07 Jul 2012
The 11 Ways That Consumers Are Hopeless at Math

I remember our kids constantly whining about math class when they were in school, wondering how it would ever be useful ...

It's not just consumers that can fall prey to their own psychology. Here's a story for you, along these lines. Several years ago (and I mean several), the company I owned at the time got a gig writing software for a major (as in Fortune 500) chemical company, coding the blenders that allowed them to turn plastic pellets into carpet fibers. While working there, I the purchasing department asked if I ever sold hardware, and would I be interested in bidding on their yearly computer purchases? Of course I would! So I set up suppliers and quotes to get them some excellent deals on XT beige boxen, and priced them nearly $1000 below when I figured my competitors would have to charge. I was spot on the pricing, but lost the bid! When I asked about this, they told me frankly that my price was too low - they figured the machines must be crap. So the next bidding cycle, I quoted the same exact machine, raised the price by $750 (still under the Big Iron vendor, but only by about $200) and got the deal, pocketing the extra. It's a lesson I've never forgotten.

You walk into a Starbucks and see two deals for a cup of coffee. The first deal offers 33% extra coffee. The second takes 33% off the regular price. What's the better deal?

(link) [The Atlantic]

07:59 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

04 Jul 2012
Hard to Believe

That I did this just a year ago ... lots has changed, and not all for the better to be sure.

I complained about the heat then, but today was 10°F hotter - it broke a hundred in several places around central Indiana. And still no rain.

22:10 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

30 Jun 2012
A Drip and a Drop

We'll take what we can - we got about an inch and a quarter of rain last night in a terrific thunderstorm. Not enough by a long shot, but more is supposedly on the way. We'll see.

20:30 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

29 Jun 2012
Chicken Trouble

Over the past three days we've lost seven hens - that's 20% of our flock. Heat exhaustion, I suppose we should call it, as "baked chicken" brings up an entirely different image. But after two days of +100°F (it hit 104 yesterday) who can be surprised. My brother in law passed on a bit of news that a really big industrial egg producer in southern Indiana lost over a quarter million birds yesterday when the temps soared. I can believe it.

Seven hens are the most we've ever lost to any single weather event, cold snap, heat wave or storm. The sheep are still hangin' in there, but the pasture is going downhill fast - and unless we get a good soaker soon, we'll be in serious trouble.

22:15 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

27 Jun 2012
Drought

It's been a week since we had any measurable precipitation, and we only got a half an inch. Before that the last rain was April 28th. "Dry" doesn't do this justice.

On top of that are the unusually high temps. It started getting very warm in march this year, reaching into the 80's and 90's regularly. It hasn't really let up at all: tomorrows forecast high is 105°F.

It was pretty dry here in 2010, but nothing like this. The records we're breaking were all pretty much set in 1988.

We can only hope that rain is on the horizon ...

21:54 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

24 Jun 2012
Not Quite Dead

and I don't want to get on the cart... even though it's been six months since my last blog post. So much has transpired during that time as to make it well nigh impossible to catch up here, so I shan't even try. Suffice it to say that it's been busy - very busy. My recovery from surgery is as complete as it's going to get, but I've finally come to terms with the fact that things will never be the same. I can't maintain the pace I used to, and have been forced to prioritize where heretofore I could just wade in and slam through. The are other effects, too. For more news of the recent goings on here I refer you to Dances With Ewes, my wife's blog. She's certainly not up to full speed posting either, but she's s been a lot more regular than I have.

I am going to attempt to resume somewhat more regular posting - I say "attempt" to avoid a promise, as I just won't commit to something I may not be able to complete. But try I shall - we'll see how it goes.

21:03 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

02 Dec 2011
Conspirata

Conspiratais my latest read. And a good read it is, too. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in republican Rome and the transition to empire.

Harris tells the story of Cicero's presidency of the Roman Senate in 63 BC from the point of view of his personal secretary, Tiro.

