Kearny NJ’s Online Emergency Alert System

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[UPDATE 7:30pm]  Fair is fair.  Someone figured out the problem and must have contacted the host provider.  The site is not working again.

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So, I’ve had a problem with the Kearny, NJ web presence for a while.  It’s clear that the town does not take seriously the important of a web site.  Ok, that’s their choice.  Perhaps they know the town demographic better than I do and perhaps people use the site the way its set up and are fine with hit.  I’m not, but – whatever, I’m just one person.

Another sign that they don’t take their website seriously happened just now, on the brink of a serious situation that will certainly impact all residents.  The town posted an Alerts link – yay o/ great idea.  Keep us informed, or just post important hurricane information.  Good for you!  Just one problem, now, just a few short hours before we’re supposed to get the worst of the storm, this is the message I get

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.

Really?  In this day and age, for a few extra dollars, you could have an unlimited account.  And then your residents wouldn’t have to sit and wait for the limit to reset.  A little secret for you, Kearny administrators, people will go to the web site most during a time when they need the information the most, like an emergency.

[shakes head]

May be time for a new car

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As much as I hate to part with my 1997 VW Jetta, it is probably time for me to start thinking about replacing her.  I currently drive a manual transmission and would like to continue, so I used MyProductAdvisor.com (and AWESOME site, btw) to narrow my initial search list down to the following

  • Honda Accord and Civic
  • Hyundai Elantra, Accent, and Sonata
  • Toyato Camry and Corola
  • Kia Forte
  • Chevrolet Sonic
Looking for feedback on any of the above.  Prefer recent first-hand experience but would be grateful for non-recent first-hand experience or anecdotal experience.

There ARE death panels

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If you believed all the republican hype about death panels, when we had the health care debate, good for you – they were right.  Well, not completely right.  What they were saying was that the “socialized” medicine that was being proposed (their term, not mine), would create death panels and huge government oversight that is going to tell us, and our doctors, how to handle our health situations.

What they did not tell you was, that already exists.  If you think you, or your doctor, have ANY control over large portions of your health provision, think again.  What the fat cats in Washington want is to let things stay as they are, where the prescription drug companies and health insurance providers have the control – given that they are the ones with the high paid lobbyists and the ones who stand to profit from certain decisions.

My doctor wants to prescribe me a certain medication.  There are three brands that make something similar, but they are not the same compound – they are, in effect, different medications, although they do the same things.  Well, the sort of do the same thing.  The side effects are very different and how they work is different.  I want Brand X.  First, I’m told they won’t cover brand X that I have to try Brand Y or Brand Z.  I’ve used Brand Z in the past and had a terrible experience.  So, I go ahead and try Brand Y but it is not nearly as potent and doesn’t do the job.  So, I call my prescription provider, MedCo, and they tell me that they’ll be “happy to” provide me with Brand X, just have my doctor call this number.  WEll, they are making the doctor jump through fire hoops, spend in inappropriate amount of time on the phone, call different numbers, just to get this other medicine.  Now, to be clear, this is not a case of I prefer one over the other – these medicines work differently and are made of different compounds.  The prescription provided doesn’t want to cover this one medicine because there is no generic yet and the drug is very expensive (but that’s a completely different blog entry rant).

Second example – a different doctor (a specialist) things that my taking this other medicine would be helpful to address a medical need.  He has prescribed a certain dosage.  The prescription company doesn’t think that that’s the right dosage and will only allow half – HALF – of what the doctor prescribed.

Now, who is making my health provision decisions?  Not me, certainly, and not my doctorS! (PLURAL!)  Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield and MedCo are making my health related decisions and they stand to PROFIT from those decisions.  Why don’t they just come clean and call themselves corporate profit providers instead of health providers.

p.s. – thanks, wusses in Washington, INCLUDING President Obama, for giving up on the public option.  I’m VERY thankful for the changes that have been made, an improvement, but because there is NO reasonable competition or choice, I’m stuck with what I have.  I know it’s better than most, and I know I’m lucky to even HAVE health care (although our Governor is doing everything he can to take that away), but if there were a public option, things would be different and there would be real competition, because the old-boy health networks would be forced to compete.  You can’t trust the market to govern these issue when their only concern is profit.  Health care should be a non-profit industry.

