Anyone readers from arizona have a verizon home phone? I can't seem to get an answer from Verizon whether my address has FiOS available or not.
For those of you unaware, FiOS is Verizons fiber to the home high speed networking and digital telephone/television network. The important part here, is that it offers speeds of up to 30Mbit/sec, which is just superpeachykeen.
I'm currently on a cox line, and I get 5Mb down, and 512Kb up; but it aint cheap, and their service isn't always the best; plus that 5/512 speed is a theoretical ideal, when theres no traffic in my neighorhood etc...
I'd get business DSL, but it's even MORE expensive, and even slower (business grade to get a minimum qos and higher speeds); even though I'm only a few thousand feet from my CSO head end; PLUS I'd have to deal with qwest, who sucks (even if I used verizon for my ISP, qwest would be the wire provider).
So understandably, I'm VERY interested in FiOS. Now, web sites are reporting that some customers in Scottsdale have had their speed tests done (they check the neighborhood nodes to see if you can be installed and what grade of service they can offer you) but I can't get confirmation of that, or whether I can pre-order FiOS or not.
So any area Verizon customers, try entering your phone number here and see if you can get FiOS, and let me know OK?
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
First Day
So today was our oldest daughters first day at pre-kindergarten (which they make distinct from pre-school because of course the Pre-K are BIG girls now, not little girls), and she had a blast.
The first week of Pre-K (and pre-school) it's noon dismissal (but next week it goes to all day), and they had a little pizza party for all the new kids, and new families after pickup.
Anyway, she loved it so much, she was dragging her feet when it was time to leave.
Our parish has a great school attached to it, and they have a two year preschool program. Sure, it's expensive (grand total about $4650 a year for a ten month year, including all fees and obligations - $3800 for just tuition) but it's very much worth it; and cheaper than day care if we wanted to do that; which we don't, but once both of them are in school Mel can finish her degree a lot easier, or take a part time job which she may want to do, maybe not.
Unfortunately our younger girl is 10 days too young to go this year, but she REAAAAAAALLLLY wants to go like her big sister. Actually we wish she could go to. Not that we want to get them out of the house, but Shaila could use the social interaction, and the jumpstart on learning. With her sister out of the house 7 hours a day, it's going to be lonely for her; and she's never really been without her sister for more than a few hours before.
I never thought it was fair that kids who wanted to go to school and who were emotionally and intellectually ready to go t school; had to wait a whole year, because their birthday was a few weeks late. Just another one of those magic numbers in our society that I dislike so much.
Anyway, they both love the school and they love learning. Now if only that enthusiasm would last through high school...
The first week of Pre-K (and pre-school) it's noon dismissal (but next week it goes to all day), and they had a little pizza party for all the new kids, and new families after pickup.
Anyway, she loved it so much, she was dragging her feet when it was time to leave.
Our parish has a great school attached to it, and they have a two year preschool program. Sure, it's expensive (grand total about $4650 a year for a ten month year, including all fees and obligations - $3800 for just tuition) but it's very much worth it; and cheaper than day care if we wanted to do that; which we don't, but once both of them are in school Mel can finish her degree a lot easier, or take a part time job which she may want to do, maybe not.
Unfortunately our younger girl is 10 days too young to go this year, but she REAAAAAAALLLLY wants to go like her big sister. Actually we wish she could go to. Not that we want to get them out of the house, but Shaila could use the social interaction, and the jumpstart on learning. With her sister out of the house 7 hours a day, it's going to be lonely for her; and she's never really been without her sister for more than a few hours before.
I never thought it was fair that kids who wanted to go to school and who were emotionally and intellectually ready to go t school; had to wait a whole year, because their birthday was a few weeks late. Just another one of those magic numbers in our society that I dislike so much.
Anyway, they both love the school and they love learning. Now if only that enthusiasm would last through high school...
Monday, August 14, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Posts I'm working on and need to finish
Sorry for the relative lack of conent (especially gun content) around here lately; there's been a combination of business, busy-ness, and general life crap, conspiring to create a lack of inspiration.
Anyway, heres a partial list of the posts I'm working on and need to complete
Camera Envy post
New Computer Options post
Speaker Building post
The resurection of Max
"Toys" I wan't to buy
Four new "recipes for real men"
A couple new"Recipes for real women"
I don't have any new gun content in me at the moment; though that could change at any moment. I have a six month backlog of Guns and Ammo, Shooting Times, Handguns, and a couple other guns magazines to get through, and somehow I think some of those will prompt something.
Anyway, heres a partial list of the posts I'm working on and need to complete
Camera Envy post
New Computer Options post
Speaker Building post
The resurection of Max
"Toys" I wan't to buy
Four new "recipes for real men"
A couple new"Recipes for real women"
I don't have any new gun content in me at the moment; though that could change at any moment. I have a six month backlog of Guns and Ammo, Shooting Times, Handguns, and a couple other guns magazines to get through, and somehow I think some of those will prompt something.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Profiles, a New Blog Meme
I'm officially Christopher J. Byrne IV, but Chris is the accepted diminutive.
If anyone wants to know more about ME than is presented in this profile, my personal web site is http://www.chrisbyrne.com, my personal blog is http://anarchangel.blogspot.com and I co-blog (and moderate) at http://www.thelibertypapers.org, where I am a co-founder.
I'm also a moderator at "The other side of Kim DuToit" and 'The Nation of Riflemen" forums at:
http://www.theothersideofkim.com/forums
and a co-founder of the "Life, Liberty, and Property" blog community at:
http://www.truthlaidbear.com/communitypage.php?community=lifelibertyproperty
and the "Gunbloggers" community at:
http://truthlaidbear.com/communitypage.php?community=gunblogs
As to Politics, I'm a muscular minarchist; which is kind of like a small L libertarian with a machine gun.
More on that here:
http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2005/03/politics-of-liberty.html
and here:
http://thelibertypapers.org/2005/11/22/what-the-heck-is-a-muscular-minarchist/
As to ME, I am a husband, a father, a son, and a brother. I am a general misfit and malcontent, though when necessary I hide it well. I'm crazy like a fox... at least that's what I tell myself.
I'm an aerospace engineer by training, a former USAF mustang officer, a private pilot, a shooter, a former semi-pro football player, a guitar player and singer (the first badly, the second very well), a martial artists, a master and natural dom, a sailor, a boater, a motorcyclist and dirt rider, an automobile and racing enthusiast and amateur racer, a collector of fine watches, knives, firearms, swords, books, and old computers, a voracious reader, a trivia and pop culture junky, a serious poker player, and a GAMER of all types.
I have a wife, Melody (Mel), and two daughters, one who will be five in January, and one who'll be three in four weeks. I also have a large Irish extended family, and a brother, who I don't get along with at all.
I grew up in and around Boston and New England, but I've moved 34 times in the last 30 years (yes, I mean that literally).
I went to college in Arizona, and came back here three years ago when my mom got very sick again (she's curently final stage terminal); which is where I currently live. My mother, and my brother live about a half hour away, and the rest of my family is still in Ireland or New England.
I've been all around the world; to all 50 american states, and 40 someodd countries. I say someodd, because some of them aren't countries anymore, and some of them are several different countries now. I lived in Ireland for three years, and at least a few months in England, Germany, Australia, Israel, and Russia. I hold multiple citizenships, including US, Irish (born to Irish parents in America), Russian (got it with a bribe), and Israeli (complicated story that).
My parents split when I was two; my father going to prison, and my mother going to work. She owned various small businesses or worked as a contactor at a half dozen different jobs. We were poor, but we had enough. I had a rich family but she never took any money from them. The one advantage I got from this, was I lived in a nice town with good schools... well that and a ridiculous work and achievment ethic which has helped me become who I am.
I am currently working as a senior architect for one of the world largest banks (I design very big computer, network, storage, and security systems); and I'm also a professional security consultant (information, electronic, and physical) freelance writer, and author.
I used to write widely both under my own name and on spec under byline for the tech industry, but it's not worth the money or the stress anymore. I've co-authored several IT and security books, and I've beena contributor to several published games and supplements.
And that's about it, now go post your own.
Chris Byrne
=======================================
The eyes may be the windows on the soul
But the word is the doorway to the mind
=======================================
If anyone wants to know more about ME than is presented in this profile, my personal web site is http://www.chrisbyrne.com, my personal blog is http://anarchangel.blogspot.com and I co-blog (and moderate) at http://www.thelibertypapers.org, where I am a co-founder.
