Punctual, Professional, Pebble Tec Repair

We noticed a rather LARGE crack in the side of our pool earlier this month, and ad the weather got hotter, it got larger and larger.  Last week, I called Shasta, the pool's installed (and head quartered here in the valley).  They foolishly told me they could send someone out to quote a repair in a month, mid August, but if I wanted to pay for a service call they could have someone there last Friday.  We were heading to Vegas Friday, and I despise shakedowns, so I emailed and called Mike Edgar at Phoenix Pebble Pool (link here) last Tuesday.  His auto-email reply was instant, and he called me back a few hours later.  We set up a quote to see the crack on Wednesday, and Mr. Edgar was able to do the repairs on Thursday at 6am, the day before our sojourn to Vegas.

Mr. Edgar said to lower the pool level "6 inches" and I clarified "so that the top step would be visible?" and he confirmed that would be fine.  Now, I could have used the pump, and expensive electricity to pump about 2000 gallons of the pool out to lower it 6 inches.  I've got enough pool discharge hose to reach the curb, but the chlorine level was rather low, and I needed a good work out, so I lathered up with SPF 50 sun block, and fetched an old kitty litter pale, and began bailing the pool last Thursday afternoon.  I dumped buckets of low chlorine pool water all around the back yard, for 2 hours, watering lavender, palms, sago, aloe, honeysuckle, hibiscus, citrus, lantana, and various other plants.  This freaked out many a lizard and cricket, but it effectively lowered the pool level.

As I dumped water over the deck adjacent to the crack, I found Just How Urgent the repair actually was.  Muddy Water began to seep back into the pool, through the crack! Yikes!  No more dumping on that side!  I also found 5 other smaller cracks around the pool, in addition to the monster crack (2 feet long, open, and able to insert a credit card inside) pictured above.

When Mr Edgar promptly showed up Thursday morning, he began work as I was on a conference call with India.  I pointed out the other cracks to him, and asked him what would it take to replace the caulk seal around the underside of the deck rim and pool wall?  $125 standard charge. Awesome, as it would take me probably $30 in materials, and many hours of frustration and drippy caulk to do it myself, I was happy to pay Mr. Edgar.  By lunch time, Mr.Edgar had finished the work, wrote up a receipt on his iPad, and emailed me a copy, paid in full.  Very nice.  Professional, prompt, courteous, customer centric, high quality work.  I was happy to write Mr. Edgar a check and avoid using the lethargic, indignant, and unresponsive Shasta. 

If your pool's deck is cracking, and you live anywhere near Phoenix, I highly recommend contacting Phoenix Pebble Pool.

All Wet And Sticky

Simple Minds' "Alive and Kicking", renamed as "All Wet And Sticky" has been playing through my mind since Monday afternoon when we heard it on Sirius radio.  "Stay until your love is, all wet and sticky...."

This goes along with the other classics from the 80s
Tears For Fears "Trout" - "Trout, Trout, Salmon and Trout, these are the fish that I dream about"
Van Halen's "Grandma" - "Grandma! She does her hair, a shiny blue sheen..."
Duran Duran's "I am Giving Birth" - "Ugh ugh ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh, ugh-ugh, I am giving birth"
The Romantic's "What I like About Juice" (a song for toddlers)
- Tip of the hat to my collaborator Todd G for many of these alternative song titles and lyrics.

For The Chic Euro Toddler

Perhaps the pacifier is to be dipped into absinthe?  =)

Zillow's Highly Over-rated IPO

Listening to PRI's Marketplace this evening, and having a house that is massively under-water, I got an enormous kick out of this (link here).  Listen here (link), to get the flavor of indignation.  Thanks Marketplace!

Zillow's algorithms are massively over-rated, way off base, and incredibly depressing.  Part of the US housing market's lack of a rebound, I attribute, to Zillow's stupidity and low ball estimates, which drive fear into buyers, and depresses everyone's market values. 

I truly hope Zillow's IPO falls flat on its face and they get less than 1/2 of what they THINK they're worth.

Transcript:

OPERATOR: I-P-Oz.com. Can I help you?
ZILLOW: Hey, it's Zillow. I got a problem. Your website says I'm only worth $360 million.
OPERATOR: Yep, that's what our "Stocks-timate" has calculated.
ZILLOW: But I just told everyone I'm worth $500 million. You're way off.
OPERATOR: Are we? I mean, last quarter you did lose $865,000.
ZILLOW: You have to see me in person to understand. I've got a lot of character and charm! My backyard has plenty of room for an addition! I even have...
OPERATOR: Yeah, sorry. Keep in mind, the recent IPO for Pandora wasn't so hot.
ZILLOW: I don't even do the same thing as Pandora!
OPERATOR: Are you an Internet-based company?
ZILLOW: Yeah, but...
OPERATOR: I'd say that's "in the neighborhood."
ZILLOW: You know, people actually use your questionable figures to try and drive down my price. Can I just tell you how ridiculous this...
OPERATOR: Oh, wait! We just made a change to our algorithm, which may affect the value of your company. Nope, that didn't help. Now our "Stocks-timate" says you're worth $40 million less.
ZILLOW: This is crazy. I've watched how you value IPOs for five years now, and you're always off base when it comes to prices.
OPERATOR: Hmm, so you're questioning the usefulness of our service?
ZILLOW: That's exactly what I'm doing!

Elliot Carver At Question Time

All this Murdoch-ian circus today made me think of what a wonderful villain Jonathan Pryce played in Tomorrow Never Dies.  Though Rupert was the inspiration for Elliot Carver, I think Murdoch is much more evil and frightening in the real world.  Especially since corporations are now super-citizens (citizens with the "right" of free speech, but not the threat of the death penalty or imprisonment).  They're not just "people", they are unstoppable, multi-billionaire juggernauts. 

When I looked up pictures of the principal characters, I found this nice one of Rupert with his adopted grand-daughter (Wendi Deng).  Then I found out this 43 year old former Chinese medical student, is his wife!  Terri Hatcher (back in 1994, as Paris Carver) was better.  =)

Though former home wrecker (please tutor me in English') Wendi, from what I hear on the BBC, saved her beloved sugar daddy from a full face of shaving cream by deflecting a well screened assailant in Parliament today by "bonking him on the head" (according to one reporter).

Haboob Encore

As we were driving back to Phoenix from Vegas yesterday evening, we saw the giant brown clouds engulfing the Phoenix valley in front of us as we descended the ridge heading SE on US60 out of Wickenberg.  Some of the clouds were dark brown, and looked like a rolling fog, 20,000 feet high, advancing closer to the ground and roiled back the higher into the air it got.  (for a better video, see the link, here).  I would have taken the picture of the advancing dark clouds, but I was busy piloting the C70 near to & above the limits of the H rated Michelin tires on which we were driving, so Dr Desert Flower took the image above.

When the clouds in front of you are brown, and advancing closer to the ground, it gives you a feeling of foreboding to drive into it.  Sure, if I was in a 1975 Plymouth Valiant with 200K miles on it that had survived dozens of Midwest Winters, I would have appreciated the up-coming sand blasting, but piloting a Volvo C70 convertible with less than 8,000 miles on it, and a shiny finished paint job, we just hoped the sand blasting would be brief and NOT be followed by hail.  Luckily, we ran into just rain, and no direct blasting.

This was the second Haboob (Arabic هبوب) to hit the Phoenix area this summer, and only the 4th since we moved here 4 years ago.  Climate change? Naw, there ain't none of that happening!

40 Miles To Vegas

Another SCOTS classic.

Job Interview Coaching

Probably not a response one wants to give: (even if the question is a lame one)

...and "mangled corpse"?  Perhaps if the revolver were a .44 magnum, and hollow points were used.  Otherwise, I don't know about "mangled".

Jesus Saves

...after each level

Talking to my buddy Ron's oldest son last weekend - who is a teenager and a huge fan of PS3 - reminded me of this last weekend.

AZ Tea Party Conversation

JustJoeP (JJP): So you're in the Tea Party?

Retiree Wearing a Tea Party Shirt (RWTPS):  Yes sir, proud to say I am!

JJP: So you're all about returning to the US Constitution's Fundamentals?
RWTPS: That's right!
JJP: So you want to reduce the national debt, and have Government do only what is authorized by the Constitution that it should do then?  Get rid of illegal immigrants. Throw those fat cats out of Washington, and start listening to the people, instead of corporate interests?
RWTPS: Absolutely!
JJP:And you know the Koch Brothers, who are enormous funders of the Tea party, are the 18th richest billionaires in the world, some of the richest corporate barons in America?
RWTPS: Yeah, that George Soros is rich too....
JJP: he is rich, that's true, but the Koch brothers have him beat by nearly 4X
RWTPS: You got something against the rich?!?
JJP: No old timer, I don't have anything against the rich.  You see, I am the son of immigrants, the first one in my family to make it through college in 4 years, earn a good living, put my son through school, and I make more than you ever did. But I'm not a selfish and hypocritical bastard who thinks "I've got mine, screw you! Pick your self up by your own boot straps!"  I've read the US Constitution and all of its amendments, and I understand it much better than you do.
RWTPS: You smug smart-ass....
JJP:No, not a smart ass, just someone who is not going to vote against his own self interests.  Yeah, my household income is high enough that we would benefit from the Bush Tax Cuts being indefinitely extended, and my son might someday benefit from no inheritance tax... but do I really want him to live in second rate dystopia?  A dichotomy consisting of a plutocratic oligarchy, ruled by the likes of the Koch brothers?  Where the multitudes of poor are so desperate and you have to have armed body guards and security to keep you safe?  No. Have a wonderful day. And yes, this Glock is loaded with hollow points in an extended clip, and I am certified as a Sharp Shooter at 50 yards by the National Rifle Association, so it would be in your best interest to 'not tread on me'.

