Tour de Hughes

My brother was the first to get wheeled vehicles in the family. He was the first to get a bicycle, first to get a motorcycle and the first to get a car. Once he got his first bike, he wouldn’t let me ride it. I thought he was being stingy, but maybe he knew I had never ridden one before. I remember a hand-me down tricycle that I tried to ride on the sidewalks on our block. The ride was a bumpy one, as the front wheel had little to no rubber on the tire. So, one morning I decided to beat my brother to the punch, so I arose from sleep before he did to take his new bike out. I walked it along the sidewalk past Baddour's, then next to the white bank building and up to the Main Street railroad crossing, as I knew it was downhill from the crossing. Thought to myself .. 'no better way to get a rolling start', since I didnt know how to pedal from a standstill. I was careful enough to make certain there was no traffic before I hopped on the bike and pushed off. The first time I crashed halfway down the incline on Main Street. Learning to keep my balance while pedaling seemed difficult, but I would then go back and try again. Unknown to me, Mr. Wise, the mayor of Hughes was watching from his drug store, which was a ring-side seat to my first failed attempts. After the third or fourth crash, he came out to ask me if I was okay and told me that I should stop trying to do it that way. I'm not sure if he was laughing at my efforts, but he didn’t try to stop me either. I told him I was fine, and I replied, “I almost got it”, so he let me be. The next try was a success. I maintained my balance and was pedaling like a ‘pro’. After that, my brother would let me ride his bike, but only after he was finished with it.

Memories

Seems everyone's mom was the best cook in the house. Not so in my family .. it was my Dad. He cooked everyday and introduced me to coffee early on.

“Exploding Spaghetti”
Mom was never a very good cook. Dad did all of the cooking and he was pretty good at it. He could cook traditional Chinese dishes like steamed-fish in black bean sauce to lobster Cantonese. He could also cook American dishes such as creamed peas, fried chicken and spaghetti. Anyway, whenever Mom wanted to ‘cook’ something, she always set the burner to HIGH. We couldn’t foresee at that time .. that was her version of the microwave for extremely fast cooking. One day she decided to ‘cook’ some canned Chef-Boy-R-Dee’s spaghetti. She empties the can into a sauce pan and places the lid on, then turns the burner to HIGH. Five or six minutes later, I heard a loud explosion and the clanging of metal. I rushed to the kitchen and saw the lid on the floor and spaghetti sauce all over the wall up to the ceiling. Apparently, the lid was sealed to the pot by the over-spill of sauce from the can. It scared the crap out of her … she rarely ‘cooked’ again until years later. Whenever I was home from college and even when I visited her in New York, she would make breakfast without asking, so that by the time I was awake, it was cold, but I ate it anyway as I knew she was ‘taking care’ of me.

“Coffee with Cream and Sugar”
Another one of my earliest memories was my first drink of coffee.  Again, I remembered it to be a Saturday morning, associating the hustle and bustle noises in my father’s store, and his coming and going from the store to the living quarters we called home.  I was in a crib, but I don’t know or recall my age at the time.  I just remember I was whining and standing in the crib.  Not too much longer, he passed by into the kitchen, and returned with a baby bottle for me.  I now know that it was sweetened coffee and cooled by milk.  It seemed to be just what I needed and it was wonderful.  That is the only way I like my coffee.  I am not sure if my mother was there or not, but probably not.

About EVs: Looking Back

Looking back at an earlier post (2016) regarding Electric vehicles prompted me to post my updates regarding EVs.

In June, we decided to trade-in our 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe and get a new vehicle .. had about 180,000 miles and was running well, but starting to suffer from its age.  We were mostly interested in a Chevy Equinox, but were waiting on the next delivery.  In the meantime, I saw a 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV on the website of a nearby Chevy dealer, which was rare, as not many could be found that hadn't already been spoken for, so I contacted him.  It was a cancelled order from a potential buyer.  So, we checked it out and ended up getting it.  EPA mileage range on full charge was around 260 miles .. much improved from the Nissan Leaf advertised/sold in 2016.  The deal wasn't the greatest, but we bit the bullet which included 120-volt charging cable (aka level 1 or trickle charger) and free installation for 240v charging outlet.  It took about a month to get the outlet installed, so I purchased a 3rd party charging unit (aka level 2 charger) and mounted it on the garage wall next to the outlet.  The level 1 will trickle charge from 20-80% in about 30-40 hours (damn slow, but if you're not in a hurry it's cheaper).  The level 2 charger can charge from 20-80% in about 4 hours, perfect for overnight charging and ready the next day as needed.  Other incentive for this purchase was the $7500 tax credit for the EV and extra credit for the level 2 charger.  We paid it off within about six weeks. It is Deb's car, so she was very happy with it.  I found the driving experience very different and intriguing.

I was so intrigued that I began searching for an EV that might suit me.  I had researched the new KIA EV6 models, but most of what I was seeing were overpriced for my needs, until I ran across a KIA dealer in Leesburg FL.  They had 2-3 EV6's and one was specifically priced to sell quickly, so I contacted them and got an out-the-door price.  (This was in September.)  The next day we drove to Leesburg in my 2013 Camaro convertible and a deal was struck.  Not a lot of haggling, but was able to get a better trade amount and signed the deal.  I was somewhat reluctant because the Camaro was still running very good with barely 62,000 miles.  I remember the drive to Leesburg and was starting to second guess my desire to trade it.  Anyway, I made the deal and we drove the KIA home.  After 2-3 days, I was getting over 'trading the Camaro' and was enjoying the new wheels.  The EPA mileage range for a full charge is 310 miles.  Not too shabby, but it is an estimate and depends on how you drive.

It is definitely a different driving experience with all of the new technology in today's autos, but being technically inclined, I found it interesting to learn about the ins-and-outs of EV ownership.  The Camaro was much simpler to operate, just start it and drive (it did have a backup camera, but that was pretty much all the technology I had other than Sirius/XM radio).

We are now an all EV retired couple.  I have yet to charge publicly at a fast charging station, but have not really needed it.  We've only been on two road trips in the past 10 years.  The KIA did come with 1000kw of free charging at Electrify America charging stations, but every time I try to test it out, all the local charging stations are being occupied or out of service.  I'll eventually get to try a fast-charge, but so far, the level 2 charger is more than adequate.  Road trips will definitely have to be planned out with more than one option in mine when a charging point is reached, as you won't know what is available until you get closer to the charging point.  No plans for a road trip yet.

We can get both cars into the garage now, after much re-arranging of stuff.  I don't really know how much it costs us to charge our cars, but I suspect it is about $50-60 a month for both.  Time will tell if we decide to keep both EVs.  More charging stations are appearing and Tesla is opening up SuperCharging stations to more non-Teslas as time goes on.  2024 will be interesting to see how easy or not easy, it will be to make road trips  Was thinking of a road-trip for a golf week at Myrtle Beach, but decided I would rather fly, as Breeze Airways just started non-stop flights from Tampa to Myrtle Beach with decent fares.  I'd rather fly than drive 8 hours, although I'll probably spend 5-6 hours at airports and in flight.

Seven Years and Retirement

I almost forgot about this blog that I last posted in Jan. 2016.  Many things have occurred since.

2018 - Wife officially retired from her 20plus year job at JPMC

2019 - We contracted to build a new house in Brooksville, FL

2014 - 2020 - Tech lead at Advent Health (fka Florida Hospital) .. we did what they wanted for 6 years and everyone involved survived.  The contract ended 04/2020

02/2020 - Our new house was completed and ready for move-in

03/2020 - We listed our old house and it sold within 5 days after listing

04/2020 - We moved into our new house; The lock-down for the COVID pandemic began   

10/2020 - I officially retired from my IT career of 44 years

Moving from our old home of 17 years proved to be somewhat stressful, as a 'technical timeline' forced us into last minute decisions without any foresight.  We stayed within the 'law', that didn't really matter, as the new residents weren't moving in for another month or so, due to the pandemic.

While in a rush to get out by the next day, in hindsight it didn't need to happen, as I still had the door keys, I crashed my aquarium and drenched the carpet with muck the night before the official move out day.  Prior to the aquarium demolition, I had relocated my pet fish to an ice chest of aquarium water, but that proved to be too much stress for my eldest 19-year old silver dollar fish, 'Keith Richards'. He passed away within a few hours of relocating him. We buried him in the back yard along with our other two late pets, Miss Kitty and Baby cat. I regret not waiting until the next day (even though we were technically not allowed to be be there).  Anyway, I had 5 fish that survived the move, but only two remain after three years in the new place, Bruiser (a juvenile Silver Dollar) and Cat Stevens (a hardy cory catfish).  

The next day after spending all night cleaning the carpet where the aquarium disaster occurred, we slept a few hours on the carpeted living room floor.  The next morning, we packed our final belongings in our SUV along with Squeakie the cat.  She made a small fuss about being put in the carrying box, but was fine when we drove away.  She had a good view of the road in front of us, but I think she was mostly comforted by the sight and sound of both of us in the SUV.  Before, it was always just me taking her to the vet. It took a couple of days in the new house for her to become comfortable.  I'm sure she misses the stairs in the old place.

We gave much of our stuff away, as we no longer needed it nor did we want to haul to the new place, only to have to get rid of it later.  Hey, it was just stuff and the loss was not worth the hassle of trying to sell it all.  We did get some compensation for stuff that was put into consignment, but most of it just disappeared.  I wrote it off on our taxes. 

We have settled into retired life rather smoothly.  Our daily headaches are no more, except for house-keeping ones (par for the course).  We were able to manage our first 3-4 months of expenses after retirement, while waiting for the wife to take her full SS at age 70.  I took mine at 67.  We no longer have to arise at a certain time everyday, although we don't always sleep in late.  Something about aging makes us get up earlier than necessary.  Our schedule is our own and can change from day-to-day.  We're enjoying our new 55-over community and have met many neighbors and made friends who are like-minded and like-aged.  Monthly Bingo, holiday parties and even weekly Mahjong have become part of our lives.  The wife's local family are also not too far away and we always catch up with them on birthdays and holidays.  

Last year, we decided to have a pool/spa built at our new home, as I never got around to doing it in the old place despite the plans to do so.  Must not have been very serious about it.  Regardless, the new pool\spa has been in operation since Jan of this year, and we are working out all the kinks of pool ownership.  We heated it during our colder months, but summer is almost upon us and it's time to stop burning natural gas.  We can still heat up our spa at will when we need to sooth our old muscles and joints from a hard day of retirement activities. 

I'm playing more golf and still working on my swing.  That seems like a never-ending task, but I guess that's the reason I keep playing, always trying to improve.  We stay in touch with our old next-door neighbor who still lives there.  Our neighbors directly across the street have moved on also, at the peak of the housing price increases during the pandemic.  Good timing.  I did find out that another adjacent neighbor had passed away unexpectedly in 2021 due to cancer.  He and his family had moved to the old neighborhood the same year that we did (2003).  Was sad to hear about him .. a good guy. 

As for my computer work, I only delve into technology for personal stuff and to aid others that may need assistance when asked.  I recently volunteered to help restore a historical website created by a late school mate, who had passed some 6 years ago.  It is up and running again at minimal costs, free hosting and a domain name good for 3 years.  I try to keep our computers and phones updated and operating without any hitches, but sometimes maintenance doesn't help.  I retired my old pc that I bought in 2008 from the now defunct Circuit City.  I upgraded it and replaced 3 power supply units over its life.  It finally stopped working and I couldn't get it going again, so I removed the drives and sent it to Goodwill thinking some other nerd might buy it to build a gaming pc or something.  PC's can last a long time as long as there are parts available.

