Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all of you other manly men:

Caring for your introvert

For those of us who are married to or otherwise closely associated with an introvert, here’s a good article from the March 2003 issue of The Atlantic.  I laughed out loud.

Dell doesn’t get it

Susan and her siblings purchased a new computer for her parents and I volunteered to assemble it for them.  No problem.  In an hour or two I’d be back outside on a spectacularly beautiful Seattle spring Saturday…

About 90 minutes later the new computer was in place, desk dusted, and the hairball of cords and plug strips under the desk untangled and labeled.  Fired it up.

Susan’s folks did not want to learn a new operating system, and the new computer was ordered with Windows XP instead of Vista.  Good choice.  While it booted up I looked over the packing slip from Dell.  Yep, “Microsoft Windows XP SP3 English.”

What an unpleasant surprise to see that POS Vista loading instead of XP.

Where’s the backup media with the downgrade software?  Check the packing slip – there it is.  Check the box – there it isn’t.  Turned out Dell had shipped us four separate FedEx envelopes, and each one contained this letter:

Dear Valued Customer,

You recently placed an order for a Dell system and we inadvertently shipped that system to you without the Windows XP SP3 Backup software media.

Your Windows XP SP3 Backup software media is enclosed in this package.

Your new computer was delivered to you with Microsoft Windows XP operating system already installed, so you do not need to install this software on your new system at this time.  However, please keep this media in a safe place in case you need to reinstall the operating system on your computer in the future.

For any technical questions with your new order, you can visit our support center by going to SupportDell.com.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you and sincerely hope you enjoy your purchase.

Best regards,

Dell

Thank you, Dell.  A couple of questions:  If this computer was shipped with XP already installed, why did it load Vista?  And “in case I need to reinstall the operating system,” I’d need backup media with the software, the drivers, service packs, and utilities (four different CDs), and not four identical CDs like Dell shipped.  With no instructions.  Hmmm.  I don’t think I can overwrite Vista just by running this one XP CD, can I?  [Several attempts.]  No, I cannot.

Called Dell Technical Support and eventually reached Abhai in New Delhi, where it was 45 degrees centigrade (113 Farenheit).  He was extremely helpful and courteous, and we spent more than two hours on the phone uninstalling Vista and installing a downloaded version of XP.  Also downloaded a bunch of needed drivers onto a CD on the new machine, but I’d already been at this for six hours, and had to leave for a wedding before installing them.  That should be easy to do later.

It wasn’t.  The new computer wouldn’t read the CD with the drivers.  Thankfully Abhai had ordered a complete set of the backup media sent to me, so got the drivers installed a couple days later.  Seemed like I was making some progress until I tried to move files over from the old computer, and the file transfer utility in Windows crashed repeatedly.

My inexhaustible supply of patience exhausted, I put the new computer in a cantaloupe box and schlepped it back to Costco for a refund.  When I politely mentioned that I already had more than ten aggravating hours into this failed installation, they didn’t ask any questions.

I went back to my in-laws’ place and set up their old computer.  With the exception of a larger monitor they’d purchased (and the dusted desk and untangled cords), we’re back where we started more than two weeks ago with nothing to show for it.  *Sigh*

Since the Costco refund went back on my card, I ordered the identical system again.  I know – that’s the definition of insanity.  I hoped (and tried and tried and tried) to find someone at Dell who could get my order expedited.  So far so bad.  A couple more long phone calls, multiple transfers, disconnects, and the words customers love to hear, “We can’t do that.” After arguing with me on the phone (another thing customers love), a ‘customer care’ representative told me he was transferring my call to his supervisor.  He left me on hold for 20 minutes (I was fixing dinner) before I hung up.  What a lousy way to run a business.

A note for the folks at Dell:  Just because you’re a big company doesn’t mean that you can get away with building and shipping inferior merchandise, delivering crappy service, and ignoring your customers.  Ask General Motors.  We have one Dell computer at home, but it’s very, very unlikely that we’ll ever buy another one.  If you’re thinking about buying equipment from Dell, please let me know.

Learning

This evening Lauren (15) was preparing for a Biology test while the rest of us watched “Marley and Me.”  She took a break and came downstairs to give us a preview of what she was studying.

Lauren understands that she is a visual learner and uses flash cards to very good effect.  Somewhere along the way she determined that she doesn’t respond as well to blue or black writing as she does to other colors, so she made her current set of flash cards with purple and yellow pens.  Don’t ask me.

Allow me one little example of her approach to learning:  knowing that “ventre” is the French word for stomach helps her to remember that “ventral” refers to the front surfaces of any structure.  Same thing with “dos” (French word for back) and “dorsal.”  Lauren thought French and Biology were completely unrelated subjects, then she started discovering connections like these.

* * * * * * * * * *

Our thinking about education has always been that we want the kids to love learning, as that’s something they’ll enjoy all their lives.  Lauren showed us this evening an awesome example of how she’s drinking in facts and information and finding new ways in which to connect pieces of her world.  It’s a great encouragement and delight to see her education actually blossoming – like she is – right before our eyes.

Close to home

Our friend Andrea sent this along…

from The New Yorker, Feb 23, 2009

Renaming our house

I’ll never forget visiting the home of a lifelong friend of my grandparents when I was a kid.  It was an estate, actually.  And like any estate worth its salt, it had a name:  Broadfields.

Three details about the house stick in my mind:  1) There were buttons in nearly every room that rang a buzzer in the kitchen and indicated the room from which the signal came.  2)  In addition to buttons mounted on the walls, a mound in the carpet under the dining room table concealed a switch that the hostess could press with her foot.  For a kid who loved lights and switches and buzzers and buttons, this was the stuff of dreams.  I did not then – nor can I now – comprehend that these wonderful devices would actually summon a member of the household staff.  So much for being able to press buttons whenever I wanted.