Personality Test

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I get a daily email from Very Short List.  Sometimes it junk, more often than not it’s of interest, and once in a while its great.  Actually, more than just once in a while.

Today they featured the Pierly?Redford personality test.  It’s a disassociative test, shapes and odd questions that seem to have nothing to do with the shapes.  When I got done with the 20 questions, this is what I got back as a profile:

Always happy in a crowd, you love to converse, to relate, and above all to have fun. You tend to think in a more holistic manner than many others. Like a crow you are attracted to shiny objects, new ideas, playful exciting colors and the thrill of a new personal relationship. You love to talk or gossip. You are highly invested in the reality of day-to-day life. Practicality is far more important than issues of honor or allegiance. You are a creature of the here and now. You are a natural multi-tasker, often switching mid-thought from one duty to another. You have a flair for presenting your personality in your work, and are known as a great storyteller and natural actor. You are very skilled at taking in a barrage of information and distilling what is most important from it. Naturally charming, you are quick to win new friends. Over stimulation is a danger.

For those of you who know me, I’ll let you be the judge.  Better yet, take the test yourself and let me know what you think.

http://bit.ly/glRsp3

Puns (thanks Mom!)

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1. The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.

6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in  France  would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: ‘You stay here; I’ll go on a head.’

13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: ‘Keep off the Grass.’

15. The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

17. A backward poet writes inverse.

18. In a democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your count that votes.

20. If you jumped off the bridge in  Paris , you’d be in Seine .

21. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, ‘I’m sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.’

23. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.

24. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, ‘I’ve lost my electron.’ The other says ‘Are you sure?’ The first replies, ‘Yes, I’m positive.’

Ralph H. Ringstad, Jr.

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I don’t remember when Ralph and I first met, or even how.  It must have been in high school, so, around 1977 or so.  His family lived in the next development over, in the very suburban community in which I grew up.

We become best friends, even though he was two years older than me, and we were inseparable.  I mean, really.  Even once he went off to college, we stayed close and as soon as I was out of high school, once I got back from my unsuccessful first year at college (all the way out at Arizona State University), we still remained close.

I always wanted to be like Ralph.  He was accomplished.  He was successful in many things, even at an early age.  Ralph’s big thing was that he was a pipe organist, at a very young age, and was performing all over the area.  I can remember going into New York City once, with his parents, to see him perform someplace – I don’t think I was even 16 at the time.

Ralph was the first person to let me drive a car.  We were in the parking lot of the Friendly’s in Florham Park and the lot was empty, so he let me drive (after me badgering him, no doubt). A cop came by as this was going on and Ralph managed to talk our way out of trouble.  Another episode that involved a car and a Friendly’s happened in Madison, I think.  It was after one of the shows (high school theater) and a whole bunch of us were going out to get ice cream.  We were packed into his car and as we pulled into the parking lot I notice that Ralph didn’t see this tree surrounded by railroad ties.  He was talking to others and I called out from the back “Ralph.  Ralph!  RALPH!”, and as soon as he said “WHAT?” we hit the tree (at about 5 miles an hour).  Nobody was hurt, no damage to the car, but the tree was tilted.  I remember seeing that tilted tree for years and thinking of that night each time.

Ralph was the first person to take me out to a bar, and a nightclub., before I was old enough to do either.  At the time, the drinking age in New Jersey was 18, so it wasn’t as much of a stretch.

I can remember any number of trips up to Ithaca to see Ralph in college, he went to IC.  I can remember thinking how cold and snowy it was and how I would hate living in that type of climate.  Years later I would move to Rochester, NY, and drive through Ithaca each time I came home.  I even dated someone in Ithaca for a short time, and remembered my dear friend each time I made the trip.

