Week in Review: Feb 24ish, 2009

Since we closed on the House on Wednesday, we've spent a lot more time packing, moving, planning, cleaning, etc. We'll probably settle down on the house just about the time we'll have to ramp up preparations for the wedding!

IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm not just moving in the physical world, I'm moving in the virtual world as well. In 2 weeks I should have my blog moved over to my website, scottpantall.com. This will probably affect any RSS subscribers and getting email notifications about new blogs will probably be different. I'll give you more info during next week's Week in Review.

Things I Think I Liked

• Zombie shoot-em-up game Left 4 Dead. I saw Dan playing it and it looks REALLY cool. It makes me want to re-install Windows and upgrade my computer.
• We have our own house!
• The Comcast Tech, Josh, who installed our internet and cable. He ran a line around the side of the house, drilled a hole in the wall so he could use a better quality cable, tested the internet connection and even programmed the remote to work with the TV.
• Systm did an episode on how to build lightsabers!
• Darren from Hak5 and Robert Scoble responded to my tweets.
• One of the most relaxing things in the world is listening to Peacemakers while driving with my sunroof open.

Things I Think I Didn't Like

• Gmail went down for about 2 hours. Maybe I'll start using my own domain for email from now on.
• Another friend got laid off.
• there's too many unemployed people when we get 700 applications for 1 dispatcher position.
• I'm tempted to take TechCrunch off my RSS feed. An average of 10 posts per day is too much.
• The Starbucks on Broadway in Englewood sucks. No free WiFi. Actually, no WiFi at all!
  

Things I Think I Think

• Next weeks blog will probably be late too.
• These reviews end up way to long when I don't post them on time.

This Week Made Me Wonder...

• Is there a psychological term for having delayed emotional reactions to things?
• What would happen if the whole internet went down for a week?
• What would happen to my favorite internet celebrities if the internet died?

Things to look forward to

• First homeowner project - Painting Ashlynn's room and the bathroom.
• BYOE(Bring Your Own Everything) Barbeque and invitation addressing on Saturday!
• The weather is gonna be nice this week and I have a backyard! Wahoo!

Week in Review: Feb 17, 2009

Whenever I sit down to type out one of these posts, it always feels like last week was so long ago. It's amazing how much life happens when you pay attention. Ever since I proposed to Corrine last year I've been setting up my own dominoes of life. It's almost time to start knocking some down to see if I laid them out right....


Things I Think I Liked

• I finally put something on my website. It's not much, but it's better than "I like rocks"
• Picked out our DJ for the wedding... Now we just have to figure out what we want him to play!
• Two of my previously unemployed friends now have jobs! Wahoo!
• Helped dispatch a Honda vs. semi accident and a mobile home fire in one week and no one died!
  

Things I Think I Didn't Like

• There is a group that wants to retire the Joker from Batman movies. The sentiment is nice, but it's a bad idea.
  
• Some kids wanted to rename Boulder High School to Obama High School. I'm a fan of Obama, but this is way too much! Having a high school named after a sitting President is too propaganda-ish. They withdrew their idea gracefully, though.

Things I Think I Think

• "The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife" - This is really funny and really sad at the same time. It's like punching someone in the face to prove you're not violent.

This Week Made Me Wonder...

• Will I ever have the time to pursue my many interests?
• Are Facebook's changes to their Terms of Service really that big of a deal?
  

Things to look forward to

• Closing on the house on Wednesday!
• Getting the invitations started.
• Packing, packing, putting stuff in boxes and packing.
• Having the keys to our very own house in our hands!!!
  

The Up-To-$15,000 homebuyer credit

I am planning on closing on my first home next Wednesday. Needless to say, the stimulus plan is a VERY BIG DEAL to me. For purely selfish reasons, I want it to pass. I want that Up-To-$15,000 tax credit.

Why did I add "Up-To" to the total? I'm glad you asked. Here's how it works:

If you buy a home, you will receive up to $15,000 in refunded federal income taxes over 2 years. This means that if you pay $7,500 or more per year in federal income taxes you will receive the full amount. If you pay less than $7,500 in taxes a year, you will basically get all your federal income taxes back that you paid in 2008 and 2009. It's explained much better in this Bloomberg article.

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Now, out of principle, I'm against the stimulus package. One of the reasons it bothers me is quotes like this one from a CNN article about the home buyer tax credit:

"Consumers will view the tax credit as they do lower home prices," said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtor's chief economist. "And more people will qualify [for buying homes]."

One of the BIGGEST REASONS for this recession is that people who weren't supposed to qualify to buy homes were buying homes! They found themselves in way over their heads and their inability to pay their mortgages started this mess. We do not need to make it easier for people to get loans and credit. We need people to live within their means! People aren't waiting to buy a house just because of fear. They're waiting until they can afford a house. They've learned their lesson. If you expect home buying numbers to be anywhere close to where they were 2-3 years ago you're out of your mind.

