Cheap thoughts: illumination

Dead CFL bulb


I began labeling my CFL bulbs with the date I put them into service. This one died today after just 18 months of use. Ordinary bulbs last far longer than this! Cheap (possibly counterfeit) electronics are to blame.

So if CFLs aren’t the answer, what is? When will LED bulbs be ready for prime time? Is there a future where we move beyond bulbs entirely? Are self-illuminated walls and ceilings in our future?

Americans saving more, spending less

I read this Associated Press story with interest Tuesday. It announces “troubling signs” for the economy.

WASHINGTON — Americans cut their spending in June for the first time in nearly two years after seeing their incomes grow by the smallest amount in nine months. The latest data offered a troubling sign for an economy that is adding few jobs and barely growing.

So, what are the “troubling signs (emphasis mine)?”

Consumer spending dropped 0.2 percent in June, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was the first decline since September 2009.

… and …

Incomes rose 0.1 percent, the smallest gain since September. Many people are also pocketing more of their paychecks. The personal savings rate rose to 5.4 percent of after-tax incomes, the highest level since August 2010.

So if the cloud is the state of our abysmal economy, the silver lining is that Americans are getting their own financial houses in order.

Pandora-ed out?

I was impressed to learn that the Roku’s Pandora channel had been redesigned, allowing one to link it to an existing Pandora account. Now I can get all of my Pandora channels on the Roku, making the Pandora channel much more useful to me. A few nights ago when Travis and I were alone, I cranked up my Intoxica surf-rock channel and we rocked out to that while I was cooking dinner.

Having enjoyed the tuneage from my Roku, yesterday I fired up my Intoxica channel on my laptop. You know what? It didn’t last longer than an hour. I became bored with the music and turned it off.

I think this is one of the flaws with Pandora: you can build a channel so exactly that the music begins to sound the same. It doesn’t take long for me to start wishing for a little more variety. With Pandora, one can box oneself into a corner.

There are some new music services out there now like Spotify, which might fit the bill, but I’m not in the mood right now to have to learn another service all over again (and there’s no free Linux client as of yet). For now I’ll stick with Mondomix and it’s world music stream.

Wrong transaction from your credit card in Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort

Oh nooooooes!

Hey …. wait a minute! I’m pretty sure I was at home on July 26th. Could this be …. perhaps …. a scam?

From: “Reservation Departament”
To: Mark Turner
Subject: Wrong transaction from your credit card in Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:00:33 -0700

Dear Guest!

Transaction: Visa 925136_F2
On July 26th, 2011 Hotel made wrong transaction debiting from your credit card for an overall amount of $1887.
For noncompliance of the service contract this Hotel was divested accreditation in Moverick Company.
For the return of funds please contact your bank and fill information in the attached form. Continue reading →

Sinking sun

Stepping out this morning on my daily dog-walk, I noted that the sun was no longer awake before I was. We’re facing the end of summer and in spite of the mosquitoes and oppressive, record-setting heat the thought makes me a little sad, I have to admit.

It’s been a great summer. We’ve seen the kids through swim meets, T-ball games, soccer games, and sleepovers. We’ve spent many afternoons at the pool and had a wonderful time building our garden and enjoying the bounty it’s provided. We’ve taken trips to see Kelly’s parents and gone on the best-ever camping trip to Grayson Highlands. Soon, we’ll be taking our biggest trip of the summer as we head off for a week on Orcas Island in Washington state.
Continue reading →

Piling on the sugar

One of my pet peeves is the habit food companies have of piling on the sweeteners. Some take the position that anything they sell can be made better with a double-dose of high fructose corn syrup. What results is a society with an obesity epidemic.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Take yogurt, for example. We’ve long been looking to buy a brand with less sweetener added. What we’ve found is it’s harder than you think.

You’d think that by buying brand-name food, or food that touts its health benefits most prominently, you’d be picking the healthiest, right? Wrong. Let’s take a look at three different yogurt brands in our refrigerator right now:
Continue reading →

Robert’s Rules of Order not just for meetings!

I came upon a brilliant idea yesterday to keep the kids from constantly interrupting each other around the house: Robert’s Rules of Order! I’m used to using the Rules of Order to run my East CAC and Parks board meetings, why not apply them to my kids?

As chair of the household, I will formally recognize our kids as speakers and allow them the floor. Should the other wish to interject, I will ask if the current speaker chooses to yield. This will keep the squabbling down to a minimum and ensure the household runs smoothly.

(My tongue is firmly planted in my cheek here. But I can dream, can’t it?)

Chris Tedesco arrested for rape

Chris Tedesco


Chris Tedesco of Garner was arrested Saturday on charges of second-degree rape, among other very serious charges:

  • KIDNAPPING 1ST DEGREE 14-39
  • SEX OFFENSE 2ND DEGREE 14-27.5 A
  • RAPE 2ND DEGREE 14-27.3 A
  • BREAKING AND ENTERING 14-54 (F)
  • ASSAULT W/DEADLY WEAPON 14-33

Chris Tedesco is the younger brother of Wake School Board member John Tedesco.

I don’t know what got into this guy but judging by the charges it looks like he’s got some serious anger-management issues. I hope the victim is okay.

Happy birthday, Miss Ruth!

Miss Ruth


Oh, I wanted to share a photo of our amazing neighbor, Ruth Gartrell. “Miss Ruth” is an amazing woman, posessing more energy at 80 than some people half her age. She has such grace!

This weekend she celebrated her 80th with a big birthday party at her home, and we were truly honored to have been invited. She said a few things about us at the party that were so sweet they put a lump in my throat, to be honest, but we’re as happy to have her as a neighbor as she is to have us!

I’ve said that the folks in my neighborhood are some of the friendliest in town, and our Miss Ruth is proof!

Keeping dogs calm during thunderstorms

Rocket


The N&O wrote about a new product to calm dogs during thunderstorms. Called the “Thundershirt,” it professes to soothe a jumpy pooch during thunderstorms and such. My neighbor bought one for her Labrador and swears by it.

This got me thinking about other proposed solutions. Kelly said she had heard people express success by rubbing a sheet of fabric softener on the dog, the idea apparently being that this would remove the storm’s static electricity from the dog’s coat. So, during the next storm I thought I would give it a try.

The other night a storm approached. The dog got nervous again, panting heavily and pacing around. I fetched a sheet of fabric softener and dutifully rubbed it on the dog. Sure enough, he seemed to calm down. But was that from the fabric softener or was it because the storm had come and gone? I can’t really say. After a second storm came by I tried it again. This time I didn’t see much of a difference.

The verdict? Sheets of fabric softener will indeed help keep your dog calm during storms, but only if you stuff them into your dog’s ears!