Below are the 14 most recent journal entries recorded in Ben V.'s LiveJournal:

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
8:08 am	That book meme... Saw this on ursine1's LJ page. Leave it to him to be working his way through a sudoku puzzle book. :-) -------- Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 123. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest. -------- Redwood preservationists were active in nearly every decade, but the overall success and evolution of their cause was largely dominated by five key campaigns. The first was a broad-based civic effort lead by the Sempervirens Club to establish a public redwood park in the Santa cruz Mountains at the turn of the century. Next came William Kent's gift of Muir Woods to create a new national monument in 1908, which established the pivotal role of philanthropy in redwood protection. From: Coast Redwood; A Natural and Cultural History, Edited by John Evarts & Majorie Popper. Written by Michael Barbour, Sandy Lydon, mark Borehert, Marjorie Popper, Valerie Whitworth, and John Evarts. ... Hey, I just moved into a redwood forest... Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Monday, July 31st, 2006
10:04 pm	House & age... We now have a signed contract on the old house. I have to go fill out disclosure forms tomorrow. The buyers are going to try to get the house inspected on Friday. I just got out of the hot tub. There is enough sky light that I can see the silhouettes of the trees surrounding the house against a field of stars. This area was clear cut for redwoods in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Sequoia sempervirens can live several millennia. That means that at best the trees surrounding the house are adolescents. They are more likely juveniles. One of these days I'll obtain an estimate of the height of some of the larger ones. Here I am in my mid 40s and entering my mid-life..... It really can give you some perspective on just how short our lives are.... Yeah, I can go get a saw and cut them down, but what would that prove other than my shortsightedness? Current Mood: contemplative (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
6:35 pm	Selling houses.... This has been an interesting week in the house selling department. We lowered the price on the house after having it on the market for a couple of weeks with very little interest. Well, the past week and a half has resulted in three offers. The first one appears to be someone of questionable financial resources. We countered it and, before they could counter our offer, another offer came in for the current asking price from a couple that appears to have a lot more financial stability. We have submitted a counter on that offer that contains some clarifications. While we are waiting on them to respond, a third offer appears to be coming in from a relative of a former neighbor. They called me directly and I referred them to my agent. (I know better than to get directly involved. There are a lot of good reasons to have a good agent representing you.) It will be interesting to see what the next week holds... This is clearly bringing out the capitalist in me. Current Mood: calm Current Music: None... The sounds of a quiet neighborhood can be soothing (Comment on this)
Monday, July 17th, 2006
7:30 am	Just another weekend... It has been a productive weekend, but not in the way I wanted. The old house... On Saturday we went by the house we have for sell to check on it. It is about an hour away from the new house. It appears that the lawn mower that the teenager across the street had been using to mow the lawn it ran out of oil. It looks like it ruined the engine seal. I didn't have time to have it repaired since an open house was scheduled for Sunday, so I ended up having to buy a new mower. (I'll sell the old one to a 2nd hand lawnmower shop.) Since Jackey can't be around while I mow the lawn due to the noise, he went to a coffee shop to visit with some friends (Joyce & Jeff D). When I was done, I called Jackey. Sadly, some loud cars and a fire truck had triggered Jackey, so we were now off to urgent care. We finally got home around 9:00 pm. Sunday morning, I got up early and headed up to the old house and finished edging, watering, and cleaning up the lawn. I finished up around 11:30. The lawn looked okay but any time the grass gets that tall it will take at least another week of mowing before it looks good. Joyce is going to check with her lawn guy and see if he will take care of this lawn. Hopefully we will hear something this week. The rest of the weekend... Sunday afternoon came home, grilled some hot dogs for lunch, grilled chicken for dinner, and we spent about an hour at the mall area of Santa Cruz to get out of the house for a while. Both Jackey and I wanted to look at a couple of things. On the way to Santa Cruz we encountered a pair (doe & buck) of deer standing on the road not far from the house. They stared at the care for a few seconds and then meandered off to the shoulder where they stood as we passed. I think it is so cool to live out here with the animals. Yes, it takes some adjustment. ... I haven't lost any plants yet to the deer. I think I heard a big cat (bobcat/mountain lion) very early this morning. It woke me up and I didn't hear it again once I was awake enough to truly listen. Lots of learning and observing to do. I did spend some time on my web page this weekend and still have a lot to do. I need to update the page on the home and get some new pictures on it. I talked to my parents this weekend, as I do every weekend. The good/bad news is that my father will be undergoing surgery for his glaucoma in one of his eyes. Hopefully they will take care of the cataracts at the same time. My sister is going to help take core of him and mom while he is recovering. I really wish I lived closer. The new home Work on the new house is slowly progressing. Some of the rooms are painted. More and more of the sprinkler system and landscape lighting is slowly working. I've cleared out some of the the small undergrowth trees (reduced fire hazard and improved visibility of creek). It is just going to take some time. The past week or so... Jackey's friend Joy visited us for a week. She arrived on July 4. I think she had a good time. I know Jackey & I enjoyed the visit even though Jackey had a convulsion and the related migraine for the last part of her visit. I believe this was the first time that Joy really got to see the impact of Jackey's migraines. People tend not to understand the severity until they see him get triggered. Time to get ready to start another week of work.... yee haaa .... Why are workweeks so long and weekend so short? :-D Current Mood: restless (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 6th, 2006
