Siding Success

This little siding job has lowkey been providing stress for me for the last few weeks. But today, I got things topped off around the electrical whoosits on the back of the house so I can go on to easier bits of siding work, such as the second story.

It was Michelle's brain wave to frame it in white j-channels, and I think that's what made things work the best. I also plan on holding onto a bit of siding on the off chance that these things have to be repaired or replaced or whatever, so I have siding to slap on the wall before they finish the job.

The Peter Principle Applied: Knowing My Weakness

 

My weak spot: Found it. Organizing things in a way that involves talking with other people. Talking with other people is never a fun thing. But when you're organizing something, the weak way out is to just take care of it all yourself. Which is what I typically do.

And that's not good.

And yet, it's the easiest thing . . . 

Local Traffic Only?

Going to stir the pot here a little.

Recently, the Mayor of Ammon posted on Facebook about concerns from drivers using Eagle Drive as a pass-through to businesses and such along Hitt Road.

I confess to using this route all the time.

I also confess I plan to continue using this route.

It's a narrow street, with lots of on-street parking. As I've come through, it's clear that the norm is for drivers coming in opposite directions to take turns passing parked vehicles, because there's not enough room on the street for three vehicles abreast. For the most part, as I've used this route, people are generally courteous. I don't see speeders; there's no room to speed. Neighbors likely see something different. As I see in my own neighborhood. But more on that later.

But the city has put up a "local traffic only" sign and want people to obey.

That's going to be a hard sell.

I should start off by saying I understand the neighborhood's anxiety; as we have similar anxieties in our own neighborhood. More on that later.

The "Local Traffic Only" sign is new, per Google Maps:

Note this particular photo was taken in August 2021. The mayor's photo shows the "Local Traffic Only" sign on the same signpost, put up sometime after that.

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, here it is on Google Maps:

The route in red is the one in question. The signpost is approximately at the intersection of the red line and the "Texas Roadhouse" label.

A lot of people, myself included, take this route both north and south to avoid the absolute mess that is Hitt Road, the major thoroughfare to the left of the red route. It feeds five major shopping areas, including the Grad Teton Mall, a complex home to Target, another home to restaurants and a multiplex, another with a major grocery store and one more with lots ot retail and restaurants.

It's a major traffic headache which is the principal reason people like me use the bat route to get to and fro. Just getting through the traffic light at Hitt and 17th can take upwards of five minutes on a good day. The bat route takes a lot less time.

Here's what makes this interesting:

I'm going to say the city has encouraged this bat route by putting stoplights at Sunnyside and Eagle and at 17th and Curlew. Those are the intersections at either end of the red route,

If the city were to move these stoplights to Midway (the blue line on the map), which is designed for the traffic, Eagle/Sawtooth/Curlew would see less through traffic.

I say less and not local traffic only, because the city and the school district has created another bottleheck in the neighborhood, illustrated here by another series of lines:

I call this the Hillcrest Mess.

It was a poor decision to not put Owen Street through from Ammon to Hitt, instead of dead-ending Owen and Derrald at the high school. Sure, the schools (Hillcrest High School to the south, Sandcreek Middle School to the north) don't want to deal with through traffic, just like the folks on Eagle. But making that a bottleneck just increases traffic on surrounding streets.

And I don't know if Derrald winding down to the south is an official city street or if this is just Google having a jolly -- but my gut tells me it's the latter. And no one in their right mind would take that route, as the high school parking lot is a traffic headache and again, there's no traffic light at Sunnyside.

Thus, there's no cross traffic possible from Midway to Hitt, on what could have been a handy minor arterial.

I feel for the neighbors around the high school, particularly those on Carolyn Avenue, who deal with inordinate amounts of traffic particularly from people stopping to collect students from both schools.

But again, the city could and should have made better choices in the area to alleviate future traffic headaches.

The situation in my neighborhood, just to the north of the first, is better -- but it's stacking up to have some of the same kinds of problems as Eagle Drive.

Again, the red line represents the current "bat route" through our neighborhood from 17th Street on the south to First Street on the north.

There's less commercial activity in the neighborhood currently, through some of the vacant land on the west is zoned commercial.

We see all sorts of shenanigans on this route, particularly with people passing -- over a double yellow line -- those who are going the posted speed limit, which is the same in the Eagle Drive neighborhood. They can do that because the streets in our neighborhood are newer and wider. Which is a mixed blessing, viz:

Nice wide road, nice for speeders. The city is aware of the problem (the Mayor himself lives in the neighborhood) and has had the county (with which the city gets law enforcement through) to occasionally monitor speed and ticket overzealous drivers. This works as long as the speed monitoring signs are up and as long as the deputies are visible, but disappears the moment the visible enforcement is gone.

