Plunderer Extraordinaire

For Love or Money

2010-02-18T18:58:00.002-06:00

Pets can be expensive. More so if you love them unconditionally.

I love my cats; to an extent. A very specific extent: $300.00. If they need medical care that costs more than that, it is fatal to them.

Yes, I will cry; but I'll also be able to afford to pay the mortgage; and, when we are ready, to adopt another stray animal.

In your opinion is that cold? - Because to some extent a financial sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of most, if not all, domestic animals. But it seems to me that usually it's just ranchers and farmers who, before treatment is needed, think about the extent to which they will spend to help an animal live longer.

Having said this, I should note, my resolve has not yet been tested!

Tube Silicone

2010-02-17T23:13:00.002-06:00

So I went to go apply silicone sealant to some joints today. The tube we have has a large UPC sticker across the front. As I finish applying it to the second joint, I realize that it's not sealant, its a lubricant. - Doe!

Still don't know what kind of product it was exactly, the sticker completely covered the front, and the back referred to the contents only as "silicone compound". It was fairly easy to wipe off, so no harm done.

Workplace safety share.

2010-02-16T22:13:00.004-06:00

So I think today was interesting in both ways. It's not enough to wear safety equipment - You have to use the correct tools, and the correct safety equipment!

Ok that changing a light bulb thing didn't go so well. First; you should understand, this is a big light: 500W! The bulb is about the size of a two liter bottle.

We put on safety gear: steel toe bots with metatarsal covers, durable warm cotton insulated coveralls and coats, gloves, safety glasses, hard hat, climbing harness.

We set up the ladder, my co-worker climbed the ladder, latched his harness to the pole, lashed the ladder off to the pole, and opened the light fixture cover.

While opening the light fixture cover, my co-workers hard hat fell off. He had his hands full, an it was an awkward reach; so he just let it fall instead of trying to catch it. I thought this a good decision at the time and we both shrugged it off. So he begins to descend the ladder to get the new bulb...

Suddenly a noise, and commotion, and out falls the guts of the light fixture. I watch, HORRIFIED, as they tumble and spin not more than a foot past his head. The ballast (specialized type of transformer, a big block of iron and copper wire) weighs about 20 pounds. And it, bolted to a sharp edged steel plate about the size of a skate board, went just flying down past him. My work day almost turned into rush co-worker to the hospital day.

The worst part is that we had just finished having a morning safety meeting, and the client's representative explaining the rules didn't know how we would call 911 from where we were working. On big industrial sites, you _don't_ call 911. You call a local number and they get emergency care to you. However, it's a new little shack of a building, and has no company phone. So, yeah, 20 minutes away from being able to _call_ for help there was almost a severe head wound because, either a screw failed, or someone didn't correctly install a retaining screw; and the person who chose to attempt this work from a ladder mis-judged how difficult that would be.

Sorry this is so long, working safely is important. Sometimes concentrating on wearing safety gear can blind a person into choosing the wrong tools. I'd still wear all that safety gear, of course. But the decision to change that bulb from a ladder was I think, a poor decision; and my co-worker almost paid for that today.

Ok, so, I'm trying not to turn this into a rant. However, this is also important: Don't wear safety equipment that does not protect you, just to meet a perceived expectation or requirement.

A standard lanyard is six feet, stretches to, I think 12, and attaches to a harness between your shoulder blades. This harness will allow you to fall and break yourself if you are working at anything less than about 15 feet above the ground.

Frequently I have been asked to wear a harness and lanyard that offer zero fall protection at the heights that I'm working from. (6 -10 feet up typically.) When I ask for a yo-yo and I-beam clamp (which, as I understand things, does offer protection at lower heights) I'm told that I can go without the harness; because those tools are expensive, would require time to go and purchase, and as long as I'm using my ladder correctly (which I do) the risk should be minimal.

But why can't we rent/buy another little scissor lift, we have several already. A used scissor lift, costs a little more than a yo-yo, and allows more productivity. Or for goodness sake, we do have to do ladder work sometimes, I wish we had a few yo-yo's. I'm going to have to ask my supervisors to buy one (or more, hopefully) again.

