Street Flooding in Lubbock

So, I knew there was a chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain in Lubbock this afternoon.  I saw the clouds building. But I went out for a haircut anyway, and left my poncho in the car.  I was reading a book, waiting for my turn to get my haircut, when someone remarked about how hard it was raining, and that the streets were flooding.  We have had intermittent storms the last few days, the ground is saturated, there is poor drainage in Lubbock, and there is no where for the rain to go. So it travels down the streets and highways!

http://www.kcbd.com/story/32941890/heavy-rains-causing-flash-flooding-in-lubbock

I got soaked going to my car, but I was not concerned.  I was cold and wet, but home was not far away.

On my way home from the haircut, I drove through parts of my neighborhood where the streets were flooded. As I drove closer to my house, the flooding decreased. My street is on a little rise. Just enough that my street seldom floods.  But I was amazed at the street flooding in my neighborhood. 

An eye opener!

My Haircut

I was able to get off work early today.  I decided to get my haircut, a task I had planned to do last Saturday, but did not get to.  The Pro-Cuts http://www.procuts.com/ shop is not far from my house.  I was going to use any stylist when I went in, although I really like Viola.  She was not there the last time I had my hair cut.  That was a Saturday, and she usually works on Saturday, but I probably went in during her lunch hour. The stylist did an adequate job, but not great like Viola does.

Viola was not at the shop when I entered, and the two stylists there were both doing shampoos. The customer before me was obviously not pleased with the fact that he could not get service right away, and wrote "poor service" on the sign in sheet and left, according to a waiting customer. As I signed in, Viola walked in, so I added her name to my sign in request.

The customer waiting was waiting for Viola.  I always bring a book, and wait patiently for my haircut.  I did the same today.  Viola and I talked about the fact she was not there the last time I had my hair cut. We discussed her schedule, she is off Tuesday, and does a split shift Wednesday, returning at 4 PM. This is good to know, and not something I had thought to ask her before. 

I was off work early yesterday, too, and ran some errands, and settled in for the night. After I did, I remembered I had wanted a hair cut. Oh well. It turned out for the best, because Viola did not work on Tuesdays. 

Well, I was really pleased with the haircut today!  That is neat!

A Not So Subtle Hint

I had the afternoon off, and one of my tasks was to work on the minutes for the Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock, Board of Directors. I take notes at the meeting, and record the meetings. My general process is to type up my notes, then listen to the recording to edit the minutes for accuracy.

I was listening to the recording this afternoon, using headphones.  Usually, Taki plays with the headphones cord.  Well, I lost track of time, and worked into cat dinner time.  In retrospect, Taki was trying to get my attention, and I was ignoring her.  She usually gets my attention by attacking my feet, but I had my shoes on, and did not really notice her efforts. So, all of a sudden, she attacked not the headphones cord, but the recorder.  This was a direct and deliberate attack!  So, she absolutely got my attention!  And she got dinner!

The News on TV was Late

I no longer subscribe to the Lubbock Avalanche Journal so most of my local news is obtained from local radio and TV stations.  I was watching baseball tonight, but switched over to a local station for the news, which was still airing an NFL game.  I finished watching the baseball game before I returned to the local TV station to watch the local and some national news. The news was in progress. That was okay with me. I took my chances.  I am tired of a lot of the national news about the presidential campaign. It is such a gutter fight that it is disgusting and not really worth much to me.  I do not think either major contender, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, can lift themselves out of the mire and into something ideal, grand or moral. But, I did want to see the local news, and particularly, the weather, because there were some showers, thunder and lightning but it did not seem to be severe.  This is a good way for us to get showers but no real damage. 

Rain

We had the possibility of rain today,  especially in the afternoon. While the weather forecaster was saying that in the morning, I went outside and was being misted on!  This afternoon, I saw the clouds. When I looked at the radar, the clouds and rain shown on the radar did not depict what I saw close by and eventually, even overhead.  There was sun and clouds, and a gentle rain. There was a rainbow.  There was also lightning and thunder.  Not a severe storm, just a gentle summer storm.  I don't know how much rain we received but we have had several of these  gentle showers lately, shortly after I watered Tuesday, so I am not watering this weekend.