I'm also a moderator at "The other side of Kim DuToit" and 'The Nation of Riflemen" forums at:
http://www.theothersideofkim.com/forums
and a co-founder of the "Life, Liberty, and Property" blog community at:
http://www.truthlaidbear.com/communitypage.php?community=lifelibertyproperty
and the "Gunbloggers" community at:
http://truthlaidbear.com/communitypage.php?community=gunblogs
As to Politics, I'm a muscular minarchist; which is kind of like a small L libertarian with a machine gun.
More on that here:
http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2005/03/politics-of-liberty.html
and here:
http://thelibertypapers.org/2005/11/22/what-the-heck-is-a-muscular-minarchist/
As to ME, I am a husband, a father, a son, and a brother. I am a general misfit and malcontent, though when necessary I hide it well. I'm crazy like a fox... at least that's what I tell myself.
I'm an aerospace engineer by training, a former USAF mustang officer, a private pilot, a shooter, a former semi-pro football player, a guitar player and singer (the first badly, the second very well), a martial artists, a master and natural dom, a sailor, a boater, a motorcyclist and dirt rider, an automobile and racing enthusiast and amateur racer, a collector of fine watches, knives, firearms, swords, books, and old computers, a voracious reader, a trivia and pop culture junky, a serious poker player, and a GAMER of all types.
I have a wife, Melody (Mel), and two daughters, one who will be five in January, and one who'll be three in four weeks. I also have a large Irish extended family, and a brother, who I don't get along with at all.
I grew up in and around Boston and New England, but I've moved 34 times in the last 30 years (yes, I mean that literally).
I went to college in Arizona, and came back here three years ago when my mom got very sick again (she's curently final stage terminal); which is where I currently live. My mother, and my brother live about a half hour away, and the rest of my family is still in Ireland or New England.
I've been all around the world; to all 50 american states, and 40 someodd countries. I say someodd, because some of them aren't countries anymore, and some of them are several different countries now. I lived in Ireland for three years, and at least a few months in England, Germany, Australia, Israel, and Russia. I hold multiple citizenships, including US, Irish (born to Irish parents in America), Russian (got it with a bribe), and Israeli (complicated story that).
My parents split when I was two; my father going to prison, and my mother going to work. She owned various small businesses or worked as a contactor at a half dozen different jobs. We were poor, but we had enough. I had a rich family but she never took any money from them. The one advantage I got from this, was I lived in a nice town with good schools... well that and a ridiculous work and achievment ethic which has helped me become who I am.
I am currently working as a senior architect for one of the world largest banks (I design very big computer, network, storage, and security systems); and I'm also a professional security consultant (information, electronic, and physical) freelance writer, and author.
I used to write widely both under my own name and on spec under byline for the tech industry, but it's not worth the money or the stress anymore. I've co-authored several IT and security books, and I've beena contributor to several published games and supplements.
And that's about it, now go post your own.
Chris Byrne
=======================================
The eyes may be the windows on the soul
But the word is the doorway to the mind
=======================================
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Civil Disobedience Revisited
I posted this last year, and it's coming time to repeat it.
Dear Sirs:Should you attempt to overthrow the First Amendment on the internet, I will disobey.
I will not answer the court.
I refuse to pay fines.
I will organize civil disobedience against your Communist style election rules.
I will never, ever, submit to this attempt to destroy American liberty.
With utter enmity and ill will,
Dale Amon.
Live Free or Die
The McCain Feingold campaign finance law is unconstitutional, and another step on the road to tyranny. It is, in present form, just able to be born; If the congress should attempt to extend it's powers even further, it is our duty as free men to disobey.
Let me explicitly state what this flag should make clear. Any attempt made to silence my political expression will be met with force, if necessary lethal force. I will accept the consequences of these actions, with the constitution, and inherent right as my defense.
Additionally, and specifically adressing the "incumbent protection act" as instituted by this legislation, I will openly and avowedly advertise for or against, support, and attack; politicians directly and by name, any time I damn well please, and especially within the last few weeks before the election.
That is all.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Rockstar Supernova: Week 6 Elimination - Double Shot
Two Encores... hmmm...
Well there's no question that Lukas' performance yesterday was his best yet, and if he can repeat it, or even better it, he may still have a shot at this. I think he did a vocally better job, but the intensity, energy, and impact werent as good as yesterday at first... then he pulls that bridge. Yeah, that was pretty good man. I was impressed. Yup, his best performance ever; it was flat out damn good.
Magni... Every time I see him on stage, I get more sure he's winning this. He's better than everybody else (not as much energy as Storm, nor as much soul as Dilana, but better all around). It sounds almost bad, but I dont think we've seen everything from him yet. Not quite that he's holding back, but that he could balls it up even more if anyone was seriously challenging him. An electric version of "Dolphins Cry", completely different than he'd practiced for, and he's got it cold man. though maybe a bit much of the scream (to compensate for the changeup). He's a total pro, he isn't phased by anything they throw at him. Real simple, I'd pay to see this guy leading a band.
Now as to my prediction yesterday:
The Elimination:
Jill Gioia- Aretha Franklin, "Respect": Jills attitude has jsut been wrong from the beginning. She just isnt a band leader; she's an accompanying singer, or a featured soloist, but she jsut can't take this pressure, nor is she good in front of the band. Oh and the Christina Spears things just sucks. I don't think the arrangement works, and she's keying the song up too high. She's missing the soul here, and the power that she's capable of. Honeslty, I didnt have to watch her sing this, and with this song thats saying something very bad; because "Respect" should COMMAND attention. She's a GREAT singer, but she isn't a star at all, never mind a rock star. Her singing was good enough to keep her alive, but honestly, I dont think she belongs here anymore.
Josh Logan - Bad Company, "Shooting Star": Frikken awesome song, and if he can pull it off, he's on another planet here. Seems that he's back to Justin Timberlake mode here, not Paul Rodgers, but I want to see him ROCK THIS. I think he can do it, if he wants it bad enough. Ok too much reverb, and way too much vibrato. The headbob is irritating me. Decent guitar actually. He's nervous, and maybe sad, and he's trying to cover it. He thinks he's gone today; and it's effecting his performance. Finally in the last verse he gets into it, but still the head bob. He's in his groove and his voice is finally coming out; and the last refrain and the outro were good... I think he's gone though. I think he was swansonging there.
Ryan Star - Depeche Mode, "Enjoy the Silence": Good song, good selection for his voice, maybe a bit off for Supernova, but you have to go with your strengths. Good arrangement, and perfect pitching for his voice. Great opening, and great way to kick it up from the original. Not sure I live the singing under his breath for the main verse, but I like the refrains. Honestly, I'd say this is the first time I've really seen him be a rock star. The piano was great, but this is showing he can really lead the band on stage, and CRUSH it. The best performance of the three. Amazing intensity, he WANTS this. The emotion and energy and passion are incredible.
Man... Of the three I think Jill needs to go home first, but Joshes performance was clearly worse.
Ummm wow... both of them. Two encores, two eliminations...
As to the future for these guys, Josh had a great perspective on this. I love his attitude, and I think this kid has a great future on the indie/emo scene. Jill has a great career already, and I don't think it's going to hurt her here.
I must say, the more I see Jason, the more impressed I am; and I'm surprised at Tommys... I dunno his behavior is a bit much, but under it all, he's a real pro.
Next week... Wow. I'm guessing Zayra and Patrice are bottoming out; but as to the third, I won't even hazard a guess.
Well there's no question that Lukas' performance yesterday was his best yet, and if he can repeat it, or even better it, he may still have a shot at this. I think he did a vocally better job, but the intensity, energy, and impact werent as good as yesterday at first... then he pulls that bridge. Yeah, that was pretty good man. I was impressed. Yup, his best performance ever; it was flat out damn good.
Magni... Every time I see him on stage, I get more sure he's winning this. He's better than everybody else (not as much energy as Storm, nor as much soul as Dilana, but better all around). It sounds almost bad, but I dont think we've seen everything from him yet. Not quite that he's holding back, but that he could balls it up even more if anyone was seriously challenging him. An electric version of "Dolphins Cry", completely different than he'd practiced for, and he's got it cold man. though maybe a bit much of the scream (to compensate for the changeup). He's a total pro, he isn't phased by anything they throw at him. Real simple, I'd pay to see this guy leading a band.
Now as to my prediction yesterday:
"Seriously, there is no obvious bottom three here. Patrice, Zayra, and Ryan were all kinda mediocre to my mind, but not horrible by any means, even Zayra; and the band LIKED Patrice and Ryan. Jill wasn't very good, but she wasn't very bad either... Okay, I'm just not sure here. I'm reasonably certain that Patrice and Zayra are on the block, but the third could be almsot anybody. Maybe Ryan, maybe Jill, maybe not..."Well, it turned out I was right about Ryan and Jill, and the rest of my picks were all on the block at some point, but it turned out to be Josh, who although he wasn't great, I didnt think deserved it in comparison to Patrice and Zayra.
The Elimination:
Jill Gioia- Aretha Franklin, "Respect": Jills attitude has jsut been wrong from the beginning. She just isnt a band leader; she's an accompanying singer, or a featured soloist, but she jsut can't take this pressure, nor is she good in front of the band. Oh and the Christina Spears things just sucks. I don't think the arrangement works, and she's keying the song up too high. She's missing the soul here, and the power that she's capable of. Honeslty, I didnt have to watch her sing this, and with this song thats saying something very bad; because "Respect" should COMMAND attention. She's a GREAT singer, but she isn't a star at all, never mind a rock star. Her singing was good enough to keep her alive, but honestly, I dont think she belongs here anymore.
Josh Logan - Bad Company, "Shooting Star": Frikken awesome song, and if he can pull it off, he's on another planet here. Seems that he's back to Justin Timberlake mode here, not Paul Rodgers, but I want to see him ROCK THIS. I think he can do it, if he wants it bad enough. Ok too much reverb, and way too much vibrato. The headbob is irritating me. Decent guitar actually. He's nervous, and maybe sad, and he's trying to cover it. He thinks he's gone today; and it's effecting his performance. Finally in the last verse he gets into it, but still the head bob. He's in his groove and his voice is finally coming out; and the last refrain and the outro were good... I think he's gone though. I think he was swansonging there.
Ryan Star - Depeche Mode, "Enjoy the Silence": Good song, good selection for his voice, maybe a bit off for Supernova, but you have to go with your strengths. Good arrangement, and perfect pitching for his voice. Great opening, and great way to kick it up from the original. Not sure I live the singing under his breath for the main verse, but I like the refrains. Honestly, I'd say this is the first time I've really seen him be a rock star. The piano was great, but this is showing he can really lead the band on stage, and CRUSH it. The best performance of the three. Amazing intensity, he WANTS this. The emotion and energy and passion are incredible.
Man... Of the three I think Jill needs to go home first, but Joshes performance was clearly worse.
Ummm wow... both of them. Two encores, two eliminations...
As to the future for these guys, Josh had a great perspective on this. I love his attitude, and I think this kid has a great future on the indie/emo scene. Jill has a great career already, and I don't think it's going to hurt her here.
I must say, the more I see Jason, the more impressed I am; and I'm surprised at Tommys... I dunno his behavior is a bit much, but under it all, he's a real pro.
Next week... Wow. I'm guessing Zayra and Patrice are bottoming out; but as to the third, I won't even hazard a guess.
Now if only we could get a refund...
Okay, let's start with the good. Rosie is starting Pre-K next week, at the very Catholic school we intend to send the kids to for grade school. It's a great school, one of the best in the state, and we wanted to get her enrolled so she would naturally be enrolled for grade school without a problem. Plus the exposure will be great for her, plus the schedule, normality, and socialization. She's looking forward to going and I'm looking forward to taking her there.
So while entering her school schedule into Google Calendar (thus making it available to the people who need it) I thought, "hey, I have all this info for the Phoenix diocese, why not compare the schools there to the Scottsdale Unified School District we're paying taxes for."
This turned out to be a bad, bad idea. Yes, I have lots of info to share, lots of comparisons, and lots of data. What is the one thing I am missing?
Flippin' test scores!
Okay, everyone remembers No Child Left Behind, one of the greatests wastes of taxpayer money ever? In response to that, AZ now has the AIMS test which is supposed to measure student and school performance. Now I always remember the ITBS (Iowa) as it was the reigning champion of school tests while I was in school one suburb away. The Phoenix Diocese still uses this wildly popular test, and for good reason. The test both supplies real numbers and norms for the entire country. This is a great tool, letting teachers and parents know how the students scored compared to their grade level and the entire country if they so choose.
The AIMS test... where do I start. Not only have the standards been lowered MANY times (almost every single year since they were testing it my senior year of high school, 1999) but the test doesn't give real, comparative numbers. If you look really hard through the AZ Department of Education website, you can find scores by district and school, which will tell you the percentage of students who failed to meet, met, or exceeded expectations. This took me about an hour. For the average parent who doesn't stay at home, the hour that took would be precious indeed. For these normal folk there are school ratings, i.e. failing, underperforming, performing, highly performing, and excelling.
The only problem is that there is no easy explanation for those terms, and to find an explanation at all, a parent has to wade through more documentation i.e. another hour of my time. So what did I find when I went looking for these ratings? MORE FLIPPIN' CALCULATIONS. After about a half hour of trying to figure out advanced level statistics and their version of "points" I gave up. The whole thing doesn't make sense, is not comparable to any other state's system, and bottom line cannot be compared to the numbers from the private schools.
So I'm going to have to do something I hate to do. I am going to have to substitute deduction for raw data. I'd rather have the raw data.
Now before I begin, let me start by saying right off the top that I'm being extremely generous concerning the public school system compared to our school of choice. I'm comparing the Phoenix Diocese to the entire Scottsdale Unified School District. The Phoenix Diocese includes some of the poorest people in the metro Phoenix area. The SUSD, many of the richest. It doesn't take a genius to conclude that compared to the Phoenix public school districts, SUSD is rich indeed. The public school that Rosie would otherwise attend is, however, one of the least funded of the SUSD schools due to its neighborhood which is comparable to the neighborhood which surrounds the Catholic school. But anyway...
The ITBS scores I found for the Phoenix Diocese are from 2005, and are two types: Percentile Rank, and Grade Equivalency. The PR is ranked on national norms, and is based on the percentage of students nationwide who tested lower than the student in question in that grade level at that time. The GE is the grade level (grade . month of grade) which the student performed at. So, for example, if the PR is 72 the student tested better than 72 percent of students at the same grade level at the same time nationwide. If the GE is 5.4 that's 5th grade, 4th month.
Phoenix Diocese:
3rd Grade Math PR:63 GE:3.5
Reading PR:69 GE:3.8
5th Grade Math PR:65 GE:5.8
Reading PR:75 GE:6.6
8th Grade Math PR:72 GE:10.4
Reading PR:73 GE:10.5
Now if you'll notice, the PRs and GEs gain each testing level, until at the 8th grade the students are averaging 2 1/2 levels above their current grade level, which is especially impressive considering that the testing is done in September. Now this is unfortunately where I have to leap into deduction, because the data is not comparable. For a student population to exceed expectations by 31%, it is logical that the vast majority of the students met expecations and a rather large percentage exceeded them. But more importantly, the relative numbers rise, proven that the students are not backsliding but indeed advancing forward. I do really wish I could just compare average GEs between the districts, but thanks to AIMS this is the best I get.
Now the SUSD data from 2005. Each grade level is tests against state expectations (I rather prefer the national norms) and a percentage of students passing or exceeding expectations is given. Let's assume that the "met expectations" number is approximately 50th percentile, just in the hopes (most likely futile) of being logical.
So here we go...
3rd Grade: Math: 46% met, 39% exceeded (85%)
Reading: 61% met, 20% exceeded (81%)
5th Grade: Math: 45% met, 41% exceeded (86%)
Reading: 65% met, 20% exceeded (85%)
(note: there are actual nominal gains here)
8th Grade: Math: 54% met, 24% exceeded (78%) huh?
Reading: 69% met, 14% exceeded (83%)
So in Math there was a notable drop, Reading a nominal drop, and overall no gains. Compare that to the Phoenix Diocese, whose students performed better each testing level.
But Catholic schoolkids spend much more time in class, you can't hope to compare, right?
No, not really. Like I said, I've gone over the school calendar. The Catholic school in question has 157 full days (7 1/2 hours each) and 20 half days (4 hours each). The SUSD has 176 full days (also 7 1/2 hours) and 4 half days. So that's really 167 school days at the Catholic school, and 178 school days at SUSD. The public school student actually spends 11 more days in class. So what's wrong? Well, first of all, someone at SUSD decided it would be good to split the 2nd quarter in half, ending it 3 weeks after return from Christmas Break. Why this makes sense I don't know, but it evidently did to the school board. That means the teachers spent at least 5 school days refreshing before testing, making the gap is school days significantly less. So there at least the schools are roughly equal.