WIndows 10 .. another 'What's the Point'

After installing the free Win10 on my 8yr old pc and updating all the drivers I could find, it seemed to be stable for a couple of weeks. Then I started to get BSOD's, about 4-5 a week, for no apparent reason, other than browsing the internet or watch videos, and often doing nothing but sit there or just refreshing emails in my email client. I've changed video cards, and reseated memory sticks, tested memory, refreshed drivers, etc. Here is the list of BSOD's that have incurred (some on more than one occasion): 

# CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION (CNG.SYS) 
# DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION 
# IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL 
# FAULTY_HARDWARE_CORRUPTED_AGE 
# MEMORY_MANAGEMENT 
# SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED # SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION 

I rarely, if ever, had a BSOD in Win7 that I recall. I saw this forum and the number of threads addressing fixing BSOD's were just way too many to peruse. So, I decided Win10 wasn't worth it on my older pc, despite it meeting requirements. Since, it was past 30 days, I could no longer just click and revert back, so I had to reinstall Win7 from scratch (no good image backup). I'm sure there are plenty of happy Win10 folks, but I'm not one, at least with my current desktop setup. I'm not a gamer nor do I do anything cpu intensive with my pc. For me, resolving BSOD's is not something that I should have to even worry about. I doubt Apple users have to worry about these type of things. So, I'm back to Win7 and after 2 weeks, no BSOD's. Can Microsoft improve Win10 to reduce or even eliminate BSOD's? I doubt it? Maybe on a new pc with newer hardware it would be more stable, but from what I glanced at in this forum, it even happens to new pc's and laptops. Cortana and the newer interface is nice, but not at the expense of an almost daily reboot from a BSOD. I reiterate .. so, what's the point, at this time? I know I'm not the only one.

Electric Cars

Watching the Tour de France, I noticed the ads for the new all-electric Nissan Leaf.  I checked it out online and it seems interesting.  You'll get about 100 miles on one charge, which means I would pretty much have to charge it every other day for my 45 mile round-trip commute, plus quick trips out for lunch.  That's ok, but you really need to install a 240v charger in your garage, which costs an extra two grand or so.  Yes, it'll trickle charge on a regular 110v socket, but will take forever for a full charge.  Not great, but at least a common way to charge.  If you don't monitor the distance on your current charge, well, you'll get stuck somewhere with no way to get back without a quick charge.  There aren't many charging stations around here (zero), but maybe if it takes off there will be plenty.  (Hmm ... not putting in money on that bet, yet.)  I think this will be the right direction towards gasoline free cars, but the cost of electricity is bound to rise more, as it is already doing so.  We just don't notice it as much.  Are electric cars really environmentally friendly?  Yes and no.  Yes, they are in a local sense, but not in the overall picture.  However, it may be better than the alternative of burning petro.  Most electricity is generated using fossil fuels, mainly coal.  So, the footprint is still there, just not as large, and indirect.  Now, if it could recharge itself while it's running to the extent that you only have to do a full charge once a week or every 400-500 miles, then this would be the idea vehicle for energy savings.  I expect it to happen in the future, but for now it's more like a suped-up golf cart.  Well, maybe more than that, but limited to commuting less than 100 miles round trip.  Kou-dos to Nissan as it is definitely in the right direction.

Now I just saw a quick overview of Chevrolet's Volt, a hybrid of sorts.  It can go 35-40 miles on electric power, then switches to the gas engine.  I'm thinking to myself, what's the point of that.

Still Sane

It's been 9 months since the last client ditched us.  Although, we exceeded their benchmark expectations, they just didn't have the money for extended work.  My team of 4 all were released, since there was no other work for that client or other clients.  I was 'given' to a new client as a freebie, with the intention of leading a new team, after a trial period.  The technology is much more stable as is the client; however, I questioned the longevity of our contract, as it's been renewed on a month-to-month basis.  My team consists of myself and one other, as a third was the odd-man out.  Now the client is entertaining the idea of my company bringing in 4-6 more consultants to start handling what we call 'core services', which pretty much means on-call duty and handling incidents and small requests, etc.  At least that appears promising ... last I heard, 2 of the 4 guys released earlier in the year are still looking, while the other 2 have found work elsewhere.  If I get extended to the end of the year, then we may get a longer term committment up to 3 years for the larger team.  We'll see.

WTF!