My Bad

Well, it turns out the Motor City Books did not screw up my order as badly as I thought. I have received one book from them I ordered, and the 2 I did not order. The records indicate they have shipped another book I ordered.  I know that media mail can take up to 6 weeks. So we shall see what occurs.  I still do not have 2 other books that were supposed to have been shipped. It may take some time.  We shall see.

I think in the future, I will do smaller orders so I can keep better track of what I order and when it comes in. 

Books

I recently purchased a number of books on line through Alibris Books http://www.alibris.com/books.  I received remarkable service from many of the book sellers, but unfortunately Motor City Books screwed up my order. They sent me two books from Connecticut that I did not order. When I contacted them to tell them that, they told me I could keep the books, give them away, or donate them. They also told me that they could not find my order. I have sent them my order number, so I am in hopes that they can resolve this issue.

This is the first time I have had trouble with a book order from Alibris. I have contacted Alibirs to inform them of the problem.

The United Way, Catholic Charities, and the Parent Empowerment Program

Today I went to the Lubbock Area United Way http://www.liveunitedlubbock.org/ kick off luncheon, as I am on the board of directors of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock https://www.cclubbock.org/.  Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock has two programs that are funded by the United Way.  The Elder Outreach program provides assistance for prescriptions, eye glasses, hearing aides, dentures, for people over 60.  The Parent Empowerment Program provides assistance for adults with children who are trying to go to educational programs that will transition them out of poverty: this might be college, trade or vocational school, and the assistance is not just for tuition, but it might be for books, transportation, uniforms, testing, and many more things. This program transitions many people out of poverty at a rate higher than that required by the Federal government.  The primary funding source is from a Community Service Block Grant (CSBG). Locally, the Lakeridge United Methodist Church contributes $1,000 a month to the program.  And as of 2016, the Lubbock Area United Way has provided the program $20,000 to assist people not just in Lubbock County, as per the CSBG, but in the Lubbock area.

At the kick off luncheon, the keynote speaker, Mark Griffon, highlighted this program. This is such an honor to Catholic Charities, and even more to Sabrina Robbins, who has administered this program for 20 or more years.

Ms. Robbins is a remarkable woman who administers this program with skill, talent, and wonderful community relationships.  She deservers a Gold Star!

National Parks

This is the centennial year of the National Parks, and National Geographic  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ is doing a series on TV of the various parks.  I have fortunately been to many national parks:  The Grand Canyon (north and south rie), The Petrified Forest; Rocky Mountain; Yellowstone; Carlsbad Caverns; Great Smokey Mountains; Big Bend National Park; Guadalupe Mountains National Park; Bryce Canyon, Zion, Mount Rainier, Grand Teton, Shenandoah National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; Cumberland Gap National Historic Park; Appalachian National Scenic Trail (in part); Cape Cod National Seashore; Minuteman National Historic Park; Springfield Armory National Historic Site; White Sands National Monument; Blue Ridge Parkway (in part); Cape Hatteras National Seashore; Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area; Gettysburg National Military Park; Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park; Fort Davis National Historic Site; Lake Meredith National Recreation Area; San Antonio Missions National Park; Badlands National Park; and Vicksburg National Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_United_States_National_Park_System_official_units.

Maybe someday, I will see more national parks.

Learning a New Routine

So, for my entire life as a social worker, paid since June 1977, I have been a salaried or exempt employee, which meant that I worked the hours required to complete my job requirements.  If my employer allowed me to accrue compensatory time, I did. If not, I had to "flex" time.

Because the Fair Labor Standards Act https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime/final2016/ has redefined the salary level for positions which can receive overtime, my position has been affected.  I am paid over the Federal limit to require overtime, but because the base salary for the position I hold where I work is under the payment level, all of the positions in that category are considered subject to the new Fair Labor Standards Act salary levels. So, I will be come a "non-exempt" employee subject to the new Fair Labor Standards Act and overtime laws.