It's seemingly pretty accurate - haven't run across any really egregious errors (yet). It's fiction, of course, and I'll allow his conjectures, especially when they're as philosophically dead-on as this:

Surely the greatest mercy granted us by Providence is our ignorance of the future. Imagine if we knew the outcome of our hopes and plans, or could see the manner in which we are doomed to die - how ruined our lives would be! Instead we live on dumbly from day to day as happily as animals. But all things must come to dust eventually. No human being, no system, no age is impervious to this law; everything beneath the stars will perish; the hardest rock will be worn away. Nothing endures but words.

21:55 /Home | 2 comments | permanent link

25 Nov 2011
Black Friday Violence Reported at Stores Across the Country

Black Friday, indeed.

Despite a lagging economy and high unemployment rates, shoppers made a mad dash to stores this Black Friday even inciting moments of violence among bargain hunters this holiday season.

(link) [Fox News]

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27 Oct 2011
A Month to Remember

I don't post a lot of personal stuff, but, well this has been incredible. In the sense of "unbelievable". So personal or not, here goes...

The last time I posted was Wednesday, September 28th. Later that evening we received word that Lorraine's mom had been diagnosed with what was described as almost certainly a terminal bladder cancer. In retrospect, this marked the start of The Incredible 24 Hours.

I suppose a case could be made for this time period being longer than a mere day. Or maybe I should refer to it as the Most Incredible 24 Hours in the Most Remarkable Month. A couple of weeks before that my family doctor had scheduled me for a cardiac stress test, the treadmill variety, and a series of images of the heart. I'd been having some chest pains and my RN wife insisted I get it checked out. I picked up a prescription for nitro on the way home ...

The stress test happened the morning of the 29th - at 6:30 am, no coffee, no cigarettes. Bad, grouchy Dave was out and about. And he flunked the stress test. Rather miserably, in fact. This meant a consult with a cardiologist and a heart catheterization. With or without stents - he wouldn't speculate until he got in there and took a look.

On the way home from the appointment, we noted the truck as sounding funny. We'd just had it winterized and outfitted with new brakes a couple of weeks before, so it should've been fine. But since I was heading to work late (it was about 11 am by the time this happened) and Lorraine wanted to go down and see her mom, we decided to just drop the truck off at our mechanic's in Thorntown, and drive the car together. Lorraine would come back and pick up up at quitting time.

Lorraine dropped me off about 1, and I had no sooner got sat down and brought up my terminal than the receptionist called my desk, telling me that my wife couldn't get out of the parking lot!

Sure enough, Lorraine was stuck. The car was making a hideous squealing, and when I managed to get it off the road and back in to the parking lot, the main belt just snapped. So, after a moment or two of sheer panic, we called a wrecker from a nearby garage and had the car towed in and looked at. A couple of hours elapsed while we waited - it was finally determined that the air conditioning compressor had locked up, causing the belt to snap. This meant a new compressor, not a cheap repair, nor a particularly easy one. We couldn't get the car until Monday!

Frantic calls to Thorntown ensued, trying to get the status of the truck repair. It was not good. The noise was the bearing in the air conditioner compressor - it was locking up and would break the belt rapidly if not replaced!

What do you suppose the odds of the same component failing in the same way at the same time in two vehicles owned by the same people? I bought a lottery ticket that day - still didn't win, but figured that with probabilities like that rolling my way it couldn't hurt to try!

We managed to get a ride home with Lorraine's brother - and started in Friday morning on a frantic search for a used compressor for the truck that we could have the mechanic slap into place and get going. Chris H of Ravenswood had the day off work, and he drove us over about 1 to Boxley to fetch the part from a junkyard. Brought it back, dropped it off for the mechanic and we had a running vehicle by Saturday.

Until it failed to start in the feed store parking lot. Time to replace that five year old battery. Coincidence?

That was pretty much the end of the Incredible 24 Hours, which actually ran a bit more like 36. But who's counting? Little did I know it was but the start ...

We got the car back Monday, and Lorraine's mom had surgery that Friday (the 7th). It was bad, but not as bad as they initially thought. So there were some treatment options beyond palliative care, and a consultation with the oncologist was scheduled for October 19th. My consultation with the cardiologist was scheduled for October 13 - and we hosted Winter Nights for Ravenswood on October 15th.