At some point Ralph and I drifted apart.  I moved away from our hometown, and then eventually my parents did as well.  The last time I talked to Ralph my parents hadn’t moved yet.   I was driving home from their house and I passed the Ringstad’s.  Ralph was outside working on something and I stopped to say hello.  Our conversation was stilted and a little uncomfortable.  I couldn’t put my finger on why.  I thought I’d done something that upset him or hurt him, although I had no idea what.  I tried to reach him several times after that, even through some mutual friends, but we were never able to reconnect.

Ralph was the friend who brought me from my teen childhoodness to my early adult years.  He is an indelible mark on my life and I will never forget, and will never want to.  I’m in such shock, although I know this is something most of us go through at some point.

This comes, for me, on the heels of losing my father almost two years ago.  These two staples of my very early life, now gone, is making me feel my own mortality and reminding me that life is too short and that we each need to make the very best of what we have now, and enjoy that.  I need to learn to better tap into the love and joy of life that attracts me to the Brasilian culture so much.  The thing I love about Brasil is that, no matter how much they have or not, there is a simple joy of loving what you have now, and enjoying that now.

I feel like I need to keep talking about this, but I hardly know what to say.  So I figured I would write Ralph a note, at this point, a prayer.

Dear Ralph,

You were the brother I never had and always wanted.  You were the one person who knew all my secrets, and I knew yours.  You were my role model.  You were my guide.  You were the one person I knew I could turn to when I needed someone to talk to, or to bitch at, and I knew you would always know what to say.  You meant more to me that I can even express in words.  I always wanted to be like you.  I would like nothing more that to hear you play the theme from Star Trek (The Next Generation) or the from 20th Century Fox music just one more time.  I love you and will miss you very much,  Thank you for being such an important part of who I am today.

Mom’s Car

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My mom’s lease is about to expire, in March, but she’s already gone over her mileage on the lease (due mostly from work).  She currently drives a Subaru Forester, which she likes, but she is also considering other AWD cars.  We know we don’t want 4WD, we definitely want AWD.  It makes her feel safer (and it is) and we don’t want her to have to engage it – it should be an all-the-time thing.

She is currently considering the Toyota Rav4 and the Kia Sportage.

Do you have any experience with any of these cars?  Do you know of other cars in the same price range (or close) that we should consider.  This is a decision that will probably be made in the next 24-48 hours, so feel free to post responses here or get back to me directly.

PSEG Whole Home Efficiency Program

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A number of weeks ago I found out about something called the Whole Home Efficiency Program, offered by my gas and electric company, PSE&G.  I called the main number (800.436.7734) and was given the number for the Program directly (800.854.4444).  Seems odd to me that a huge company like PSE&G could not manage to connect me, but, that’s the way it goes sometimes.

I called and spoke to a very professional sounding person who answered all my questions and directed me to the web site for information.  Actually, he directed me to the PSE&G web site and told me to search for the program, instead of giving me a direct link, which is http://www.pseg.com/home/save/save_energy/index.jsp.  It was explained to me that this program is not available in every city and after asking me some basic questions, I was told that my home town is included.  The schedule didn’t allow for me to have this done for weeks.  That date was today, December 22nd, and the range time I was given was 12-3.

I waited patiently, and anxiously, as I am really looking forward to having this done.  They provide me, at no cost, an evaluation of what needs to be done to make my home more efficient.  That is Phase I.  For Phase II, they come back and perform up to 8 “man hours” (their term, not mine) of work to make the home more efficient.  My understanding is that included caulking windows, etc… again, all at no cost to me.  This leads to Phase III, where they will make recommendations of things that need to be done (insulating between floors, replacing windows, replacing hot water heater, etc…) and, depending on my income level, they will absorb either 80% or 50% of the cost.  So, if they think I need to do the things I mentioned above, and they estimate it will cost $10,000 to do all of it, I would only be responsible for 20% or 50%.  Since I don’t come anywhere near the federal poverty level, it would be 50% for me.

