to paint or not to paint?

Over the last month or so, we've been giving our house some major facelifts. Some of it was due to storm damage, and some of it was just routine maintenance. Our restoration work is nearing completion. The contractors have installed most of the siding, soffits, and fascia. Our new kitchen window above the sink is in. They've got a few sheets of siding left to hang, and then some trim. Then, we're going to have to decide whether we want to pay them to paint the house or if we should try and do it ourselves. I'm leaning towards just paying them for it. I've been falling behind on my web work lately. Since I feel I need to be available to answer any questions the contractors may have, it has been difficult to concentrate on programming. You know how it goes...you don't feel like getting too deep into it when you're expecting regular interruptions.

So I don't think I really have the time to take a few days out of my schedule to paint. As it is, we saved ourselves a chunk of change by putting the kitchen back together and painting all the interior walls ourselves. We also opted to just cover the existing siding, rather than have it all pulled down. This will save us a bunch of material handling, haul-away, and tear-down labor. I was leery about it at first, and hope that it doesn't come back to bite me in an inspection. Technically, there's nothing really wrong with covering the old siding with the new stuff. Most of it wasn't damaged; we only decided to replace the entire rear of the house so that it would all match. It just might look funny if someone got behind the trim and saw the two layers (extra R-value?).

Unfortunately, the way that the original builder nailed the windows on top of the siding would have presented some potential problems if we tried to remove it all. We'd basically have to take out all the windows, remove the old siding, install the new siding, muscle the windows back in and pray that everything opens and closes like it did before. No thanks. I can see that becoming a big expensive adventure. I'm also a little scared at what we may find behind the old siding. Every project that I tackle with this house ends up being one of those "tip of the iceberg" / "rust in a fender" experiences where we end up doing three or four times as much work as we had planned.

struggling but fun

Lately, I've been reconsidering my latest career move. Working for myself is great, but juggling all of these web-based revenue streams isn't as much fun as I thought it would be, particularly during the months when I'm struggling to pay the bills. There seem to be soooooo many opportunities to make a buck by cheating someone, but I have this silly little thing called a conscience that prevents me from participating. And sometimes I say to myself, "hey, if I'm going to be struggling, why not do something more fun, like be a struggling musician or artist?"

Of course, the web is full of people who are more than happy to share the secrets of their wealth with you...for a small fee. Maybe they're selling an ebook, or promise the "secret" to ultimate wealth and power for free...just for signing up to their email list. Yeah, sure. In most cases, they're simply projecting an image of success, and are earning their living by promising to show others how to do the same. It's MLM at its finest.

There were a number of more traditional businesses that I would have been interested in a long time ago, but many of them have become obsolete (like record stores). Being in a small town limits my opportunities to investigate franchise opportunities, since the town either doesn't have the numbers to support the business, or they would prefer to patronize the local mom-and-pop's. And I can't blame them - I'm the same way. I'd much rather shop at the local family-owned grocery store than the Wal-Mart up the street...even if it costs me a little more.

Admittedly, I do like the few things that I am doing that are more-or-less passive sources of income. Who wouldn't? Maybe I just need to spend more of my time developing more web ventures in that vein.

newer adsense problems - "webpage cannot be found"

Has anyone else noticed the dreaded "webpage cannot be found" error when trying to display the newer Adsense code? I was trying to implement it this morning, and couldn't get the ads to show up. Of course, I checked out all the usual suspects. I double-checked the CMS software, and made sure that it wasn't caching an old version of the page. But, I figured that wasn't the problem since I was seeing a blank box in Firefox and the error message in IE7. So I hit the web, and found lots of reports of this problem. Most were located at various Google support forums, and every person who posted it was receiving the same canned response that "Google doesn't allow more than 3 ad units per page". So what about when you're only trying to display on ad unit? Hmmm...

I even loaded another Adsense ad unit using the old code (the one that details the colors, etc.) and that one showed up just fine. So what's the deal? Well, rather than waste my time trying to contact Google about it, I simply rewrote the new ad unit using the old code format, and it showed up just fine. Kooky.

Speaking of Adsense, would you believe that I am finally about to receive my first payout...after over two years! I'm not sure how people supposedly make a living off of Adsense, as I have several websites running ads and it took me this long just to earn $100.

internet in moderation

So you may be wondering what brought on the idea that I mentioned in my last post - to not have internet access at home. Well, to be honest I sometimes suspect that I am becoming addicted to the net. And I don't see this as a good thing. Like anything in life, I believe that these things are best enjoyed in moderation. And while many of our day-to-day activities can now be performed online, I don't necessarily want to sit in front of a computer screen all day and night. It's bad enough that I spend so much time working online for my job, but I also have a tendency to spend me free time in the virtual world, as well.