Earlier this year, we had a pedestrian hit -- a city worker, in fact, fixing potholes -- near a crosswalk used often by elementary school students. The driver was momentarily distracted by a cell phone and struck a parked car and the worker.

This is a problem in every neighborhood, I'm sure. Just pointing it out because it's a fact.

Note the blue lines in that second map. The straight shot going north-south is the future planned completion of Curlew drive, with a traffic light at each end. Sound familiar? The other is the future planned completion of John Adams, which already has one traffic light installed at its future intersection with Hitt Road. The city is planning a four-way stop at John Adams and Tiebreaker (the point where the two lines cross) in the future, but I can see a traffic light going in there before too long, and that would be welcome.

Similar setups, but thank heaven the roads in our neighborhood are designed for the traffic, so people will go faster. I hope they behave themselves.

Just pointing out that decisions made now have to look as far into the future as possible.

Hitt Road only makes things worse, as it's technically the border between Idaho Falls and Ammon. I hear there are plans to put median barriers on Hitt between Sunnyside and 17th, limiting areas where people can cross or turn left to alleviate traffic problems. That's only going to push more traffic onto local side streets. A fix in one area often makes other nearby areas worse.

There are a lot of competing voices in this situation. Just listening to one set of voices isn't going to fix the problem.

Nose Hair Man's New Rival

Glad I noticed this and took a picture, because that tshirt has since gone into the laundry.

And yesterday I learned that pareidolia is a common occurrence among those on the autism spectrum and with those who have Parkinson's Disease. So I've got that to look forward to.

Openings, Babblings About

Openings are important. I need to remember this as I write. Because my openings generally suck.

Today, I'm looking at movie and TV show openings as inspiration. Openings really have to set the stage. They have to tell a mini-story, and quickly, to get the reader hooked.

I love this opening for its simplicity:

This tells us all we need to know in a simple package with a snappy tune: There's a bomb in a Russian nesting doll, set to go off just before midnight. Then there's a hint about a treaty. Ah, the setting, or at least one of them.

The tune is important too. It's swanky, to fit the spy theme. But it's jolly, not heavy. So it adds a bit of fun. So not a heavy spy thriller, but something different.

Here's another one (and yes, I know this also stars Bill Murray. Can't help that.

I'm cheating a little with this one, as you'll see in a moment. Again, a happy tune -- a polka -- as you might encounter at some small hick-town event. But all we see is clouds. And they're building, just like the music. It's almost etheral. We don't know anything about the characters or setting. Or maybe we do.

This is a film with two openings, however. Here's the whole thing:

Now we get a lot more about the characters and setting. But we're still wondering, what do the clouds at the beginning have to do with anything? They're setting the stage. Some foreshadowing that the beginning needs.

Also, that line: "For your information, hairdo, there's a major network interested in me."

"Yeah, the Home Shopping Network."

Kills me every time.

Cheating with this next one, too.

Here's a beginning that sets a mood, nothing more. Maybe hints about characters that we recognize after the story is over, but right now, just mood:

What's fun about this film is that it has a second beginning, right at the end. We get hints to the further story beyond what we've seen:

Don't like this film? Too bad. My blog, my likes.

Siding, 2023

 

It shouldn't have made me as tired as I feel right now, putting up this tiny bit of siding. But it's good to see it going back up, and enough that I was able to partially reconnect the air conditioning fuse box to the house.

I would have been done faster, but I hamhandedly cut the power cable to the sprinklers, thinking it was another bit of unnecessary coaxial cable from the system I'm taking out. That was dumb. I have got it wired back together, but haven't tested it yet. That led to a delay of about an hour. Not my best moment.

I knew this corner was going to be a challenge, what with all the electrical attachments there: the AC, the solar panels, power meter, and on the other wall, landline and cable connections. The only good news there is that the cable box I'm going to yoink out, as we have fiber optic internet to the house and coaxial cable is a dinosaur. Leaving the landline there also feels weird, but it feels easier to leave there. Besides, it's the cable TV that's really messy in that corner.

I'm also going to replace the bathroom window. I wanted to replace the door to the garage as well, but it's not in the budget yet.

Little Boy Blue

The plan changed a lot, and that annoyed Isaac.

First, the plan was to drive to a rest stop along I-84 south of Mountain Home Thursday night after work, sleep there, then be ready at 7 am for the grand occasion.

That got scratched. We were leaving later and later, with the final leaving schedule after 7 pm, and added a person, meaning our plan to sleep in the back of Isaac's Ford Expedition was getting a lot more crowded.

So instead we opted to sleep at home, but get up at 2:30 am to make the drive to Boise. Which we did.

And it was worth it:

After 11 years, Randy is out of jail.

I don't want to cause pain by posting how happy I am about this. But according to the State of Idaho, he's done his time and thus is free to go. I can't erase the hurt that what he did caused, but if I've learned anything about sin, it's that sin can and should be forgiven. I don't know all of the details of his journey to this point, but I hope he has found peace with God, and peace with those he hurt.

We didn't get to see him all that much. When we got to the jail, we had to wait an additonal hour for some reason before they let him out. Nobody offered an explanation, but it's clear it's a place that runs on its own schedule.

We (Albert and Serena, Maaike and Amy Staiger, Liam, Isaac, and I) took Randy to Dennys of all places for breakfast. He remarked it had been a long time since he'd eaten anything with a fork, having had to use plastic sporks for the last decade. He also commented that the food had flavor -- the only flavor in jail, he says, is hot -- and that he'd have to remind himself to slow down and enjoy the meal, as he wasn't rushed by anyone to be done in five minutes or less.

We went to the grounds of the Boise Temple, where Albert, Liam and I gave him a blessing. I prayed that he'd find peace, and feel gratitude for the blessings he has, despite the turn his life has taken.

He's now in Prairie City, Oregon, with a friend who runs a dog grooming business. I hope he can find peace there. He plans on coming back this way in June, once he can figure out a way to do so.

Maaike and Albert made sure to bring Bluey -- the teddy bear he got from Grandma Speirs many moons ago -- to help him reconnect with memories. I hope he can, and find roses among the thorns.

I often think of this poem when I think of my brother, and the sentiment still stands:

The little toy dog is covered with dust,

   But sturdy and stanch he stands;

 The little toy soldier is red with rust,

   And his musket molds in his hands.

Time was when the little toy dog was new,

   And the soldier was passing fair;

And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue

   Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,

   "And don't you make any noise!"

So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,

   He dreamt of the pretty toys;

And, as he was dreaming, an angel song

   Awakened our Little Boy Blue---

Oh! the years are many, the years are long,

   But the little toy friends are true!

Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,

   Each in the same old place---

Awaiting the touch of a little hand,

   The smile of a little face;

And they wonder, as waiting the long years through

   In the dust of that little chair,

What has become of our Little Boy Blue,

   Since he kissed them and put them there.

 

"The Incredible Value of Lying"

 

I thought this was pretty interesting in part for the discussion of how to make YouTube activity pay legally and ethically and how to avoid the slimeballs out there trying to make a lot more money out of what creaters create than they want to give the creators.

I appreciate even more his conclusion that the best benefit that can come from sharing content online is not the money-chasing, but the ability sharing has to help creators connect with fellow creators.

Caution: Language warning.

Be a Canadian on A Motorbike

Be a Canadian on a motorbike.

When Dad's little village in the Netherlands was liberated in the spring of 1945, there were no tanks. No bunting or parades of military marching through.

Just two Canadians, dispatched on a motorbike, to tell the villagers the Germans were gone.

Two soldiers and a motorbike. That's all it took for the little village of Sandpoort to know they had rejoined the world of free humanity.

We now live in what feels like equally tumultuous times, when it feels like the voice of the people is choosing evil over good, once again. And sometimes it brings me feelings of despair.

Then I remember those two Canadians on a motorbike.

That's all it took for my Dad to feel free and happy once more.

Maybe I can be a Canadian on a motorbike. This world needs more liberators.

My Sonja Barker-Finch Must Be Acknowledged

 

Some of my best work, but like many great works, it was not well acknowledged in its time.

Sparrow Nest-Building as Entertainment

I spent a few hours near midday yesterday being entertained by some sparrows.

There twere two, sometimes four birds, busily gathering materials to build a nest using a set of those anti-bird spikes as a foundation.

One seemed to be there to oversee the entire project. It just perched in a convenient corner, peeping at the world and keeping a keen eye on all the sparrow comings and goings.

Another kept coming and going, but when he was there he was derpily hanging onto the building while facing it, so he couldn't see all that much of what was going on around thim.

The others were clearly in charge of the nest. They took turns coming and going with bits of straw and grass.

At one point, one of the industrial birds collided midair with the derpy bird. There was a puff of feathers, but neither of them seemed worse for wear.

