I don’t know why. I know that I would like to wear it to work. And just one, because two would be silly.
If you want one, just click on the photo, it will take you to an online store. Please buy me one too, because there’s absolutely no way I could convince my wife it was a good idea.
My wife has been working in the elementary school for the past month, assisting a special needs boy. He has a horrible background, and because of it, has the worst social skills I’ve ever seen in a student. At any age. And he’s a second grader.
When Donna started working with him, he was violent, disrespectful, and quite honestly, a little scary. Today, however, he did something that was so funny, I thought I’d share.
Normally, this young man swears like a sailor (no offense, my naval visitors). In the time that he’s been with my wife, however, that’s largely diminished. Today was proof. He’s not having a very good day, which is to say that he’s been challenging to manage. He got mad at Donna for something, but instead of actually swearing at her like he would have a month ago, he yelled, “You’re the ‘B’ word, you know that?!?!”
I know, for most kids, that would be horrible. But for this young man, it was the most restrained he’s ever been. She told me about it at lunch today, and it made me laugh. Sadly, the trial period for Donna is ending on Monday, and the position will go to a union member with the most seniority — but hopefully the stint with Donna will help the new aide. As long as she’s not a B word. 🙂
I called the well man, and he came over right away. Which is nice. He took off the top of the well, took some measurements on amperage usage on the pump, and told me I needed a new pump. Not nice. So I told him to come over tomorrow and do it, I’d figure out where to get the money one way or another.
After he left, my brain started working. I think this is largely due to my desire not to spend 100,000 pennies. After using plain old Vulcan logic, I figured that the well pump itself isn’t bad (although, likely had much of it’s life taken away…), because it’s still pumping water. Pretty astute observation, no? Also, when it’s working, the water surges high and low pressure. Constantly.
So I thought perhaps the pressure tank, which is sorta supposed to store a bunch of water pressure (thus it’s name) wasn’t working, and the pump had to turn on and off constantly. I figured that wouldn’t be good for a pump. I know if I were a well pump, 200 feet underground, that if I had to keep turning on and off every 2 seconds — I’d probably give up after a while and go on strike.
So I crawled under the house, and tested the air pressure gauge on the tank, and water squirted out. Not good, but at least it confirmed my suspicion. Maybe I should go into the well guy business. I hear it pays well.
So for now, I drained all the water out of the tank with a busted bladder, and allowed it to fill with air. Then I capped off the air valve and turned on the well again. Guess what? It’s working quite well. I know I need to replace the tank, but in the short term, it will function fairly well. I’ll probably get a new tank this weekend, instead of taking off work tomorrow and selling my liver on the black market for cash.
And, I’ll start saving money for a new well pump, because I think it’s really taken a beating this past week. And if I never have to replace the pump? Well, I’ll have saved up money you see, and that’s never a bad thing.
So my tip for the day? Use your brain. Sometimes it pays off.
It appears as though our well quit today. This does not please me, because although a well is just a big hole in the ground, it’s a rather pricey hole in the ground. And apparently our well pump doesn’t suck, and it’s actually supposed to. What a weird world.
Anyway, wish me luck. The well guy is coming today at 5:15, and hopefully he’ll wave a wand and everything will be fine. Uh hu.
Here’s this week’s product review, however, if you’re into that sorta thing. OH, and the company is GIVING AWAY 2 of these products through the Linux Journal website. It’s another video thing, apparently, but the prize is a TON better than a T-Shirt. For the record, Brad (our local commenting buddy) was the only one that won a T-Shirt, so winning might be fairly easy. I dunno. Click here to read more details.
I’ve mentioned before that I really, really like me a good LOLCat. No, not stir fried or broiled, but one of them there funny cat pictures. Here’s a random one now. Enjoy. My apologies if you get a ceiling cat, they tend to be a little risque.
My issue, today, is with the commenters on that site. Have you ever read the comments? It’s painful. It angers me. It makes me want to punch things. Things like faces. (This might be partially due to my current sleep issues, but still, I don’t think I’d like it even on a good night sleep)
So anyway, the moral of the story? Cats can use poor grammar and spelling, and it’s funny. If you’re referring to an LOLCat, it’s sometimes funny to speak that way. If you’re trying to be funny by speaking like an LOLCat caption at inopportune times — even that can be funny.
If you try to carry on a conversation using LOLSpeak, you deserve to get punched in the face. My fist, let me show you it.
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From now until, well, maybe forever — my works schedule has changed. I’m now working from 4AM to Noon. My blogging will likely take a bit to adjust to the new times, because quite frankly, I’m very tired.
More later. Probably. Must sleep now, and finish reviewing this week’s Gadget. (It’s a really nice one, I want to keep it.)
Because snow days are fun.
I just got a hit from the MSN search engine for, “Crafty manipulative people”
Bwahahahahaaa!
UPDATE: I just got one for “cocaine and nail polish remover”
What on earth am I posting to attract such a crowd?!?!
And now, my valued readers, I bequeath my laments forthwith…
My last post, which was little more than embedding my lastest product review, sparked some really *fun* comments. I love that we’re discussing a glowing eyed, half possessed, flame throwing desk accessory. It’s fun, light hearted, and occasionally enlightening. I thank you for that.
My frustrations lie with larger, stuffier sites. In this case, the Linux Journal website. They get tens of thousands of visitors a day, and maybe a dozen comments. And those are often guarded, timid, or cruel. In talking with the webmaster (webmistress?), she made a good point that because of the volume of visitors, people are hesitant to look dumb or get shot down. It makes for a stuffy online community that isn’t a whole lot of fun to be involved with. I comment my arse off there, because I think it has the potential to be a fun place to make some great contacts. But I digress…
My wish? That Linux Journal would be filled with folks like you that aren’t afraid to make a fart joke, or aren’t afraid to look silly just for the sake of looking silly. So if you read my blog, and are a Linux enthusiast, go to linuxjournal.com and help them all lighten up. If you’re not a Linux fan, feel free to continue making flaming fart jokes here. Either way, wherever we go online, let’s vow to smack down nasty people, k?
Another week, another review. Here I review Tux Droid: