Confluence 2016
We have been invited to play, on stage, at an out of area convention. I've been asked to put together a "30-50 minute set" and perform it in Pittsburgh, in July. http://parsec-sff.org/confluence/about/ for details about the Con itself.

More as we have it, but we've most certainly said "Throw us into that brier patch."

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Bad song idea
It was the end of the year as we knew it, and I feel fine.

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Nothing to see here, move along
It's cold and there's snow on the ground. What else is there to say?

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A rare political post
To get things straight -- although we've shared, the Facebook is Fred's and (this) Livejournal is mine. I do not post blatently political stuff on his page. On Facebook, however, a post was made stating that any Christian who does not condemn the shootings in Colorado Springs yesterday is encouraging that kind of action. Although I hVe never required Muslims to condemn their fringe element either, this is my oficial condemnation. I am a member of (I give money to) Planned Parenthood of Colorado. I believe that anyone who does not want to have a baby should not be forced to. I am aware that Planned Parenthood offers many services and the odds that the idiot prevented even a single abortion approaches zero, such that even if one believed that the end could justify those means, those shootings were not justified.

Any questions?

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Oh dem phones, dem dead phones

Our landline died a few weeks ago, no dial tone, we couldn't call out. Others could call in, which slowed our discovery of this problem by a bit, but it wasn't until we tried calling someone else that we discovered that there was a problem.

So we called Century-Link, the folks who laboriously swallowed Qwest awhile back, and told them about our problem. No big deal, they'll send out a tech & only charge us if the problem is on our property. And further no big deal, the tech came out and discovered that the problem was in their equipment, some corroded wires connecting our house to the world. What hey! He replaced the wires with some new ones, jabbered about his horses for half an hour, and vanished into the deepening gloom.

Next day our phone didn't work again. No dial tone, and no one could call in. All of our calls end at the Century-Link voice mailbox. So R got online, our computers have been working through all of this, no complaints there. They are just a bit slower than the 40mbs we were promised. where was I, oh yes, Robin got online and contacted Century-Link, again, and was told that a tech would be out "next Friday" (which would be today) between 8 and noon. On Monday I recieved an e mail that said "Good news! A CenturyLink technician is on the way to your home today!" Never saw him. Phone still not working.

This morning (which had been designated "next Friday" by someone in the CL office) roles around, and about 11:00 I get online to find out why the tech who was due hadn't called us to say when he'd be here with any degree of more accuracy. The online chat is poorly laid out so that I must obviously want to talk about their new "Prism©" TV service, which I didn't but I found where I could chat with a nice lady in India who was apparently chatting with her friends and doing her nails while handling my call. I explain the situation, she asks me a few questions which I'd thought I had already answered, she then, eventually, decides that I need to talk to someone else.

I wait about 15 minutes before someone comes on identifying herself as "Laura, from Salt Lake" again asking my name, my address and a precis of the problem. Oh, and can I have your e mail address too. Upon my telling her all of this she asks a couple questions about my computer, I tell her that's okay, but I have a repair order on my phone (note, I did say phone here, a few times) and here's the e mail I had recieved saying that a tech would be out, here's the service number associated with that, etc.

She says that was a neighborhood call, and I should not have been told that a tech was coming to my house.

Well, I've never recieved such an e mail before, & I've often seen a tech out in our neighborhood. How was I supposed to read that?

Then shes says: "Oh, your phone? I'm an internet specialist! Let me connect you with a phone specialist." Well, at least she wasn't doing her nails while I fidgeted.

Another 15 minute wait while I'm connected to the phone specialist. I'm then introduced to "Cory, in Boise" who once again asks for my vital data, only this time including my phone number. I give him the service number I had, and tell him the Alice's Restaurant Massacree in full four part harmony… he stops me right there and says: "I'm sorry sir, but that number was a neighborhood service call & you shouldn't have recieved that e mail."

"Okay, what about the promised tech who was supposed to be here today?" It's about 12:30 now.

"I see no records of any such order being made, sir. I can get a tech out there, but the soonest we'll have a Colorado tech available will be next Friday."

My response scared the dog and sent the cat running into the basement.

Then, since we were on a chat box, I hit all caps and tried to not go too ballistic. I accepted the tech being here next Friday but (politely, …maybe…) requested that he expedite that to be as if the president of his company were asking, asked to be allowed to ream the navals (through to the spine, if I recall) of the responsible department that had promised, and lost, our earlier order, AND reminded him that this is how companies bleed customers.

Somewhere in there I mentioned that I knew that he was merely a phone flunky with minumum powers, but…

So, sometime between 12:40 Mountain time today, and Next Friday, without fail (or so we have been promised) we will get our land line repaired.

And I'm so looking forward to the questionaire about this service call.

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The trailer.
Well Fred sold the old utility trailer that we got in CA and used to haul such stuff of ours to Colorado that we didn't wish to trust to a moving truck. Then almost had to abandon in the Utah desert when we took a very wrong turn.

The trailer has been sitting unused in our garage for the last several years, since we got the new van with no trailer hitch. When we went to Montana without needing to use it we pretty much decided that it's time with us was limited. Now we have an empty berth in the garage which Fred intends, as soon as his foot is healed (a completely different story) to straighten up and clean out so that we can park a car there during the coming winter.

Seems that we do more autumn cleaning than spring cleaning.

Current Mood: good enough

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My name is going to Mars
But the embedded code doesn't seem to want to work

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House a-cleaning & other stuff
Vacation last week was to Glacier & Yellowstone parks. We apparently were playing dodge bison in Yellowstone when the fire broke out in Glacier, so you can't blame us.

Now I'm trying to get the kids to help de-clutter the house a bit before school starts. But for some reason I can't even get them into the pool. I guess that would damage their iPads but...

Oh, and I'm behind on my comic this week. Those of you actually reading the thing might get to see some incomplete pix being posted Sunday AM.

Well, time for bed.

Current Mood: tired.

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Drawing day
Time for Fred to get ahead on that comic he draws.

The girls were finally kicked out of bed after 1:00 pm. No idea what time they finally went to bed last night.

The little fix Fred had to do on the pool was not very easy after all, but accidentally sticking a couple of fingernails into the tube of silicone sealant really didn't help. Then losing two of the screws intended to hold the skimmer onto the pool's side into the water were just added frustration. At least the temperature was down around cool enough to not sweat the pool full again.

That's all done now, the silicon is dried, & pool refill has commenced. We only need to refill about 6 inches worth.

Current Mood: satisfied

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It's too darn hot
Temps are supposed to hit the high 90's today, which means that we'll likely see 3 digits.

The pool is working but I need to go attack the jungle between the ladder & the lawn. Good thing I have a machete, & a pith helmet.

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Hello from the Ghost town
Just checking whether Live Journal still works for us. They dinked with the interface a bit and although this is connected to a facebook account, unless I log in here, it doesn't know me.

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Denver Comic Con rant
Back in March, the 29th according to our records, we were at a local Con called Anomaly Con & found a table there selling tickets to the Denver Comic Con for what still seemed reasonable prices. Good enough, I bought 4 such tix & slipped them inside the cover of my iPad case (a normally safe enough carrying place for paper stuff) & figured to transfer them to a designated, pre-determined, safe place when we got home.

For whatever reason they were not in any of the designated safe places I may have placed such tickets. Neither were they in the iPad case where I last remember them. So, I got on the Denver Comic Con website & I tried to find a phone number with which to call & ask for what my options are. The only number I can find isn't answering their phone during business hours, in the afternoon, on a Monday. Didn't feel too good about that, but I left a message with my name spelled out, my phone number clearly enunciated & the simple request to know what my options may be.

Tuesday I hear nothing.

Wednesday (today) I decide that we aren't going to hear from them & I went back on-line & purchased tix for the one day of ComicCon which was still available. Sunday. These tickets cost almost as much as I had paid for the full weekend before April 1º & they will still be waiting for us in "Will Call" instead of being mailed to us. There was, on the receipt, an 800 number which was different than the 720 number which I'd called earlier & hadn't heard any reply from as yet, so I thought that I'd call it.

In a more normally confused instance than normal of the left hand & the right hand being uncommunicative with each other I learned over the course of 3 separate phone calls that (& it really took that many for the news that I had bought the tickets at a physical location to get across to the nice people at "Brown Paper Tickets", I recommend thinking twice before buying from them in the future) because I had bought the tickets from a physical location, directly from the Denver Comic Con people that they had absolutely no records available to them of my earlier purchase. It really took them 3 calls to figure that out.

I have never run a convention before, but it seemed to me before this all started that, if I was going to have a service selling tickets for me, there should be a central location for keeping track of how many were bought when & where & that the service should have some form of access to those records. Obviously I was wrong. But I was also wrong in believing that these people may have some sense of where their living comes from. The first person I spoke with made me think that the full weekend tix had been located & the receipt would be mailed to me & that the replacement tix would be waiting at "Will Call," which would be good & acceptable & I would be singing their praises to the second highest heavens right now. But what I got in the e-mail was the exact same receipt I had received earlier for the Sunday tix.

