trapped by our possessions

Owning a house is kinda like owning a pet, housebreaking (ironically) and all:
There's always a chance of an "accident" requiring immediate attention, and you need to make arrangements for it when on vacation.

And the bigger it is, the more room for stuff and features; all the more trapped you are because something inevitably will break/not work as it is supposed to.

Which makes me think that to actually enjoy a fancy house, you need a custodian/gardener/housekeeper/maintenance guy 24/7.

outdoor faucet - great but busted < 1year

My review and experience with
MOEN SINGLE-HANDLE HOT/COLD SILL FAUCET
MODEL HC4005 series

I'm posting this here because I can't find any record of this type of failure or repair on Moen, Google or YouTube.

THE GOOD. It delivers hot, cold in a single-handle tap that Moen is so well known for. Fantastic for washing hands, filling kiddie pools and other water toys, etc.

THE BAD. Easy to waste warm/hot water on irrigation system if you aren't paying attention (or little ones have fun with the knob after the fact).

THE UGLY. In less than 10 months (3 months usage if you exclude winter), the anti-siphon (backflow preventer?) valve busted, and it sprays wildly all around the valve when the water is on, soaking the ground right at the foundation. Not good.

Repair?
Unfortunately, no DIY repair videos on youtube yet.
Moen website shows a vacuum breaker kit (Moen PN 140900) on the exploded parts diagram, but does not have any instructions.
The innards of the installed vacuum breaker don't quite look like the one on the diagram (design change/improvement?)...
I tried setting the o-ring down a few times to no avail.
It does have a lifetime warranty.

Summer is just starting and we have a pool party/BBQ next weekend...
Here's hoping (a) my contractor will have his plumber repair this right quick and/or (b) Moen will send a repair kit ASAFP.

UPDATE: The o-ring popped completely out, so I gave it a test try for the heck of it, and it worked more or less fine. I reset the o-ring firmly with a tiny rod, and so far so good.

communication tools vs communication skills

The two young contrators painting my house are outside on their lunch break, casually minding the texting/surfing on their respective cell phones.

Makes me think that, with all the communication tools that technology has given us, we may be losing the ability to actually communicate.

Aside: And here I am, blogging about it rather than getting out there and getting to know them/anyone.

Or, communication tools have allowed us the luxury(?) of being able to be more specific about who and what we want to talk with and about (and listen to). If that's so, are we any further ahead?

Faux news shotgun style

 

"Canada's" Action Plan

nice that the Cons are promoting the benefits of "their" economic action plan with a feel-good campaign, and not taking all the credit for it directly (especially how prone they seem to be to go on the offensive, literally). Not that they could take credit for it though, really, cuz I suspect the opposition would (quite legitimately I am sure) claim it would have been nothing were it not for them holding the balance of power.

double standard

I understand women often say that size doesn't matter, but nine months later...

realization

Probably deafeningly evident to those who know me, but I just moved a Johari muntin over a bit to my advantage tonight.
I am a (slightly obsessive) tweaker. I am driven to know how things work, be it in politics, regulation-making, sewing machines, computers, lighting levels in a room, musical instruments, circulatory system in the eye, etc., just to the point I can do it "right", understand or use it well enough to teach someone else, and/or fix it, to make it that much easier for everyone/me to use and logical for everyone else to figure out.
Which is probably why I get too involved in some things.   By "too involved" I really mean to the annoyance of those who've made a career out of it for asking too many questions (even more when their explanations smell like BS - no offense, Dr. R); to the jealous displeasure of those who've made it their life's mission to understand/do something I pick up even better in just a few hours/weeks (sorry Bree); and to the expense of those who have to redo stuff until it meets what I believe is (should be) the appropriate standard of workmanship (reno contractors, you know who you are).
But when the conquest is over, I tend to seek out other problems to fix/things that need tweaking.
So, how can I best turn this drive for learning and improving into a career:  Detective? Teacher? Researcher?  Troubleshooter? Judge? Supreme benevolent dictator?