So, my employer is very clear that overtime for my position will not be authorized.  An audit was conducted, and most of my coworkers only work 40 hours a week. I have a habit of working 45 hours a week. I have a habit of an 8 AM to 5 PM work week, but do not usually take an hour for lunch, although I have in the past. I did so when I worked at the Texas State Department of Health, and went home for lunch to check on my dog.  I did so, at my current position,  when I was bottle feeding a kitten and went home during the day to feed this kitten.  I am "practicing" working only 8 hours a day so I can be compliant with this new regulation when it becomes effective at my place of employment on November 1, 2016. 

I am accustomed to finalizing everything on my plate for the day it occurs.  That is not required of my position, but it is my preference.  So, I am having to adjust my mental status regarding leaving some tasks for the next day.  I have done this before. I can do this again.

On the other hand, I can use the time afforded to me by this change in my schedule to do more  personal chores or activities in my off time.  This amounts to between 2 to 5 hours a week.  I can benefit from that. 

This is actually a protection for me. In the past year, we have gone through some major changes at my employment, and we were told that to accomplish what the requirements were, we were expected to work what hours were required.  So, this will be interesting. If we experience these major changes in the future, will we be required to work overtime to accomplish the required tasks?  Will we be given required tasks that cannot be humanly accomplished within the 40 hour work week?  Will we be dunned or sanctioned because we cannot do the job required within the 40 hour work week? Will we be authorized for overtime?  Hmmm.

The 8 hour work day will be a little anxiety producing for me, but I can adjust.  I have in the past. I can do so again 

My Brain is Frothing

I am not sure why, but my brain is frothing.  I do not know why.  I am just having difficulty focusing and concentrating.  Even trying to read has been difficult. There is a lot happening right now, but nothing earth shattering or even unusual.  Just a lot. 

I probably need to come home some night, not turn on the TV, read, and at the best listen to Gregorian Chants, bagpipes, or "The Ultimate Bolero. http://redmp3.su/album/75370/ravel-s-greatest-hit-the-ultimate-bolero.html.  That is music that can tame my brain.

Sometimes, we just need to put the brakes on.  I think I am there.

Good Bye AROD

At the last minute, more or less, the Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees baseball game was televised on Fox TV, because tonight is the final night for Alex Rodriguez to play for the Yankees http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/13/sports/baseball/alex-rodriguez-new-york-yankees-last-day.html?_r=0.  Alex Rodriguez, major league baseball extraordinaire, had an exciting, controversial, amazing baseball career. The Yankees will have him back in 2017 as a special advisor, so he will get to play out his contract.  Tonight, there was an opening ceremony that did not go so well, due to weather and fan reactions. http://nypost.com/2016/08/12/thunderstorm-wreaks-havoc-on-a-rods-finale-tribute/ AROD was a pinch hitter for the Yankees, and hit an RBI double.  And, with a 3 run lead in the top of the 9th, Joe Girardi, in a class act, put AROD in the game at 3rd base.  He was in for one hitter, and the fans did give AROD a good ovation, and when he came out of the game, his teammates greeted him. And after the game, which the Yankees won, there were more greetings from players, fans and newscasters.

It was a bittersweet night.

Big, Loud and Live

Thursday night, a friend and I went to "Big, Loud, and Live." This was the preliminary finals for Drum Corp International http://www.dci.org/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=965779&SPID=166025&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=33500&ATCLID=210491101.  It was satellited into a local movie theater.  It was long, it was late when we left, but it was fun to watch the various drum corps.

I like drum corps, marching bands, and brass bands.  I just do.

Donald Trump's References to Violence

I am very frightened for the United States of America.  During this election year, there has been a lot of negative rhetoric, much coming from Donald Trump.  Today, he made a comment regarding being stuck with justices that Hillary Clinton would appoint, and then he referenced there is always the 2nd Amendment.  http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-second-amendment/. Was he referring to using violence against Hillary Clinton, or her judge appointees, or was he referencing the voting power of the NRA and other supporters of the right to bear arms? It really does not matter what he was referring to.  If just one person thinks he was saying it was okay, that if Hillary Clinton becomes president, to use violence against her or her judge appointees, and even one person is injured, even if not killed, that is too much violence incited and sanctioned by his comments.