But Catholic schools are much more expensive, have much better teachers right?
Well, yes and no. Almost nothing can replace a good Jesuit-method teacher, which is why we chose this school to begin with. But as for cost, no not really. For example...
For 167 school days of full day Pre-K, we are paying a total of $4650. $3800 of that is actual tuition, $250 for school improvement fee (one per family), and $150 registration fee. The other $450 is fees if we DON'T do the 20 hours of volunteer work per family (worth $15 per hour) and make $150 worth of SCRIP profit for the church. SCRIP is gift cards bought from the church that can be used at places like grocery stores, gas stations, and other retailers at face value and cost. The church receives a percentage of the profit (around 4% average, up to 20% for some) and it's like spending cash. We figure we'll do that in Amazon SCRIP alone. What else is great about this system is that after that $150 in profit is met, the church will split the profit with you and apply it to tuition. This is a great way to reduce tuition costs, as you can sell SCRIP to just about anyone. Also every family is required to donate time or money to Catholic Tuition Organization, 95% of which goes towards scholarships and grants for family who cannot pay the tuition.
So yes, the $4650 we could pay is a lot of money, but not in comparison to other preschools in the area, which will charge $600 per month instead of the average $465 per month we are paying (or $420 if we are doing the community service, which we will).
But what is the grade school tuition?
Well, if you are a non-Catholic who doesn't contribute or volunteer, the yearly tuition (paid over 10 months) is $7150, or $6300 base ($6700 with necessary fees). If you are a contributing member of the parish, base is $3950.
So how much of our taxpayer dollars goes towards the average SUSD student?
$8400. Yes, that much, NOT counting school improvement bonds. So your average student costs the taxpayer more (much more overall) to send to a public school than to a private school. This is why school vouchers are such a popular idea with fiscal conservatives. They save much more money than they cost to implement.
So let's go over this again. Although the test scores from the AIMS are suspiciously hard to intepret and compare, it is evident that the students from the Phoenix Diocese advance more, spend less time in school, and cost less to send to school. Factor in a good-old-fashioned Jesuit education, smaller classes, the joys of uniforms, and mandatory parental involvement, and it's obvious where our kids are going.
Now if only we could get a refund for all those pesky property taxes...
Mel
Just call me Mel, everyone else does.
So while entering her school schedule into Google Calendar (thus making it available to the people who need it) I thought, "hey, I have all this info for the Phoenix diocese, why not compare the schools there to the Scottsdale Unified School District we're paying taxes for."
This turned out to be a bad, bad idea. Yes, I have lots of info to share, lots of comparisons, and lots of data. What is the one thing I am missing?
Flippin' test scores!
Okay, everyone remembers No Child Left Behind, one of the greatests wastes of taxpayer money ever? In response to that, AZ now has the AIMS test which is supposed to measure student and school performance. Now I always remember the ITBS (Iowa) as it was the reigning champion of school tests while I was in school one suburb away. The Phoenix Diocese still uses this wildly popular test, and for good reason. The test both supplies real numbers and norms for the entire country. This is a great tool, letting teachers and parents know how the students scored compared to their grade level and the entire country if they so choose.
The AIMS test... where do I start. Not only have the standards been lowered MANY times (almost every single year since they were testing it my senior year of high school, 1999) but the test doesn't give real, comparative numbers. If you look really hard through the AZ Department of Education website, you can find scores by district and school, which will tell you the percentage of students who failed to meet, met, or exceeded expectations. This took me about an hour. For the average parent who doesn't stay at home, the hour that took would be precious indeed. For these normal folk there are school ratings, i.e. failing, underperforming, performing, highly performing, and excelling.
The only problem is that there is no easy explanation for those terms, and to find an explanation at all, a parent has to wade through more documentation i.e. another hour of my time. So what did I find when I went looking for these ratings? MORE FLIPPIN' CALCULATIONS. After about a half hour of trying to figure out advanced level statistics and their version of "points" I gave up. The whole thing doesn't make sense, is not comparable to any other state's system, and bottom line cannot be compared to the numbers from the private schools.
So I'm going to have to do something I hate to do. I am going to have to substitute deduction for raw data. I'd rather have the raw data.
Now before I begin, let me start by saying right off the top that I'm being extremely generous concerning the public school system compared to our school of choice. I'm comparing the Phoenix Diocese to the entire Scottsdale Unified School District. The Phoenix Diocese includes some of the poorest people in the metro Phoenix area. The SUSD, many of the richest. It doesn't take a genius to conclude that compared to the Phoenix public school districts, SUSD is rich indeed. The public school that Rosie would otherwise attend is, however, one of the least funded of the SUSD schools due to its neighborhood which is comparable to the neighborhood which surrounds the Catholic school. But anyway...
The ITBS scores I found for the Phoenix Diocese are from 2005, and are two types: Percentile Rank, and Grade Equivalency. The PR is ranked on national norms, and is based on the percentage of students nationwide who tested lower than the student in question in that grade level at that time. The GE is the grade level (grade . month of grade) which the student performed at. So, for example, if the PR is 72 the student tested better than 72 percent of students at the same grade level at the same time nationwide. If the GE is 5.4 that's 5th grade, 4th month.
Phoenix Diocese:
3rd Grade Math PR:63 GE:3.5
Reading PR:69 GE:3.8
5th Grade Math PR:65 GE:5.8
Reading PR:75 GE:6.6
8th Grade Math PR:72 GE:10.4
Reading PR:73 GE:10.5
Now if you'll notice, the PRs and GEs gain each testing level, until at the 8th grade the students are averaging 2 1/2 levels above their current grade level, which is especially impressive considering that the testing is done in September. Now this is unfortunately where I have to leap into deduction, because the data is not comparable. For a student population to exceed expectations by 31%, it is logical that the vast majority of the students met expecations and a rather large percentage exceeded them. But more importantly, the relative numbers rise, proven that the students are not backsliding but indeed advancing forward. I do really wish I could just compare average GEs between the districts, but thanks to AIMS this is the best I get.
Now the SUSD data from 2005. Each grade level is tests against state expectations (I rather prefer the national norms) and a percentage of students passing or exceeding expectations is given. Let's assume that the "met expectations" number is approximately 50th percentile, just in the hopes (most likely futile) of being logical.
So here we go...
3rd Grade: Math: 46% met, 39% exceeded (85%)
Reading: 61% met, 20% exceeded (81%)
5th Grade: Math: 45% met, 41% exceeded (86%)
Reading: 65% met, 20% exceeded (85%)
(note: there are actual nominal gains here)
8th Grade: Math: 54% met, 24% exceeded (78%) huh?
Reading: 69% met, 14% exceeded (83%)
So in Math there was a notable drop, Reading a nominal drop, and overall no gains. Compare that to the Phoenix Diocese, whose students performed better each testing level.
But Catholic schoolkids spend much more time in class, you can't hope to compare, right?
No, not really. Like I said, I've gone over the school calendar. The Catholic school in question has 157 full days (7 1/2 hours each) and 20 half days (4 hours each). The SUSD has 176 full days (also 7 1/2 hours) and 4 half days. So that's really 167 school days at the Catholic school, and 178 school days at SUSD. The public school student actually spends 11 more days in class. So what's wrong? Well, first of all, someone at SUSD decided it would be good to split the 2nd quarter in half, ending it 3 weeks after return from Christmas Break. Why this makes sense I don't know, but it evidently did to the school board. That means the teachers spent at least 5 school days refreshing before testing, making the gap is school days significantly less. So there at least the schools are roughly equal.
But Catholic schools are much more expensive, have much better teachers right?
Well, yes and no. Almost nothing can replace a good Jesuit-method teacher, which is why we chose this school to begin with. But as for cost, no not really. For example...
For 167 school days of full day Pre-K, we are paying a total of $4650. $3800 of that is actual tuition, $250 for school improvement fee (one per family), and $150 registration fee. The other $450 is fees if we DON'T do the 20 hours of volunteer work per family (worth $15 per hour) and make $150 worth of SCRIP profit for the church. SCRIP is gift cards bought from the church that can be used at places like grocery stores, gas stations, and other retailers at face value and cost. The church receives a percentage of the profit (around 4% average, up to 20% for some) and it's like spending cash. We figure we'll do that in Amazon SCRIP alone. What else is great about this system is that after that $150 in profit is met, the church will split the profit with you and apply it to tuition. This is a great way to reduce tuition costs, as you can sell SCRIP to just about anyone. Also every family is required to donate time or money to Catholic Tuition Organization, 95% of which goes towards scholarships and grants for family who cannot pay the tuition.