One, at departure, just dropped out of the nest, no wing action whatsoever, but popped the wings open about a yard form the ground and took off flying.

They saw me watching and wanted to showboat, apparently.

The Unhinged, Boat Shoe-Wearing Lightfoot Fan on the Shores of Oakley Reservoir

Many years ago, as we were struggling to find an impromptu campsite after our first choice fell through near the City of Rocks, we happened across a spot on the shores of a reservoir, not far from other campers.

A slightly unhinged woman from the group stomped over to suggest we leave, as the site was theirs, inviolate, and they were expecting others.

To prove her point, she played some Gordon Lightfoot at high volume, hoping to inspire us to leave.

We did leave, not because of the Gordon Lightfoot, but because she struck us as the type who'd back over our tent with us in it.

Since then, every time I hear Gordon Lightfoot sing -- and I really enjoy his music -- I fet a little frisson of adrenaline, remembering the Unhinged Boat Shoe-Wearing Lightfoot Fan on the Shores of Oakley Reservoir.

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Lightfoot. Even the slightly scary ones.

She tried to scare us off with this, as I recall. Which is chillingly ironic:

Kronk's Plot Hole, and Avoiding Your Own

 One of my favorite Disney movies is "The Emperor's New Groove" from 2000.

At one point, we see the bad guys -- Yzma and Kronk -- chasing the good guys -- Pacha and the Emperor Kuzxo -- through the jungle as both parties are trying to get back to the palace. Part of their journey is illustrated with maps, showing each party's relative location. At one point in their journey, Yzma and Kronk are struck by lightning as they're paragliding over an abyss, and plummet into a canyon.

Despite this setback, they're able to get back to the palace to find the cure for the Emperor being turned into a llama before Pacha and the emperor arrive.

"It can't be," the emperor exclaims. "How did you get back here before we did?"

"Ah. Um, how did we, Kronk?" Ysma asks.

"Well, ya got me," Kronk says, as he pulls down a map of their route. "By all accounts, it doesn't make sense."

They literally fell into a hole in the plot, and can't explain it themselves.

While this is done for comic effect in this film, I'm sure you've read stories or seen movies that had plot holes in them that the story doesn't explain, leaving you as the reader or watcher guessing.

It's up to us, as writers, to avoid doing the same thing to our readers, unless we want to do it deliberately. An unintentional plot hole, even in a change essay, can leave our readers confused. We don't want confused readers.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE A PLOT HOLE. The best way to recognize a plot hole is to have someone else read what you've written. As writers, we tend to be like Yzma and Kronk: We're too close to what we've written to see what we might have left out. Writers are funny. We have all this stuff in our heads, and when we commit to writing it out, we think everything that's in our head has made it onto the page to tell the story.

But we create plot holes ourselves. A while back, I wrote a story about Moki, who'd been with the family for years. She got old and ended up having to be put to sleep because of a back injury. I left out one important detail in the first draft of the story: Moki is a daschund. A friend who read the story first wanted to know who Moki was, and then how we wrestled with the ethics of human euthanization. Once I clarified Moki was indeed a dog, the story became much more understandable.

HOW TO FIX A PLOT HOLE. Have someone else read what you've written. And if you're the one doing the reading for someone else, be honest. Offer praise -- because we all write things that are praiseworthy -- but also ask questions. Offer constructive criticism. Help the writer see what they've done well, and where they could improve.

If you don't have someone else to read what you've written, the best thing is to put your writing aside for 24-48 hours, and come back to it with fresh, more critical eyes. If you have to, print out what you've written and edit on paper. I find I notice more things if I'm working with a physical page, rather than a document on a computer.

If a peer reviewer says you need more information, listen. Try to see your story from their point of view. And it might be that you don't have to add a lot -- just a clarification, like my mentioning to the readers that Moki was a dog.

The best feedback, as this comic illustrates, has three components:

1. Be positive. Don't go in, red pen blazing, criticizing everything in sight. Offer praise. Point out mistakes. Be firm, but be gentle.

2. Be specific. Don't say things like "I don't understand," or "I really like this." Be specific. Say things like "I don't understand your relationship with Moki. Can you clarify?" or "your description of the acupuncture treatments really had me feeling the needles going ino my own skin." The more specific we are with criticism and praise, the better our feedback will be.

3. Offer a next step. The "can you clarify?" from the previous item is a next step. I don't know who Moki is, can you explain who she is to me? Often, we leave something out because we ourselves don't know what the next step should be. Offering a suggestion will help get the writer's brain firing.