My consultation with the cardiologist didn't got so well at all. I definitely had all the signs of some blocked blood vessels on the heart itself, and was scheduled to have the heart cath and stent placement on the 20th. He mentioned in passing that if the arteries were so blocked that they couldn't be opened with stents or angioplasty, I'd probably have to have bypass surgery. But that could always be scheduled for a later day...

I took Wednesday the 19th off work - I didn't feel particularly bad, but was very nervous about the procedure the next morning, especially the 6:30 am start time with no coffee or cigarettes. Lorraine got back from her mom's appointment about 6 - I had fixed chicken livers and rice, joking about my "last meal".

Showed up at the local hospital the next morning on time and was wheeled back about 7. Next thing I remember I was coming to in a room, apparently in intensive care, with Lorraine and the cardiologist at my bedside, talking about an immediate transfer to the Heart Center in Indianapolis for emergency bypass surgery! The left main coronary artery on the heart was like 95% blocked, and the cardiologist was terrified that he might have knocked a chuck of the plaque loose during the abortive catheterization. Apparently it's not that uncommon a side effect in severe cases.

Needless to say, I was not pleased at all - WTF? My symptoms hadn't been at all that severe, and if things were as gummed up as claimed, it struck me that it was a miracle that I was alive at all! Not having had any caffeine or nicotine, and still being under the influence of the anesthetic made me what Lorraine tells me the doctors and nurses refer to as a "medically non-compliant" patient. Cranky doesn't do it justice - there was no way I was going to take an ambulance ride to the heart center. Lorraine was going to drive me, or I would drive myself, or the transfer just wouldn't happen. End of story. I wanted a Starbucks, I wanted a cigarette, and most importantly, I wanted some time ALONE with my medical professional wife (she's an RN - don't know if I ever mentioned that or not...) to try and sort out what was happening.

This was finally agreed to, and Lorraine drove me to the heart hospital in Indy on the afternoon of the 20th, stopping by Starbucks on the way. I finally understood that I was going to have to have a major bypass surgery, and was rather scared witless.

The surgery took place Friday the 21st starting about noon. They placed a total of 5 grafts (bypasses) using material from my leg veins and chest wall artery. I was out of the operating room by about 5. My heart had been stopped and restarted, with the heart-lung machine filling in during surgery. I remember very little until late Saturday, but I know Lorraine stayed with me practically around the clock, breaking only to feed the critters (or arrange for our friend and neighbor Tim to feed). By Sunday I was hurting pretty good. They let me come home yesterday, the 26th. I'll be on short term disability for at least six to eight weeks - it'll be a minimum of six weeks before I can drive. Don't think I'll be tossing hay this year - or loading fifty pound sacks of feed.

In fact, I have very little idea what will happen to the farm, our plans and our future. Lorraine's back started acting up this year, and this just exacerbates a situation already well in the making. On the other hand, we just got fully tooled up for hay production, and the breeding program has been successful beyond our wildest dreams. But the times, they are a changin', and I'll keep posting here. Don't expect to see too much politics, though. Political stuff just doesn't seem nearly as relevant as it did a mere month ago...

17:46 /Home | 9 comments | permanent link

04 Aug 2011
News and No Mistake

After several recent abortive attempts, and many years (11 to be exact) of intense frustration, I am pleased to announce:

WE HAVE BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS FROM THE FARM!!!!

Our new provider is Hoosier Broadband, and with 768 kbps down and 384 kbps up for $50 month, it should save us about $50 off our current ISDN setup with AT&T. Six times faster downloads, three times faster uploads, my bill gets cut in half, no data caps or throttling - what's not to like?

It's wireless, and I'm sure there's going to be some signal degradation during stormy weather, but still ... it's broadband, it's fast, and we're surfin' like it's 1999!