When working at intermediate heights my employer sometimes doesn't have appropriate safety equipment. When we should be using a lift, or scaffolding to change a light bulb; we are told to use a harness and an extension ladder.

My co-worker almost paid the price for this today. Maybe we will all learn, that would be nice.

if they were fishes...

2010-02-14T12:37:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if it's best to wish for a omelette (will come true) or superpowers (probably won't come true). Right now I'm wishing I had already cleaned my desk instead of just having started!

Happy valentines day. (If you are reading this you already are my valentine.)

Holidays Are Over

2010-01-05T20:34:00.002-06:00

It's time to buckle down, mail those belated Christmas cards, write thank you notes and take down the tree. How do I know it's time? Because school is starting again:

I Just registered for my 6th semester (out of 8) of my Journeyman Electrician Apprenticeship program! - School starts Monday. Hooray!

My own personal kryptonite.

2009-12-30T18:01:00.003-06:00

My nemesis has reared it's ugly head. I've been sick for the past three days with strep-throat. For some reason I get "streptococcus pyogenes" easily; or at least that's what my mom always said. I've had strep I don't know, like at least a dozen times. I'm so glad I live in a world with penicillin.

Gretchen and I are going to go see the new Sherlock Holmes movie tonight, I hear it's quite steampunk! (Maybe we should dress up hmm....)

Facebook is privacy-washing.

2009-12-19T11:41:00.003-06:00

Facebook's New Privacy Changes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

"These new "privacy" changes are clearly intended to push Facebook users to publicly share even more information than before. Even worse, the changes will actually reduce the amount of control that users have over some of their personal data."

Increasing the amount of information you share on line increases the number of facebook page views, which increases the revenue generated by advertising. - These changes are privacy-washing (like green washing...) intended to make them more money, expose more of your information, and improve their image with obfuscation and double-talk.

Treehouse

2009-12-19T10:52:00.002-06:00

It has always been true that I would have a tree house. But I'm a grownup now, and a responsible married man to boot. So some changes had to be made:

Computers Everywhere!

2009-12-13T01:13:00.001-06:00

I really like my most recent toys, a G1, and a Netbook. But they aren't nearly as mod-able as my desktop. Maybe I can make a pico-itx netbook in a custom case. - Not this year though. Maybe I should just buy a Sager, at least it can be upgraded in all sorts of intresting ways. - Really I'm just annoyed that the EEE PC 1000 uses a special interface to it primary storage, so I can't upgrade with standard parts. The improvements being made to solid state storage are amazing! I simply adore the SSD that I bought for my desktop; it's so QUICK!

Area51 Haloween Party

2009-11-01T00:55:00.001-05:00

I have definitly entered the 21st century - finally! I'm posting a blog at a dance club on a device that can fit in my pocket and will play doom.
Pictures to follow....

Meow.

2009-10-20T23:52:00.002-05:00

Return to a previous plan.

2009-10-18T17:43:00.002-05:00

Ok, on the weekend of October the 24th I'll be going to Steam-Con in Seattle; not winning lots of money at a LAN party.

This KXCD comic has a surprise ending, kind of sad or possibly bittersweet. I recommend it.

Retro?

2009-10-10T12:37:00.001-05:00

So does Starcraft count as retro gaming yet?

There is a Starcraft tournament at the Protocol42 LAN Party on October 24. Seeing how popular this game is for tournaments I get the feeling that no matter how much I practice between now and then I still won't have a chance. But it's worth a try for a cash prize. So I'll be playing a lot of Starcraft! If you want to join me for a match it might be best to try to give me a call..

Damage Controll

2009-10-03T15:25:00.003-05:00

Anyone know anyone that wants a GTX 285 cheap?

If I can sell it for most of what I bought it for; then I can get the brand new ATI card that I _really_ want.

Upgrade

2009-09-30T18:25:00.002-05:00

So I foolishly left the pump off in my computer a few weeks ago and burned up my video card and motherboard. Not having a huge amount of cash (none) I just replaced the motherboard with an equivalent, but couldn't resist upgrading my video card some.

I now have a GTX285.

And I hate it.

Why?

