And There Was Light

Today I’ve been working on removing our old entry chandelier and replacing it with a new one, more suited to our tastes.  Our old one is on the right.

It is similar to our dining room chandelier, but much larger.  We purchased it months ago, but the height of our entry was too high for my ladder.  Our entry is only 6′ x 4′, but it’s about 15′ tall!  I left early to rent a ladder, but decided to stop and see if my neighbor Gary could help, and help he did.  I asked him if he had a ladder taller than mine, and his works!

After about 3 hours of interesting work, I finished, and the most important thing, it works!

Now I just need to finish the walls.  Our house is begging to look more like a home.

I Got A REAL Job!

Today I accepted a position with IU!

It’s with the Center for Survey Research as a Production Staff member.  My job duties will be as follows.

Survey packet assembly
Opening/Sorting/Batching returned mail and surveys
Formatting addresses in databases
Scanning surveys
Correcting scanned surveys
Occasional data entry
Other office tasks

I am excited about this position for several reasons.  First and foremost, it’s in Eigenmann Hallwhere my wife works, just on a different floor.  Second, it’s an office position which I have desired for a long time.

I have to go back tomorrow to fill out paperwork, ect.  I was told that I will be starting within the next couple of weeks.

The job is very flexible, as I get to set my own hours.  There is only one downside though, as it is mainly an academic year position, meaning the position is out when the kids are.  It’s something I’m willing to live with, only if the boss is.

When It’s Feast or Famine, I Try To Feast As Much As Possible

This year so far has been somewhat of a growing year for my business, LML Video Services.

I have added new services, and I’m currently planning a commercial.  If you have any interesting ideas let me know, as I’m always open for suggestions.

Last weekend I delivered some Cassette tape to CD transfers (the first ones I have done).  The client gave me 24 more tapes to transfer!  They have all been Sherlock Holmes sets that are not available on CD.  I have completed 12 thus far, hopefully I will have the rest completed by the end of the week.  I do know copyright laws, and anyone owning copyrighted material can make a “sole backup” copy of any work they have purchased.  Each of these transfers has a disclaimer on them stating, “Transferred to CD for backup purposes.”

My New York client is sending me some more video transfers as well.  Thanks Marc!

I have also organized everything.  I am now using QuickBooks, keeping track of expenses and income, and making backup copies of reciepts.  I have everything saved on my PC and a binder.  I will use a new binder for every year.  This will help when the tax man cometh, and should the time come, business loans and credit cards.

My new plan is to save, instead of spend.  I have been spending every dime I have on improvements since the word go.  Since I believe I have adequate equipment I am cutting back the spending.  The next step for me is bigger and better everything.  These items aren’t cheap, so I’m working on starting a business savings account to help save for future expansion.

UPDATE:  Interestingly enough, one set of the Sherlock Holmes tapes was manufactured and distributed by a company in the same town as my New York client.

Jealous

This weekend is a big weekend for my wife.  We will be going to her 10 year high school reunion.  Rachel (my wife) comes from a very small town, in a very rural area of southern Indiana.  They don’t even have a flashing light!  I do love where she’s from though, as everyone knows, germans know how to have a good time!

I’ll always love her though, no matter how much she looks like our rabbit Gil! 🙂

I feel quite a bit jealous of this event.  I took the “easy” road and got my GED when I was 17.  So I will never have a reunion to go to.  As I’ve gotten older, these things have hit me quite hard.

Some people think persons with GED’s are the people who aren’t intelligent, and just didn’t want to go to school.  It isn’t always true.  My reason you ask?  I was shuffled between 3 high schools in just under 2 years.  I was between a rock and a hard place, either graduate when I was 20, or get a GED at 17.  Which would you choose?

My plan was to go back to school no matter what if I didn’t get the GED.  I went to Ivy Tech, on numerous occasions.  I seem to always find a way to leave.  I have a certificate from Indiana University for Managing in the Life Sciences Industry.  I just don’t learn well in a structured environment.

My wife has many accolades that makes me wonder why she loves me so.  She is currently 2 classes away from achieving a Masters degree from IU in Higher Education.  I guess opposites really do attract?

So I may be jealous, but at least I’m in love.

 

A Little Fishy

I applied for a position listed in the Herald-Times and got it!  The bad part is something just seems a little fishy.  I did some exhaustive research regarding this “industry,” as there are many other companies that do the same exact thing.  I couldn’t find any pending litigation, or scams relating to this.  So I’m taking a chance.

The “official” title is, Online Store Administrator.  When it comes down to it, I’m just scanning pre-paid online game cards and sending them to “My Boss.”