public policy making approaches and desirability

realized I was judging unfairly a local politician who is acting very reclusively, shutting out community associations from discussions that affect their residents, and is already acting as if campaigning for next election (which are "only" about 3.8 years away), and felt rather disgusted with this behaviour. Then I thought of another local politician who has exactly similar style, yet I admire this person for their determination and ability to make (and push) "right" decisions. Why the difference I wondered.
I then considered the opposing approaches to making public policy, quite obvious when observing federal politics.
1. decentralized power: consult extensively and enact according to the whim of the people, engaging the public but at the risk of inconsistencies in the mishmash of policies of various eras;
2. centralized power: enact strategically and coherently across all areas, which can be quicker and cheaper and potentially more effective in the long run, but at the risk of polarizing along ideological lines and public discourse and thereby eroding democratic ability.

Which approach is generally more desirable? Desirability could depend on "success". Success depends on traction, which depends on how aggressively the party with approach #2 promotes its position (yes, =propaganda) and attempts to destroy the credibility of legitimate opponents; approach #1 depends on how relevant the measure really is over time, which in turn depends on how educated those involved in the consultations were.
But to me, it's really a question of principle and whether I feel my needs have been met and ideas respected. Which is why I still do not trust the local politician whose behaviour prompted me to have this reflection.

Survival vs Continuity - in the name of the greater good?

National post, February 7 2011, p.20:

"In office, [Harper] has never let a minister rise high enough to form an independent power base. The Harper operation is built for survival, armored against threat from the inside and out, designed to protect the one component its leader believes is indispensable: himself."

a) how is that democratic?
b) best way to destroy a country is to castrate its ability to generate new political leadership.  In fact, its a best practice for despots.

c) even North Korea has a succession plan.

Which leaves me wondering, if he is building something so complex and dependent on him personally, with a centralization of power never seen before in Canadian politics, how long can he sustain it without sacrificing his health or resorting to physical oppression of the people? And who will be left to clean up the mess after he leaves?

posted from Bloggeroid

loud commercials = PITA

CRTC hears complaints about loud TV ads
see http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=135403 (full text of CNews article copied below).

What could possibly be the rationale behind this? It can't be the advertisers, who surely don't want their viewers turning off the sound or fast-forwarding through commercials and associating such offense with their products. The networks maybe? or the stations themselves? Probably not, since they make a living delivering hopefully attentive viewers to their advertisers. It can only be the cable companies, who no doubt make a fair share of profit from PVR rentals.

Consequently, and since that is the currently prescribed practice by the CRTC, I just called Rogers Cable at 1-888-764-3771 to register a complaint about the offensively louder volume of commercial breaks during a specific show. At first the agent was all sugar and spice, polite and all. When I started talking about USA considering legislation and the CRTC conducting hearings about this PITA practice, and I asked if I should continue calling everytime I noticed it, the veneer came off and she said "no, that's ok, I am forwarding this right away to the escalation department and you will get a call back when resolved, within 24-48 hours." Evidently I'm not the first educated caller she's dealt with. Meanwhile, I'm putting their number on my speed dial. >:)

I'm also looking forward to how the CRTC hearings are going to play out with industry and then with the government. I get the impression that the commission is slowly imploding, and I got to admit I kinda enjoy watching history being made.

TV regulator hears complaints about loud ads
By ALTHIA RAJ, Parliamentary Bureau
OTTAWA — The federal television regulator is looking at ways it can stop Canadians from going deaf by listening to loud ads during their favourite TV programs.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has received hundreds of complaints from the public who are outraged they need to reach for the remote control each time television advertisements appear in order to reduce their seemingly louder volume.

“It is an issue that we are cognizant of and not indifferent to,” a CRTC official told QMI Agency.

An announcement isn’t ready yet but “stay tuned,” the official added.

The Consumers’ Association of Canada’s Bruce Cran called it a “chronic complaint” his group receives.

“The usual thing we get is that (the TV ad) is a lot louder than the show. Whether that’s true or not, the perception certainly is that it is louder,” he said. “It is something that obviously bothers a lot of people.”

U.S President Barack Obama recently signed into law the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) which instructs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the CRTC’s American counterpart, to ensure commercials are only as loud as the program during which they air.