So yes, the $4650 we could pay is a lot of money, but not in comparison to other preschools in the area, which will charge $600 per month instead of the average $465 per month we are paying (or $420 if we are doing the community service, which we will).
But what is the grade school tuition?
Well, if you are a non-Catholic who doesn't contribute or volunteer, the yearly tuition (paid over 10 months) is $7150, or $6300 base ($6700 with necessary fees). If you are a contributing member of the parish, base is $3950.
So how much of our taxpayer dollars goes towards the average SUSD student?
$8400. Yes, that much, NOT counting school improvement bonds. So your average student costs the taxpayer more (much more overall) to send to a public school than to a private school. This is why school vouchers are such a popular idea with fiscal conservatives. They save much more money than they cost to implement.
So let's go over this again. Although the test scores from the AIMS are suspiciously hard to intepret and compare, it is evident that the students from the Phoenix Diocese advance more, spend less time in school, and cost less to send to school. Factor in a good-old-fashioned Jesuit education, smaller classes, the joys of uniforms, and mandatory parental involvement, and it's obvious where our kids are going.
Now if only we could get a refund for all those pesky property taxes...
Mel
Just call me Mel, everyone else does.
The Benefits (and liabilities) or working at home
So as of a few weeks ago, my assigned work area, is my home.
There was a mixup with cubicle assignments, and since I'm officially still a contractor, they wouldnt assign me a new cube. The facilities manager said it was into the open bullpen, or nothing. My job involves talking in phone meetings 6-8 hours a day; an open high traffic common area, with no storage no privacy, and no sound isolation... yeah no.
I have a full dedicated home office, which is right at this moment still full of stuff from when we moved in six months ago (six months on Friday actually), but I've also got wireless networking and a decent phone system (using Vonage), so my office is my house.
There are a lot of ways it's absolutely fabulous. I can get up 10 minutes before my first morning meeting if I want to (typically 7am, sometimes as late as 9), there's no commute irritation, my hours are pretty much whatever I want them to be, I don't have to worry about what I wear because all my meetings are on the phone, and I'm not wasting money on gas or lunch.
Plus, the additional side benefit of being with my family all day, so my kids actually get to see me (though we try to keep distractions to a minimum). Then of course theres the fact that the wife and I have as much time together as we need... for, recreation shall we say... between the work.
Overall, it's really great.
There's only two real issues:
1. Communications with my team and co-workers could be better; though honestly being in the office makes it WORSE as it stands today not better.
2. Distractions. When I'm working, I am not supposed to be disturbed or distracted. Yeah right. I've got a cuddle-slut wife, and two little attention hog girls; like I'mna be left alone all day when I'm jsut in the other room.
Not that I'm objecting to the affection mind you, but it IS distracting sometimes.
And to think, I actually get paid for this.
Bump Keying Bullshit
Oh my god, the world is ending, locks are no good, everyone can get at my stuff....
Bullshit, or rather, mostly bullshit. This video from the netherlands
is rather hysterical about bumpkeying, a technique for rapidly opening pin tumbler locks; saying how it leaves no signs of breakin and your insurance wont cover it, no houses are safe from burglars etc...
Well, there's a good point there, but it's not that we're all doomed.
First thing, yes bump keying is easy, and it has been around forever. It is not a new discovery. We used to do it with hand files, worn out keys, and a screwdriver. A power rake, a key gun, a tumbler shaker etc... all work in the same way; and conventional rake type lock picks aren't very different, you just use a tension wrench rather than a mallet.
Oh and yes it's easy, but it's not nearly as easy as they make it look on that video to actually MAKE a bump key. You need some experience and experimentation time, as well as the right keyblanks etc... though you CAN buy sets of bump keys for different lock types on the internet.
What IS new, is this fun little internet thingy to distribute the technique. Also, it’s a lot easier to get key cutting machines and the like than it used to be.
Second, that’s an insurance company in the Netherlands. Our homeowners insurance companies are a lot better to deal with than they are. If your stuff is missing, and you file a police report, you get paid out.
Third, bump keying doesn't work nearly as well on newer schlage and yale style locks as it does the standard euro style cylinder and mortise locks (which suck beyond belief BTW. Hell in most of eurpose, skeleton keys are still standard). It still works, but it’s harder and fiddlier.
Fourth, if you REALLY want a secure lock, buy a Medeco; they arent unpickable, but it takes an expert a long time.
Fifth, if someone wants into your house, they are getting into your house. No lock is going to stop them.
Sixth, the whole “signs of lockpicking” thing is mostly bullshit. It only works on brand new locks that haven’t been used very much yet.
Signs of lockpicking means very small scratches from the tools. Well a modern multi-pin tumbler lock is picked using rakes and tension wrenches, and for the most part the scratches they leave are not very different from the scratches a key makes. There MAY be scratching on the face of the lock, but those may be from the other keys on your keychain. Even with careful forensic disection and examination no-one can tell you with any accuracy that your lock has been picked.
Seventh, far more common than lockpicking, is key copying. Valet parking, car wash attendant, hardware store clerk, car dealer… these are all fruitful sources for high end burglars. Add in alarm repair folks, garage door installers, gardeners and cleaning staf etc... I think you get the picture.
Eighth and finally, if you arent rich, with lots of nice stuff, they’re not going to bother with the lock. Lockpicking takes time, and they want to be out of there in less than 4 minutes (minimum response time to an alarm). The lock is too slow, so they’re going to pop the frame on your back door or on a window. It takes maybe 3 seconds with a crow and a mallet, and sounds no louder than dropping a book.
So don't worry about bump keying; but don't count on your locks to save your stuff. THe best thing you can do is get a good monitored alarm system, with an audible alert (scares the amateurs away) and a dog.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Ohhh goodie, I won
Cowboy Blob ran his'self a little contest, and it just so happens I won the sum'bitch; for this caption (a note, that aircraft is a Shorts skyvan):
"Ladies and gentlemen, that high speed turbine sound you hear isn't our engines spinning up, it's the Shorts brothers in their graves at the thought of this airplane."
Rockstar Supernova - They're Scared
Basically, they're all scared shitless after last week; and well they should be.
Everyone knows that Storm, Dilana, and Magni are pretty safe, but everyone else is on the block; and they're afraid of playing with Gilby.
Oh, and the Nirvana/Stones string continues, only now they're alternating.
The Reviews:
Dilana Robichaux - The Who, "Won't Get Fooled Again": Pressure Much? It's one of my favorite songs of all time, it's frikken HARD, AND she's gotta go up with Gilby. Opening, a little too quiet, a little too much vibrato, and a little too stiff. She was drowned out in the refrain; in fact in general she needs to up the scream, though the reprise of the refrain was nice and loud, I don't think it worked. Was it bad? Not at all, it was OK, but it should have really kicked ass. I didn't think it did. She was good, she was competent, but I think she was a little nervous, and maybe not sure of herself there. She's safe, but she could do better. Everybody loved it, and I'm just not sure it was worth that.
Jill Gioia- Tracy Bonham, "Mother Mother": She looked like Britney, which is kinda wrong for a 35 year old. Her voice just sounded wrong for the arrangement, and the PA settings were way off. The reverb on the mike was horrible. Jills customary power wasn't there, and I cant tell if that was because of the PA or not. Fun performance though, and I'd guess she's safe. Very high energy, and much better lead on stage. Probably her best performance, even if her vocals weren't quite there; as Jason noted.
Ryan Star - The Rolling Stones, "Paint It Black": Well, this is my favorite stones tune, so I'm maybe a bit biased against him here. Big shoes to fill. Odd arrangement, though I like the creepiness. Ballsy yes, but I think it was a bad idea. I can barely hear him the way he's singing the opening, and he's flat and off key when he gets louder. Looks like this is a big performance night for folks, but the vocals just aren't there in my mind. Too much drama, not enough respect for the material. Ryan is trying to show he's a rock star not a pop star, but I didn't like it.
Storm Large - Queen, "We Are the Champions": Anybody has to have brass ones to cover Freddie Mercury (especially after Mig last year). Great power, and intensity, but she's a big flat in spots, and the dynamics aren't quite right. Good performance, good working the crowd, but again, a little flat, and nowhere near loud or high or powerful enough. Of course anyone suffers in comparison to Freddie Mercury. She did a good job, but not a great one. She HAS shown over the past few weeks that she can do a little bit of everything, from Rock, to Punk, to the sweet stuff.