10:26 pm	Jul 6, 2006 I HATE alarms... I HATE alarms... The new house has an alarm system on it. We have been calling the company for the past month and they have never returned the call. Well, tonight the panel started with a constant high pitched whine and we had no way to shut it up. Jackey managed to get a human on the phone who then said she would get a technician. After what seemed like an eternity with a headache generating screech going on (and that is headache generating for us "norms") the guy called back. I think there should be a law.... If a company installs an alarm, they have a legal obligation to work with new buyers of the home to either set up the alarm or disable it. Current Mood: aggravated (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 5th, 2006
1:27 pm	Jul 5, 2006 Holiday And the New Home Well, I guess it is a clue you are living in the right house when you would rather be there than anywhere else. Of course, time will probably mitigate that some. But I can't imagine getting tired of this place. I had a 4 day weekend thanks to the Independence Day Holiday.... I still would rather be at the house. :-) The previous house was nice, don't get me wrong but it was more of the place to sleep, store my personal items, and eat than this property. Even the animals seem to be content in the new property. The only one who appears to have any form of a wanderlust is the male Dalmatian, Dean. Slowly it seems he is desiring to meet the neighbors. I discovered this weekend that he has a daily constitutional that is to explore the perimeter of the frequently walked portions of the yard. I was working out in the yard and saw him head out to a section of it. Then, I saw him slowly progress around it until he got to his starting point and he then came trotting back to be with the rest of us. The Holiday weekend was quiet: running errands, working around the house, and relaxing. Yesterday, Jackey's friend Joy flew out from Tennessee to spend a week with us. Joy is an easy going visitor who enjoys seeing things that are different, learning, and relaxing. But, most of all, she comes out so that the three of us can spend time together and share our lives for a brief period of time. In my mind, that is the best type of visitor. It gives us the chance to play tourist while living our lives but without major interruption. Hey, she is even going to help Jackey do some of the painting around the house. The big event for the weekend? Picking up Joy at the airport and coming home to grill some baby-back ribs. (Comment on this)
Friday, June 16th, 2006
8:29 pm	Productive week The old house is on the market as of Thursday. Now begins the waiting game. I have a couple things left to do to clean it up some more and get it ready for the buyer, when we have one. The good news is that I no longer have to return there every day to get some things done. Today has been a big day.... We had new carpet installed in the carpeted areas of the new house. We had some problems with the elevator and had a service man come out and look at it. Jackey asked him when it should be serviced again and he said in about 30 years. This elevator was installed around 1965, when the house was built. It is a commercial grade Otis elevator. He stated that the current value for the elevator was in excess of $75,000. He was excited about it and clearly enjoyed working on it. The house was sold with a generator. However, when we were doing the final walk through the generator failed to work. The seller had the title company withhold enough money to cover a generator and she has been working closely with us to get a working generator. Today, we had a new Generac generator installed. We also used Pods for the move. We had the empty pods removed today returning some of our driveway space. The bottom line: We are officially moved in and making the new house our residence. This is a great house but it needs some loving care. Now that task begins. It will be fun. Both the grounds and the house are GREAT. I am looking forward to repairing and evolving the house. Current Mood: accomplished (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, June 12th, 2006
8:24 pm	In the new house with high-speed internet We now have high speed internet again ! We last had it just over a week ago when I took the network equipment down to allow for the painters to paint the interior of the old house. We now have Comcast instead of DSL. That decision was primarily based on availability of reliable satellite. We had been a satellite customer since the early 1990s. However, being surrounded by very tall trees impacts the satellite reception. We moved in to the Ben Lomond house on Friday... At least that was our first night there. We have been unpacking ever since and it seems like an endless task. We have new carpet being installed on Friday so we are being selective of what we bring into the house. Unrelated to the unpacking is the fact that a new dishwasher and dual wall oven will be delivered and installed next Monday. "Have you seen...." is turning out to be a standing joke around here. We are both constantly on the look out for stuff we need but we haven't encountered the box containing it yet. The animals (dogs & cats) had a few anxious days but are settling in. We love the hot tub. Especially since it is 10-15 ft from the bed. It is just so easy to run out and take a quick soak. We ran some errands yesterday afternoon and on the way back we encountered a deer standing in the road just up from the house. It is the first deer we have seen near our property. One of my coworkers lives in the Pertola Valley. She stated that she has a deer that frequently comes up and takes a midday nap in her yard. I know some people consider deer pests. I hope to be able to coexist with them. I realize that some of my gardening will be limited as a result but such is the price I pay for deciding to move to the mountains. Now to sell the old house in Union City. I was looking at it the other day and I think it will sell rapidly. The house is in good condition and looks good. Current Mood: cheerful (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 12th, 2005
