Month: February 2020

Robot vacuum

Posted on by backuphill

round robot vacuum

My vacuum is not this one. It is from a different company and this photo is just for demonstration purposes. Photo by Jens Mahnke on Pexels.com

The house has a robot vacuum.

It’s kinda new. It has been roaming the house at a pre-planned time for about three months now. Honestly, it’s nice to not have to sweep as often. It also cleans up some of the rugs that are by the entry points of the house, there there is that too.

But, it is also a lot like having a freaking toddler in the house.

Anything that is on the ground gets moved around and sometimes you have to go hunting for stuff. Example: shoes. It will push slippers and shoes under the furniture. Thus, I find myself on the floor trying to fish stuff out from under the bed or night stand. It will also sometimes grab shoe laces and drag the shoe around for a while.

It closes doors and gets stuck on the inside of a room. It keeps working, unlike a toddler, but then you have to open the door and direct it out of the room. So, now doors have to be closed when it starts so it doesn’t get stuck in room, just like you do when you have a toddler in the house and you don’t want them getting into stuff.

It gets stuck under things and doesn’t finish what it was doing. The TV stand. The coffee table. The night stand. If it gets caught on something, it just stops.

It unplugs stuff and then you wonder why it isn’t working. I have had the phone charging cable not power up my phone when I plug it in at night. The robot unplugged it from under the night stand. The subwoofer for the sound system wasn’t working and movies/tv sounded funny. The robot unplugged the subwoofer from the powerstrip under the TV stand. It once drug a phone cord all over the house.

It picks up stuff you really don’t want it to…like screws you accidentally drop or didn’t know came out of something. Fridge magnets. Hair ties. Batteries. It’s like a toddler that puts everything in its mouth and you’re running around saying, “What do you have in your mouth? Lemme see!”

Why does it treat somethings, like the wall and furniture, like it is glass and eases into cleaning the edges while at other times it just bashes it’s way around the same furniture, like it has no eyes and doesn’t have a clue that it is getting close to something? Same for a toddler and cats…you tell it to be careful and nice, gentle, and it does for a while and then all of the sudden it grabs a big handful of fur and pulls, sending the animal scurrying away.

I tell you, I don’t have time to babysit the robot.

Seriously.

Sick and tired

Posted on by backuphill

tissue paper on container near glass window

Photo by Julian Paolo Dayag on Pexels.com

Family was over last weekend.

They knowingly came over with colds and the little ones openly hacked, snorted, and touched everything in sight.

Now I am sick.

And tired.

It’s irritating. Really.

Why do people feel the need to expose others to their illness? Just stay home. I don’t care if you’re a relative or not. I don’t want you around.

I’ll take care to do the same.

I am going to go rest. Because typing is exhausting. Reading hurts my eyes.

I am just generally irritable…but then that isn’t all that unusual. I am that way most of the time. It is just to a higher degree today.

Need to know

Posted on by backuphill

red and yellow stop sticker

Photo by Linda Eller-Shein on Pexels.com

“You’re on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know.”

The above phrase gets tossed around a lot, but there are actual times when it applies. Yesterday, I ran into an instance from my employer that seems to fit this to a T.

The admin assistance to our department director came around with a new form to fill out. It supposedly is something that we have filled out previously and supposedly only has one line changed on the whole document. The supposed change is “to comply with federal grant requirements.” The added line really isn’t the issue for me though.

The document is basically a “driver screening” risk management form. I get that in order for me to drive a company vehicle, they have to ask certain questions and it is expected that I report certain details should circumstances require the necessity to do so. That isn’t really an issue for me. I understand the necessity of such a screening. HOWEVER…

The document goes on to ask about information that I believe is totally unnecessary and, quite frankly, a violation of my privacy by asking about my personal vehicle. As in, should I drive my personal vehicle during work hours and on work time. The document is asking for the kind of vehicle I drive and license plate (why would it matter what vehicle I drive if it is my vehicle?), what insurance company I use and the policy number (with specific amounts of coverage); it requires to inform my employer if I drop expected level of insurance to a lower level, and expects me to waive all rights as an employee if on company time and there is an accident in my personal vehicle.