This is why:

I wanted an ATI card in the first place, but the newest ATI cards weren't compatable with my swiftech MCW60 waterblock. And a new waterblock significantly adds to the cost of a video card. So I got an NVIDIA. But today I find out that ATI just announced a new card that is faster than anything out there, and can support SIX monitors all at once! Granted you can't buy one yet; but I could have gotten a _really_ cheap card and started saving. - Cause, well you know, SIX monitors!!!!

Gah! E-Mail is back.

2009-09-22T19:43:00.002-05:00

But why did it have to leave in the first place! I store my e-mail on a USB stick, for compatibility reasons I left the filesystem fat32. This seems to now be a mistake. Somehow the filesystem got a bit corrupted; maybe I pulled the stick out in the middle of a write; but I doubt it. So compatibility be darned, I think I'm going to change it to ext3.

For those of you who didn't know; Gretchen, Kate, Dad, Austin and I went on a backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon. It went very well. Pictures to come soon.

Heh, Cardigan...

2009-08-19T23:26:00.000-05:00

Do you respect Mr Rogers?

Customer "Service"

2009-08-08T16:50:00.002-05:00

So last night there was shenanigans going on in the World of Warcraft:

A bunch of gold farmers had killed them selves in such a way as to spell out the name of their website - you know to advertise it. Being a good, if infrequent, player I reported the infraction; (Gold selling is not allowed in WOW) this is the response I got:

Greetings Josiah,

Thank you for taking the time to report this issue to us. At Blizzard Entertainment, we encourage and appreciate the role of the gaming community in keeping World of Warcraft a safe and enjoyable environment for all participants.

We will investigate your report and take all necessary and appropriate actions to address this matter. Due to privacy concerns, we will not be able to notify you of our findings, nor of the actions necessary for resolution of this issue.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at WoWGM@blizzard.com or via the in-game petition system.

Again, thank you for your time and effort to keep World of Warcraft enjoyable and abuse-free.



Regards,
Rilidax
Game Master
Blizzard Entertainment
www.worldofwarcraft.com

This morning I received a request to complete a survey regarding my satisfaction; I felt that my response should have been obvious, but replied anyway:

Greetings Blizzard,

Thank you for taking the time to survey you customers level of satisfaction.  I encourage and appreciate the role of the corporate community in keeping World of Warcraft a safe and enjoyable environment for all participants.

I will investigate my level of satisfaction and take all necessary and appropriate actions to address this matter. Due to privacy concerns, I will not be able to notify you of my findings, nor of the actions necessary for resolution of this issue.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at JosiahLuscher.com or via the in-game mail system.

Again, thank you for your time and effort to keep World of Warcraft enjoyable and satisfaction-free.

Regards,
Josiah Luscher
Customer
www.JosiahLuscher.com

New Phone Number!

2009-07-29T00:10:00.002-05:00

I still hope to retroactivly post some more pictures from our trip to Germany, so stay tuned. But I'm getting ready for a tip trough the Grand Canyon, and starting school very soon also; so not sure when I'll be able to get those pictures up.

In the mean time, I have a new phone number. If you call my old number you will find out my new number. The short version is that if I want to switch to T-Mobile I have to get a new number. But I've had my current mobile number for at least 11 years! So you can guess I don't want to switch lightly. The solution presented itself just a day or so ago when I got a google voice invitation. My new Google Voice number can be directed to ring whatever phone number I'd like it to; so hopefully this new number will last for even longer than 11 years.

Sightseeing Commences

2009-06-23T21:19:00.002-05:00

The sightseeing phase of our trip was supposed to begin in earnest on Monday. But due to insufficient planning (Cathedrals, and many museums are closed on Mondays) and some navigational difficulties we've gotten off to a slow start. So I had to squeeze some extra time out of my trip to plan the next few days; and unfortunately this means I'm way behind on blogging and I will be very tired tomorrow.

If I am very tired we will cut tomorrow short and try to have dinner with my cousins; and catch up on documenting the trip.