This is not the first time he has used this kind of rhetoric.  Remember when he said that even a murder would not erode his support?  http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/23/politics/donald-trump-nevada-murder/.  This article references other comments that he has made about violence.

We are a nation born of Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution and re-affirmed by a War Between the States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War.

We have fought many other wars, skirmishes, police actions, and whatever you want to call them, so as a nation we are not strangers to violence. We are the only nation to have used atomic weapons during war time. Anniversaries of which occur this month: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki. We are a nation that has seen all sorts of domestic violence.

But we are a nation founded on the rule of law, and the right to due process.  Violence against individuals honors neither.

During the last few years, but starting as far back at 1966, when Charles Whitman shot at innocent people from the tower on the University of Texas campus http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/an-ex-marine-goes-on-a-killing-spree-at-the-university-of-texas, mass violence has been escalating in our country. http://www.gannett-cdn.com/GDContent/mass-killings/index.html#frequency.  Why?  I could speculate but will not.

What I will say is that for leaders in our country to encourage violence or the hint of violence is more than irresponsible. It is criminal.  This is not the first time that I have said that the things Donald Trump says are criminal.  I believe in free speech, and Trump is certainly exercising his right to free speech, but he does not care whom he is inciting to act in a criminal manner based on his speech. And, ultimately, if he incites others to violence, he will not pay the price.  I think this is the ultimate act of cowardice. The ultimate act of a bully. 

Engineering Responsibility

I recently read In the Shadow of the Dam http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7432-2357-7, about a reservoir dam failure in Williamsburg, Massachusetts in 1874.  It told of the loss of life, property, and economy for the communities downstream from the dam, and the lack of responsibility and accountability of those who commissioned and built the dam. 

I have been in a correspondence with an engineer, who told me some 40 years ago, when he went through college, ethics and morals were not addressed in engineering. I am not surprised.

When I went through social work classes almost 40 years ago, we did not address ethics, morality, or cultural diversity, which are all big issues in the profession now.

These are my thoughts about engineering: I hate that we are such a litigious society, but I suspect, unless engineers and architects are sued and have to face the consequences of their failures, monetarily and legally, things will change slowly, if not at all.  As in the verdict of the Williamsburg Dam, when the blame is spread too thin, no one of consequence suffers.  Instead, the poor, unsuspecting public suffers. 

The sad truth is that corporations who erect dams, levees, power plants, railroads, public utilities, water plants on and on, whether public or private, are looking to the bottom line: profitability instead of community service. And with profitability comes cost cutting, shoddy workmanship, and design change in the interest of cost cutting. 

This is a list of dam failures

http://www.damsafety.org/news/?p=412f29c8-3fd8-4529-b5c9-8d47364c1f3e

It is instructive in a lot of ways. The biggest way being that dam failures still occur. They should not.

Hmm, why are engineers and architects not held to more responsibility?

Basketball in the Olympics

I watched the US men's basketball team play against China on Saturday and the women's basketball team play against Senegal on Sunday in the Olympic games  http://www.fiba.com/olympics/2016.  Both teams overpowered their opponents. 

I am from Western Massachusetts, and am very much aware of the heritage of basketball as a game created in the United States. I have been to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame http://www.hoophall.com/.  This is our game! I get it!

While I watched both games, I was really distressed by the announcers. They talked about the United States winning the gold as if it were a forgone conclusion.  The announcers were very respectful of the opponents that both the men's and women's team played. But their comments were as if it were already decided that the United States would win the gold medal.  This kind of hubris is what alienates the rest of the world from the United States.  I do not believe that the announcers were trying to be rude or disrespectful, but they were. I sent an email to NBC http://www.nbc.com/.  Because comments are limited to 500 characters, I was a constrained in giving them my message. And, I realize that my message is probably one of thousands if not millions that they will receive and even if they read it, it will probably not make an impact.

I know that my blog is viewed, if not read, in other parts of the world, especially in Russia and China, although why I am so popular there, I do not know.  I want other people from other parts of the world to know that I am not that disrespectful of other countries of the world.