Two months into the new job, and it's been, well, let's say 'interesting'.  A lot of 'new' stuff to learn under tight deadlines; clients questioning our ability while giving us only pieces of the puzzles while hiding other pieces.  Archaic and unsophisticated technology is the 'way they roll'.  They say the grass looks greener on the other side.  In this case, it's true, but I've found that the grass is artificial.  Live and learn.  This isn't going to cut it.

Gold and Silver, Oh my!!

Precious metals have gotten hammered over the past 6 months.  This has been predicted by the experts that follow pm's.  The USD rallied based on 'ifs' spouted by the Fed-czar, Bernanke.  Then he backtracked a couple of weeks later, and the USD tanked in the short-term and the stock market rallied.  One week, cash is king; the next, it's toilet paper.  

Since the Fed can't really stop QE (to infinity), pm's will rebound and most likely will start the next bull run up.  Everything the pm experts have predicted has come to fruition, so far.  Barring some truly universal event (like discovering gold in shit), I find no reason not to follow their lead.

Here I go again. 14th Company (second-time around)

I was contacted by the firm that I worked for and left over two years ago.  It's local office had gone through a major restructuring (nice term for "laying everyone off" including most of the management team).  They wanted to know if I was interested in coming back.  I said I was willing to listen to what they had to say.  I spoke to the new director of operations and the head recruiter, both whom retained their jobs after the 'mass cutting'.  After a few weeks, an offer was made, re-negotiated and finalized.  I have formally accepted this new job and new role, but I haven't informed my current manager and company yet.  That will happen on Monday.

In retrospect, I was prepared to stay where I am for as long as the company continued employing its current staff up to the point that it sells its current asset portfolio.  It appeared that a sale wouldn't be possible for at least three more years.  But, now I guess that won't matter in the short-term, since I've decided to move on.

I'm taking a risk in this economy, but there are no guarantees regardless where you work.  If the new job doesn't work out, maybe I can go back, or maybe not.  I'm not going to worry about that, since I believe this move will be a successful one in the long run.

Change is good.

Back in the Saddle Again

Accepted an offer from an international bank.  I start on 08/27, provided I pass their background checks.  Went today to pee in a cup and got finger-printed like a criminal .. well like "today's" job seekers are required.  Nine weeks between jobs is better than 13 months.  All is well for now.  Using my unemployment pay to pay owed income taxes from last year.  Can't win from losing .. hate taxes.  Does this mean that the current administration gets credit for increased job opportunities?  I'm thinking that doing away with income taxes is the way to go.  Replace it with a national sales tax, or in other terms, a consumption tax.  Then you can get rid of the IRS and run everything with computers controlled by a handful of chimpanzees.

Nothing Lasts Forever

Thirteen months later .. the change has ended.  It was good while it lasted.  I worked from home, saved a lot on gas by not commuting.  The business is not doing that great as circumstances and competition has altered the business landscape; consequently, I am now out of a job again.  I was not the last one in, so LIFO does not apply here.  I wonder if it had to do with my pay .. maybe.  Doesn't really matter.  Contacted my previous employer.  We'll see what is shaking.  Meanwhile, I'll ponder what I really want to do and see if I can make it happen. 

Say it, don't spray it .......

Skeptics usually have no knowledge of what you're talking about.

People can change. Most do not and will not.

Man who speaks with sour tongue, has lemons for brain.

Another Change

I made another change this week. I resigned my current job, as I have accepted an offer at another company. I will be still be a computer jock (or geek), but will get to apply more of my experience, hopefully. Once again, I am looking forward to helping another corporation reach its goals and objectives; however, this time, I may be able to actually contribute to its success and be rewarded. Time will tell.

Changes

I've gone back to my old golf swing, or a facsimile of it. Naturally, my game is suffering due to the change, but persistence will prevail. My swing is no longer, as my golf buddies tagged it, 'Furyk-like and flat'. Although effective and somewhat consistent, I began to lose control as I tried to fine-tune it. Either fine-tuning killed it, much like going back to a traditional swing, or I just peaked with that swing style. So, here I am, re-working my game in order to bring consistency and lower scores to my efforts in 'conquering' this confounded game. But that is the challenge .. to work through the obstacles towards obtaining a desired result. I give myself 3-6 months to cutting my index by 1/3.