The third detail was a Bentley with a driver named Thomas.  It was a family car, though it’s hard to imagine doing anything practical like grocery shopping, giving rides to sweaty kids after a soccer game, or bringing home a few bags of compost.  Can’t picture pumping my own gas at Costco in a Bentley.  But I digress…

Broadfields always inspired me to give names to my homes, be they ever so humble.  Another inspiration came from “Stately Wayne Manor,” home of Batman’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne.

But we drive two almost 20 year-old cars, neither of which would ever be mistaken for a Bentley.  We do have a buzzer with a button at the kitchen sink.  No servants are summoned; we use it instead of standing at the top of the stairs and shouting, “Time for dinner!” Though we love our home, it’s not really the sort of place that says “manor.”

Center for Casual Living is much more descriptive.  The vacuum hose sometimes doesn’t get put away for days or weeks at a time. We’re hesitant to replace carpeting because it contains so much of our family history.  Our bedroom also serves as an intermediate stop for things on their way to Goodwill or for sale on Craigslist.  Current inventory in the loading dock/bedroom includes an electronic keyboard, a telescope, a small TV and old VCR, and some shelving.

Center for Casual Living.  I should make a sign – there’s probably a nice scrap of lumber somewhere in our bedroom, and some paint, too…

…and to The Republic

“The Republic” is a Seattle indie rock band.  Following are excerpts from my note to one of the band members.

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed seeing The Republic’s performance last Saturday evening.  Here’s a little background:

• Susan and I are both 57.
• She is not as much of a rocker as I am.  In 23+ years of marriage I have never come home to find her with the stereo cranked up.
• She told me during the day on Saturday that she’d probably want to leave the show early.
• Lauren (15) and Zack (13) are pretty sure that most things we like would be real snoozers for them.

Well – we all stayed for the whole show and:

• Susan loved every minute of it.
• The kids enjoyed hearing and seeing the band.
• Zack has loaded Kingdom of Noise onto his iPod.
• He’s more interested than ever in playing drums, and will have the youth group’s drum set at our house this summer.
• Lauren came home from school the other day, thought the house was too quiet, and put on Kingdom of Noise.

I’m sure you guys get lots of positive feedback about your shows.  I think you’re in a class of your own.  As an old-timer, I lack the language to describe your genre and style, but there are tangible qualities of love, joy, and conviction – so much heart – coming through your music and stage presence.  I’d even say that I felt loved just seeing and listening to The Republic.  Quite different from a DEVO concert I attended years ago in which the members of the band actually got off the stage and walked on people in the audience!  I suppose their actions matched their beliefs.

. . . . . . . . . .

I’m a true blue fan and would be happy to do whatever I could to advance the cause of The Republic.

Supporters

No, not that kind of supporter…

I had a job interview yesterday.  In anticipation of it, I emailed a number of friends and family members to ask for their prayers and ‘good thoughts.’

The responses to this simple request were overwhelming, one more crystal-clear reminder that God has filled my life with people whose generosity toward me and others is beyond my ability to measure.  A few samples:

I was just thinking about you and this position earlier this evening. May God confirm this position for you, Tom.

I can feel the stars aligning now, Tom.

Right on, Tom.  What a catch that’d be–I’ll be praying.

Let us know how far you knock it out of the park.

See what I mean?  Two results were immediately apparent:  1) the hour-plus conversation was relaxed, informative, and enjoyable.  Seemed to me that it went well;  and 2) I came to the interview all wrapped up in the love of God as expressed in the support and encouragement of friends and family.  This is an awesome offset to the potential stress of an interview, and I highly recommend it for other job seekers!

I would be delighted to make it to the next round of interviews and hope to hear something soon.  Meanwhile, the search goes on and I’m newly mindful of God’s gifts of provision in times of need.

Beauty

As the parent of a teenage daughter, I can get bogged down with daily details of school, schedules, footwear, laundry, phone use, clothes on the floor, lunches, and retainers.

But now and again I see the radiant young lady who dazzles me in practically every way, and I can hardly believe that I get to be her Dad:

Just when I thought it was safe…

For a while it looked like I might be able to climb down from my high horse on matters related to federal bailouts of the automobile and financial services industries.  But no.  I’m back in that saddle.

On April 22, The Washington Post reported:  “Top recipients of federal bailout money spent more than $10 million on political lobbying in the first three months of this year.”

Lobbying?  LOBBYING?

“…aggressive efforts aimed at blocking executive pay limits and tougher financial regulations, according to newly filed disclosure records.”

If you or I give money to an organization that’s even minimally involved in lobbying, can we deduct it as a contribution on our tax returns?  No sir.  But these guys can take stacks of the money you and I have paid in taxes, for which they pleaded and begged and sobbed and whined because they were on the verge of bankruptcy or collapse, and they can use it to try and influence (read “block”) legislation they don’t like.  More specifically, they are lobbying to limit Congress’ ability to correct the abusive practices that pushed these businesses right up to – and maybe over – the brink of ruin.  “Major bailout recipients have spent more than $22 million on lobbying in the six months since the government began doling out rescue funds, Senate disclosure records show.” That includes General Motors (spending $1 million a month) and Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase (proud new owner of WaMu) leading the pack among financial institutions.

Be still, my heart.  Come down, my blood pressure.

Sure, $22 million is a pittance to our friends in Congress and in corporate boardrooms.  But for the overwhelming majority of us on Planet Earth, it is a lot of money.

What else do we need to do to convince our elected officials to cut off the flow of any additional taxpayer money to prop up these monumental monuments to avarice, arrogance, corruption, and incompetence?