2016 Summer Olypmics

So I have watched some of the summer Olympics in Rio https://www.olympic.org/.  I watched the opening ceremony.  It was interesting, exciting, the effects of the projector were great, and I love the parade of nations.  The stories about the past Olympians and the current Olympians are great.

I watched the men's basketball game against China on Saturday.  I realize that basketball was created in the United States.  I grew up in Western Massachusetts and I have been to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. http://www.hoophall.com/.  But I really resent that the announcers from the United States talk about the basketball portion of the tournament as if it is a forgone conclusion that the United States will win the gold medal.  I agree. The United States should win. But it is very rude, condescending and exhibits great hubris of our announcers.  I resent that. I think we are better than that as a nation, and should treat the other participants with more respect.

Sunday, I watched the women's basketball game against Senegal.  I heard the same overweening pride about the women's basketball team.  It puts a bad taste in my mouth. I want the United States to win the gold, and I think the US team will.  But we need to be more respectful of our international co-inhabitants of the Earth.

Anniversary

Today there was a 20 year anniversary celebration of the Montford Unit http://tdcj.state.tx.us/unit_directory/jm.html. We are actually in our 21st year, but that is okay.  I was late getting to the celebration, but the room was full. The keynote speaker was hard to hear, because if she did not hold the mike right at her mouth, it did not work. 

One of the events was to recognize the 20 year employees, of which I was one.  We were presented with a really neat plaque that was a print of an etching of the unit on a slanted wooden holder.  It is suitable for a desk or table top. That was a nice recognition.

They served a pulled pork lunch with fixings.  It was a good lunch. 

Many of the former employees and wardens returned for the celebration. It was nice.

Cats and Their Requests

When I shut off the TV after watching baseball tonight, Haiku became very cranky.  Well, that is not quite true. She had been cranky off and on earlier in the evening, too.

She led me to the kitchen, where there were several food options she usually likes, but decided that was not  what she wanted.  So, she went to the dining table and chose a spot on the chair next to the one I usually use.  Taki joined us at the table.  I sat with them for a while, reading, then took a brief respite, and returned to the table with my laptop as I had something else to do on the computer.  Thanks to the miracle of wireless.  And, I  did not even move the power cord, thanks to the miracle of batteries.  Taki was not interested and disappeared. I found her and brought her back to the dining area, but she did not stay.  Haiku, on the other hand was very interested. She started playing the pen fetch game she likes so much.

She seems mostly just happy to have me stroke or pet her from time to time. She does not want to be held by me, but seems to be happy with the nearby companionship, which is often what she does when I am on the sofa.

So, now she is on the table, checking things out: the pen, the computer screen, my face.  She is so sweet.  Haiku is a great cat companion.

Baseball and Chores

The Yankees and the Mets http://mlb.mlb.com/home were playing for the 3rd time in 3 days tonight, and for the second time in 3 days, the game was televised. So, I watched it.  I had a lot of computer chores to tend to: correspondence, bill paying, and other odds and ends like reconciling the checking account.  The good thing about watching baseball is that you do not always have to pay attention to everything that is happening. The bad thing is that sometimes the announcers, who have a very difficult job of filling in during the non-action of the game, have some very boring stories.  Such was tonight.

I got a lot of work done, and I saw the Yankees win against the Mets.  Go Yankees!

My Struggle with Norton Anti-Virus

I have Norton Anti-Virus http://us.norton.com/ on my computer. It came pre-loaded, and I decided to pay for it, rather than use the free McAfee https://promos.mcafee.com/offer.aspx?id=1102781 that Suddenlink  http://home.suddenlink.net/ offers, because of all of the trouble I have had with McAfee in the past.  When I had my computer worked on in July at Office Depot http://www.officedepot.com/, they tried to push McAfee, but I held fast for Norton.  My Norton protection was due to expire early August 2016.  I had some trouble with Norton in July, and had to uninstall and re-install twice. When I contacted them, they had my account linked to an email address I do not use. I did not click to that, and ask them to discontinue it, although I should have. Duh on me. 

