Trek to the Farm: Feeling at Home while Roughin’ It

I spent the night on the farm last night. I had a day onsite with a client a few counties away and I just went there instead of coming all the way back here last night. Call me crazy, but it was calling to me. The cabin is still many (wo)man-hours from being completed. This was a fact that had been depressing me to the point I was avoiding the cabin altogether.

After all, we made the decision to stay here at the lake until my son graduated high school — because despite my substantial complaints about the Russell County School system… it still runs circles around the Casey County version. It will be a cold day in Hades before my children attend that sorry excuse for a school again.

Which means… I can only visit the farm. I can’t live there right now.

It’s kind of crazy, with gas prices being what they are, that Wayne drives over 70 miles to work every day, when the farm is less than 10 miles from his place of employment. He stays at the farm occasionally. I think, working nights, it’s probably easier to sleep there than to battle all the hubbub around here during the day.

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Subject-Verb Agreement: Get With the Program, Folks!

Ok, this is a rant. I can’t stand it anymore. If there are any more “polished” marketing pieces that float across my desk (either my physical “inbox” or the one on my computer) with basic grammar errors, I’m going to whoop out an amazingly loud screech! (Please notice that I said “if there are any more” not “if there IS any more.”)

My rant topic today? Subject Verb Agreement.

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MX Records, Routers, and Stuck Emails, Oh MY!

I had a client with an interesting problem this week. Their T1 connection had gone down for a few hours and suddenly their emails were bouncing, being delivered to their webmail instead of siphoning through their onsite router, and life was just generally difficult for them. They were also no longer receiving their web-based forms email.

It took a bit of research (and calling in favors from some of my most talented fellow techies) to resolve the issue. These things are never as simple as they should be, are they?

In case it’s of any assistance to anyone else, I wanted to deconstruct the problem here… and share the solution.

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George Bush: The Next Popeye?

I found a cool quote about George Bush referencing spinach today. Given the whole spinach scare right now… it makes the quote even more valuable than when it was first spoken, IMHO.

“I don’t think either one of them is really telling the whole story. What Bush is saying is that if you eat your spinach, you’ll be able to have some ice cream for dessert. Al Gore, on the other hand, just wants to pretend that the spinach doesn’t exist.” — Michael Tanner

Things that make me go… Hmmmm.

Just Another Thing to Make Me Crazy About Kentucky Schools — the Free Lunch Program in Russell County School District

When school started this year, I (once again) refused to fill out the application for “free lunches” for the kids. And once again, when yet another “reminder” was sent home that they needed this information, I once again refused to fill our OR return the application.

So today, I received an officially signed sheet of paper informing me that my application for free lunch had been denied.

I saw red.(Thankfully, there was a number I could call to have my application reconsidered by the “Hearing Official” in Jamestown, Kentucky…. GRRRRR)

You know… it makes me crazy. Way back, when I was trying to make my way alone — with three kids depending on just me for their food and a roof over their heads — while I was launching a business and we nearly starved… EVEN then I refused governmental assistance to feed my kids.

Now, I bought in bulk, we didn’t eat fancy, but we ate. And to be sent an official notification that my “application” had been denied makes me want to punch someone. Hard. Really hard.

According to the kids, they are the oddballs in this school system because they actually DO pay for their lunches. My youngest has told me that it makes her feel bad to be different.

Now, how’s THAT for leaving no child behind??!?

*Grrrrr*