cahwyguy | Entries tagged with status

The Whaler Back when I was in high school, my parents bought a timeshare in Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii. I visited a lot when I was in high school and my first years in college. After that, it was mostly my parents place (and, for the longest time, they rented out the two weeks to friends of theirs). For the longest time, the last time we were there was right after our wedding, in 1985. After my folks passed on, the unit and interval passed to me. We would go occasionally, but usually we just deposited the interval with Interval International, and just went somewhere in driving distance of Los Angeles. In other words: Las Vegas (in the summer), Scottsdale (in the summer), Tucson (in the summer), Palm Desert (in the summer), and occasionally, Escondido (in the summer). We were last in Maui for our 30^th wedding anniversary in 2015. This year, being our 40^th, we had the occasion to visit again.

I bring this up because this timeshare is different than most of the timeshares we visit. Other timeshare—the Grand Chateau Marriott in Las Vegas, the numerous Marriott complexes in Palm Desert in Scottsdale or Palm Desert, the Welk Resort in Escondido—they all feel like glorified hotel rooms (because they are). There is no sense of other owners; no sense of the folks with whom you share the space. The closest we came was many years ago when we exchanged for the Palm Springs Golf and Tennis Club.

Here, it is different. There is a closet shared with the owners of the other intervals. Each interval leaves a box of (non-perishable) stuff for their next visit. The box is a timecard of your last visit. Mine still has 3 sets of playing cards that my parents used, together with stationary and envelopes. We’ll add more for our next visit: dry measure cups and kitchen supplies and such.

People leave appliances for other owners. We’ve found, at the top of shelves, rice cookers and french presses, and thermal mugs and all such. You pass it forward instead of being possessive and shipping it back. People do the same with beach supplies. Interval owners are a family—I remember that there used to mixers each intervals for the owners to meet each other. I didn’t see one scheduled when we were there; perhaps they have passed by the wayside.

The people here are a family. We get a weekly newsletter about what is happening with the TIO (Time Interval Owners) and the AOAO (Apartment Owners Association). We know the staff. We see the constant upkeep of the grounds. We learn what is happening in the community. This doesn’t happen with those timeshares where you just buy points to use somewhere else; where the point is just to get some timeshare to get into the system. This isn’t the type of timeshare where people want to sell. This is family.

Way in the back of a cabinet where people leave games and puzzles, I found a notebook: The people of XXX (where XXX is our unit). This was clearly something my dad had put together for each interval to put pictures of their family, perhaps their address. People put in menus and comments on them (and my dad’s distinctive handwriting was all over the place—he really was the outgoing people person). I was probably buried back there, and none of the owners have updated it perhaps since the 1990s. But there was a picture of my parents in there, as well as a picture of my dad and his next wife (my stepmother who just passed away). It was this remarkable time capsule of my parents; a bit of time travel that brought back memories of summer on Maui as a teen. Remember—this was 50 years ago!

Finding that notebook reminded me how special this place it. Perhaps, now that I’m retired, we’ll brave the 5+ hour flight to come out here more years.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Timeshares and Time Travel by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Circle A A1 in the 1990s About a month ago, I wrote about my upcoming retirement and why I was retiring. This last week was filled with both trepidation and anticipation. Last Wednesday, I was treated to a wonderful “farewell” party where I heard such kind words and reminisced about my career at Circle A. I also received a lovely signed photoboard that included a picture of the only building that deserved the title of A1 (unlike A9, which is really A1′). Friday, my penultimate day, cemented the fact that although the people would love me to stay, the universe thinks it is time to go. I got to work only to find that someone had moved into the space I had reserved for hoteling; in fact, that space which I had reserved for Friday and Monday as no longer available for hoteling. So I decamped to my old office (A1/3034) and was able to work there, and reserved the only hoteling space on the 2nd floor for my last day. The traffic in both directions made the commute even worse. The universe was saying, “it’s time. You gotta get out of this place.”

There’s a whiteboard outside the 3^rd floor elevators in A1′ (nee A9) where people add their “song of the day”. Most of the songs I didn’t recognize, although someone early on added Frank Mill’s Music Box Dancer. Friday I added two songs to the list: (1) The Animal’s We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, and (2) So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music. The juxtaposition of “We gotta get out of this place / If it’s the last thing we ever do” with “So long, farewell / Auf Wiederseh’n, goodnight / I hate to go / And miss this pretty sight” truly expresses my feelings. I wonder if any of the “kids” will get it, or will have even heard from these two songs that were popular in 1965.

Which brings us to today, Monday, June 30, 2025. Today I retire from Circle A Ranch. Thoughts and memories have been running through my head over the last week, and I wanted to get them down on virtual paper. This is (essentially) the close of a 40+ year career in cybersecurity, although I’ll still be involved through ACSAC for a few more years, and might be back as a retiree casual in 2026 (as long as they don’t require a substantial on-campus presence, and primarily to support my long-term unclass project).

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As I post this, it is now approximately 30 days until I retire from Circle A, and start the “life of leisure” (which with all of my hobbies, isn’t all that leisurely). I enter this new stage of my life with a mix of hope and fear.

First, why am I retiring? There are a number of reasons, but the primary one is that the fun has gone out of work, because….

The technology has advanced beyond my expertise. I grew up in the era of monolithic systems, waterfall models, and the TCSEC. Today, the kids blabber on about Kubernetes, containers, agile development, model-based system engineering, DevSecOps, and more. I feel that fundamental notions of assurance and understanding of fundamental design are being lost. I’m also increasingly lost in the low level minutæ of cryptography and transmission protocols. I can’t add value when I don’t understand the details to know what is wrong.
The work friction has been increasing. By this, I refer to things such as return-to-office and changes in the office. Pre-COVID, I had a vanpool and could sleep on the way in, and only drive sometimes on the way back. Now? The commute has always been bad, but without the vanpool (which died during COVID), it is unbearable: 60+ minutes to get in; 90-120 to get home. I no longer have the patience for it. Combine that with a push to return to the office, and I no longer want to waste the time in traffic.
The office space situation is also changing in a direction I don’t like. We’ve also gone from private offices at work to cubicles, and now they are talking flow, and commons, and caves, and people having only shared spaces, with having to move to a “telephone booth” to have a private Teams meeting. That might be great when you are coding, but when you are dealing with proprietary meetings and attempting to deeply review documents, it doesn’t work. Management increasingly believes that issues such as the commute or the work environment can be compensated for with emotional support puppies, food trucks, sleep pods, and plants. Perhaps for the “kids” that don’t have lives. For the older folks, it isn’t all that attractive. Oh, and the kicker? The remodeling for this new space starts … June 20. When do I retire? June 30. When I mentioned this, the response was “Now you get to pack up your office 10 days earlier”. Sigh. So, my last 10 days I’ll be working from home or hoteling.
Laptops. My work laptop is nearing end of life. When I got it, we could still have admin privileges on laptops, meaning I could easily install all the software I needed to do what I do at work. With a new laptop, I’m going to have to go through the IT support people to get lots of software approved (perl, HTML editors, emacs, mariaDB, PaintShop Pro), and that is pain I no longer want to deal with.
Performance reviews. I will be ecstatic when I no longer have to face annual performance reviews. This is not to say I get bad reviews (I get glowing reviews), but there is an increasing emphasis on setting goals, and — even more annoying — the assumption that everyone wants to be a leader or a manager. I’m sorry, but some of us just want to be technical experts sitting in our corner: the person people go to when they need help in specialized areas. We used to have a separate technical track for that, but that seems to have been refocused on technical leadership (i.e., bringing in project funds).
I’m also tired of the need to be a salesman. I have a coworker who has a wonderful tool they’ve been developing, and they have the skills to market this tool to leadership well. They’ve tended to develop it in isolation, and so while it touches on my specialty, they haven’t been working with me to ensure that area is correct. On the other hand, I have a tool I’ve been developing since 2009, and I’m not a salesman. It has been a continual fight to get funding for the development of this tool, and I’m just tired of it. People like the tool and what it does, but not enough to provide steady funding for its development.
Having a clearance is increasingly stressful. There’s the standard friction of travel restrictions and not talking about the specifics of what one does at the office. With the current administration, there are increasing worries about taking positions that disagree with 47. I just don’t want that sword hanging over me.
Then there is the current administration. We have an administration that doesn’t care about science, that is in the “do it fast and break things” mold. They may care about space, but they see it as an unrealistic toy. Further, this administration only wants “wins”, and they don’t necessarily like organizations that provide honest assessments of mission success. And while I did agree with the creation of Space Force (one of the few things Trump did right), what we really need is a Cyber Force. But this administration has no commitment to cybersecurity, based on what they’ve done to CISA, NSF, and how they talk about the RMF. They really don’t care if someone attacks our systems. Given how I care about cybersecurity, I really don’t want to have to work in that environment. Further, I sense some rocky times ahead for the Ranch, even though they might not see it yet.
Lastly, I find that it is harder to keep focus when I’m reviewing work documents. I can do a page or three, and then have to do something else for a few minutes. However, when I’m doing my highway research, I can be focused and fall into the rabbit hole of research and history for hours. I find I want to do that more: fall into historical rabbit holes and do that research. That, more than anything else, tells me it is time: I don’t want the last third of my life being spent doing something that isn’t fun and engaging.

