Author: Lee

Denied

After my interviews with Monroe County Dispatch and Solution Tree, I felt hopeful I would receive some good news regarding at least one of the positions.

I didn’t.

Solution Tree called a day after my interview and actually said they offered the position to another person, which accepted.  That felt as if they were rubbing it in my face.  It felt as if it was a “mercy interview” anyway, as my wife worked there for a second job.

I received a letter from the director of county communications stating they enjoyed my “presence” at the interview, but have decided to pursue other applicants for the position.  All in all, a very nice denial letter.  No qualms there.

For some reason, I feel as if I’m “out of the loop” or just out of reality for that matter.  I was only in a position 5 years, I wonder how my father felt when he had to find another career after losing his job of 29 years.

Someday I will find something better, I just wish that day would come.

Down, But Not Out

Another chapter in my ongoing computer problems.  I was actually writing a post regarding this when I received the infamous “blue screen of death!”

I discovered what actually killed my power supply.  Somehow (still a mystery to me) my power settings were disabled and deleted from my computer.  This created a painful situation for it.  Imagine if you had to run non stop 24/7 for months at a time, how would you feel?

In the end, I had to completely delete and reformat my C drive.  This is a problem for the majority, but I actually used to do this for fun.  Plus having 3 hard drives makes this task very easy, as I just move everything to the other drives, and back them up onto DVD just to make sure I don’t lose anything.  I am almost up and running again, as I am still working on my big job.

I am working on building a new PC, it will just take time.  I want this to be a pure “business” machine, which means I must use business funds.

It’s Official!

My business, LML Video Services is no longer just a project I have in a room of my house.

Today, I registered it as a business with the Monroe County Recorder‘s office.  I then opened a business checking account.  This is a huge step for me, as I can now officially say I own a small business!

I wonder who I shall make officers?  I know, Editor B and Bartender J can be my jesters, I mean officers.  If it wasn’t for their support, I wouldn’t be where I am today with this.  To get technical, I wouldn’t be writing this .rox blog without them.  Thankx guys!

This does come with some disadvantages though, as I can no longer use my business money for personal uses, darn.

Hopefully things will only grow from here.

Update – Art Collector?

I received a message from a person who works for John Mellencamp.  He asked John if he would like to sell the painting mentioned in Mike Leonard’s article.  John told him to tell me that he’s “really happy with this one and will probably keep it.”  He also said that “I should wait for another one of his paintings in the future.”

I replied to the persons’ message asking that I be informed when a painting becomes available.

So not now, but hopefully sometime.  To look on the bright side of things, I do have a contact now.

Just the thought of owning a Mellencamp painting makes me excited.

New Adventures For Everyone, Hopefully

We are officially planning our spring break vacation now.  Since my daughter has told me that she didn’t really enjoy her recent trip to Oklahoma, we have decided to do something we know she will enjoy.

Rachel and Taylor have not been to Florida.  I haven’t been since I was 9ish.  That was a horrible vacation, as it was bone chilling cold (for Florida anyway), roads were closed, hell Disney and all the other resorts were closed most of the time we were there. 

We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but we are going to the Orlando area.  That is solid as a rock right now.  Hopefully I can borrow my mom’s car again (more room is a plus), Thanks mom!  The next step is figuring out a way to get to NOLA from there.

I have been yearning to meet Editor B & XY for a while now.  I feel as if this may be an opportunity that I do not want to miss out on.  I think a day or 2 wouldn’t be too much to ask, as we are staying in Orlando for 3.

I guess I’ll see how this turns out.

Power Restored…For Now Anyway

I swapped my “new” POS power supply for another today.

After speaking with the tech, he informed me of what could have caused this little disaster.  He informed me that the 12v section of the power supply went bad.  He then went on to tell me that when the L2 cache of the processor goes bad, it tends to short out the 12v supply.  He also told me that it generally takes a week.  (This is one of the few situations where I don’t know a whole lot BTW.)

He recommended to run some benchmark software for 24 hours.  When I first started running it, my CPU became hot, 95° C.  So I adjusted some BIOS settings and re-ran the app.  Now the temp is holding steady, in the mid 50’s range.

I hope this has solved my problem, but there is no real way to diagnose it (from what I know).

If it becomes the worse case scenario, my processor (an AMD Athlon X2 3800+, Toledo Core) is still under warrantee.  I also have my “old” processor sitting around as a backup.

This situation has proven to me that I need, not want, a backup computer.  I cannot run my business without it.  That is my next step.

Art Collector?