At 2:00pm I called the program to make sure they were still coming as planned.  I expected it would take about an hour and the end of my window was an hour away.  The person on the phone, again very helpful, confirmed my appointment and tried to reach the scheduling people but could not get in touch with a live person.  She left a message with them and also sent them an internal note to contact me.  When I had not heard from them by 3:00pm, the end of my window, I called again.  The person I spoke to , again, was very nice, and very friendly, and very helpful – she also tried to contact the department, and in fact, a few others, but could not get a live person on the phone.  She suggested I wait until they call me back.

I was not willing to just sit and wait, so I asked to speak to a supervisor.  I explained it was not because of her, that she was really helpful, but I wanted a better answer.  After a few minutes I was talking to a supervisor who went out of her wait to apologize, and answer all my questions.  During the conversation, now we’re at 3:30pm, 30 minutes after the end of my window, my other phone rings and its a number I do not have in my contact list.  I ask the supervisor to hold as it might be the technician.  In fact, it was, and she explained to me that she was still doing (or just getting to) the fourth home, and that I was the fifth, and was it still ok that she come by after that.  She started off the conversation by telling me that she was giving me a “courtesy call”, which I find kind of wrong in tone, since it was already 30 minutes AFTER when she was supposed to be here.  So far, in all of this, this tech was the most negative interaction.  She clearly felt as if she was doing me a favor by calling me and telling me she as running later on her appointments.  I asked her how long it would be and she told me another 60-90 minutes.  Since I’d already taken the day off, and didn’t want to wait around the hose another day, plus who knows how long in january I’d have to wait, I told her tom come by.  I returned to the phone with the supervisor and told her what happened, plus I asked her to document my record (in case I need to refer to it later).

Two hours past the designated window, the PSE&G “technician” showed up.  Although she spent a great deal of time telling me (over and over again) what  a long day she had, and how her being delayed was because of messed up addresses, turns out she was quite a personable person.  She spent all the time necessary to tell me what she as looking for.  Measured my entire house, including sizing the windows and doors, and left me with my first freebie of this deal, two boxes of energy-efficient lightbulbs.

When she left at nearly 7pm, I’d put behind me the initial problems getting this first phase accomplished, and now I’m looking forward to Phase II.

What does this mean?

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A service I subscribe to called Very Short List sends a daily email with something of interest.  Today they sent the following video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JnjMaRM3g8]

Aside from this being a pretty cool video, it is full of some very carefully selected moments. This is not just haphazard, the video is very carefully shot, the clips are very carefully selected, and the “choreography” has clearly been rehearsed.

What is the director trying to say here? What is the meaning of having all very similar looking divers/swimmers – roughly the same height, build, all wearing the same suit. Why have some dives synchronous and some wildly individual. What is the point behind this, because this short video took a great deal of time and effort to put together.

Aside from what it all means, I love the cinematography – there are some really great moments.  I especially like just around the 2 minute mark.

For all this, I give thanks

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Although we really should be thankful for all we have year ’round, on Thanksgiving (the one just celebrated here in America or one of the others celebrated around the world throughout the year, we pay a bit closer attention to all of this.

I have so much to be thankful for, this was an especially exciting year to celebrate.  I have a good job, something far too many people cannot say.  I enjoy what I’m doing at that job, something WAY too many people cannot say.  I am working toward my doctoral degree and enjoying it immensely.  I have a brand new home that I love dearly and that passed an amazing test yesterday by helping me successfully host 20 people for dinner (thanks to the kindness of several others who did the cooking, considering I burn water).  But most importantly, I’m surrounded by the most incredible people, my friends, and my family.

I am especially thankful for my parents.  My dad passed away nearly two years ago, and I miss him so much every day.  He is still such an important part of my life and he always will be.  My mom, as anyone who knows her will attest, is the most amazing person I have every met.  She is such an important part of my being able to have the strength to do the things I do.  I am so blessed.

It is not hard to find the joy in our heart when we think of these things we have to be thankful for – it is keeping that feeling within us throughout the other 364 days a year.  My one wish might be that we all find the most joyful moment and feel that as often as possible.