7:43 am	A few fun things.... Okay, one of my friends has been filling these out .... In a rare conformist moment. ... You scored as agnosticism. You are an agnostic. Though it is generally taken that agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve in God, it is possible to be a theist or atheist in addition to an agnostic. Agnostics don't believe it is possible to prove the existence of God (nor lack thereof). Agnosticism is a philosophy that God's existence cannot be proven. Some say it is possible to be agnostic and follow a religion; however, one cannot be a devout believer if he or she does not truly believe. </td> agnosticism 75% Hinduism 71% Paganism 58% Buddhism 54% atheism 50% Christianity 50% Judaism 46% Islam 46% Satanism 46% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com Those that claim I'm 99% nerd don't work with the people I do. .... (Comment on this)
Friday, October 21st, 2005
8:49 pm	Trying to fix nature.... I just read a news article on Yahoo where some in Louisiana want to import mud from the Illinois River to help repair the marshes that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. It makes me wonder if we will ever learn that nature has it's own way of periodically cleaning out it's belly button lint. Sometimes it is subtle. Sometimes it is extreme. Nature also has a way of showing Man just how small we really are. We chose to build a large city below sea level and then chose to not maintain the levees like we should. As a result over 1,200 people died and billions of dollars will be spent rebuilding the city in the same location. In the 1990s when the Mississippi River flooded and wiped out a lot of towns a number of them were subsequently moved to safer locations. But it is sacrilegious to suggest doing that with New Orleans. That may seem cold but in 100 years when this happens again and we are all upset at the loss of life and the cost to rebuild.... It may not sound like it, but I truly do sympathize with the people who lost everything in the hurricane. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 17th, 2005
9:00 pm	When I got home this evening.... I was getting out of my car this evening and a neighbor who we rarely see came over. She owns the house that is adjacent to our lot. Well, her house was broken into and robbed by three youths. I say youth but I have no idea how old they really were. It did make me wonder why her house was selected and not ours. Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad it wasn't ours. I kind of believe that our two dogs had something to do with it. She said that nothing significant was taken for which I am very glad. They only got into the garage. It appears that she is not one of the people that use her garage for major storage like many of us do. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 16th, 2005
9:39 pm	Decisions, decisions.... Jackey's iBook is getting flaky. It has started going to sleep without prompting which can be very annoying for him when he is in the middle of using the computer. The trouble is, we don't know for sure if it is software or hardware. It is compounded by the fact that the iBook is over 3.5 years old. So, is this the first of several failures or just a single problem and the computer will continue to work for several more years. As a writer Jackey doesn't need a lot of power. He just needs something that will run Microsoft Word with out a problem. So far, the iBook has done very well. He would like a Superdrive and would like a larger hard drive. Plus doing away with the only 802.11b device in the house would be nice when it comes to wireless nets. (That way I could always get the full benefit of 802.11g.) Right now, he is looking at a 14-inch iBook with a 100 GB drive. Of course, if he gets a new system we have to figure out what to do with the old one since it may not be in 100% working order. Now to check Apple's support site for pointers to things to try if it is a software or PROM problem with sleep. What I find really interesting is it seems to primarily be a problem for the first few minutes after Jackey wakes the system up. Possibly a queued interrupt servicing problem..... (Comment on this)
Monday, October 10th, 2005
9:06 pm	During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. This weekend, Jackey and I were out running errands and we walked past a truck in a parking lot with the quote "During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." It was only after we got home and I wanted to double check the quote that I found out it was from George Orwell. I am continually amazed at how people will accept what others say without question. It seems that this is getting more and more true of our politicians. But I have to wonder how much of this is due to changes in the politicians and how much of it is due to my awareness. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 13th, 2005
9:40 pm	I guess I need an initial entry... Today has been a nice day. I woke up early and spent a quiet morning getting a few things done, like taking Dean, our dalmatian, to the vet for some follow up tests; Jackey, my partner of over 11 years, and I going to the Farmer's Market and doing some other shopping. Sadly, we had a quick breakfast near a train station and a train came through which triggered a migraine for Jackey, so home we went. I then went out and selected a mountain bike to try to get some exercise. I choose a mountain bike because some of the trails I would like to ride are dirt trails. I ended up with a Marin Bobcat Trail. Around 7:00pm, I took it out for a short ride on a section of Alameda Creek Trail near the house. After a couple of adjustments, it rode very comfortably and I felt good when I came back in the house. Between getting the bike and taking it for a ride, I got some work done. Overall, it has been a quiet and relaxing day. Depending on how Jackey's head is doing tomorrow, we are thinking of heading to San Francisco to see The Universe Within. We will have to see. In any case, I have my 9:30 am phone call with the parents to see how their week has been. Current Mood: relaxed (1 Comment |Comment on this)