As I detailed i my last post, I am unsure of whether I will be able to still make a living by essentially "borrowing" internet access from the library (or less savvy neighbors). I am just in the process of simplifying my life as much as possible, and if I don't need internet access, I won't need a landline either. This will save me about $80 a month, not including the cost of any required future software and hardware upgrades. Of course, I already have a wireless modem and a separate wireless router so I'm not sure what kind of hardware I would need if I did get high-speed internet at our next home. In most cases, setting up a new high-speed internet account comes with a new modem. That's how I ended up with the items I already have, to which I am unsure if I will ever use them again.

I guess I am seeing this move as a chance to minimize some of the distractions in my life. When you work from home on the internet, it is very easy to get sidetracked. I have tried to be better about disciplining myself. I try to limit the time I spend, and to stay on task better. Unfortunately, when much of your social life also revolves around friends that you only keep in touch with over the internet, you cannot help but spend your free time behind a laptop. I see the removal of home internet access as a way to force myself to be more productive when I am working online, and to spend more of my free time outside.

is public internet dependable enough?

When we sell our house, I am not planning on getting internet service at our new home. Instead, I would like to go to the library when I need to be online. It's something of an experiment, and I'm not really sure if it will work since (as a web designer) I depend on the internet for my income. The way I see it, there are several challenges to this idea...

First, I need to be able to commute to the library when I want to work. We only have one vehicle, so there will be times when I will walk or ride my bike. It's only about a mile, so this shouldn't be a problem.

Second, the library will theoretically serve as my office away from home. This may not work so well. The library doesn't allow cellphone conversations, so I may have to step outside to carry on a discussion with a client. Also, there's always a chance that there won't be an open desk available for me to sit at. In that case, I could always work outside while sitting on a bench, but then I'll be working off the laptop battery. The screen is difficult to see in the sun, and it's even worse when it is on power-save mode (which makes the screen dimmer).

Third, I will be using a public internet connection, which means there is always the possibility of my information being compromised while it is riding their network. I suppose that this could also open me up to viruses via their network.

And finally, I will be dependent on their connection. If it goes down, my productivity for the day will be shot. Granted, this is no different than if the connection goes down on my home line. I don't know if the library would have more or less pull at getting their internet service restored than I would.

Looking at these possible problems, I'm going to have to seriously consider if working at the library will be a viable idea or not. It will easily save me $75 a month to not have my own internet connection, but it may cost me business in the long run. Maybe I'll get lucky and find an unencrypted wireless connection that I can hop on, courtesy of our new neighbors.

the diarrhea diet

I was recently reading about a new "miracle" diet pill that basically forces the body to have diarrhea all the time. I don't know about you, but I what I ant to know is what is the point of losing weight, if you're stuck in a bathroom stall and nobody can see it? Honestly, I think this stuff is ridiculous, and a perfect example of what is wrong with our image-obsessed society. Rather than trying to lose weight via miracle diet pills or whatever is being hailed this week as the quickest fat burner, why the heck can't people just take a walk? Why can't people try and eat a little healthier?

I've heard all the excuses..."I don't know how to cook something healthy. I don't have any time to exercise. I drink diet soda." When all it really takes is some moderation and light exercise. Now I understand that some individuals may be predisposed to retaining weight, due to genetics or even environmental factors. But that doesn't mean that they have to totally give up on the idea of eating healthy. And there's no reason why anyone should have to opt for some mega-vitamin dietary supplement to get their intake of popular "super-foods".

I'm a guy. I'm not supposed to be the one who cooks in my family, if you believe in traditional gender stereotypes. But I do. I cook more than my wife, and (for the most part) I think I do pretty good at it. So I see it as my responsibility to provide something healthy for my family to eat. It beats depending on a bunch of flavor-of-the-week dietary supplements to take care of potential weight problems.

the new script-writers

Over the years, movies have been written based on novels, true stories, short stories, historical events...even poetry and music. Today, it would appear that comic book writers are taking the lead. Although the Batman and Superman films of the 80s and early 90s were popular, nothing could have prepared us for the rash of comic book inspired films we are seeing lately. Comic books have been around since the late 19th century. Talk about an endless supply of source material!

I just wonder if people will eventually tire of the novelty behind these films. After all, who could have thought that there would be yet another approach at making the Batman films, after we saw Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny Devito, et. al. play their roles so superbly?