Does this sound invasive? Is this typical? Do you willingly give your employer information they don’t really need?

Yes, there is travel required as part of my job. Yes, I do prefer to drive my personal vehicle instead of the crappy company cars. But, the requirements of this document are “part of my continued employment” with the company, as though the document and my driving my vehicle have anything to do with my job performance and skills as a trainer and software analyst.

A big part of me bristles as this whole thing. I can accept that my employer needs to know certain things about me, but I don’t accept that they need to know everything about me.

I partially joked with a co-worker who was feeling the same way as I was yesterday that it won’t be long and they’ll be asking for our homeowner’s insurance policies since we telecommute several days a week.

I can see the future, and I don’t like it.

Cold breeze

Posted on by backuphill

person wearing blue hoodie near body of water

Photo by Gabriela Palai on Pexels.com

I am not one to often complain about the temperature. I have, for most of my life, seemed to run at a higher temp than most so I don’t find myself shivering when it comes to “normal” temps. I am generally comfortable between 65-75 degrees.

Friday night, however, I found myself freezing, indoors, at a local restaurant. Red Robin might serve hot food, but the restaurant was cold enough to refrigerate food without a fridge. I am pretty sure the inside temp was only 7 degrees above the outside temp.

The outside temp was running somewhere around 43 degrees. It was windy and the rain was coming down in sheets – sideways. The walk from the car to the building was less than pleasant and I found the lower half of my body rather damp. The upper half was well shielded in my standard Helly Hansen jacket.

But, upon arriving at the table, my immediate comment to those there with me was that it was cold in the dining area. They agreed, as they had been sitting there for about 10 minutes waiting for everyone to arrive.

The rest of the evening, everyone was wearing jackets, sweaters, and shivering. Not exactly an inviting atmosphere for dining…

…or perhaps this cold temp was on purpose so that it would push people to leave sooner on a busy Friday night. If that’s the case, it is even more obnoxious. Upon checkout at their little computer thing, I did leave a review about the internal temp of the restaurant. Hopefully it caught someone’s attention.

Not in the mood

Posted on by backuphill

man sitting on concrete bench

Photo by Lamar Belina on Pexels.com

Before your brain goes there, let me just say that is not what I am talking about.

I just simply not in the mood to deal today.

Honestly, I’d just like to insulate myself from the world and do nothing.

I don’t want people around. I don’t want interaction of any kind.

I only want to do what I want to do, and it has to be something that is mindless and relaxing. It has to be fun (by my standards).

I am not in the mood to adult. I don’t want any responsibilities today. None.

Can I just sit here and sulk while I am at work, while I have to do everything that is exactly opposite of what I just said I wanted?

Whack-a-mole car

Posted on by backuphill

monopoly car piece

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

Whack-a-mole can be kind of a fun game. But, after a while it gets rather tiring and you just wanna give up and rip the whacker off the game and just whack anything that moves.

I have gotten to that point with my teen daughter’s car. I am tired of playing whack-a-mole on maintenance issues that never seem to stop. I swear this car has become a “money pit” for repairs. Just when you think you have it fixed and it should be good for a while…not so much.

UGH!!

Anyone have a couple thousand dollars they wanna donate to just buy a different used car for her? Didn’t think so. I don’t either.

After having the alternator and battery replaced in the last two weeks, now we have an apparent coolant leak. It’s not running out onto the ground. It doesn’t appear that any hoses are busted. So, that leads me to believe it is probably going into places in the engine it doesn’t belong.

UGH!!

Did I already say that? Sorry. I am just not sure what else to say.

 

Fact check

Posted on by backuphill

black and white laptop

Photo by Prateek Katyal on Pexels.com

“Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.”

The rise of fact checkers has never been more needed. We need to make sure our politicians are being truthful (because we all know their not, no matter what side their on). “The spin” is always in play and, quite frankly, can be rather disgusting when it gets right down to it.