Zayra Alvarez - Mott The Hoople/David Bowie, "All The Young Dudes": Ummm, yeah the wardrobe... uh.... ok. Now as to the song choice... Zayra has English diction problems when she sings anyway, and she picks a song that is mostly spoken? No, I don't think so. The actual sung parts weren't bad, but she really did have trouble being clear, and she was flat in the halfsung parts. Not a bad performance overall, great moves, certainly her least irritating so far, but again, I don't think it worked. She's probably still in the bottom three, but better.
Josh Logan - Stone Temple Pilots, "Interstate Love Song": Sweet, Tommy on the drums. Tough song man, and one of my faves. A real great ROCK tune. It's a not bad selection for his voice actually, though I'd have gone a little lower in the pitch. Oh and the head bob man, he's channeling Phil. A little flat and a little quiet in the refrain, but overall pretty good. Not bad guitar work actually (assuming his amp was mixed up), but I think having the guitar there hurt his vocals and performance a bit; just not enough power or flow. He did pretty well in front of Tommy though.
Magni Asgiersson - Live, "The Dolphins Cry": Remember when I said Magni looked a bit like Ed Kowalczyk? Well here's another live tune, and yup, Magni is right there. Cute kid. Good solo guitar work, again too much reverb in the PA, but it wasn't as bad as with Jill. We get to see the power in his voice on the refrain, without any interference from the band, and it's damned impressive. I love the arrangement, and this is a virtuoso performance from him. Amazing soul, great dynamic range, great emotion and expression.. perfect. He gets the encore absolutely.
Patrice Pike - John Lennon, "Instant Karma": I don't know if a rollin, kinda hippy tune like this is the right choice for Patrice to prove she's right for this band. Also, coming on after Magni blew it up like that.. good luck eh. Flat, sour, off beat, and she's just lost behind the guitar. She kinda disappears, even in the refrain, even singing her heart out. The singtalking isn't working for her, she just doesn't sound right. The look on her face is kinda psycho. I think she knows she's gone. It wasn't bad, it was OK, but she's just not a rock star. I think she's gonna be bottom three again.
Lukas Rossi - Radiohead, "Creep": Radiohead eh... I said a while back he could do radiohead if he could sweeten up the vocals, like the vocal coach suggested for example. This is a great song that I love, and I don't think he can do it... Too slow, too breathy, a little off key; but he's getting the sweetness almost right. He needs more plaintive wail, but Thom Yorke isn't exactly easy to cover. What I'm happy about is the growl is gone. A little off in the falsetto, too much vibrato, and not enough breath, but he transitioned into the vocal bridge really well. The performance itself was really good too; not too much drama, but lots of intensity. I think this is Lukas' best performance yet, I actually kinda liked it... at least if I can separate what he did from radiohead.
Toby Rand - Talking Heads, "Burning Down the House": Umm, wow, weird and interesting choice there. David Byrne is a character, I'm not sure Toby can pull this off, but it should be fun to watch. I like the opening, and the arrangement. Great wardrobe choice. A little hollow sounding, but again I think that was the PA. Amazing energy and showmanship, plus he obviously loves the material. Going into the first vocal change, he punks it up hard, and he's playing the crowd real well. I don't know about the megaphone bit, but it's showmanship, and honestly, I think he kicked some ass here.
Seriously, there is no obvious bottom three here. Patrice, Zayra, and Ryan were all kinda mediocre to my mind, but not horrible by any means, even Zayra; and the band LIKED Patrice and Ryan. Jill wasn't very good, but she wasn't very bad either...
Magni, Lukas, and Toby all kicked it so hard that everyone else suffers in comparison. I was absolutely sure that Magni had the encore locked, but honestly it could be any one of the three; and really nobody else is 100% safe either.
Okay, I'm just not sure here. I'm reasonably certain that Patrice and Zayra are on the block, but the third could be almsot anybody. Maybe Ryan, maybe Jill, maybe not...
Everyone knows that Storm, Dilana, and Magni are pretty safe, but everyone else is on the block; and they're afraid of playing with Gilby.
Oh, and the Nirvana/Stones string continues, only now they're alternating.
The Reviews:
Dilana Robichaux - The Who, "Won't Get Fooled Again": Pressure Much? It's one of my favorite songs of all time, it's frikken HARD, AND she's gotta go up with Gilby. Opening, a little too quiet, a little too much vibrato, and a little too stiff. She was drowned out in the refrain; in fact in general she needs to up the scream, though the reprise of the refrain was nice and loud, I don't think it worked. Was it bad? Not at all, it was OK, but it should have really kicked ass. I didn't think it did. She was good, she was competent, but I think she was a little nervous, and maybe not sure of herself there. She's safe, but she could do better. Everybody loved it, and I'm just not sure it was worth that.
Jill Gioia- Tracy Bonham, "Mother Mother": She looked like Britney, which is kinda wrong for a 35 year old. Her voice just sounded wrong for the arrangement, and the PA settings were way off. The reverb on the mike was horrible. Jills customary power wasn't there, and I cant tell if that was because of the PA or not. Fun performance though, and I'd guess she's safe. Very high energy, and much better lead on stage. Probably her best performance, even if her vocals weren't quite there; as Jason noted.
Ryan Star - The Rolling Stones, "Paint It Black": Well, this is my favorite stones tune, so I'm maybe a bit biased against him here. Big shoes to fill. Odd arrangement, though I like the creepiness. Ballsy yes, but I think it was a bad idea. I can barely hear him the way he's singing the opening, and he's flat and off key when he gets louder. Looks like this is a big performance night for folks, but the vocals just aren't there in my mind. Too much drama, not enough respect for the material. Ryan is trying to show he's a rock star not a pop star, but I didn't like it.
Storm Large - Queen, "We Are the Champions": Anybody has to have brass ones to cover Freddie Mercury (especially after Mig last year). Great power, and intensity, but she's a big flat in spots, and the dynamics aren't quite right. Good performance, good working the crowd, but again, a little flat, and nowhere near loud or high or powerful enough. Of course anyone suffers in comparison to Freddie Mercury. She did a good job, but not a great one. She HAS shown over the past few weeks that she can do a little bit of everything, from Rock, to Punk, to the sweet stuff.
Zayra Alvarez - Mott The Hoople/David Bowie, "All The Young Dudes": Ummm, yeah the wardrobe... uh.... ok. Now as to the song choice... Zayra has English diction problems when she sings anyway, and she picks a song that is mostly spoken? No, I don't think so. The actual sung parts weren't bad, but she really did have trouble being clear, and she was flat in the halfsung parts. Not a bad performance overall, great moves, certainly her least irritating so far, but again, I don't think it worked. She's probably still in the bottom three, but better.
Josh Logan - Stone Temple Pilots, "Interstate Love Song": Sweet, Tommy on the drums. Tough song man, and one of my faves. A real great ROCK tune. It's a not bad selection for his voice actually, though I'd have gone a little lower in the pitch. Oh and the head bob man, he's channeling Phil. A little flat and a little quiet in the refrain, but overall pretty good. Not bad guitar work actually (assuming his amp was mixed up), but I think having the guitar there hurt his vocals and performance a bit; just not enough power or flow. He did pretty well in front of Tommy though.
Magni Asgiersson - Live, "The Dolphins Cry": Remember when I said Magni looked a bit like Ed Kowalczyk? Well here's another live tune, and yup, Magni is right there. Cute kid. Good solo guitar work, again too much reverb in the PA, but it wasn't as bad as with Jill. We get to see the power in his voice on the refrain, without any interference from the band, and it's damned impressive. I love the arrangement, and this is a virtuoso performance from him. Amazing soul, great dynamic range, great emotion and expression.. perfect. He gets the encore absolutely.
Patrice Pike - John Lennon, "Instant Karma": I don't know if a rollin, kinda hippy tune like this is the right choice for Patrice to prove she's right for this band. Also, coming on after Magni blew it up like that.. good luck eh. Flat, sour, off beat, and she's just lost behind the guitar. She kinda disappears, even in the refrain, even singing her heart out. The singtalking isn't working for her, she just doesn't sound right. The look on her face is kinda psycho. I think she knows she's gone. It wasn't bad, it was OK, but she's just not a rock star. I think she's gonna be bottom three again.
Lukas Rossi - Radiohead, "Creep": Radiohead eh... I said a while back he could do radiohead if he could sweeten up the vocals, like the vocal coach suggested for example. This is a great song that I love, and I don't think he can do it... Too slow, too breathy, a little off key; but he's getting the sweetness almost right. He needs more plaintive wail, but Thom Yorke isn't exactly easy to cover. What I'm happy about is the growl is gone. A little off in the falsetto, too much vibrato, and not enough breath, but he transitioned into the vocal bridge really well. The performance itself was really good too; not too much drama, but lots of intensity. I think this is Lukas' best performance yet, I actually kinda liked it... at least if I can separate what he did from radiohead.
Toby Rand - Talking Heads, "Burning Down the House": Umm, wow, weird and interesting choice there. David Byrne is a character, I'm not sure Toby can pull this off, but it should be fun to watch. I like the opening, and the arrangement. Great wardrobe choice. A little hollow sounding, but again I think that was the PA. Amazing energy and showmanship, plus he obviously loves the material. Going into the first vocal change, he punks it up hard, and he's playing the crowd real well. I don't know about the megaphone bit, but it's showmanship, and honestly, I think he kicked some ass here.
Seriously, there is no obvious bottom three here. Patrice, Zayra, and Ryan were all kinda mediocre to my mind, but not horrible by any means, even Zayra; and the band LIKED Patrice and Ryan. Jill wasn't very good, but she wasn't very bad either...
Magni, Lukas, and Toby all kicked it so hard that everyone else suffers in comparison. I was absolutely sure that Magni had the encore locked, but honestly it could be any one of the three; and really nobody else is 100% safe either.
Okay, I'm just not sure here. I'm reasonably certain that Patrice and Zayra are on the block, but the third could be almsot anybody. Maybe Ryan, maybe Jill, maybe not...
Monday, August 07, 2006
The Buydown
So, in the past week, we've cut our car costs enormously. Actually in more ways than one, because we're cutting 320 miles a week off our driving for three weeks (Mels mom is on vacation so we're not dropping the kids off at her place each weekend, which costs us about $60 for the two round trips a week), but also we've straight up reduced our capital and recurring costs.
First step, we cut our insurance rate a HUGE amount. We cut our insurance down to $130 a month from $190 by switching insurers. Second, we made our buydown on the car today.
By buying down the extra $1500, we're getting a reduced interest rate (and of course reducing the principle) so we're going to save ourselves $3800 in interest alone over the life of our loan; and that assumes we follow the payment schedule, at $315 a month. If I just apply the difference between what we budgeted for the car before, to what it's costing us now ($598 to $445 for $153 a month), we'd cut 14 months off the loan, and save another $1600 in interest.
I'll know better next month how much we can afford to overpay, and whether that money is better off in our money market account. I don't want to reduce the term to less than two years, because we'll get more credit benefits at two years. We could do it by paying a total of $600 a month on the car, and end up only paying $1600 in interest TOTAL, for 25 months, and about 12% simple over the life of the loan; but that extra $285 a month could be saved towards the down on the house or summat, so I have to weigh the opportunity costs.
Less debt is definitely good; but more savings is also good. In terms of raw numbers clearly paying down debt at twice the rate of interest you'd be earning on that savings makes sense, but that totally neglects opportunity costs.
Of course this just illustrates my point from a few weks ago, that every penny of debt you've got is actually two or even three cents taken out of your pocket, the first in principle, the second in interest, and the third in opportunity cost.
First step, we cut our insurance rate a HUGE amount. We cut our insurance down to $130 a month from $190 by switching insurers. Second, we made our buydown on the car today.
By buying down the extra $1500, we're getting a reduced interest rate (and of course reducing the principle) so we're going to save ourselves $3800 in interest alone over the life of our loan; and that assumes we follow the payment schedule, at $315 a month. If I just apply the difference between what we budgeted for the car before, to what it's costing us now ($598 to $445 for $153 a month), we'd cut 14 months off the loan, and save another $1600 in interest.
I'll know better next month how much we can afford to overpay, and whether that money is better off in our money market account. I don't want to reduce the term to less than two years, because we'll get more credit benefits at two years. We could do it by paying a total of $600 a month on the car, and end up only paying $1600 in interest TOTAL, for 25 months, and about 12% simple over the life of the loan; but that extra $285 a month could be saved towards the down on the house or summat, so I have to weigh the opportunity costs.
Less debt is definitely good; but more savings is also good. In terms of raw numbers clearly paying down debt at twice the rate of interest you'd be earning on that savings makes sense, but that totally neglects opportunity costs.
Of course this just illustrates my point from a few weks ago, that every penny of debt you've got is actually two or even three cents taken out of your pocket, the first in principle, the second in interest, and the third in opportunity cost.
A Half Million
Well, early this morning, just under 18 months after starting this blog, I hit 500,000 unique hits.
Of course only 353,000 were from the blog directly, the other 147,000 were form my previous main website, which I rolled into this ID when I started the blog; but it's an accurate picture of the folks who've read my stuff.
That's accompanied by about 600,000 page views, with an average site visit time of 1 minute, an 53 seconds (which is measured by the time between the page load, and the next click or outclick, so it's not very accurate), and an average number of pages per visit of 1.4. That means that most of my readers are hitting me once a day, through the main page; and that most of the rest are finding a post page through a search.
Of course that DOESN'T include the RSS numbers either, which I think is about 30% of my non search engine traffic.
Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with my traffic, and readership level; and I hope y'all keep enjoying what I'm writing.
Cheers
Of course only 353,000 were from the blog directly, the other 147,000 were form my previous main website, which I rolled into this ID when I started the blog; but it's an accurate picture of the folks who've read my stuff.
That's accompanied by about 600,000 page views, with an average site visit time of 1 minute, an 53 seconds (which is measured by the time between the page load, and the next click or outclick, so it's not very accurate), and an average number of pages per visit of 1.4. That means that most of my readers are hitting me once a day, through the main page; and that most of the rest are finding a post page through a search.
Of course that DOESN'T include the RSS numbers either, which I think is about 30% of my non search engine traffic.
Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with my traffic, and readership level; and I hope y'all keep enjoying what I'm writing.
Cheers
I hope it doesnt suck
Well, it's that time of year again, phone contract renewal. Of course along with my contract renewal, comes my "free" phone upgrade, wherein I get to purchase a new phone from T-Mobile for the same price as a new customer.
Actually, it's really not that bad a deal, usually about $200 less than the retail price of the phone.
This year, it's coming at a very opportune time, because both my phone, and my PDA are both starting to die on me; AND because I need wireless data service for my job.
I've had my Motorola RAZR for a year, and my Palm Tungsten-T for three years now; and both are still working, but have intermittent issues, or just age issues.
The RAZR has only one jack for power, headset, and data transfer, and it's a miniusb A port; which has loosened up to the point where the connection is sometimes intermittent. It's a real PITA, because often I lose calls when I'm on my headset, or I'll take the hone off the charger after a night of charging, and it wont have charged fully because the cable got bumped or something.
The Palm is functioning entirely properly, but the conformal lithium polymer cell is slowly losing battery capacity. It's not dead by any means, but the capacity is down.. I dunno, about 1/2 maybe, from when I first bought it.
On the connectivity side, the Palm doesnt support WiFi, or wide area wireless data (like EDGE or EVDO), and the RAZR only supports GPRS data, which is slooooooow.
So for a while I've been thinking about a Treo, but I don't really like them. They dont feel great as either a PDA or a phone. Worse from my standpoint, t-mobile, who I've been very happy with, stopped carrying the Treo series earlier this year, in favor of their own new branded smartphone the MDA-III (in the US it's just called the MDA, but this is the third revision, the other two were europe only).
The MDA is a Windows Mobile 5 device, which I really don't care for, but it does mean it pretty much just works with a bunch of stuff from Microsquish and others. As much as I love the Palm platform, support for it has been dropping steadily for several years now; and current software for it is getting more expensive; while the opposite is true for Windows Mobile.
I figured I'd look at the reviews, and see what they said. So I read about 30 reviews, all pretty positive, except for the fact that it doesnt come with a memory card (they're cheap), and the processor is slower than the competition; but it's still fast enough to play videos and music, which is all I really care about.
So anyway, I've decided to take the plunge, and take advantage of getting the thing for $250.