21:12 /Home | 1 comment | permanent link

31 Jul 2011
Gathering Tools, Part 3

Finally got a chance to put some of the new (old) acquisitions through their paces this weekend:

1949 JI Case VAC tractor with mower

1949 JI Case VAC tractor with mower

And ya know what? It worked! For a while anyway - the mower finally gave out and a piece of the pulling arm for the sickle snapped off. Whether it was something I'd done wrong or whether it was just old and on it's last legs anyway remains to be discovered. But whatever: it can be repaired, here on the farm, with tools I already have. And with some new (or sharpened) blades, it'll cut as good as when it was new a hundred years ago.

But wait - there's more.

After we got everything going yesterday and got the majority of the front pasture actually cut, we took a break and drove down to see the fellow that sold us the mower last year. And then I remembered that there was usually some old equipment for sale west of Shannondale, so we decided to drive down there just for grins and giggles. And what did we see but a baler! Never seen one of these out there - they're pretty hard to come by. So we stopped and looked - sure enough, it was a IH 430 small square baler, circa the 1970's. And it looked in pretty good shape. Nobody was at home, so we wrote down the number and called them after we got back from town. I was expecting it's go for between $1500 and $2000 - that's what they seem to be running of the low end off of eBay and local auctions. I was shocked when the price was $500 - and a demo was given which showed the beast to be in perfect working order!

1970's vintage IH 430 baler

We now own a baler. And in the winter of 2012, our flock will be feasting on the same grass that feeds them so well through the rest of the year! No more banking on neighbors to find the time to cut our hay, or on the getting a good price at the auction, or finding a good supply at a reasonable price. We've been very lucky heretofore - but as of next year (it's too late to get anything usable out the pasture this year) we won't have to depend on luck.

21:31 /Home | 1 comment | permanent link

23 Jul 2011
Not Cool

From the National Weather Service:

Record daily highest minimum temperature set Friday...
The minimum temperature at Indianapolis on Friday July 22 2011 was only 79 degrees. This set a new record high minimum temperature for date. The previous record was 78 degrees... last reached in 1934.
Temperature records in Indianapolis began in 1871.

12:14 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

21 Jul 2011
Too Hot to Hoot ...

Air temp at 5pm was 102.4°F. Heat index was 124°F. Un-freaking-believable.

19:04 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

10 Jul 2011
Gathering Tools, Part 2

1949 JI Case VAC tractor

It's been almost a year since we purchased our mower - I'm pleased to say that we've now added the next (and in some ways the biggest) piece to our tool collection: a 1949 Case VAC tractor. For the record, the actual purchase date was the 8th, and the photo above was taken yesterday evening, after I'd rewired some things, installed a kill switch (that's why the hood is off) and took it for a spin around the yard. It runs great, but it's been (literally) 40 years since I've driven a tractor of any sort, and that's going to take some getting used to.

This guy has had some serious "redneck engineering" applied - the radiator is out of a junk car and has an overflow reservoir, and the exhaust has been extended a bit. The hood won't go on or off with the gas cap in place, and the gauges don't work at all. The seat is from a Ford Focus! That's gotta be replaced just to cure the dorky look! It does have a standard three point hitch, however, and the PTO is in great shape. The hydraulics to lower and raise the hitch are down, though, because somebody tried replacing the cylinder with a more modern one. That's OK, though, as we can swap the brand new one that's on it now for the correct style at no cost. Just a bunch of work. Until then we'll be pulling pins to set the hitch, but we won't be using any three point attachments until next year anyway, so it's a wash. And believe me, the price was right on this baby! I can deal with the quirks over time.

Incredibly useful equipment to be sure, but also incredibly dangerous. We'll get the hang of it, though. And next year, when we add a baler, we'll be getting our own hay, from our own pasture. That will be a truly wonderful feeling come November when the snow flies. Lorraine has already changed the sign on our egg money jar from "tractor fund" to "baler fund"!

09:04 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

06 Jul 2011
How We Spent July 4th and 5th, 2011

Grandkids

Whew! Grandma and Grandpa are worn out! Even the goat is tired!

21:31 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

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