SOAD Toxicity

Man, the drums are tight  - played tight, mic'ed well, precise, syncopated - John Dalmayan continues to be one of my favorite drummers.  Disorder.  Disorder. Disorder!

Eating seeds as a past time activity.
Serge Tankian opened for the Foo Fighters the last time they came to Phoenix.  Dr Desert Flower and I will see Foo Fighters again in October this year.  Should be a good show.

Not Democratic Victory Rachel. It Was A Three Way Race.

I heard Rachel Maddow yesterday again get it wrong about New York's 26th District Congressional race.  (link here).  She kept going on and one about how this "deep deep red district" turned Democratic following Paul Ryan's attempt to kill medicare.  No Rachel, it was a three way race.  And if you take all the votes from the Republican, and all the votes from the nut job tea party candidate, and combine them, then the Democrat, Kathy Hochul would have lost, and lost big.  (link sadly here to the Rev Sun Young Moon's rag, but I am hungry and in a hurry as I post this).

Mrs. Hochul had 48,530 votes (47 percent)
Mrs. Corwin‘s 43,836 votes (43 percent)
Mr. Davis‘ 9,495 votes (9 percent)

47 + 9 = 56, the last time I checked.  And 56 > > 47
(with " > > " meaning "much much greater than")

Continue to get this wrong in the future, and watch not only your ratings fall, but the Senate and White House fall into the hands of the do-nothing Republicans as well.

The Meatrix & Meatrix II

Tip of the hat to my buddy Ame and her mentioning of "The Meatrix" over at Bacon Fiend. 

The videos are hilarious, and revolting, at the same time.  Nice, simple animation.  Leo.  Moopheus.  Chickady.  No over-generalizations, just basic facts about industrialized "food" production.  Excellent analogies.

There's 3 main videos:

The Meatrix (link here).

The Meatrix II (link here)

The Meatrix II 1/2
(link here)

It's also available in various other languages (French, Spanish, Chinese, Czech, German, etc).

It was Ame who opened my eyes last year to the evil cruelty of de-beaking egg producing hens, and I've not bought another dozen Trader Joe's eggs ever since. 

While Dr Desert Flower may disparage the "$6 a dozen" duck eggs I get at the Farmer's Market from Crooked Sky farms when we talk to friends and acquaintances about sourcing real food, I love the dark, nutrient rich, flavorful yolks, and my HD cholesterol and triglycerides have never been better. 

Being on vacation last week, I missed my local, organic food sources, more than a little bit.  Yes, I ate alot of almonds and dried fruit, and drank my liver's share of wine & Irish Whiskey, but I did miss my kitchen and my local produce. 

Amsterdam is blessed with a number of restaurants and food stores that focus on local, organic, sustainable fare.  While we were exploring the Cornelis Schuytstraat area (sort of the Scottsdale of Amsterdam, complete with Bentleys, a Ferrari, lots of BMW 7 series parked on the street, etc), DFF and I stumbled upon an entirely organic grocery store that had an extensive wine selection (see below).

As more consumers realize they are loading their families' bodies full of disease causing agents, the price of local, sustainable, and organic goods will go down.  It's like personal computers, cell phones, air bags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, solar cells... anything that has consumer demand, the market will find ways to provide it more cost effectively.  It's sad that with "food" (as industrial franken-food suppliers like to call it) that's resulted in a rapid race to the bottom, using tax payer subsidized agro-businesses and bussed in immigrant labor to stuff corporate coffers, while making their customers sicker, or even killing some from time to time.

I'll stick with my grass fed beef and happy, beak-equipped chicken and duck laid eggs, thank you.  The fruits and veggies will be certified organic whenever possible, and I'll always strive to chose locally grown, seasonally appropriate foods - those that as Bittman has said 'your grandma could recognize' without all the superfluous additives corporate America have injected to increase their own bottom lines.

Obi Humor

Concise History of USA Race Relations

I found this rather poignant, and very accurate, sadly.

Macaulay Prescience

Hindsight IS often 20/20, but imagine how useful accurate foresight would be...

Two Delightful French Rosés

While staying in Amsterdam Leidensplein, I found several nice grocery stores that sold fruit, wine, and other foods that are good for you.  These two, were each less than 6 Euros a piece.