So I think it is time to retire. I think I have enough to keep me busy in retirement, from increasing the research on the highway pages, getting more involved with my synagogue’s men’s club, running the conference and other activities, plus picking up some activities I’ve dropped, such as genealogical research. I also want/need to get back into mall and community walking, which stopped after a bout of plantar fasciitis and my wife’s leg injury.

What’s scary about retirement is all of the planning: both insurance-related and financial. I’ve been trying to figure out all of the insurance, and I think I’m just about there. We’ll have retiree medical (which is an Anthem Medicare Plus PPO with Senior Rx Plus plan that folks seem to like well, and we’ve been using the Anthem PPO for years), and I’m arranging for AARP Dental. Medicare is confusing: but we’ve finally got acknowledgments that Part B will be effective 07/01/2025 for both of us. The retiree medical (monthly) will be the two Medicare Premiums ($185) plus approx. $225, and it looks like the Dental is about $110.

Finances originally looked good, but then Trump started his tariff games. I won’t give specific numbers on a public forum, but I’m lucky to have a full pension from work. We’ve turned on Social Security for my wife; we’ll turn on mine after I reach 67. We’ve got investments: Roth 401(k), 403(b), IRAs, and normal investment accounts, all of which have been hammered by this administration. So I’m less confident on the investment front than I was originally. We should also start out with a nice chuck of funds from accrued vacation I haven’t used (over 300 hours). I may also, after the required 6-month period, return to Circle A as a Retiree Casual, which provides up to 500 hours a year, no benefit. It could be a useful supplement, and I could still support a specific program that needs my experience.

They make it appear as if retirement is a simple decision. You decide to retire, you pack your desk, and you go home to enjoy your sunset years, driving your RV across the country. The reality is that there are so many decisions you need to make (and often, the time to make them is well before you retire). Where you work, and how long you stay there? Is there a pension plan? Where should you invest, and what type of investment account? Medicare timing, and Medicare parts A, B, C, D, G, N, J. What order do you draw funds from retirement accounts in order to minimize tax? IRMAA, which is an income limit, based on your income two years ago that impacts your Medicare premiums? Will my income keep up with the cost of living?

While working, you don’t realize the simplicity of a weekly paycheck and employer provided healthcare. When you retire, you have multiple income streams, all with different amounts, some of which you need to determine how much to withdraw. It clearly isn’t simple.

Complicating everything here is the 47 administration, which keeps threatening Social Security and Medicare. Even if they don’t do anything, the fear they induce is confusing. But, of course, you know they are going to do something that makes things worse (we’ve already seen this with the SSA and Medicare websites). Then, of course, are their tariff games and tax games, which destroy predictability and tank the markets. Investing was good and strong under Biden. Trump 47 has spooked the market and brought us to the edge of recession. For those who will be depending on investments for income, this is a really bad thing.

I know I want/need to retire. But there is fear that comes with it.

So, I’m entering this last month with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Wish me luck.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as T-30 or The R Word Gets Closer by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it. It looks like I did my last major order tea post back in 2019, but I know I’ve done some major orders since then. Part of the reason for the break was the pandemic, combined with our having to go to Las Vegas on business and discovering the wonder Sheffield Tea and Spices over on Eastern near St. Rose (there’s also great Cuban and Steak near there). But the black and black-flavored portion of the tea cabinet is getting low; we’re pretty much down to a bunch of teas we pick up at Point Loma Tea, plus a few tins left from Upton and Sheffield. We’re still pretty good on green, herbal, and chai teas.

So what’s on the order board this time? Note that prices in [ ] are the 2019 prices, for comparison.

First, from Upton tea:

TP12: Premium China Keemun. Often called the burgundy of China teas, this North China Congou is rich, flavorful and appropriate for any time of day. We offer this as our basic Keemun, although it is in the middle range of the standard series. $7.50 [$7.00] / 125g.
TA20: Tippy Orthodox FBOP Assam. A uniform, broken-leaf tea with bold character and strong, malty flavor. This tea is a great choice for breakfast and throughout the day. $7.75 [$7.00] / 100g.
TB86: Richmond Park Blend. A mellow, whole-leaf blend of Keemun, Ceylon, and Darjeeling. An exceptional tea which is smooth enough for drinking plain, and sturdy enough to take milk or lemon. From our London blender. $9.50 [$8.75] /100g.
TB14: Scottish Breakfast Blend. Blended to appeal to those who favor an eye-opening experience in the morning, this tea yields a cup with a round, full flavor, malty notes, and brisk character. A perfect choice to start the day. $7.75 [$6.75] / 125g.
TB15: Java BOP Blend. A rich breakfast blend especially suited for those who enjoy a powerful cup in the morning. This also is a great choice for iced tea. Java teas are never expensive, so you get the best produced for a few cents a cup. $7.25 [$6.25] / 125g.
TB02: Leadenhall Street Breakfast Blend. A tribute to the famous London tea auctions, our Leadenhall Street Breakfast Blend is a blend of two classic British teas: a brisk Ceylon and a thick, malty Assam. The result is a flavorful mixture which lends itself to the addition of milk. 8.50 [$7.00] / 125g.
NF90 Naturally Flavored Vanilla Tea. This naturally flavored, whole-leaf black tea is smooth and rich with creamy vanilla flavor. The aroma is fragrant with notes of sweet vanilla bean. Enjoy this decadent treat any time of day. Note: What works really well is to mix either this or the Caramel Tea half-and-half with Lapsang Souchong or the Baker Street Blend. $12.50 [$10.50] / 100g.
NT01 Naturally Flavored Earl Grey Creme Vanilla. This naturally flavored black tea selection provides a wonderful balance of a classic Earl Grey with creamy vanilla notes. The rich cup is smooth and satisfying. Note: This is a close approximation to Monks Blend. $10.25 [$9.00] / 100g.
TB49: Darjeeling-Ceylon Iced Tea Blend. Half whole-leaf Darjeeling and half OP Ceylon. A great hot tea as well! The brewing information provided is for making an iced tea concentrate. $10.00 [$7.50] / 125g.
ZG20: First Grade Gunpowder Green. Superior grade of green tea in the style of gunpowder teas (tightly rolled tea leaves resembling gunpowder pellets). $6.75 [$5.75]/125g.
TB30: Kensington Breakfast Blend. A bit lighter than our River Shannon Blend, this English Breakfast style tea is a rich blend of Assam, Ceylon, and Keemun. Best with milk. $8.75 [$7.50] / 125g
TB75: Baker Street Afternoon Blend. A bit of Lapsang Souchong is blended with Keemun and Darjeeling, yielding a mildly smoky tea. Perfect for an afternoon uplift. Another special (whole-leaf) blend from our London source of fine teas. $10.00 [$8.75] / 125g.
TF92 Naturally Flavored Tropical Black Tea. A melange of dried papaya, passion fruit and pineapple, blended with a rich black tea, creates a decadent tropical fruit experience. Fragrant and sweet, this tea is wonderful hot or iced. $8.00 [$7.25] / 125g.
TD06: Darjeeling BOP Blend. The best value in Darjeeling tea. Broken leaf Darjeeling is often overlooked, either because the price is so reasonable or because too much value is placed on a more stylish leaf. This flavorful BOP blend offers a great cup at a very attractive price. $14.75 [$12.75] / 125g.
TC20: Bimbula BOP. This smooth, mellow cup of tea offers classic full-bodied Ceylon flavor. Enjoy it hot or iced. $8.75 / 125g.