The CRTC currently recommends Canadians tell their TV service provider when they notice louder television ads by noting the date, time, channel and program or commercial they are watching.

why so tough on crime?

after many years of positive reinforcement, it could be that Canadians need (the government) to flex some negative reinforcement muscles.

but I can't help but wonder, since "it takes one to know one", what does that say about parties with a heavy law and order agenda?

democracy and transparency

are these issues really important to Canadians?

recent byelections saw a candidate elected by a narrow margin, despite missing out on several opportunities for interviews or debates. 

Interesting excerpts from post-election interview at http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/11/30/qa-julian-fantino/

I will respect whatever duties and responsibilities the Prime Minister assigns to me. That’s more important than any wishful thinking at this point in time.

I’m going to leave it to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister knows who I am. He knows about my long and distinguished public service. He knows what my strengths and weaknesses might be and he knows where I can best be utilized to provide support as a team player in the Harper government.

I’m just so glad and honoured to be a member of a Harper government.

What's so interesting about this is that while the political right often criticizes the "nanny" state concept where everyone is decently looked after so they can pursue their aspirations, it seems to be very keen on restoring a "daddy" state - one where father knows best, I know cuz he told me so, and you better watch out cuz we got a law and order agenda.

And they still won the seat.

metronews.ca Tuesday august 3, 2010 p.9

Use any chargers for cellphones in Europe

Interchangeable
The uniform charger means new phones will no longer comes with chargers, and there will be less electronic waste.

The European Union will soon bid a fond farewell to a hassle that spares few cellphone users: a dead battery and no suitable power charger.
Starting next year, cellphones in Europe will have a one-size-fits-all charger.
It will also let owners easily borrow someone else's charger when the juice is gone.
"How cool is that?" asked EU spokesman Dennis Abbon on Friday.
The Associated Press

EU: 1,  David Suzuki foundation: 0
(I contacted them a few years ago about the senseless waste of resources this is and the entirely avoidable amount of waste this generates and they told me to go fly a kite.  Glad to see someone else persevered and made this happen!)
Consumers and environment: win-win

commodity oddity

The planet is not able to sustain human life everywhere. Some areas have lots of oil, some lots of water, some lots of gold, some lots of people, some lots of big empty spaces. Commoditization (as much as it rubs me the wrong way) is a way of facilitating the exchange between trading partners who have too much of one thing and not enough of the other, and both (should) come out ahead. If you can't live locally off the land and you can't generate enough of what other people want to trade for what you need, perhaps you simply shouldn't be living there. Unfortunately, that philosophy isn't compatible with the UN philosophies of human rights and anti-poverty campaigns that required when you enforce borders and citizenship. Without commoditization and trade, there is an imbalance, and the resulting feeling of resentment creates political and thus economic stability and we're all worse off. In the end, that means that for the developed world to maintain its lifestyle, it is in our best interest to provide basic needs like water where it is needed, as a form of protection money for us to keep living the way we do. Question is, though, how sustainable can that be?

having their cake - and eating it too

I half-listened to a segment on the news tonight, something about health care, aging population, and fewer working Canadians to support them.

Aren't they (demographically speaking) the generation of DINKs and Freedom55ers that was too busy enjoying life to put up with the inconvenience of raising families, and now have the gall to complain there aren't enough kids to pay for their care?
Gee, whodathunk that leisure wasn't a sustainable social model?

On the other hand, we have to give them credit for all the opportunities they've created for upcoming generations, what with all the foreign-owned shops looking for sales associates at minimum wage to sell wares made by countries where there still exists a strong work ethic (admittedly, out of necessity).

professional vs social recognition: and/or?