I have to admit that I have been very impressed with the Spiderman movies thus far. They do a very good job at evoking the essence of the original comics and even after the third sequel seem to not have lost much steam. I wish I could say the same for the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeves. Did you know that there was a Superman IV? I had no idea, until I picked up at the local library a few days ago. Now I wish I hadn't. It was absolutely horrible - perhaps THE worst comic book inspired film I have ever seen. It had most of the same actors from Superman I, and yet the script, effects, action, and plot were pathetic. It was as if they were milking the character to death, but had no funding or concept to drive the movie. I can only hope that the new Spiderman and Batman movies don't suffer a similar fate, or it could turn off the American public from comic book movies altogether. Then again, the American movie-going public on the whole seems to be quite forgiving.

power properties

I was recently reading about a company in Dallas that has purchased over 600 dilapidated properties and renovated them for resale. That's a pretty impressive feat and a respectable move for a real estate organization. While some might scream "gentrification", it is much better than builders that come in and bulldoze historic properties to create strip-malls and faux-historic condos in "New Urbanist" style.

The company is called Power Properties, and you should check them out if you happen to live in the Dallas area, would like to live closer to downtown, but can't fathom the idea of restoring a historic home on your own. Personally, I've been having enough trouble restoring our home from the early 1990s, so I cannot even imagine the tasks involved in restoring something that is forty, sixty, or even a hundred years old! Kudos to Power Properties for preserving these homes and reviving the community.

unincorporated but restricted

A good fried of mine was recently lamenting that he feels restricted by the home-owner's association because they won't let him build a chicken coop in his yard. I laughed. As if the home-owner's association was his only roadblock! I explained that even if he wasn't in a covenant-controlled neighborhood, he'd still have zoning laws to contend with, and that many counties can act like fascists when it comes to livestock and poultry regulations. He explained that he thought that he was exempt from most of these laws because he was in an "unincorporated" part of the county. Unfortunately, just because an area is called "unincorporated" doesn't mean that you have cart blanche to do whatever you like with your property.

It's a shame, but he should have known better, or at least should have read the neighborhood covenants and restrictions before he bought his home. To make matters worse, he bought it with the assistance of Fannie Mae, so he has to stay in the home for at least two years. Relocating because you can't have a chicken coop seems sort-of silly to me, anyways. Even if he could put his house up for sale, the real estate market isn't exactly doing very well right now in most areas.

weighing one's options

We've been living without a bathroom scale for some time now. And honestly, we don't really miss it. The only times we do is when I'm looking to ship a big package in the mail, and my small postal scale can't handle it. I used to use our bathroom scale to weigh heavier packages by weighing myself with the box, then without, and computing the difference.

One of the reasons that we got rid of our bathroom scale in the first place was that we were tired of assessing our self-image based on a number. My wife has struggled in the past with fluctuating weight gain and loss, and a scale would only intensify her anguish. Instead, we do our best to exercise as regularly as possible, and determine weight changes based on the fit of our clothing.

The other reason why we ditched our scale was because we didn't have room for it, and didn't really like the way that it looked. That may seem petty, but when you strive for a certain decor, the last thing you want is a bug ugly scale sitting in the corner of the bathroom that looks like it fell out of a time machine from the late eighties. The only "nice" looking bathroom scales at the time were expensive, and we couldn't see ourselves spending more than $20 for one. These days, you can find them in nearly any color, shape, and style from specialty shops like Scales Etc. but you're still going to pay more than $20 for it. Of course, the technology has changed quite a bit and many scales now provide more than just weight information. Some can even equate body fat and water percentages. And they do look better.

Knowing one's weight can be useful as long as you don't get obsessed about it. I just don't like the idea of living by a number on a scale.

voting for someone younger than me

This year, I placed two votes for candidates that were actually younger than me. This is the first time that this has ever happened. Granted, both candidates were part of the green party and are running against long-time political veterans, so the chances of them actually making it into office are pretty slim. None-the-less, I like what they stood for, and I feel that we need some new blood for our state representatives. It was strange imagining someone who is my younger brother's age representing us in Washington. I know that shouldn't matter, and that it is technically a form of age discrimination, but I can't help but compare these individuals to other people their age who tend to be less mature. They don't have much experience, either. In fact, when they say "green" party, they really mean "green". But I voted for them because I think we need new ideas and more out-of-the-box ideas. Anyone with a long political history is going to vote with the status quo, regardless of whether it is the best decision for us.