So, I appreciate that we have people and organizations who do some fact checking. BUT, they are not exactly infallible. While they purport to be “unbiased,” they are not. We still need to watch for bias and we still need to be aware of leanings. Sure, they may not be as obvious in their bias as some media outlets, but it is still there. Example: simply by choosing what and what not to fact check and then report it could display bias.

Factcheck.org is one of my go to places for fact checking. It’s comprehensive and it appears to have little bias. However, there is still a problem. I’ll use the 2020 State of the Union Address from last night as a demonstration of what I was saying in the last paragraph. The linked article above only covers issues that the president got wrong or embellished. There is nothing in the article that points to where he was correct or telling the truth.

To me, that isn’t a balanced fact check. If you’re gonna do the job, do the whole job – line by line and tell us what is correct and what isn’t. Support it good research. Fact check it all. Once the speech is published in its entirety, fact check the whole thing. Don’t pick and choose what and what not to check.

So, if you are looking for more info, you can also check other places. Get a well rounded view of what is going on and what happened. Get info from every perspective, including from places deemed to have little bias. You can, again, use the president’s address from last night as an introduction to the site. The site is Allsides.org.

I know I have talked about these websites before. But I can’t help but make sure you have a place (or places) you can go to get information that is tainted as little as possible with bias. With a flood of information from anywhere and everywhere on the internet, you need to make sure that what you are consuming is as accurate as possible.

We can’t afford to be ignorant. We must be well informed.

Do your due diligence.

Uninvited

Posted on by backuphill

close up photography of bird nest

Photo by Evelyn Chong on Pexels.com

OK, am I crazy here? Am I being unreasonable?

If you have guests staying in your home, do you think it is inappropriate for them to invite guests over to your house? Essentially, guests are inviting guests into your home.

Furthermore, what if all the guests are family?

So, some family is now living in my home for an undetermined amount of time. It’s been less than a week since this change. One of the conditions of moving in was that they were not allowed to have guests over, because having people in your space is one thing but then to have those people inviting strangers into your home because they are their friends, is just a whole other problem. This condition seemed to be understood.

Anyway, last night I overheard a conversation where the newly homed family members (in my home) were making plans with other family members who don’t exactly live nearby, but are within driving distance of their own home, to stay at the house. I believe the conversation went something like, “Well, you can come and hang out for the evening and we can probably find a place for you to crash. Driving home that late doesn’t make sense. I am sure we can find room. It’ll be fun. You can just go home the next day.”

Excuse me? Fun for whom? Have you checked with me yet? Is this OK with me? You are making plans for me and my home without checking with me first. How is that OK? I mean, I have already altered my life to allow some family to stay in the house, do I really need to rearrange my life just so more family can stay in my house? Really?

Does it make a difference in this situation if the family members involved are your adult children and grandkids? One adult child has moved in with her 11 year old daughter. They are inviting our middle son and his family (wife, 3 boys under 7) to stay at the house too. Mind you, there is barely enough room for the people already staying in the house…

Am I crazy here? Am I being selfish?

I liked my nest empty. I want it back that way. That’s not to say I don’t love the kids and grandkids, but come on…it’s kind of the principle of the thing, isn’t it?

Babysitting

Posted on by backuphill

photo of a boy reading book

Photo by mentatdgt on Pexels.com

I have known for quite a while I don’t like little people. That’s why I didn’t become an elementary teacher. I just couldn’t handle it. It drove me nuts.

Then I had my own child and I survived the little people stage. It wasn’t as challenging as I thought it would be, but I was glad when it was over. I definitely didn’t want to repeat it again. It’s one thing to watch your own young kids. It’s another to watch someone else’s, no matter who they are.

So, naturally, I hate babysitting.

But, I find that I am required to do so once in a while for a family member. Mostly it is because I feel obligated and can’t really say no, even though my selfish heart really tells me I should. I have no desire, at all, to spend time with little people. None.

Unfortunately, my sister needed some help this last Saturday and thus, I am obligated to watch my 3 year old niece. She is smart. She is relatively well behaved. I still don’t like it. I can’t wait for nap time to come.

Like really.

Nap time for her. Nap time for me.

Why do I say yes to this torture……??