Here are the instructions I was given regarding the position:

I was not given any further instructions, including an important step in the process.  Where to send it to.

When I ask questions, I’m lucky to get a response I understand.

Although everything doesn’t seem to be on the “up and up,” this could be a very lucrative venture.  I will supposedly be paid $23 for each card I scan.  I asked how many I will receive per day, week, etc. and got this as a response, “usually it’s about 5-7 per once.”

WTF does that mean?  I sent another email asking for clarification, and I’m still waiting on a response.

Bloomingpedia

Bloomington has it’s own “pedia.”  It’s basically a clone of wilkipedia, but everything is related to my hometown.

There are many interesting articles about what Bloomington is and what this town used to be.

My wife is constantly trying to find ways to promote my business, which I appreciate greatly.  She added it, and I did a little revising.

Then I looked up ROX, and came up with nothing.  Always being grateful for all the nice things the guys have done for me, I made an article on it about ROX. 

I only hope that people who watched the show in it’s hayday will append to what I’ve started.

This town has a vast, rich history and I think this is a perfect way to try to remember those things that don’t make the history books. 

Check it out:  http://www.bloomingpedia.org

Is The World Spinning, Or Is It Just Me?

Not too long after I awoke today, something very strange happened to me.

I had what I’m calling a mini-seizure.

Just as I was about to take my morning dose of anti-seizure medication, the world started spinning.  It felt like when you get off of a tilt-a-whirl, and still feel like your spinning.

I lost all orientation.  Trying to be smart, I even stepped to the left to “try” to walk as swiftly as I could to my bed.

My stomach became very upset as well, and stayed that way for most of the day.

My dizzy feelings went away after a few minutes, and I laid down to rest my weary mind.

My mental capacity has also been diminished most of the day.  Here it is almost 1am and I’m wide awake, my mind bursting with thoughts.

I hope this is the optimist in me speaking, but one very good thing happened here today, I never lost consciousness!  This has only happened one other time, 7 years ago.

I hope I will someday be as lucky as Editor B.  He had epilepsy for years, and it eventually went away.  The jury’s still out on my case, but this may be a step in the right direction.

Letting The Numbers Speak

To help us determine ways to save energy costs and consumption, I have created spreadsheets of our utility bills and a spreadsheet for the fuel consumption of my truck.

From what I have entered thus far I have found some very surprising facts.

I believe there is something “fishy” going on at our water company, as the numbers just don’t add up.

Here’s an example:

In March, we were billed for using 1980 gallons of water, which we were charged $9.43.  A month later, we used 1990 gallons and were charged the same amount, $9.43.  Our sewer bill shows this same descrepancy as we were charged $46.00 each month.

What’s 100 gallons of water and sewage when you’re only being charged 1/2 cent per gallon for water and 2 cents per gallon of sewage?

Here’s the amazing thing.  The installation of our new heat pump has significantly reduced our electric use.  Here’s the numbers:

Billing Date     Total KWH Used     Avg. KWH/Day     Total Charges
   3/5/07                   3023                     107.96                $261.94    
   4/4/07                   1379                       44.48                $138.55

The first set of numbers are consumption prior to installation.

Our home is powered completely by electricty.  We are using more and more energy conservation methods, and when something needs replaced we always look at how much it consumes before purchasing.

Hopefully we will get that new solar attic fan I wrote about before sometime soon.  We are even discussing purchasing a tankless hot water heater, when the time comes.  Electric models require much more infastructure than gas ones, but are still just as good.

How does your household rate?  I read somewhere that the “average” US household uses 1000 KWH per month.  If we could drop the average by 1%, we would be doing the world more than we know.

There’s a Nightmare, In My Hood

I was shocked as to what I saw in the newspaper over the weekend.

Click *here* to read the story via TheIndyChannel.com (Indianpolis’s ABC affiliate)

Just a few miles away, someone has been arrested for double homicide.  The gross part is the people who were murdered were being stored in drums on the guys’ property.

According to MapQuest, it is only 2.33 miles from my house!

Just take a look at the guy, kinda makes you wonder.

Here’s a link to an updated article  click *here*

 

What’cha Think?

 

 

It’s my new desktop.  It took a lot of time and patience to make it this way, but I enjoy it very much.  My favorite artist Van Gogh is featured here with his painting “A Night on the Rhone.”

Changing the taskbar was interesting to say the least.  I used a brazillian “theme.”  It changed EVERYTHING to spanish.  So I had to change it back without knowing anything about that language except for “si.”

To get the full effect see the full size.