I have always been a fan of the arts.  Whether it be performing, creative, or without a title.  One problem is that I do not have many “pieces” of art.  I purchased a print while in Oklahoma many years ago.  It was created by Ben Adair Shoemaker.  The artwork itself and the artists’ name struck a cord deep within my soul, as my family lives in Adair county, Oklahoma.

I feel as if I might start on a new path with art due to an article I read in the Herald Times.  My favorite writer (except J of course) has always been Mike Leonard.  He always writes very interesting things, about interesting subjects.

In his latest article, he wrote about a recent meeting with John Mellencamp.  As you may or may not know, John is also an accomplished artist.  John recently completed a 10′ x 10′ painting, and asked Mike if he’d buy it.

I have been a fan of Johns’ work, both music and painting since I have known about them.  I would like to have a piece of his, but have not been able to find a way to do so.  Hopefully, with Mr. Leonard’s help, I will have a chance.

I emailed Mike asking if he knew someone to contact regarding purchasing a painting from John.  He replied stating he would contact John’s manager.  I hope things pan out.

-Interesting note:  My mother auditioned to be a backup singer for John back in the early to mid 80’s.  From what she has told me, everyone loved her voice, she was just too tall.

 

My mom is 6′ tall.

No Juice

My ‘puter is down again.  My diagnostic abilities are somewhat limited at this point, but I strongly believe it’s my power supply again.

I wasn’t upset when the original one died, as it was a cheap case/PS combo.  I have read many times that when purchasing a PC case with power supply, the power supply should be changed immediately.

This ticks me off though, as I was told by this PC shop that the power supplies they sell are workhorses, and do not fail.  I’ve had the thing a friggin’ week!

As soon as I leave work (8:30am) I am off to the shop to get another, as it has a 1 year warrantee.  If the next one fails, I am not going to deal with this shop anymore.  They have not failed me until now, but I don’t have the patience anymore.

Interviews Abound

I have had many interviews lately.  Nothing seems to pan out though.  Today was my interview for the 911 dispatcher position.  It went well I think, but I’ve had the same feeling before.  I have been dreaming of this job since I first heard about it, and I believe my chances are quite good.

I have an interview Monday at my wifes’ second job.  This seems “iffy” at best to me, as I like the office lifestyle, but am not your “typical” office worker.

I will do my best, as I think anything (that has a decent salary) is better than my current situation.  I don’t mind my current job, I just hate the days and hours I have to work (12am – 8:30am Saturday through Wednesday).  The only reason I keep going is to keep my house.  I don’t want a foreclosure on my record.

I sent my resume to a place that would not disclose their name (it happens frequently around here).  I received an email yesterday regarding that position.  The email stated that the company makes “high-end” lamps, tables and accessories.  This is a warehouse position with some assembly required*.  I was shocked, no, furious about the salary, a mere $6.50 an hour!  Most warehouse positions in this area salaries’ are double that!  I wanted to send them an email stating how mad I was, but I didn’t.  I sent them a simple one stating based upon the salary I was no longer interested.

I know somewhere, there is something for me.  I just wish this search would end, and soon.  It has always been hard for me to get a job, let alone a career.  That seems to be the unattainable dream in my life.

The Leak Just Keeps a’ Flowing

I have learned many things after buying this house.

1.  Expect the unexpected.
2.  That home repair class in High School has paid it self off and then some.
3.  When one crisis is finished, another one is sure to follow.

I came home the other day to hear the sound of running water.   I saw a glimmer of water downstairs as well.   Our infamous leak was back!  This time I could see exactly where it was coming from though.  It was leaking stronger than ever, I would guesstimate around 1-2 gallons per minute!

When the house was built, instead of using quick set concrete or mortar to seal the hole for the water line, caulking was used.  After 33 years, it has given out.

So I quickly went to Menards and purchased some items, one of which being “Dry-Lok Fast Plug,” a quick setting cement.  This stuff claimed to actually seal an active water leak, and it does!

After some trial and error, and much needed help from my “women,”the leak stopped.  But solving that problem, only created a new one.

It rained cats and dogs the next day, and the leak was back, more than ever.  There was no dripping sound, instead I found that water was “sweating” or coming directly through our concrete block foundation.  This is caused by hydrostatic pressure that builds up next to the house.

This is just an assumption, but I believe there are insufficient drainage systems in place around the house.  The rear of the home seems fine, and shows no signs of any water being there.  The front is a different story though.  I believe part of the problem lies in the topography immediately in front of the house.

But alas, it’s winter and no major excavation can be done.  Which means the problem cannot be fixed at this moment.  I hope my uncle Ted can help me out on this one. 

So I guess until spring comes, we will have to deal with the problem.