I'm acting two levels above my substantive position these days.
Uncomfortably busy, in that I am not "in control" of my workload - I'm constantly being chased after for approving this and that and responding to management requests, all of which is pretty much brand new to me, and I suspect I've left a few of the more quiet (and hopefully but probably not less important) files behind. Combined with lack of sleep and preoccupation with renovations that are going as should be expected, I've caught myself avoiding social situations and public image-making opportunities, probably out of concern of making a stuttering fool of myself. So today I forced myself to walk around more and take ownership of my current responsibilities in a hopefully not too transparent or suspiciously desperate attempt at claiming the requisite status.
But (throwing grammatical caution to the wind), that led to the most bothersome part of my day: trying to thank one of my colleagues during her farewell luncheon, and not being able to get a word in edgewise above the general din of miscellaneous conversations of the people I am supposedly leading. Another painful reminder that pursuing rank is counterproductive to social relationships/status. The words "It's lonely at the top" have never rung more true :(

Regardless, tomorrow's a new day and a quieter one at that. I'll have more time to talk to people, get things done, and continue building relationships one step at a time.

hedonic adaptation

This makes a lot of sense:

The hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation,
is the tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of
happiness despite changes in fortune or the achievement of major goals.
As a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem,
which results in no permanent gain in happiness.

-Chris Hall's status on facebook earlier today

This also explains the usual tendency for scope creep in projects.
(Chris is a high school friend of mine and currently teaches languages at a Montreal CEGEP when he's not busy observing the world)

between a rock and a hard place

I posit that Science (as a movement and eventual public policy) was borne (in part) of the inability of religious orders and their unsubstantiated posturing to satisfy the natural curiosity and insatiable thirst for knowledge of the people.

However, I sense "the people" are starting to feel the same skepticism and frustration as our ancestors once did, only toward "science" - after so many abusive ad campaigns such as those stating that "4 out of 5 doctors smoke camels", that "BPA is harmless", that pharmaceutical X is good, global warming, etc., who can really blame them (us) for not being satisfied with the answers we're being given.

This is making it increasingly hard for government scientists to convey the importance of certain problems and the benefits of the recommended measures (yes, measures, not "solutions").

Recent press releases from US EPA contain statements like "final" assessments, "science has proven" etc - are a (desperate) attempt to reassure the public - but any such reassurance will be short-lived and they'll be worse off the next time a paper is published that indicates something slightly different, which is what research is supposed to do. The core principle of science is that it does not 'prove" anything - it merely reports on what we can observe and measure now with tools and test methods currently available. Any attempts to convince the public that the science is clear/final/conclusive/etc will inevitably backfire.

Sure makes my job interesting - and I don't even work in communications. Meanwhile, the anti-global warming groups and anti-pharmaceutical groups are having a field day, dancing circles around frustrated well-meaning scientists whose rep has been, I fear, irreparably damaged.

The scientific era is coming to a close, after causing much excitement and advancing our quality of life to the point I can sit very comfortably in my air conditioned two-story house in front of a PC, leisurely typing this away on the internet for nobody in particular to read. Meanwhile, while power generating stations blithely devour fossil fuels that were safely tucked beneath the earth's surface for millions of years, and I know nothing more about my neighbors whose help I may need in the event of an inevitable catastrophe or societal collapse. Religious orders of old are probably shaking their heads, having tried to warn us against eating the forbidden fruit. (sigh) Oh well. I wonder who's winning at Farmville tonight.

keeping your cool

funny email from government colleague who survived the great quake of oh-10
(names removed to protect the identity of the self-incriminating author)

Subject: FW: GOC Notification NT086-10 5.7 Magnitude Earthquake, Buckingham, QC

FYI.

This scared the crap out of me. When it hit, I was doing a presentation in a conference room in the basement of my office tower, discussing R&D testing that involved blowing up highway tanks...eerily enough. The first thing that crossed my mind was that something in the building had exploded...

Lessons learned from this - I don't respond well to these "emergency type" situations. I interrupted my presentation by yelling "OMG! What the hell is that?!" and proceeded to run out of the conference room, leaving everyone behind. I REALLY need to work on my emergency reaction skills...

Hope everyone is safe and sound. And I hope my bunnies aren't freaking out at home right now (or peeing all over their cage...poor things).

B

p.s. Everyone told me they will remember my presentation, but for the wrong reasons...

(dis)believer

bumper sticker: "Please, God, protect me from your believers."