From Sheffield Tea, we’re ordering the following. This is our first time doing this by mail; normally we do it in-store. But we don’t have any trips to Vegas planned for a while.

Dark Chocolate Black Tea. Remember stealing the chocolate cookies when your mom was baking cookies? Our Dark Chocolate Black Tea will bring back fond memories. We aren’t sure when chocolate was first added to tea or who was responsible for doing it. But we are sure of one thing – thank the gods he or she did it. With each tasting we are consistently impressed by the way the natural chocolate flavoring blends with our Ceylon tea. Heavenly with a dash of milk and a little sugar. $15.90 / 4oz.
Berry Tango. Berry Tango is the berry-flavored tea you must have if you can only have one fruity black tea. The raspberry and blueberry flavors dance around in a beautiful performance, bringing strawberries, red currants and other flavors into this choreographed artistic work we call Berry Tango. The lighter nuances of all these fruits when blended with a high quality black tea allows all the flavors to come through. $13.90 / 4oz
Blood Orange Tea. Blood Orange Tea has an intense orange flavor, yet has sweetness notes, reminding you of freshly squeezed oranges. A blood orange has some raspberry-like notes, giving it a flavor beyond a traditional orange. We know this tea will be appreciated by our friends who like not just orange flavored teas, but for anyone who appreciates citrus flavors in any tea. To complete the flavor, our blender only uses high grown teas from the top 3 tea growing regions of Sri Lanka – Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva. The result is a tea worthy of any tea cup when looking for an orange or citrus-flavored black tea. $13.90 / 4oz
Chestnut Grove Tea. Chestnut Grove Black Tea was personal favorite from our first sip. It also became an instant hit with our friends from the day we placed it on our shelf, and it continues to be one of top selling teas. We still keep a tin of it at home. Chestnut Grove is unlike any other tea in our store, with it’s unique chestnut flavor. It’s like a hazelnut type flavor with a caramel finish, while using a mellow English Breakfast Tea. It is blended with premium black tea from Sri Lanka flavored with roasted chestnut, with hints of caramel even though it has none. It also has what we characterize a Hazelnut-like finish. The result is a roasty, smooth and full bodied black tea with pleasant dryness. $15.90 / 4oz
Chocolate Mint Black Tea. Chocolate Mint Black Tea is an invigorating cup of creamy chocolate with refreshing mint. Everything and everybody needs a special day right? Well, according to the National Confectioners Association, February 19th is Chocolate Mint Day. Mmmm. That’s a good day. Now we need a Chocolate Mint Tea Day. $15.90 / 4oz
Icewine Tea. Our Icewine Tea has the same, grapey flavor you have in a glass of Icewine, just not in a glass. If you are familiar with Icewine, then you know the sweet flavor of which I speak. For this Icewine Tea, our blender uses several black and white teas, Ontario Icewine, Currants and natural flavors. The flavor is complex with nuances of the grapey icewine, pears and berries. Very unique in the tea world and very unique on your tea shelf. You should add a touch of sugar to enhance the flavors. $13.90 / 4oz
Monk’s Blend Black Tea. Monk’s Blend Black Tea is one of our most flavorful teas. The dramatic combination of vanilla and grenadine ensures a particular satisfying cup. We’ve had Monk’s Blend since we opened. It’s one of those classic teas, along with Earl Grey, and several others whose history as a flavor goes way back, and has many versions. Regardless of the version you believe, it’s a tea you need to sip, and our version is as good as it gets. $13.90 / 4oz
Salty Caramel Black Tea. Salty Caramel Black Tea tastes as good as it sounds. The popularity of Salted Caramel has now extended to tea, and our blender has done a fine job of creating a black tea and capturing the flavor we all love. The smooth caramel flavor is finished with a hint of salt. To further accent the caramel, almond and brittle pieces are added to support the profile. $17.90 / 4oz
Samovar Tea. Samovar Tea is our version of what traditionally has been known as Russian Caravan Tea, or just Caravan Tea. The common tea is Lapsang Souchong, a smoked tea from the Fujian Provence. High quality Lapsang teas have a very distinct smokiness created by drying the tea leaves over pine wood fires. Lapsang provides a base tea and flavor for Caravan teas. We craft our Samovar by starting with our luxury Lapsang Souchong base tea. We blend in Assam from the Assam Valley of India for boldness and to reduce the level of smokiness. We then blend in Formosa Oolong to further moderate the smokiness and add a smoothness. $13.90 / 4oz
Vietnamese Black Tea. Yes, a Vietnamese Black Tea. When we decided to expand our teas into additional countries and regions, we looked to Vietnam since we heard so many good reports about the flavor, the aroma and everything we look for in a cup of tea ourselves. They are the 7th largest producer of tea in the world. Most tea drinkers never knew Vietnam even grew tea, let alone a major player, but they are. They produce some of the most delightful teas we have found and at very reasonable prices. This one could be one of your “regular”, daily teas. We found this Vietnam OP tea to sit along side of our Ceylon, Indian, Sri Lanka and other black teas. As far as appearance and color are concerned, a thoroughly processed leaf tea from Vietnam does not differ at all from the far more popular sorts from China. In taste, however, it is far spicier. Not spicy like chile pepper spicy, just a brighter, more lively flavor when compared to your standard English Breakfast tea. This results from the particular fermentation and drying process. Therefore, the quality we offer may rather be compared to a Ceylonese highland type and is, thus, particularly interesting for tea drinkers who like a mild and, at the same time, fully aromatic tea. $13.90 / 4oz
Yorkshire Gold Loose Tea. Yorkshire Gold Loose Tea is one of the most popular teas in Britain. Their slogan is “A Proper Brew”. A nation of tea drinkers, and they take their tea seriously. Taylors of Harrogate is a family-owned tea company based in Yorkshire in the rolling countryside. They have been family-owned from it’s founding over 100 years ago. We carry Yorkshire Gold Tea because we have so many British customers who either live in the Las Vegas area, or visit us while in town. Taylors of Harrogate considers Yorkshire Gold their finest blend. They choose teas from the best tea gardens in three origins: Assam, Kenya and Rwanda. They are known for paying more than market for the tea to secure the best teas in the best tea gardens in those countries. This consistent blend produces a very robust, yet very smooth cup of tea. The color is bright and coppery. $13.90 / 4oz
Tahitian Breeze. Our Tahitian Breeze is like fruit from the tropics. This fruity flavor evokes a warm breeze through the palms while walking with sand between your toes. Pineapple, Papaya, Apricot and other luxurious flavors will make you yearn for a sandy tropical beach, with a hot or cold cup of Tahitian Breeze in your hand. To highlight the delicious tropical flavors, many will add a dash of sugar. $15.90 / 4oz
Blackberry Tea. We have had so many requests for a Blackberry Tea, we had to find one which was worthy of our friends. We feel that we were able to find one which has an outstanding taste and scent to please the most discriminating blackberry lover. We find that as the tea cools a bit, the blackberry flavor develops more. We also found that it makes a great iced tea. $13.90 / 4oz
Citrus Green Tea. Our Citrus Green Tea is blended with green tea from China with the delicate flavors of lemon and lime. The clean vegetal notes of the green tea blend seamlessly with the citrus crispness. It is delightfully sweet, lifted by the freshness of the lemon-lime. Not too dry or too citrusy, it is the perfect hot or iced. In fact, it is one of our more popular green teas, especially when steeped then chilled as iced tea. If you like light, citrusy teas or a green tea but with a delicate lemony flavor, then this might become your preferred tea. $15.90 / 4oz
Lemon Basil Oolong Tea. Lemon Basil Oolong Tea is a multi-faceted treat. The Oolong tea provides a very smooth flavor as a base. Then our blender adds enough lemon and basil in the right amounts to get your tastebud’s attention. Both flavors are distinctive, but neither is overpowering. The sweet lemony touch and light peppery basil balance is just right. The marigold blossoms highlight the tea and add a bit of color. Tea is a visual experience as well. One sip and you could be hooked, even if you haven’t been an Oolong fan before. We have a lot of requests lemon-flavor teas, so when we found and tasted this Lemon Basil Oolong, we knew we had to offer it to our friends. Lemon and basil are paired in many cuisines around the world, and the combination is no different in a tea…if crafted just right. $19.90 / 4oz

That should last us a while. Sheffield seems to be about twice the price of Upton, perhaps because they are more of a retail location. But they have quite a few unique blends (and they are the only place I find Monks Blend these days). I particular, the Chestnut Blend, the Salty Caramel, and the Lemon Basic Oolong are wonderful and very unique.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Tea Time 2024 by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Recently, a word has been creeping into my vocabulary: retirement. I have reached that point: I turn 65 in January, and I’ve been at my employer over 35 years. So I’ve been meeting with my financial folk, and that side seems to indicate that it is plausible. Right now, the unofficial target date in my head is mid-2025, but nothing has been put in writing yet.