Today Gretchen and I went to a Roman-Irish bath. I thought of it as over a thousand years of leisure research and technology being focused into the art of rinsing off. Most German cities and towns are named in very unimaginative ways. So it's really no surprise then that the German city of Baden-Baden is a place of many hot springs. We went to Friedrichsbad, and for the low price of 31 euro, each, we took a bath. Today being Tuesday, the bathing was mixed, which was nice - we could stay together. The bath consisted of 15 stages:
Shower
Warm Dry Steam
Hot Dry Steam
Soap and Brush Scrub & Massage
Shower
Warm Wet Steam
Hot Wet Steam
Warm Bath
Warm Mineral Soak
Less Warm Mineral Bath
Warm Bath
Cold Water Plunge
Hot Towels
Cream/Lotion Application
Quiet Rest

We actually missed the quiet rest thing, we didn't see that stage untill the place was about to close, but that's not a big deal. We liked the steam and mineral baths so much that after our cold water plunge we jumped back to the warm wet steam and started over from there. All in all it was a two and a half hour bath! I highly recommend this if you are in Germany and aren't too squeamish about being naked around a bunch of bathers. For those of you who like to gamble I should mention that there is an amazing casino in Baden-Baden as well, along with tons of black forest hiking trails and such. I could easilly spend a few weeks just in Baden-Baden.

Friendly Duel

2009-06-19T18:30:00.002-05:00

After a bit of confusion regarding train stations; Gretchen and I met my Mother and Step-Father at the hotel where we will stay for the wedding. It is a very nice little place, that is currently being remodeled. I liked the fact that there was no TV or phone in the room; but it did have wireless internet. It felt just like home. We had a balcony that I enjoyed greatly. Dan and I got our computers out and had a bit of a duel.
Gretchen and I took a walk through the lovely forest that Budenheim is known for; the hotel is right next to it! The forest has chunks of Roman road/wall in it, all covered in vines. For dinner we went out for Pizza at a little corner shop, and ice cream from the bakery next door.

It is so much fun to be in a European residential neighborhood. Everything is built, maybe, 40% closer together. It just makes the houses look so cute/cozy! Arrrgh, I love the windows! I must get some imported for my next house. They open in two different directions, even the balcony door! Unfortunately Gretchens camera doesn't take movies, and I plan on buying one while I'm here, so you will have to wait for a demonstration.

Peugeot

2009-06-19T13:30:00.001-05:00

I knew I was renting a small car, but this thing is tiny. It's really just a clown car with a conservative paint job. The trunk is just big enough for, maybe, three grocery bags.

Hauptbahnhoff

2009-06-19T12:45:00.001-05:00

In Frankfurt we rode the train from the Fleughafen to the Hauptbahnhoff and back. It was fun figuring out how to buy tickets from the machine and riding on a "real" train. Really, we did it just to see if we could. Also, I wanted to get my feet firmly on the ground before we picked up our rental car.

French Service

2009-06-19T09:52:00.000-05:00

Our flight from JKF to Frankfurt was very nice. It was a Delta flight; but the New York based flight crew, I believe, worked primarily for Air France. The service was excellent! Also being a longer flight some of the things that you have to pay extra for were free. Free movies on a mini TV in every seat, a little pillow and blanket for every person. Two meals with wine, beer, soda, or tea. Usually I deny myself the luxuries of airline travel because I feel like I'm being nickel and dimed to death. But this flight was so nice I spent a bit extra and bought myself a few hard drinks. - Which also helped me sleep which was very important.

You see I didn't sleep at all Wednesday night, I get a bit nervous before traveling. I like to stay up and try to think about everything that I forgot. But when traveling a long way East there is another reason. We loose 6 hours! So if I don't prevent jet lag I can't wake up before two in the afternoon, and I won't want to go to sleep untill the sun starts to rise. So I messed up my sleep cycle on purpose then forced my self to sleep on the second plane flight, and awoke in Germany at about 9:30am. It worked just right! YMMV.

Roots

2009-06-18T16:23:00.001-05:00

We are sailing at 37,000 feet, 600 miles per hour; we are an hour and 38 minutes, or 1210 miles, away from landing at JFK airport in NYC. And this, about 50 miles away, is as close as I'm going to get to my old home of Madison WI on this trip.