Well, about 15 days before my coverage was supposed to expire, I received a notice that my coverage had expired.  Well, I understand that they try to get your to renew before expiration so I renewed my account.

Today, when I got my Discover discovercard.com/ bill, I found two charges from Norton:  one on July 12 for a higher amount than I thought I had renewed for, and one on July 15, for the amount I had actually renewed for.  I contacted Norton. They said I had Norton set for automatic renewal. I doubt I had set that, because I do not set that.  On any of my accounts. And last year, I had to renew my Norton account manually. I complained because the second renewal was due to a notice saying my coverage had expired after the automatic renewal had occurred, and was supposedly sent to the email account that I do not use.   Norton made it right:  They refunded half of the automatic renewal, and extended my coverage for a second year. They disassociated the email account I do not use. And I discontinued the automatic renewal. After multiple attempts to do so, because the toggle switch did not want to change.  Hmm, what does that tell you.

Discover suggested I pay the full amounts Norton charged, and the refund will show up next month. I can handle that. 

The person I dealt with at Norton was great.  But Norton gets black marks for deceptive practices.  Sorry, Norton.  Bad on you.

National Night Out

National Night Out https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/180775.pdf has been occurring for more than 30 years, I think.  I remember when Tonya was spending the summer with Ken and I one year, and she wanted to be sure we kept the front porch light on for National Night Out.  We were in the house on 91st Street, so that was between 1984 and 1988. The article says 1985 was the first year.

Tonight, Lubbock had several neighborhood National Night Out Celebrations, and one was in my neighborhood at Leftwich Park, which is my neighborhood.

http://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/lubbock-neighborhoods-invited-to-participate-in-national-night-out-on-tuesday-august-2.  It was sponsored by Redeemer Church http://redeemerlubbock.org/, YWCA Sun and Fun Club http://www.ywcalubbock.org/, the Lubbock Police Department http://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/police-department/home and the Lubbock United Neighborhood Association http://www.lubbockunitedneighborhoodassoc.elisting.us/.

I went to the park, and stood in line for dinner, a brisket sandwich or hot dog, watermelon, chips, water, cookies.  Sides included snow cones, cotton candy and popcorn. It was all free. The speakers were difficult to hear, but were from the Police Department and the YWCA. The music was canned. There were bounce houses for children, and free admission to the YWCA.  Whoever set up the park knew what they were doing because much of the area took advantage of the large shade trees in the park.  There was a police truck, an unmarked police car, a Semi truck kids could climb into the cab, a police helicopter periodically circling overhead, and a firetruck for the kids to look at (that was very popular.)  The police did children's ID kits (fingerprints) http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2014-05-23/lubbock-police-providing-children-id-kits-national-missing-childrens-day#.V6FteI-cFxI.

It was a nice evening. I spoke to some folks I knew. I talked to every police officer and fireman I could approach, thanking them for their service. I toured the YWCA facility that was free and open to the public, which was not the case for their grand opening in May, when admission was charged. (I suspect this was a good will gesture to the community, because their business has caused bad traffic congestion in the neighborhood.  I have not complained, because I think the benefit of the facility probably outweighs the traffic congestion, but I am still not happy about it.)

The Caprock Neighborhood used to have a neighborhood association and community garden.  I know. I helped to develop it.  That was 20 years ago.  I left the neighborhood after a while, and the organization could not sustain.  I regret that.  But I was pleased to see the activity tonight.

Attacking a Gold Star Family? Really Donald Trump!

Okay, so I have to admit, that I did not know what a Gold Star Family https://www.army.mil/goldstar/ was until recently, the last couple of years.

At the Democratic National Convention, the Khan family http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-khans-trump-timeline-20160801-snap-htmlstory.html delivered a speech about their son and their allegiance to Hillary Clinton and the United States of America. Their son was a military hero, killed in action in 2004. Donald Trump has viciously attacked this family.  Why would he do that?  Why would anyone attack the family of an American hero?  I just cannot get it.

We should honor every family of every military person who has lost their life in service to the United States of America.  No matter the circumstance of that family, they have paid the ultimate price if their loved one has died in service to the United States of America.  Why would anyone attack them?