Part of the reason is that I’m still exploring and trying to understand Medicare. You think they would make the process easier for seniors to understand, but it really is a complicated alphabet soup, with parts A, B, C, D, and G^*. I did find a good explainer at the Arm and a Leg Show podcast, but it wasn’t specific to what I’m exploring. Anthem does have an explainer. I also plan to use the help service provided: SHIP help (which is government sponsored, not done by an insurance agent). But I would also like opinions from people who have experienced this stuff. Hence this post, which is a better place to collect responses.

Retiree Medical: Circle A offers a retiree medical plan, for which they make a monthly contribution toward the cost of the plan (in my case, about $488). This plan is a Medicare Advantage plan: Anthem Medicare Plus PPO with Senior Rx Plus. Here’s the information I have: (1) Get to Know Your Group Plan; (2) Plan Summary; (3) last year’s Open Enrollment Guide. This appears to be the same plan offered to many retired teachers, union workers, and government employees.

Question: Is anyone else on this specific plan, ideally in California? If so, I’d like to know your opinions of it. I have no interest in plans from other insurers; my employer doesn’t contribute to those.

Medigap: The alternative to doing the Medicare Advantage plan would be to do traditional Medicare with a Part D and a Medigap plan, also called Medicare Supplement. The A&L Show seems to indicate this is the better approach. I did find a page listing the Anthem Medigap plans in California.

Question: If you are on a Medigap plan, which plan and how do you like it? My understanding is that all the Part G plans at a particular tier are pretty much the same, but I’d like opinions.

Before I commit to any options, I want to understand them. And, before you respond: Yes, I know Medicare Advantage can be a trap, and that you often can’t change out until specific periods… and that going back in creates even more problems. That’s why I want to get this right now. Yes, I know to not go anywhere near United Health Care.

Right now, I’m pre-Medicare age. My wife is over 65, but has signed up for Part A ONLY, being covered under my employer plan (which is Anthem PPO, so we know them).

————
^* Understanding retirement funds is equally confusing: When can you withdraw from IRA vs 401(k) vs 403(b)? What counts as what types of income? What are tax implications? How do defined pensions (which I luckily have) and Social Security fit into all this. But luckily for the financial side, I have my trusty accountant and financial support from Fidelity, where the retirement funds generally are.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as ✒ An Exploration Regarding Putting Wheels Back on a Car (i.e., to re-____) by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Apple in Honey userpic=tallit Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts at sundown Sunday night, September 25^th. Thus, it’s time for my annual New Years message for my family, my real-life, Blog, Dreamwidth, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook friends (including all the new ones I have made this year), and all other readers of my journal:
(* Yes, it is an old picture. I still find it funny.)

L’Shana Tovah. Happy New Year 5783. May you be written and inscribed for a very happy, sweet, and healthy new year.

For those curious about Jewish customs at this time: There are a number of things you will see. The first is an abundance of sweet foods. Apples dipped in honey. Honey cakes. The sweet foods remind us of the sweet year to come. Apples in honey, specifically, express our hopes for a sweet and fruitful year. Apples were selected because in ancient times they became a symbol of the Jewish people in relationship to God. In Song of Songs, we read, “As the apple is rare and unique among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved [Israel] amongst the maidens [nations] of the world.” In medieval times, writes Patti Shosteck in A Lexicon of Jewish Cooking, apples were considered so special that individuals would use a sharp utensil or their nails to hand-carve their personal hopes and prayers into the apple skins before they were eaten. And the Zohar, a 13th-century Jewish mystical text, states that beauty – represented by God – “diffuses itself in the world as an apple.” With respect to the honey: honey – whether from dates, figs, or apiaries – was the most prevalent sweetener in the Jewish world and was the most available “sweet” for dipping purposes. And as for the biblical description of Israel as a land flowing with “milk and honey,” the Torah is alluding to a paste made from overripe dates, not honey from beehives. Still, enjoying honey at Rosh HaShanah reminds us of our historic connection with the Holy Land. Although the tradition is not in the Torah or Talmud, even as early as the 7th century, it was customary to wish someone, “Shana Tova Umetukah” (A Good and Sweet Year).
(Source: Reform Judaism Website)

Rosh Hashanah Images Another traditional food is a round challah. Some say they it represents a crown that reflects our coronating God as the Ruler of the world. Others suggest that the circular shape points to the cyclical nature of the year. The Hebrew word for year is “shana,” which comes from the Hebrew word “repeat.” Perhaps the circle illustrates how the years just go round and round. But Rosh Hashana challahs are not really circles; they are spirals… The word “shana” has a double meaning as well. In addition to “repeat,” it also means “change”. As the year goes go round and round, repeating the same seasons and holidays as the year before, we are presented with a choice: Do we want this shana (year) to be a repetition, or do we want to make a change (shinui)? Hopefully, each year we make choices for change that are positive, and each year we will climb higher and higher, creating a spiritual spiral. The shape of the Rosh Hashana challah reminds us that this is the time of year to make those decisions. This is the time to engage in the creative spiritual process that lifts us out of the repetitive cycle, and directs our energies toward a higher end.
(Source: Aish Ha’Torah)

There are also apologies, for during the ten days starting Tuesday evening, Jews examine their lives and see how they can do better. On Yom Kippur (starting the evening of October 4^th), Jews apologize to G-d for their misdeeds during the past year. However, for an action against another person, one must apologize to that person.

So, in that spirit:

If I have offended any of you, in any way, shape, manner, or form, real or imagined, then I apologize and beg forgiveness. If I have done anything to hurt, demean, or otherwise injure you, I apologize and beg forgiveness. If I have done or said over the past year that has upset, or otherwise bothered you, I sincerely apologize, and will do my best to ensure it won’t happen again.

If you have done something in the above categories, don’t worry. I know it wasn’t intentional, and I would accept any apology you would make.

May all my blog readers and all my friends have a very happy, healthy, and meaningful new year. May you find in this year what you need to find in life.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as 🍏🍯🍎🍯 L’Shanah Tovah – Happy New Year – 5783 by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Note: Automatic crossposting from Wordpress is still broken. I tried NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster, at a recommendation from someone, but that isn't working either. It appears that Dreamwidth's move to all https has broken the Wordpress plugins that crosspost. A syndication has been setup at

cahighways_feed -- feel free to subscribe to that, but I urge you to comment at the Wordpress site.

Note: The plugin I use for crossposting to Dreamwidth ( https://wordpress.org/plugins/lj-xp/ ) appears to have broken with DW's move to https. It looks like that plugin isn't being maintained -- perhaps this is due to the LJ death spiral and the lower use of DW. In any case, to address this issue, a paid user could create a syndication of my blog's RSS feed ( http://cahighways.org/wordpress/?feed=rss2 ); a new plugin could be recommended; or someone could fix that plugin.

I'll note that there have been three posts since the plugin broke.

As always, you can read my blog at http://blog.cahighways.org/

Apple in Honey userpic=tallit Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts at sundown tonight, September 20th. Thus, it’s time for my annual New Years message for my family, my real-life, Blog, Dreamwidth, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook friends (including all the new ones I have made this year), and all other readers of my journal:

L’Shana Tovah. Happy New Year 5778. May you be written and inscribed for a very happy, sweet, and healthy new year.

There are also apologies, for during the ten days starting Sunday evening, Jews examine their lives and see how they can do better. On Yom Kippur (starting the evening of September 29th), Jews apologize to G-d for their misdeeds during the past year. However, for an action against another person, one must apologize to that person.

So, in that spirit:

If you have done something in the above categories, don’t worry. I know it wasn’t intentional, and I would accept any apology you would make.

May all my blog readers and all my friends have a very happy, healthy, and meaningful new year. May you find in this year what you need to find in life.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link below; you can sign in with your LJ, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. There are currently comments on the Wordpress blog. PS: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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(to the tune of ~~“The Saga Begins”~~ “American Pie”)

About a week ago
At Verizon in the mall
My phone was starting to die…
And I thought me and my picks
Could talk Verizon into
A deal on an LG G6
But their response, it didn’t thrill me
They called mall-cops, and tried to shill me
I escaped from that fight
Called *611, and made it right
I checked again, redid the order
Picked it up at a Ranch called Porter
They behaved like they orter
That’s where I got this phone…

Oh my my Verizon Cellphone
You’ve the only brand I ever have owned
Northridge Mall sucks, but Porter Ranch pwned
And now I’ve got the latest smartphone
Now I’ve got the latest smartphone.

This has been an interesting week. Back in August, while we were on vacation, I had a problem with my 4+ year old, 1st generation, Moto X. Driving through Aspen to Colorado Springs, my phone had trouble finding signal after we got out of the canyon, even after multiple reboots, when my wife’s newer Droid Turbo was doing fine. I had been having significant battery life problems, and we noticed the sides of the phone were starting to crack — indicating potential battery expansion. Given my contract was long up (meaning, given our old plan, I was essentially making payments for nothing), the conclusion was: replace the phone.

Doing research during and after the trip, I settled on two primary candidates, as the Moto X4 (though just announced), wasn’t at Verizon yet: The Moto Z2 Play and the LG G6. Both were running Android Nougat, and both had the right mix of features. Although I was leaning to Moto because I liked their Apps, the smaller size of the G6 (the G6 was 5.86 x 2.83″, and the Z2 was 6.15 x 3.00) combined with the larger battery (the G6 was 3300 mAh, the Z2 was 3000 mAh) led me to the G6. Both were in my price range: under $25 a month. That number derives from the fact I was paying $40 a month for line access, and with the new phone, I’d be paying $15 with a $25 credit towards the phone: thus my overall bill would not increase. I planned to get the new phone once our current billing cycle ended.

Checking online, of the two Verizon Wireless stores closest to our house, only the Northridge Mall had them in stock. So I went over there. I dazzled them with my data, and we sat down to discuss the G6. They said the price was $28/month. I said it was $20/month online. They said, “Well then buy it online.”. I got on my phone and attempted to do so. However, I got to a screen instructing me to scan a barcode, with no other options. I asked them for help — they had no clue. I asked for a supervisor — he was out. I asked if anyone else knew what this screen meant. They didn’t, and they refused to tell me if the order had actually gone through. I gave a loud “Harrumpf” of exasperation… and they told me to leave the store and that they were calling mall security to escort me out. That got me even more frustrated (and when that happens, I tend to trip). I tripped over a chair, went flying, and they kept insisting security was on their way. I finally got out of the store, sat outside, and tried to call customer service (with the mall cops standing over me watching). After 1/2 hour on hold with my phone about out of power, I called my wife. She came over, went in the store (because they wouldn’t let me in), confirmed the order was not placed, and we went home.

Once home, I called customer service and placed an order for the phone — at $20/month, no problem — through customer service. Receiving the request to pay the sales tax online, I went to their website to do so. However, the plan price confused me, so I called them back. We sorted things out and I entered the card, thinking the order was placed.

Checked the next day at work, and the order was still “pending, call the credit department”. Evidently, the card didn’t go through for some reason, and they couldn’t fix the order. They cancelled it (which took a day to show up in their system as cancelled), and we redid the order.

That evening, I received mail that the phone was ready for pickup (within 3 days, although the website said 7). I called the store that evening to make sure I had all I needed to transfer, and to talk to a representative. Nice as could be. Driving home the next day, I got a call the phone was ready. I went up there yesterday evening. Francisco Linares helped me, and was as nice as could be. He helped me start the initial transfer, told me what I needed to do when I got home, and we confirmed that my current plan was just fine and the monthly pricing would be as I thought it would be (I’ll need to check that on the next bill). I picked up an extra Micro-USB to USB-C dongle, and I was home in under 40 minutes, when I thought it would take 3 hours. Yet again, the Porter Ranch store demonstrated that they understand customer service: they did it right.

Later that evening I ordered more USB-C stuff: a new power brick, a wireless charger, and cords and such.

I’m now the owner of a new LG G6, just waiting for the cases and cords to arrive. Comfortable in the hand and easy to use.

And that, friends, is the Saga of LG. Kudos and stars to the Verizon telephone personnel that helped, and to Francisco and the staff of Verizon Wireless in Porter Ranch for doing it right. Boos and 💩💩💩 to the staff of the Northridge Mall store, who care more about sales than customers. If you have a choice between the two, go to Porter Ranch.

Two final notes: People ask: Why Verizon? We’ve been with them since they were Airtouch Cellular, meaning about 20 years. We have 3 phone lines and 2 tablets, and in general they’ve been good. People ask: Why not an iPhone? I’m a big iPod Classic user, and I don’t want to pollute the iTunes ecosystem.

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Today is Mother’s / Mothers’ / Mothers Day (How. To. Punctuate. ?.). I know this because of all the tributes to mothers being posted on Facebook. People talking about how great their mother was. Missing their mother for 30+ years. Missing her from 5 years ago. All these tributes.

I read them, devoid of feeling, for I tend not to think of my mother. I know I’m not the only one, as this post discusses.

This doesn’t mean there weren’t important women in my life. My grandmother (mother’s mother). My great-aunt (her sister). My aunts on my dad’s side. Godparents and family friends. (I’d add my stepmother to this list — my dad’s last wife — but by the time she came into his life I was already married and out of the house, so it was less of a motherly relationship and more just friendship).

But my mother? My mother was many things. Extremely smart. An astute businesswoman. A great accountant (one of the first women CPAs in California). A people person. She got along great at business parties.

But a nurturing mother who was always there caring? That’s not my memory. It may have been the case when I was young — I just don’t remember. It may have been the case early in the marriage, when she was raising my step-brother and I, when I was very young.

But the memory I have — perhaps from 8 or later — was the mother who was devoted to her accounting practice. The mother who left my care to housekeepers and her mom and other relatives. The mother who turned to drink and meds to deal with the pain after my brother died. The mother who yelled and faught. The mother who turned my bedroom into an office less than 6 months after I was out of the house. The mother who wanted the attention, and used emotional manipulation to get it — to the point where we had to cut contact early in our marriage. The mother who died on our wedding anniversary.

Mothers: Think about the lessons that your behavior teaches your children. You have the opportunity to set the example of what they will aspire to be, and how they will aspire to behave. Alternatively, you’ll be the negative example: the traits they consciously don’t want to have, the way they don’t want to behave. My mother taught me one major thing: I needed to do something different. My wife and I consciously tried to create a different relationship with our daughter, and I think we did.

Does this mean that I hate my mother? No. She did the best she could with her skillset and circumstances. By the time I was at a conscious age to remember the mothering, she was already consumed by the death of my brother, and her belief that it was her actions that caused it (it wasn’t, but step-mother relationships are difficult). So I don’t hate her, but I also doesn’t feel the depth of emotion that I see many express towards their mothers. My father, yes. My mother, no. I am, as I titled this piece, devoid of emotion. She wringed it all out of me.

So I think her for what she did raising me, and that we all survived. I think she would be proud of where I am now. I’m sorry our relationship wasn’t better, but I can’t go back and change the past and what happened. I’ll treasure the few good memories and move on.

Happy Mothers Day to those with great relationships and memories of their mothers. A tip of the hat and Happy Mothers Day to the other women in my life who provided the nurturing that I still remember positively.

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Driving home from picking up the vanpool van this evening, I decided to listen to a short podcast: the Ensemblist Unedited episode on BroadwayCon.* Listening to it, I realized that I’m not a fanboy.
*: ~~No, I can’t link to it directly. They are theatre people; they don’t know how to make their webpage such that one can link to a specific episode.~~ Update: You can get the individual episode links from http://theensemblist.podbean.com — not obvious, but at least its something.