The good bits? It's a quad band world phone with GPRS data and EDGE service; and should be firmware upgradeable to the 3G/EDGE being rolled out next year (in theory 256k data, in reality 150k or so, but with 3g its 512k), because it's built in to the phone, it jsut isnt turned on by T-Mobile. It can act as a EDGE modem for connected computers as well, and a plain faxmodem; plus it's got built in WiFi and Bluetooth. In fact, the MDA standard wireless plan gives you unlimited T-Mobile WiFi hotspot use; which means in a heck of a lot of places you can get full WiFi and not jsut edge bandwidth.
It's also got a built in qwerty keyboard, a half decent digicam for a phone, and it's supposed to have really excellent battery life.
Most importantly though, it should be big enough to be a real PDA, but still small enough to be comfortable as a phone; which was my biggest problem with the Treos. With the treo, putting the keyboard and the screen on one surface ment both were squeezed unacceptably, and the phone was way too wide. With the MDA, you do pay for the extra real estate in thickness, but you get a much bigger keyboard and screen.
Minuses? Well theres no dedicated numeric keypad, and the processor is only 200mhz, instead of the 400 on most competitors devices; but benchmarks show its actually only about 30% slower, and its jsut fine for playing MP3s and small video, plus ebooks, which is why I really want it in the first place. It also means losing my investment in Palm software, but it's all amortized by now anyway.
The biggest minus for me is windows mobile in general, which I just havent liked whenever I've used it, but as I said before, the support for it is huge and growing, whereas Palm is shrinking.
So, here's hoping it doesnt suck. Anyone have the thing (or the nearly identical model offered by Cingular) and want to share their experience?
Boston in a Day
So, in response to the Boston Survival guide I posted yesterday, a commenter asked, what to do in Boston if you only have one day.
Absolutely no question, you need to go see a Red Sox game at Fenway. Even if you don't like baseball, Fenway park during a game is an experience everyone should have. Hell, seeing a ballgame at Fenway can make you LOVE baseball, at least live baseball. I'll tell you what, the only time I can stand to watch baseball on TV is when the Sox are in the playoffs, but I'll go to any major league game live; even a dinky team like the Brewers or somesuch. It's a truly American experience that everyone should try, if only for the energy of the crowd.
Hell, I'll even go to a Yankee game.
There's the usual touristy stuff; take a walk around The Common, and through the Public Garden, do the duck tour and the swan boats... and then there's the trolley tours which are pretty cool. Jump on and off whenever you want, and they take you around the city. Actually it's a great way to see the U.S.S. constitution, which everybody should do; and some of the various revolutionary war sites.
For the less touristy, the science museum, the childrens museum, and the computer museum (they are all within a few miles of each other) can all be visited in one good long day. Trust me on this one, the Science Museum is incredibly fun; and you can spend a whole day in there without even thinking about it. The great thing is, they're all within a few hundred feet of a T station.
Theres about 12 dozen (that would be a gross) other great museums, gallerys, and exhibitions if your fancy lies in that direction, including some of the best art collections in the world; and several of the great collections of rare books.
Fanueil hall, quincy market, copely plaza, newbury street and berkley street, and legal seafood for lunch or dinner, makes a good day if you're a shopping person.
The view from the top of the hub is frikken awesome; but the food isn't that great and it's overpriced.
If you get the chance, the boston pops is about the best pops orchestra in the country (even with Keith Lockhart instead of John Williams. Sorry, I grew up with Williams, who I happen to think is the best conductor and classical composer of the last 50 years), and the Boston Symphony Orchestra is considered THE best in the country, partly because Boston Symphony hall is considered the second best in the world after Vienna.
You can pretty much ride the red line from JFK to Alewife, get off at almost any stop, and find something good to do. Specifically JFK station has the JFK presidential library, the bayside expo center, several great parks, and three places with good live music; plus it's a short walk to castle island, which is a great free recreational park and revolutionary war fort.
In that vein, you can especially find cheap things to do that don't need a car; and cheap in Boston is always a good thing, because it's a frikken expensive city.
Also, theres only about 5000 great places to stop in for a drink, and maybe some pub grub; some with decent live music.
There's tons more I can think of, and all that's without leaving the immediate city area for the suburbs; or even the outer villages (West Roxbury etc...).
So what about you guys? What are your Boston "Must Do" items?
Absolutely no question, you need to go see a Red Sox game at Fenway. Even if you don't like baseball, Fenway park during a game is an experience everyone should have. Hell, seeing a ballgame at Fenway can make you LOVE baseball, at least live baseball. I'll tell you what, the only time I can stand to watch baseball on TV is when the Sox are in the playoffs, but I'll go to any major league game live; even a dinky team like the Brewers or somesuch. It's a truly American experience that everyone should try, if only for the energy of the crowd.
Hell, I'll even go to a Yankee game.
There's the usual touristy stuff; take a walk around The Common, and through the Public Garden, do the duck tour and the swan boats... and then there's the trolley tours which are pretty cool. Jump on and off whenever you want, and they take you around the city. Actually it's a great way to see the U.S.S. constitution, which everybody should do; and some of the various revolutionary war sites.
For the less touristy, the science museum, the childrens museum, and the computer museum (they are all within a few miles of each other) can all be visited in one good long day. Trust me on this one, the Science Museum is incredibly fun; and you can spend a whole day in there without even thinking about it. The great thing is, they're all within a few hundred feet of a T station.
Theres about 12 dozen (that would be a gross) other great museums, gallerys, and exhibitions if your fancy lies in that direction, including some of the best art collections in the world; and several of the great collections of rare books.
Fanueil hall, quincy market, copely plaza, newbury street and berkley street, and legal seafood for lunch or dinner, makes a good day if you're a shopping person.
The view from the top of the hub is frikken awesome; but the food isn't that great and it's overpriced.
If you get the chance, the boston pops is about the best pops orchestra in the country (even with Keith Lockhart instead of John Williams. Sorry, I grew up with Williams, who I happen to think is the best conductor and classical composer of the last 50 years), and the Boston Symphony Orchestra is considered THE best in the country, partly because Boston Symphony hall is considered the second best in the world after Vienna.
You can pretty much ride the red line from JFK to Alewife, get off at almost any stop, and find something good to do. Specifically JFK station has the JFK presidential library, the bayside expo center, several great parks, and three places with good live music; plus it's a short walk to castle island, which is a great free recreational park and revolutionary war fort.
In that vein, you can especially find cheap things to do that don't need a car; and cheap in Boston is always a good thing, because it's a frikken expensive city.
Also, theres only about 5000 great places to stop in for a drink, and maybe some pub grub; some with decent live music.
There's tons more I can think of, and all that's without leaving the immediate city area for the suburbs; or even the outer villages (West Roxbury etc...).
A note, Boston itself is a very small city, with only about 600,000 resident in 40sq miles, however the city of Boston annexed all of the smaller towns surrounding it over the last 200 years, which includes 4.4 million people (not including the estimated half million illegals), and about 90sq miles consisting of the neighborhoods (officially villages but no-one calls them that) of Allston, Brighton, Charlsetown, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, Roxbury, South Boston, and West Roxbury; several of whcih contain subdivision of their own like Mission Hill, and Longmore in Roxbury; Readville in Hyde Park; and Savin Hill, Ashmont, and Lower Mills in Dorchester. Chelsea is technically it's own city (the smallest incorporated city in America at only 1.8sq miles), but most people consider it another neighborhood of Boston.Add in Milton, Quincy, Cambridge, Sommervile, Revere, Newton, Medford, Evrett, Winthrop, Brookline, Watertown, Malden, Needham, and Dedham (all the towns directly surrounding Boston and it's outer villages)... Well, I didn't run out of things to do there for 16 years. Oh and most of those places are served by decent public transportation into town.
So what about you guys? What are your Boston "Must Do" items?
The Malicious enjoyment
of another persons misfortune, or displeasure. Literally translated it means "Shameful joy"; and it is without doubt my favorite word in German:
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Holy miscasting batman
Heath Ledger is going to play the Joker in the next batman movie?
WTF?
They might as well cast Matt Damon...
Actually come to think of it, Damon wouldnt be that bad as the joker...
But if theyr'e doing a young joker, why not Christian Slater? He can pull it off...
Oh well, at lesat it's going to be caled "The Dark Knight", and Chris Nolan is going to be directing again. No word as to the involvement of Frank Miller.
WTF?
They might as well cast Matt Damon...
Actually come to think of it, Damon wouldnt be that bad as the joker...
But if theyr'e doing a young joker, why not Christian Slater? He can pull it off...
Oh well, at lesat it's going to be caled "The Dark Knight", and Chris Nolan is going to be directing again. No word as to the involvement of Frank Miller.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)