I also decided to vote with my heart this year for the presidential candidate, even if it means that I am theoretically tossing my vote away. I'm tired of the stigma behind voting for third parties. If we continue to only vote for the top two choices presented (even when neither of them is appealing to us), we'll never see any real change implemented in this country, and we'll never have someone whom we feel is adequately representing our interests. I was actually leaning towards Obama until he showed support for the Bush bailout plan, which I believe was (and probably still is) against the will of the majority of Americans. Passing that plan was a slap in the face, and you can see what good it has done. My candidate probably won't make it into office, but at least I have taken a stand for what I believe in. And perhaps he can step up to the plate when the next loser gets impeached.

McCopycat

What is the deal with McDonald's lately? Are they having an identity crisis or what? First they go and create a smaller and greasy copy of the Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich, even going so far as to include those "two crucial pickles"...at least when they make the sandwich correctly. I doubt that Chick-Fil-A has been affected, as it is a poor copy at best. It tastes okay, but the original comes with greater service and doesn't really cost that much more.

Next on the agenda was to try and tap the Starbucks market with their new McCafe products. If you've eaten inside McDonald's recently, you may even notice a similarity in their interior design to Starbucks. I'm sure it is no accident. I haven't tried their McCafe products, and don't really plan on it. Even if it's cheaper than Starbucks, I never really bought into the whole overpriced coffee experience. If I wanted that, I'd head down to some hip bohemian coffee shop downtown, where I get more than just plastic yuppie ambiance.

And today, I happened to pass McDonald's, only to find that they are selling pumpkin pies for the fall season. I was tempted to try one, and even considered picking up four of them (one for each member of the family), but I fortunately came to my senses and realized that I would much rather bake one of my own. So, I've been surfing the net for the tastiest recipe I can find for pumpkin pie.

It's funny. I guess I'm not the typical "guy", since I actually enjoy cooking meals for my family. In fact, we've almost gotten to the point where I cook more often than my wife. Part of it probably stems from watching my mother slave away in the kitchen as a child, with her efforts often resulting in very little appreciation. Holidays, in particular, usually required more than a day of culinary preparation. And in many cases, we'd all end up fighting at the dinner table over something menial and ridiculous, all the while taking the food for granted. This year, my wife and I plan on sharing the brunt of the kitchen work for our holiday dinners. And because we will cook and bake as a family, I'm actually looking forward to it.

blame it on the economy

The recent Wall Street bailout has prompted hundreds (if not thousands) of businesses across the country to hitch a ride on the lame excuse bandwagon. Not a day has gone by since the bailout was passed that I haven't seen some company use the "impending recession" as an excuse to serve their customers poorly, charge their customers more, or quit doing business at all. Granted, I understand that the market is in sad shape right now, but I find it quite pathetic that business leaders are suddenly feeling the need to use the economy as their scape goat. If they are only now realizing what trouble they are in, then they must not be great leaders. If they're only admitting to the poor performance and/or management of the companies they are in charge of, simply because it is a "popular" thing to do at this time (or in hopes of picking up some "rescue funding" from the great bush bailout debacle), that's even worse.

Several small businesses in my area have been resorting to similarly pathetic tactics to try and drum up business and make excuses for shoddy service. One changes the name of their business about every two years. Another announced to the world that it would be shutting down, and proceeded to have a "clearance sale", only to remain in business. And now a third shut down with tears in their eyes and lumps in their throats, only to have a "grand reopening" nearly a month later. Lame, lame, lame.

a mad max future

Lately we've been seeing a rise in motorcycle traffic. While I am accustomed to seeing lots of bikes on certain weekends, we are now seeing lots of them all the time. I don't really know what the explanation might be, but I have a few guesses. Perhaps it is the gas crisis (although gas prices have been coming down lately). Or perhaps it has something to do with the motorcycle rallies and events that are planned in this part of the state. I know that many bikers like to hit the winding mountain roads around town, too. There have also been a number of retail shops and businesses that have opened recently that cater specifically to biker. From leather shops to bike-only motels, to accessories dealers carrying the latest aftermarket Harley parts, it is becoming a "biker's world" out there.

With the impending recession, it makes me wonder if we're going to experience a landscape similar to the Aussie one from the movie Mad Max, where large troupes or rogue bikers scurry across the land in search of fuel and villages to plunder. Perhaps that is a bit extreme, but there are lots of doomsday theories being thrown around right now, and the current economic crisis is only fueling that fire. Although I have to admit to having a certain morbid attraction to the idea of our messed up society starting all over again, I fear for what that would mean for our children. My wife and I can live with a certain amount of unpredictability and a somewhat rustic lifestyle, but my children would not be prepared for anything of the sort.

the copper thief

A friend and I were recently discussing the economic recession that our country is in, and he mentioned that he had heard that there has been a rise in stolen copper with foreclosures. It's pretty sad when people find themselves so desperate that they're willing to rip the copper plumbing out of their foreclosed home for some extra cash. When I used to work for a large telecommunications firm, we had similar problems with the theft of copper cabling. But these were common thieves who also didn't think twice about stealing old relay racks and used cisco equipment from the back of a company truck. Whereas the people stealing copper from their own homes today are your typical run-of-the-mill homeowners that have apparently been pushed to edge of financial ruin. Personally, I can't see myself ever being so underhanded, but it's hard to speculate what kind of frame of mind we would find ourselves if we were in that much financial strain.