Perhaps I should clarify. I know many folks that love (or should I say, luuv) their fandoms. They obsess. They know every word, every lyric, every character, the smallest minutae. They cosplay. They go to conventions for their fandoms. This could be science fiction, comics, theatre, TV, you name it.

I understand their obsession. I just don’t get obsession. It is the same way that I view myself as a professional audience. Just as I can’t inhabit characters, I can’t obsession about things. That doesn’t mean I don’t know them well (although I typically don’t read or see shows multiple times with the same cast). I just don’t fall as deeply for them. I think that goes for the rest of my life as well: I’m not strongly outwardly emotional — I’m quietly emotional.

To those of you that get so into fandoms. Enjoy. I’ll just be over here on the side. Watching.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1896215.html

Today (well, this week) has been a day where I’ve been pissed at water, and no, this isn’t a Donald Trump “golden shower” joke. The only glimmer of a rainbow is that things are better than this morning, when I was majorly pissed.

I should point that that water and houses are a particularly problematic area for me. In our last house, we had a continual leak problem from our roofing heating/air conditioning unit, which wasn’t properly flashed during a reroof. We had continual sewer problems due to roots, and constant problems with caulking around a bathtub.

In our current house, we’ve had different sorts of water problem. There were continual sewer problems, eventually resulting in a collapse of the Orangeberg line and having to do a complete retrench and resewer a few years ago. There was the continual caulking problem around a tub, which was eventually replaced. The new shower has also had leak problems around the door (I think I’ve got that under control), as well as leak problems with its outside window that was installed upside down, and not sealed properly. Again, I think I’ve fixed that. We had a leak in our pool (also fixed), and I still suspect there could be one more, but it could also be evaporation.

So what got me upset today.

First, our reroofing has started in preparation for the solar install. Yes, right in the break in the atmospheric river. The roof was ripped off yesterday, and the rain starts Wednesday night. This had me all worried that they wouldn’t get the watertight layer installed in time, but they got that done today and should have the roof done tomorrow. Before the rain. But the gutters won’t be there for two weeks. Additionally, the DirecTV dish came down today, and thanks to the DirecTV schedule and the upcoming storm, won’t be back up until Saturday (my birthday). About the only bright side there is that I’ll have to miss the inauguration. Damn.

Then, of course, is the hot water leak under the slab in the center of the house that started three weeks ago. We just confirmed where it was, and the answer to the problem is…. a whole house repipe. In the middle of reroofing. The bids have ranged from $7.2K to $10K. Ouch. This morning I was worried that we would have to be out of the house the first night of the rain due to the water being turned off. … and thus not there to find any leaks from the new roof. Luckily, it turns out they will keep one bathroom up and running that night. Then it looked this evening like the start of the repipe would be delayed until Monday due to crew illness. Again, our contractor saved us (actually, one of his customers did) by allowing projects to be shifted so he could start tomorrow. Needless to say, I’m thankful for that, although these are very unexpected bills.

(I should also note that our shower door has slipped, meaning we can’t close it completely. They’re coming next week to fix that)

So keep your fingers crossed, or whatever is your equivalent, that we make it through to next week dry.

(Perhaps I should run away and join the circus. Oh, right.)

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1887275.html

So you forgot to get me a present for the Christmas or Chanukah this year (and I know you did)? Don’t despair. Here’s what you can get me:

If you are someone who hates liberals, who despises Clinton and Obama: Please, give it up (or at least give up your online animosity towards Obama, Clinton, and liberals). You won the election, both Clinton and Obama will be gone from the elected political stage in a month. It’s not worth the anger. As for the Liberals, remember that this country was made great by people from both sides expressing their views and finding compromises that both could grudgingly accept, even if they found them a little distasteful. Liberals want this country to succeed just as you do (even though you might not believe it). Let’s tone down the animosity and the partisanship.
If you are Liberal, and/or utterly despise Donald Trump: Tone down the rhetoric. The hatred has quickly become one note, and you will come to realize it isn’t worth it — it may feel good now, but remember that it didn’t feel good when they did it to Obama, or when they will do it to the next Democratic President (and there will be one). What you do now is poking an anthill with a stick, and it doesn’t help the country. We should be respecting our President as much as we can, and being generally silent when we can’t. Note that I didn’t say agree. We should be continually working to rebuild our party(s), and insisting that Congress and the Courts do their job to uphold the constitution, limit the Presidency as the Constitution designed, and to investigate any malfeasance (as was done for past administrations). We should figure out how to find compromises to make this country succeed, instead of being small children and insisting that it is our way, or we take our toys and go home. As for Trump, we need to play to his ego, and convince him that he is at the crossroads of going down as one of the worst and most divisive presidents, or one of the greatest presidents who unified the country after years of intense partisanship. He needs to do the latter — abandon the tweeting, pick good and qualified advisors and cabinet heads and listen to them, and work to best serve not only those from the electoral majority states that won him the election, but those voters who are a majority of those who vote who voted for his opponent. He is better than that — he must be positive, not punative.

Folks, we all want this country to succeed, grow, and prosper. We may disagree on how to get there, but our goals (I hope) are the same. How we behave on the network — at least many of us — does not help us get that goal. Don’t become the Internet 4Chan wants. We are so much better than that.

And that, friends, can be your holiday gift to me.

May all of you have the merriest of Chrismas Days (if that is your celebration), a Chappy Chanukah and a Gud Yom Tov and Chag Sameach (if that is your celebration), a blessed Kwanza (if that is your celebration), or just a relaxing day off of work while everyone else celebrates, thankful that the holiday music is finally coming to an end.

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userpic=donna I’m someone who doesn’t like change. Well, I like finding change in my pockets; but in my life, less so. We’ve done minimal changes around our house since we moved here in 2005 — a burst before moving in, and then one bathroom. This month, however. We’re ch-ch-ch-changin’. Going from small to large….

Televisions. When we moved in, we got a standard definition DirecTivo. That finally died (although we’ll see if we can salvage anything off it). This resulted in us changing out the Tivo for a DirecTV Whole House DVR — a Genie. It’s been really neat. It led to us deciding to get rid of the 13″ CRT TV in the Media Room that had a bad flyback transformer, and replacing it with our 27″ RCA CRT TV, which could work with the amplifier better. We then went out and took advantage of a pre-Black Friday sale to get a 40″ Vizio 1080p HDTV. No, we haven’t upgraded to Blu-Ray yet. Not sure when that will happen.

Wall Oven. As I wrote the other day, our wall oven decided to have a board fail just before Thanksgiving, The part is no longer available, so over Black Friday I ordered a new Whirlpool Wall Oven from Lowes. We’ll lose convection, because there are fewer 24″ dual electric options nowadays, but still we’ll have a new oven. I was able to get a good bargain, and 18 months at 0% as well (making it a cash-flow level).

Solar. Three months ago, we had one of the largest DWP bills we’ve ever had: over $1,500 for power, water, and sanitation for the July-August period. Last month, it was over $1,200 for September-October. This got me seriously thinking that it was time to bite the bullet on solar. Why haven’t I done it before?

I was worried about anyone working on the roof.
I had heard horror stories about leases and the problems that ensure.
I had heard horror stories about getting connected to the LA DWP grid.

In the years since the solar industry started, however, process maturation has occurred. The connection to the DWP is now much easier, and there are plans in place for purchasing, rather than leasing, the systems. One of our credit unions does solar loans at somewhat decent rates (2.99% for 144 mos up to $75K, which is where we are at) and one of their approved contractors was a long-time roofing contractor before they got into the solar business.

We had them come in and talk to us. It turns out that we can get some additional credits for reroofing at the same time (which we would likely need to do anyway — the current roof is ~15 years old). We’ll be moving to an energy-efficient reflective roof (with new gutters that don’t leak). We’ll be getting a sufficient large system to cover our usage (50 SolarWorld 285 w panels with Enphase microinverters, with a system size of 14.25 kW, and estimated annual production of 19.2 kW total, for an electric usage offset of 103% (meaning we should be ahead 471 kW/year, given past usage). The cost is large, but we should be getting back about a third of it in rebates or credits.

This is a scary thing for me, but the numbers look like our savings will more than cover what the new payments will be (and we’ll re-amortize once the credits come in). I’ve got a few smaller worries — like relocating/reinstalling the DirecTV dish and the loss of power when they upgrade the panel. I’ve been reassured somewhat that things will be OK, plus I’m doing what I normally do when worried — I’m blogging about it.

Despite the worry, I know this is the right thing to do. With “global warming”, it is only going to be getting hotter during the summers here in the valley. Power usage (and my bills) would keep going up, and this will allow us to get ahead on them. Further, with the new administration there is no guarantee that solar incentives and rebates will continue (the President would have to balance his disbelief in climate change with the jobs and economic activity that the solar rebate programs create). Better to get them now while they still are in place.

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Today is the day when we are thankful for many thing. Home. Family. Loved ones. Stan Freberg.

Yup. Stan Freberg, who reminded us in his 1962 album “The United States of America” that this is national “Take an Indian to Lunch” week. I wonder if he would have to change the words these days, although the sentiment is equally true…

Take an Indian To Lunch

Take an Indian to lunch this week
Show him we’re a regular bunch this week
Show him we’re as liberal as can be
Let him know he’s almost as good as we

Make a feathered friend feel fed this week
Overlook the fact he’s red this week
Let him share our Quaker Oats
‘Cause he’s useful when he votes
Take an Indian to lunch

Two, four, six, eight, who do we tolerate
Indians, Indians, rah; rah; rah

Take an Indian to lunch this week
Let him sit right down and munch this week
Let’s give in and all do the brotherhood bit
Just make sure we don’t make a habit of it

Take an Indian to dine this week
Show him we don’t draw the line this week
We know everyone can’t be
As American as we
(After all, we came over on the Mayflower)
Take an Indian
(Not a wooden Indian)
But a real, live Indian
To lunch!

Stan Freberg also reminded us about how the first Thanksgiving really went…

The Luncheon Under The Trees

Narrator:Needless to say, the luncheon there under the trees was a great success, and a good time was had by Puritan and Indian alike. Everything came off beautifully with the exception of one minor catastrophe.

Mayor: What do you mean you cooked the turkey, Charlie?
Charlie: Well, I cooked the turkey, that’s all.
Mayor: You put our national bird in the oven. Is that correct?
Charlie: Yeah, well I, uh …
Mayor: And all of us had our mouths set for roast eagle with all the trimmings.
Charlie: Yeah, well I, uh …
Mayor: You did a thing like that?
Charlie: Well, the two birds were lying there side by side.
Mayor: The *turkey* was for the centerpiece, Charlie, I mean …
Charlie: Well, they looked so much alike that I, uh …
Mayor: Well, we blew it now. They’re all sitting down at the tables out there.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah.
Mayor: … starting on their little nut cups already. Just have to switch the birds, that’s all.
Charlie: Yeah, well …
Mayor: Serve them turkey instead of eagle. But it’s kinda scrawny-lookin’, isn’t it?
Charlie: Yeah, well I thought I’d stuff some old bread in it and make it look a little fatter.
Mayor: You do that, OK?

May all my friends and readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember the holiday for what it originally was: shopping later that evening at the Mall of Plymouth for those stylish belt buckles. Stay safe!

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userpic=turkey,turkeys Somehow, our house knows when it is almost Thanksgiving. We figure that it thinks we’re going to be having a bunch of guests, and therefore causes something in the house to fail to give us tsuris. Typically, this is when it chooses to have the plumbing back up. But we’ve replaced the sewer lines, so it is forced to be more creative. Here’s how our house has been sabotaging us this November:

The Wall Oven

The previous owners of our house installed a GE Profile dual-oven (one convection) wall oven before we moved in. Even thought we are not hosting a large family dinner, on Monday the upper oven decided to stop working. We called in GE for repair, and the electronic board that controls that part of the oven is no longer available. The lower oven (non-convection) is still working.

This, of course, means that we will be looking for a new oven — an expense we hadn’t anticipated, coming just as we are about to start the paperwork to put in solar and re-roof (purchase, meaning a large loan). This is one where you bite the bullet and do it, because you have to.

Television

When we came home from a Bar Mitzvah in the Bay Area the weekend before last, we came to find our old DirecTivo was no longer working. It would start the boot up just fine, go to “Just a Few Minutes More….”, and then… snow, not even getting to satellite acquisition. Oddly, it still seemed to be recording and dialing out, even though it wasn’t talking to the TV (and, remember, it could talk to the TV during the beginning of the boot process). We were faced with the choice of at least a $150 repair, or just upgrading to a free Genie Whole-House DVR from DirecTV (although the latter would increase our bill by $13/month… the gift that keeps giving). We decided, as it was likely we lost all recorded programs, to bite the bullet and upgrade.

The first installer came out, looked at our three CRT TVs and our old amplifiers, and said that he needed additional parts. The appointment was rescheduled.

The rescheduled installer came out with the right adapters. He got all three TVs working with the new box. This led to a bit of a cascade issue: now that we had HD service to the boxes, we wanted to take advantage of it. One of our smaller TVs had a bad flyback transformer, making it impossible to watch. So we took advantage of a sale at Target (saving almost $100), and got a new 40″ LG HDTV. The 26″ that was displaced went to replace the 13″ squealing TV. I got everything rewired, and our system has been upgraded.

Computers

For the longest time, my wife has been using my daughter’s old Windows 7 laptop (the one she spilled pineapple juice on). It’s been mostly right after it was repaired, but occasionally the wireless or power is a bit flakey. She was going to switch to the smaller ASUS laptop that was running Windows 8.1 (upgraded to Windows 10), that my daughter gave up on after her boyfriend spilled water on it. We had gotten the motherboard cleaned, and it seemed to be running fine. Earlier this week, however, it just turned off. Only a flashing green power light, that when you try to power on just flashes faster. I think the power supply must have been damaged and finally gave up the ghost.

So, on top of everything, we’ll be looking for a new computer for my wife at the beginning of a new year.

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1874450.html

userpic=faire There’s a new Faire in Simi Valley, and we went to it today. Although, to be truthful, it isn’t really a Faire. However, it is Faire-like, and it is true to the spirit of Faire, and for something new, it is quite remarkable. It also raises some interesting questions.

It is Tumbleweed Township (FB), and it is a Living History event set in approximately the 1880s to 1890s in the West (actually, perhaps what Simi Valley was at that time). This event is put on by the same folks that do Nottingham Festival (FB), a new Renaissance Faire in Simi Valley in mid-November. Like Nottingham, the folks behind the event (Actors Rep of Simi Valley (FB) and the Simi Valley Cultural Association (FB)) are dedicated to doing Faire like it was done originally — that is, going back to the first days of the first RenFaire in Ventura County. That means a dedication to living history, and less of a concern about profits and maximizing revenue. As they put it on the Nottingham page:

Since the days after the Faire put on by the Living History Center left Agoura, there has been a desire to bring a more accessible regional Renaissance style event back to the Ventura County area. A group of dedicated volunteers from the community along with the Actor’s Repertory Theater of Simi and the non-profit Simi Valley Cultural Association set out to make that dream a reality. Nottingham Festival will recreate the magic and revelry of an Elizabethan faire and marketplace with street performers and stage acts that will provide entertainment for all ages. Craft workers and reenactors from various guilds will entreat you to experience a taste of the handicrafts and lifestyle of the 16th Century. Our hope is that you will be well entertained and maybe even learn a thing or two about the time period and its people. Proceeds from this non-profit festival will be granted to smaller non-profit agencies in the surrounding communities, as well as some set aside for the further development of the arts programs for youth.

Tumbleweed is an attempt to create a new living history event — this one set in a township in the 1880s and 1890s. There are still many Faire-ish elements: food booths, craft booths, stages, and music. However, the crafts are a little bit different, the shows a bit more cowboy-ish, and the atmosphere — as befits the Western ethic — a lot less bawdy. There is also — thankfully — a lot less fantasy aspects. No pirates. No fairys. No fantasy elements. The closest fantasy elements are Steampunk. It’s also pretty easy to garb yourself — jeans, flannel shirts, cowboy belts and hats work just fine. Just no guns. Only the actors get replica guns. Per the agreement with Simi PD: “There shall be no firearms or replica firearms allowed to be brought onto the premises by the public.”

