you to write to your Congress Critters and tell them to pass the plan or present a better one.  Not sure who your representatives are?  Here you go:

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Congrats! You made it! Now what…

How many of us have worked hard, REALLY hard, to get to some point, achieve some goal only to actually make it?  We find ourselves at the end of the long road of single minded devotion faced with a very large open field that spans in all directions as far as the eye can see.  There might be a lot of trails, but no defined roads.  Mostly likely the road you were just on is gone, since there is no going back.

That is how I felt upon hearing my predecessor was finally retiring and I was given the accounting department.  I have two people working for me and a lot of expectations to live up to.  Until now, I was a task guy.  Each day I had a stack of tasks to do and I’d get them done.  I am very good at making things more efficient, making daily tasks quick and easy to finish.  Now I am expected to take those tasks and delegate.  At the moment, I can just teach the task and work out future procedures to pass on.  However, at some point I will need to teach others to work out the problem.  This is not something I have done a lot of, but it looks like my new challenge.

It seems like the old way of doing things was to learn a job and make yourself invaluable my making sure no one else could do your job.  That way, no matter how incompetent you were, it would still trump other peoples’ ignorance.  My philosophy is to see just how much I can get off my plate and into the hands of others.  I think it would be very hard to teach my way out of a job, and I am still very good at problem solving, so the end result should be a group that just gets better.  I suppose we’ll see what kind of teacher I am.

So, here I am in the middle of a wide open field.  I think I’ll head left for a while and see where that goes.

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My Workspace

When the former Controller retired, I spent the first week sort through all the files to get familiar with where things are and what was important.  What I found was that much of it was very old and should have been put in storage years ago as evidenced buy the dates on these boxes:
Ever the dedicated employee, I stayed a little later after work on Friday to get my desk in order. I had started with the original configuration she used which was to face the wall in the right.  This limited the amount of desk space I had for my key board.  There was a keyboard tray, but it was flimsy and had to be moved every time I needed to write something.  I decided to shift everything to the left and face the corner, not because I ma naughty (though I am) but because I a better work flow at that angle.  

 

One last thing, I have tried to stream line, simplify and declutter my personal life as well as work.  However, I do hold onto a few things that have meaning to me.  Three objects I keep on my computer are a Bakelite ox, my Chinese Zodiac I found at a flea market, a Homey joker from my time at TDI and a two rough links of a chain I found on a walk during a time my DW and I were having trouble.

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The Man Cave

There is a small alcove in our garage, about 10X6 that looks like it was designed as a workshop are or laundry room.  At one point I had my workbench there and used it as my work area.  While that was fine, I am in a house filled with females and I needed a place where testosterone was the ruling hormone  Hence the creation of the Man Cave!

Like anything else in life, this project was a whole lot more than just making the decision.  The west and south walls were largely unfinished and there was exactly one outlet in the whole garage.  Also, there is a small breaker box that was added (sloppy) to run 220 for a dryer.  The first steps were to get that silly box turned the right way otherwise it would stick out of the wall and be inaccessible.  From there I ran a new wire all the way to the end of the west wall adding six new outlets.

After that, insulation was added to the walls and then covered with 7/16 plywood.  Why plywood and not sheet rock?  Two reasons, 1) I mostly work alone and moving sheet rock without breaking it requires two people. 2) the plywood will be much tougher and take more abuse which I think is needed in the garage.  An with that, stage one is completed.

The lessons I learned during this phase.  It’s ok to ask your buddy to come over and help lift the very heavy plywood pieces to the top.  Like all other houses ever made, the construction is less that square, multiple fittings and cuttings are required to get the piece to fit.  Next, 2 pm during one of the hottest summers on record might not be the best time to install outlets.  I’m not dumb enough to have connected the power before doing that, but I am dumb enough to not be wearing safety glasses.  Sweaty hands slip and I did a few times drawing quite a bit of blood.  Once was even a slip that put the tip of my needle nose pliers in my eyebrow, missing my eye about 2 inches and leaving a 1/4″ cut.

I am looking forward to stage two where I will get the Cave looking more like an actual room and add some sort of furniture and a/c device.