Over the course of the 8 relatively warm Summer days, Dr Desert Flower and I enjoyed 2 bottles of the Côtes de Provence Château La Gordonne, and one bottle of the La Tulipe De La Garde Bordeaux Rosé appelation de controlee.  Both had nice apricot and pear notes.  Not too fruity.  Not sweet at all.  Deliciously dry, and kept chilled by the hotel room garbage can, filled with ice-maker ice, refilled twice a day (by me).  I brought a sommelier (cork screw) "just in case" in my checked luggage.  =)  It came in handy for the two bottles of Provence rosé. 

A glass in the afternoon, after getting off of work, or before dinner, or at bed time, helped to lighten the load on the wallet, and provide refreshing, available, high quality, inexpensive French wine in our Dutch hotel room throughout the week. 

Rosés are great when the weather gets warmer - 76F was about as warm as Amsterdam can get most summers, so it was appropriate there.  It was of course 117F in Phoenix the day we left, and 107F when we got back, so these won't be the last Rosés of the summer.

A Monument In Honor Of HFCS

Just north of our Leidensplein hotel, there was a shop on the busy tram street called "U.S. and British Food".  I walked past it for 3 or 4 days, paying no attention to it, before stopping one day to look at what was being sold within it.  What I found, was a shrine to high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and carbohydrates. I found it actually quite nauseating.  Only the "Neuman's Own" sauces were HFCS free, that I could tell.  And it was difficult to figure out what was 'authentically' British... unless the British who visit Amsterdam were just interested in eating high calorie, nearly nutrient free American food-like-products, or franken-foods.  Below, is a photo taken at the store front.  Tell me if you spot ANYTHING in the image that does not contain HFCS or concentrated sugar, or artificial unsaturated man made oils, and I will buy you a free drink (tea or Whiskey or beer, your choice) the next time we get together.

Politie DNA Spray

Amsterdam's Polite Police (called "Politie" in Dutch) have implemented an anti-theft program they call "DNA Spray".  Now, since it's Amsterdam, one's mind might think that it is some kind of 'sex related' spray mechanism... but not everything about Amsterdam is sex, pot, and tulips.  I stayed there for 8 days on vacation and didn't pay anyone for sex, smoked no pot, and only saw tulips once, in the tulip market, last Friday evening - so over-generalizations should be avoided.

But the DNA spray is a means of dissuading criminals from "smash and grab" tactics.  Around high-end stores that sell expensive and designer goods, merchants and the Politie have installed DNA sprayers that spray DNA markers onto criminals.  Combined with cameras that record who is doing the burglaries, forensic scientists can test for the invisible markers on the skin, clothing, and hair of the suspects.  JoeMyGod has a link to it here (link) and there's an explanation of it here (link) as well.  Supposedly in Rotterdam, it's reduced theft by 65% since it's been implemented.

I've heard many a civil libertarian rail against such a concept (at JMG) but you know, I think it's a good thing.  I am sick of petty criminals getting away with stuff as they work the system, and claim their civil rights are being violated or other such baloney.  If you're an innocent bystander and you get the spray on you, then the video camera that witnessed the incident, combined with your credit card receipts before and after, and your cell phone record before and after, will exonerate you as the person who is "not the criminal".  I saw many a store window smashed during my week long visit, and it seemed to always happen "in the middle of the might" - the same time of the night when the graffiti was being sprayed across the city - since the evening before, the window was typically still in-tact, and the next morning during the city's Dutch dawn hangover, as I was up and ambulatory, the smashed windows stuck out.

The Dutch appear to be a very un-litigious society.  Marking criminal suspects with DNA spray is fine.  100s of thousands of Amsterdamers ride bikes to work each day with no helmets, and often at night without reflective clothing or head lights or running lights.  Canalbikes (pedal boats) are rented to clueless (and sometimes completely stoned) tourists without having to sign a legal waiver or don life jackets, or any of the legal BS that would be MANDATORY in the overly litigious United States.  There ARE personal injury lawyers in the Netherlands, as we unexpectedly ran into a friend of ours who lives in Phoenix and who grew up in the Netherlands who happened to be staying at our hotel in Leidensplein explained to us over drinks last Wednesday night - they just don't appear to be the dominant force that drives everyone's behaviour as they are in this country. 

Full of Flowers

Amsterdam is not only full of canals, but it is full of flowers.  And not just tulips.  Tulips are a seasonal thing.  Many other flowers bloom throughout the spring, summer, and fall - until it gets too chilly.  As I walked around the canals last week in Amsterdam, I saw many a flower box, flower garden, and flower pot along city streets. 

Amsterdam is a lovely city.  Of the thousands of the 650 thousand inhabitants who I encountered, nearly all of them were pleasant, courteous, in-shape, English-speaking, nice people.  It seems that about 1/10th of their homes along the canals are florally decorated, and that's a beautiful touch.