Wanderings

Back when I changed my blog software to Simple PHP Blog (see this POST). I thought it was the most fantastic thing running on my web server (other than my web pages). Especially after “Bloxsom”. Even then, it looked like the developer was still working on improvements, since there was a forum and other discussion groups. That turned out to not be the case when I started looking for some updates in early January 2010.

The software was still listed on SourceForge (the open source repository for software), but all links to the author or forums gave blank pages. Even messages directly to the author and others on his development team got no response.

And so the search began for a replacement. Did find another blog software that used “flat files” to store the information (you can read those with a text editor and don’t have to manage a database). Before jumping, I emailed the developer, and he actually responded and said that due to his work constraints, he had stopped development. He did recommend another blog software, but after checking it out, I kept looking.

Finally bit the bullet after discovering that WordPress would run on my server, and never turned back from that point. Both my blogs are up and running, although there is still some cleanup of my posts that needs to be done on this blog.

Looking forward to many years of posting all kinds of stuff – check out “ABOUT”

OK, so the office move is 90 percent complete. Computers, desks, DSL and phones moves. Some electricity and lights and here we are. Thanks to a lot of friends who helped get stuff moved around before the garbage can incident. Here goes with a list of names – Tim, Angela, Dianne, Mike, Joshua, Nathaniel, Karen and then all those people who bought stuff at the garage sales (saving me a trip to the dump or e-waste).[more]

Now if my left middle finger would just heal. My advice from all this is either get a bigger house, or be more careful. Those two nails I pulled without using a ladder or piece of wood (for leverage) resulted in a splint on my right wrist to ease the pain of "tennis elbow". Not only that, the order is no lifting or pulling with my right arm. Add to that lack of grip in my left hand, there is not much I can do at times. The boys want to earn some money, then I got work for them – have I ever.

By the way, Karen's mom is happy as can be in her room. She has TV, phone and her dolls – and people who want to take care of her.

Stay tuned…

There I was, trying to get more in the garbage can. Pack it down and throw some more in (had lots of stuff from the garage cleanup). I was very careful about how I got in – used the step ladder to get there.

On either the second or third jump. the garbage can went south, and I went north – right over the edge of the can. Tried to be a gymnast and fall lightly, but to no avail. My left hand struck first[more] – fingers should only bend one way. Then, the coming weight of the rest of my body came to bear, and a strain/sprain to my fingers, wrist, elbow.

Road burn took over then on my arm and shoulder.

Finally, the left side of my head (above my ear) made contact with the street – boy, did that hurt! Immediately the call went out to Joshua playing in the backyard for some help. After he arrived with Karen, the cry was "wow, look at all that blood!"

The trip to ER was uneventful – after a CAT scan, they found that there was no other damage – just take some painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. Now for a little rest, and then back to it!

One of the world's greatest drummers has found a new resting place. Louie Bellson died at 84 in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Valentine's day.

Louie had played with such greats as Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong.

He had fallen in November, broken his hip, and was in rehab. Complications from Parkinson's disease are given as the cause of his death.

Bellson, leaves a legacy of rich music, both secular and sacred. At some point in his life, he became a Christian and played rather regularly in his church [more](Emmanuel Baptist in San Jose I do believe). He played with Duke Ellington for his Sacred Concerts, and Duke encouraged him to compose and conduct his own sacred concert, which he did and recorded it with members of the USC studio band.

Louie is recognized as the inventor of the double bass drum at age 15, which earned him an "A" in Art class. At 17 he won a major drumming contest against 40,000 competitors. He was the drummer or conductor on over 200 albums, and his last CD was released in 2008.

It was my pleasure to be introduced to him when he played with the Cal State Hayward Jazz Ensemble, on at least two occasions. It is my pleasure to have in my posession autographed CDs from this giant of music. It was surprising the first time I saw him play, that at the end of the concert, he said "every now and then I get away from church with my wife and play outside like this. Church isn't a bad place – it's where I found peace and a reason to live."

Thank you Louie. Thank you God that I got to see and hear this giant.

[center]Thanks to louiebellson.com for the photograph[/center]

They struck again! This time, they got mine and left the underside of my car looking like this. What's that you say?

You read right. The catalytic converter thieves managed to cut mine off sometime yesterday while I was at church across the street from where I usually park on Sundays. Not sure exactly when, but according to the Sheriff and my insurance company, they are fast! How fast you ask? Well, there are reports of people pulling into a supermarket parking lot, running in the store for some items (via the express lane) and coming out to find a very noisy car.

That was how mine sounded when I started it up. After all, the converter is in front of the muffler, and there you are, in all your unmuffled glory. I had left my tools and other stuff in the lobby of church, so after driving across the street, I stole a look (poor choice of words) under the car (in the rain no less).[more]

Big as life, it looked like a broken tail pipe, but another look told the full story – it wasn't broken, it had been sawed through. So there I was, with no catalytic converter, the muffler and tailpipe kind of hanging down under my little red Hyundai. What kind of people…? Well, we know they needed the money for something – food, rent, diapers, gas, hospital bills, etc. (Yea sure Joe, your brain has been fried!) More like d r u g s !

This is big business, because the catalytic converters use precious metals as the catalyst to get rid of all those emissions. Metals like platinum and gold, and they can be sold on the scrap metal market for spare change. Doesn't take much if you have an SUV or pickup to get yours – just roll or slide under, and with a battery-powered hacksaw you have yourself a unit. Then all you have to do is find someone to buy it. Dealer parts department said that their used ones (read defective or useless) get sold to scrap dealers for about $50.

Apparently, according to a search on the web, finding buyers is not very difficult. They will even "fence" the junk to foreign countries. After all, platinum is presently going for about $1000 per ounce, and in some converters there may be as much as one ounce of the precious metal.

Then the real fun began. Things like checking with the insurance company (covered under "Comprehensive") paying the deductible and getting a rental car while you wait for a dealer to find the parts, get them installed and return your vehicle to you. I was fortunate that my local dealer's service department was open on the holiday – that gave me a one day jump. Plus the fact that I had done all the insurance work yesterday, and had filed the report with the Sheriff's Department via internet.

Some suggestions I found were: motion-sensing alarm on the car; engrave your VIN on the replacement converter. My own mind says stop parking there every Sunday morning. They may have "cased" me, because I arrive early every Sunday, so they got to know my habits.

According to the tow truck driver this morning, most of the people he knows who got ripped off actually have their cars stolen, many right out of their driveway or in front of the house, and other stuff gets taken as well, but he said big as life, the catalytic converter is gone.

So now, it's not just "watch your back", but "look under your car."