We've also noticed while driving past the parking lot of the local food bank that it is much busier than it used to be. Storeowners downtown state that business is down. I believe it. My online affiliate sales have decreased, as well. People are spending less money because they are making less money. The possibility of an economic collapse makes me feel like saving my cash, and I know I'm not alone. Plus, I seriously doubt that this bailout idea that the president is pushing is going to help any of us. The average American citizen is already living lean and may be getting desperate. Anyone who leaves their money invested in the stock market at this point, bailout or not, had better be prepared for some longterm recovery, if at all.

digging the net10 phone

We've had one of those "disposable" pay-as-you-go cellphones from Net10 for about six months now, and I must admit that I am a satisfied customer. As much as I like to gripe about telephone company practices, these guys actually deliver what they promise. It's pay as you go with no hidden fees. And since I rarely use the phone, I get to carry over my leftover minutes each time I refill it. Currently, it is costing me about $16.50 every month, which isn't bad at all. Granted, it isn't glued to my ear like most people, so my minutes don't disappear that quickly. We plan on using this as our primary phone once we sell our house and move, so I suspect that we may have to add more minutes each month at that time. But for now we're quite happy with it.

I think I better find some wood to knock on...

trickle down professionalism

Living in a small town, there are certain types of services that have not yet joined the world of modern professionalism. I guess word hasn't trickled down just yet. Whether I'm working with a home construction contractor, an arborist, or even an auto mechanic, I find that many of them don't have the customer service tools that I came to expect when living in larger metro areas. Few of them use computers, and some don't even want to give you an estimate in writing. In many cases, the "good ol' boy" system is alive and well, and you're supposed to just trust someone's word. Heck, I've been in situations where I wouldn't have been surprised if the guy spit into his palm and wanted to shake on it. Locals are always quick to plug their friends and relatives, so you never know if someone is going to do a good job or not based on recommendations. And the last thing you need is to get involved in a business dispute with a friend or a neighbor. You know what they say about mixing your business and personal lives...don't do it!

Fortunately, even the phone book exists in the "boonies" and most professions are still required to register with local government. There isn't a local Better Business Bureau for my town, so I often turn to the internet for details. Sometimes I can find business ratings and reviews online, and at other times I cannot. There are specialized sites that are cropping up all over the net to try and maintain some sort of service history for many industries, but few have listings in my area just yet. Some get on my nerves by trying to redirect me to some national company that would be happy to put me on a big waiting list until they can get out to my area for an estimate. Then they'll inflate their price to cover travel fees to my area. It's similar to when you're searching the phonebook for local businesses, and they list paid advertisements for non-local firms first.

Luckily, not all sites are this underhanded or spammy. I recently ran across one for finding an auto body shop. I searched by my zip code, and they didn't have any listings in my area. Rather than try to redirect me to a listing from another city that might be able to do the work, they simply admitted that they couldn't help me yet. They even used a fancy video of a woman in the lower right-hand corner to apologize. This was a very user-friendly, honest and personal way to respond, and I appreciate that. I also like that I didn't have to enter any contact information in before I could search. I once tried using another site to find a gutter installer in my area, and they sold my contact information to a bunch of spam lists. Not only did I not receive a response from a qualified gutter contractor, but I had to cancel the email address that I had provided them so as to avoid the relentless spam.

names of irony

Today, we had some contractors working on our house. They got gobs of white drywall mud all over the place. The messed up the trim around our windows, and one of the guys stepped in the ball of white mud and tracked it all over the home. It was stuck deep in the carpet, and smeared on several walls, too. I understand that drywalling is a messy job, and I know that replacing a wall in an existing home is more likely to cause damage than new construction. But I'm absolutely disgusted that they would just leave it this way. If I can get on my hands and knees with some wet paper towels and a rag to clean up this mess, so can they. And they should have. Fortunately, this stuff comes up pretty easy with water. If it caused permanent staining or crusting, they'd be buying me some new carpet.

To make matters worse, this particular company uses the word "precision" in their company name. Talk about irony.