I figured there had to be a mistake here, so I called again. This guy didn't even imply that he had found records of my earlier purchase, what do I mean that I had bought weekend tickets back in March. There's no such records. (this, note, after repeating, again, that I had bought the tickets at Anomaly Con)

The third time I got the same guy who tried to patiently explain that my records were not in his files so I could not have purchased those tickets. I asked for his boss. Boss, a guy named Ryan, (Yay, someone finally told me their name!!!) listened to my now well worn tale & finally HE twigged on the Anomaly Con tidbit. This service was not, in any way, involved in those particular tickets sales. I needed to call the Comic Con people themselves. While he & I were talking and finally coming to something resembling an understanding (He'd never heard of anybody providing such records as are stored in a central location with any ticket service, but agreed it was a brilliant idea, & he will push for same in the future. Personally I just thought it blindingly obvious.) he provided me with a slightly different number than the web page had for contacting the Comic Con people.

Did I mention that it was now after 5:00? No? Blast, that was going to come up earlier. The chimes rang whilst I chatted with Ryan.

So, where we stand right now: I've got one day tickets waiting at "Will Call" for Sunday. I've got an as-well-crafted-message-as-I-could-make waiting on the Comic Con answering machine, telling them to call me ASAP and not to worry about waking me up. I still want to know what my options are. & R is threatening to drag me out to dinner tonight. JP's veggie Pad Thai (made without fish sauce, thank you) is sounding real good right about now.

& I still want to know if we're ever going to see any return on that $228 we spent in March.

Current Mood: Powerfully miffed

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Control issues?
The lady, whose dog was running around off the leash, had the nerve to tell me I should control my dog (who was still on the leash & at least 5X her dog's size) when the little yapper lit into my dog, & got well chewed up in defense. I had called ahead & warned her that my dog was unpredictable with regards to other dogs, & she declared her dog was a real sweety who wouldn't hurt anybody. I informed her that I wasn't worried (as it turned out I should have been) about her dog attacking mine.

After a bit of negotiation I decided to risk walking past her with Bingo's leash pulled short. Then, with almost no warning, we were attacked.

I was concerned for the little dog's safety until its person similarly lit into me about controlling my dog. "Lady, YOUR dog attacked mine." "He never does that! Why should he now?" "Ma'am, were you watching? Your dog, who was not leashed, ran about ten feet (about 11x its length) to attack mine, who was. I think that YOU need to control your dog better. And further I suspect that you need to get your head back into daylight to see that your little sweetie just tried to suicide."

We left each other, she carrying her bleeding baby, & Bingo walking proudly. We never traded personal data. She never asked, I never volunteered.

I'm wondering what her kids (if any) are like.

Current Mood: wary

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Feeling better
and we had a brush of snow overnight. AND I actually got around 6 hours of sleep (Fred), I haven't really done that in 2 weeks or so. (There's nothing like stress for the holidays...?)

But somehow it's already January second. What happened?

Current Mood: drained

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Not feeling my best (NY post)
Fred here: Both R & I are feeling a bit under the weather, so we're staying home tonight. T went to the NY bash next door, & M is happy playing sims so...

I have a mega stuffy nose with concomitant migraine which made it impossible to sleep last night. R just has the very stuffy nose.

So a Happy New Year to the rest of you & I'm going to bed now.

Current Mood: sick

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A thank you to Kay Shapiro
I think, that when she sees this she will know why.

Www.littlelevers.com/angels

I had been wondering what this Year's filler was going to be. :D

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Today we put up the tree
while singing the song kayshapero just got published in Xeno. (Gloria in excelsis Deo, TTTO "The Banana Boat Song") I told Tammy she should see if she can get the whole school bus singing it this week.

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Something isn't quite right
We had our office "Holiday" (Christmas) party last night. Daylight Saving Time (aka "Summer Time") ends tonight.

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It's the mother thing
Your results:
You are Beverly Crusher

Beverly Crusher 75% Will Riker 70% Uhura 50% Jean-Luc Picard 45% Chekov 45% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 45% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 45% Geordi LaForge 45% Deanna Troi 45% Worf 40% Spock 37% Mr. Sulu 35% Mr. Scott 35% James T. Kirk (Captain) 35% Data 34%

A good physician and a caring parent. You are devoted to your children and to your occupation.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

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Calling all Geek Friends (Robin's post on LJ)
Fred has an iPad. Somehow, the "Contacts" app has been reinitialized. Everything is blank; there are no entries. No other apps are affected. It would be lovely if someone could tell us how the contact information might be restored -- some things were nowhere else. Alternatively, an explanation of how to prevent it happening again (or how to back it up to another machine or cloud memory) would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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