Now that you know what the notion behind what Tumbleweed is, how was it executed? Pretty good. It was very small this year. There were perhaps 8 food vendors: turkey legs, BBQ chicken and steak and veggies, kettle corn, sandwiches, shave ice, ice cream, coffee, and of course, mead, whisky, and cider. There were about 15-20 vendors: a few clothing, jewelry, soaps, crafts, and such. There were three stages with a small number of shows. There were a few guild-like exhibits, including a quilting bee. There were games of chance. There was also the “Grand Exhibition Hall of Famous Personages” — which is like the “Explorers Hall” at Nottingham with famous people brought back to life, from Jenny Lind to Annie Oakley to Kit Carson, to Sacagawea to… you get the idea.

So, the town was small and attendence was moderate — but the idea is great. A big problem with Faire is that there are so many of them, and they are all similar, and all explore the same history. This was a new historical area, and actually relevant to when it took place. Simi Valley and California epitomize the west, and towns like this did exist. With better publicity, they could be starting a new trend (further, I could image this being something that Orange Empire Rwy Museum could do quite well).

But there are dangers as well. What RenFaire has become is fantasy; it rarely presents true living history anymore. This is good, because it is accepting of all races and creeds (whereas the original Elizabethan time would be less forgiving). If there is any parodying of culture, it is parodying of Anglo-Saxon culture. When we turn to the old West, however, we run the risk of stereotypical “Cowboys and Indians”, of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, and this can be a danger. While there was freedom in the West, it also created a stereotypical view of the Native American — and care must be taken. However, done right, it can present a true picture of the relationship between Western settlers and their Native American neighbors — different from what the movies might present.

It also created the question in my mind of what other periods of living history might be ripe for equivalent events — and how might this be done without cultural approbation. Other eras have been done — just look at the successful Great Dickens Christman Fair and Victorian Holiday Party (FB) in the Bay Area. Doing a Feudal Japan Faire would probably not be a good idea. But what about Europe in the Dark Ages, well before Elizabeth. What about the mid-East in Biblical times? What about a Colonial faire? All could be quite interesting — and educational.

Coming back to Tumbleweed Township (FB): Was it a success? I can’t speak to financially for the participants, but I think it is a great idea, and we’ll certainly be back. I hope it grows, for it is an era that is worth exploring.

Tumbleweed Township (FB) runs for one more day, running 10 AM to 5 PM. Tickets are available online or at the gate. The event takes place at 3855 Alamo in Simi Valley across from the DMV!

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Crossposts: http://cahwyguy.livejournal.com/1868495.html

userpic=anniversary Thirty-one years ago today Karen and I got married (in Woodland Hills, by Rabbi John Sherwood Z”L). Here’s looking forward to at least thirty-one more years…

(to the tune of the “William Tell Overture”)
Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary, Haaappy Anniversary

Pour a cheerful toast and fill it, Happy Anniversary
But be careful you don’t spill it, Happy Anniversary

Ooooo Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary, Haaappy Anniversary
Ooooo Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary, Haaappy Anniversary

Happy she and happy he, They’re both as happy as can be
Celebrating merrily, their happy anniversary

Ooooo Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary, Haaappy Anniversary
Ooooo Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary, Haaappy Anniversary

We now state emphatically, it’s happy anniversary
Not another day could be, a happy anniversary

Ooooo Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary
Happy Anniversary
Happy (slow)
Happy (slow)
Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy (fast) Anniversary!!!

(Gioacchino Rossini; arr. William Hanna / Joseph Barbera)

Many years ago I saw a post on LJ that suggested an interesting tradition for anniversaries: For each year that you are married, post one thing that you love about your spouse. This year marks year № 31:

I love that she keeps her head in a crisis.
I love that she knows how to calm me down when I start panicking.
I love that she helps me think logically when dealing with big ticket items or expenses.
I love that she knows how to think through situations logically.
I love that she is a very loyal friend, going out of her way to help others.
I love that she is able to express herself very well, and convey information the information to others in ways they can understand.
I love that she is a very good cook, coming up with creative gluten-free dishes.
I love that she is willing to put away the laundry.
I love that she pulls off very nice parties.
I love that she has a good decorating sense.
I love that she cleans up nicely 🙂
I love that she puts up with my disappearing off to Boardgame days and my working on the highway pages.
I love the needlecrafting and fabric arts that she does (that is, the results–I’m less enthralled with the stash).
I love that she knows how to deal with our daughter when I’m getting frustrated.
I love that she was active in our daughter’s school life.
I love that she is willing to deal with family situations I don’t want to deal with.
I love that she is willing to deal with contractors and repair critters.
I love that she doesn’t spend too much on quilting and fabric supplies :-).
I love that she has similar tastes in friends to me.
I love that she enjoys going to the theatre with me.
I love that she understands that I’m not romantically inclined.
I love that she puts up me when I’m dealing with my headaches.
I love her compatible music tastes.
I love that she’ll take my car in to get serviced, as opposed to saying “It’s your problem. Deal.”
I love that she and I can have wonderfully intelligent conversations.
I love her creativity.
I love how she has helped raise our daughter into a bright, capable young woman.
I love that she enjoys doing the “Berkeley Run” with our daughter.
I love that she reminds me when it’s time to do the Anniversary Post.
I love that she helps me take care of my health.
I love that we can argue, get into our respective huffmobiles™, and still be able to talk and resolve issues calmly.

Of course, this list doesn’t include the things I love about her that I can’t post publicly :-). Maybe next year. You’ll just have to wait and see.

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userpic=rough-road Recently, I have seen various things that remind me of how society has changed since my youth — whether it is for the better, I’ll leave to you decide. It is markedly a loss of innocence and a growth of awareness.

When I was up at camp Friday night, I noticed in the dining hall a brit that all campers had to sign. This evidently has been part of camp for the last (mumble) years since the current director came, and I think is it a good thing. It requires all campers to acknowledge that camp is a mutually supportive safe space, that embraces individuality. Back when I went to camp in the 1970s, we had that feeling (although there were a few bullies), and I believed that everyone came away with the impression that camp was a safe space. I certainly did, and I was one of the more individualist campers out there. But today we have to say it and remind people — a sad commentary on not only the prevalence of bullying, but the acceptance of bullying in some circles.
Back in the 1960s, the Smothers Brothers had a routine about updating old musical standards that reflected societal mores no longer in vogue — the example I remember was the all-white MacNamera’s Band requiring integration. The other day I read a review of Beauty and the Beast in the Daily Cal that captured another thing people might have missed, best embodied by this paragraph: “At this point, most audiences — and, indeed most Americans — know the plot of “Beauty and the Beast”: Belle, a brilliant woman utterly suffocated by the patriarchy and her small town, escapes marrying a misogynistic, violent, entitled alpha male (Gaston), and ends up being held captive by another man in his castle. ” The reviewer goes on to castigate the show as outdated, but you’ll find a large number of Broadway successes (and even Shakespearean successes) have such equivalent dated values, from Merchant of Venice to How to Succeed to Flower Drum Song to … you name it. My comment is more on the increased awareness we have of these issues — our increased recognition of art that accepts violence and perpetuates stereotypes, or that appropriates culture. Again, a loss of innocence from our youth, but perhaps for a good reason.
The third item is also from the Daily Cal, this time looking at the Venmo culture. Again, here’s the key paragraph: “Short Venmo transactions — supposedly aimed at discreet, cold-cut convenience — were enough to make me feel left out. Something about the nature of their publicized transactions screamed: “We don’t want to announce to the world that we hung out, but we still want you to see and imagine what we did.” And that’s when it struck me: We, as Millennials, have entered a whole new territory of humblebragging.” Through Facebook and Venmo and Twitter, we’ve entered the era where we regularly state our status by sharing our activities, humbling our friends who cannot afford such luxuries. I’ll admit I’m guilty of that with my theatre reviews — it is hard to know the balance. But again, the issue here is awareness — we’re increasingly aware of when privilege comes into play.
That brings me back to camp. While at camp — with this increased sensitivity — I was realizing that most of our Jewish summer camps are camps of privilege — just due to the nature of the makeup of Judaism as predominately white. There are black Jews and hispanic Jews and Jews in lower socioecomic spectra, but what do we do to reach out to them to provide that camp experience — that safe shared space. If they came, would it be humble-bragging of our position? I don’t know, but it would be good to find a way to reach out.