If we can find a way to allow our economy to run on money and not credit, I think we'll be ok. It won't be an easy transition or a short one, but I think it's a needed one.

UPDATE (2/12/09): Just a couple hours after I post this, what happens? The Up-To-$15000 tax credit gets taken out of the stimulus. I FINALLY understand a piece of legislation that directly affects me and it gets changed before it gets passed. Lame!

Week in Review: Feb 10, 2009

This wasn't my average week. Usually it feels like my week is over on Tuesdays, but this week I have to work tonight. It would be a great excuse NOT to do my week in review post. Well I have all my excuses lined up so now it's time to knock them all down.


Things I Think I Liked

• I went to my first Colorado APCO (Association of Public Safety Communication Officials) chapter meeting. There's all sorts of ways to get involved.
• President Obama is actively seeking out open source solutions for government.
• Locked in my rate on my mortgage at 5%! 1-2-3-4-5. That's it: 5. No more. A BIG thank you to my friend Laura Leavy of Colorado One Mortgage.
• Hulu.com. It's telling me I don't need cable TV.
• Added my shared posts from Google Reader to my sidebar on my blog. Now you can check out where I'm getting all my cool info.

Things I Think I Didn't Like

• Shopping for homeowners insurance. Is there a more confusing type of insurance?
• I'm gonna give DL.tv one more episode to convince me I should keep watching it. It just doesn't keep my attention.
• Upgraded Ubuntu to version 8.10, the Intrepid Ibex and it got rid of Miro and it isn't allowing my to transfer my files to my phone via Bluetooth. I'll have to check for updates while I'm posting my blog. (I'm giving up on fixing it right now so I can finish this post. Arg!)
  
• The DTV transition got pushed back to June 12. This is just going to turn this into more of a cluster than it already is
  
• The purple on my wedding website looks bad on every computer except mine. I have to find a way to fix that.

Things I Think I Think

• If you're a conveniece store clerk who's afraid of his own shadow, do not attempt to lock people in your store when they shoplift.
• I put too much thought into some things. Like prettying up my blog with pictures and designs. I've been pondering how I want to do it since Jessie suggested it.
• On March 5 we will get a large dumping of snow. Mother nature is going to wait until I have to shovel it all off my driveway.
• Unless you really like watching live sports, you can get away with getting rid of cable and just watch your shows online.
• I almost know what I want on my website. I just need to sit and focus on it for a couple hours.

This Week Made Me Wonder...

• How can people see something (or someone) but not tell you what they saw?
• Why were midgets having a fitness contest at 4am in an apartment?
• NHL.com now offers live streaming games. Could I watch the Avalanche this way or would most of the games be blacked out because I live in Lakewood?
• Will the stimulus bill get passed before I close on my house? I REALLY want that "up to $15,000" tax credit. Dear Senators, hurry up!
• Is it possible to learn enough programming knowledge to get a job as a programmer without already coding full time?
• Where is the best place for me to store and share pictures online?

Things to look forward to

• Meeting with our DJ for the wedding Wednesday night.
• Getting everything situated for buying the house.
• March 4 is moving day!
• The stimulus bill getting passed.
• Creating a way to allow people to RSVP for the wedding using our website. I'm building it from scratch.

Something I know

• I love you, Corrine. Happy Valentine's Day!

A 911-related rant: Descriptions

I know my posts are usually more structured and, hopefully, more informative than this one. I just had to share this:

How can you tell me exactly where somoene is, but have no idea what they look like?

Example from part of a call tonight:
Caller: "My sister's boyfriend is drunk and refusing to leave."
Calltaker: "Ok. Where is he now?"
Caller: "He just went outside. He's in front of the house."
Calltaker: "What is he wearing?"
Caller: "I don't know."

WHAT?! Whaddaya mean "I don't know."?? Are you worried that you don't know what brand he's wearing? This is a simple question! Just tell us what you see when you look at him!

When you call 911 and we ask you to describe what someone is wearing, just tell us what you see! As long as it's halfway close to the truth, we're usually good with that.

--This public service announcement was brought to you by this frustrated, baffled and amused dispatcher.

Week in Review: Feb 3, 2009

It's weird how sometimes 7 days can seem to take so long. I missed out on my coffee this morning and I'm kinda off today. The novelty of posting a weekly blog is wearing off, but it's still fun, so let's keep going.


Things I Think I Liked

• Denver rocks!
• 45 heads were shaved, including mine, and over $6000 was raised on Saturday for Tayler Ellison. More on that later. In the meantime, here's some pictures from the event.
• I updated our wedding website to be more interactive. Check it out!
• We finished registering for gifts for the wedding.
  

Things I Think I Didn't Like

• It turns out if you Google my name, the 5th result is my website that I haven't done anything with. I really need to do something about that.
• I didn't seem to watch too many podcasts. The one's I did weren't that interesting.
  

Things I Think I Think

• It's cool that Denver's Channel 7 is making good use of Twitter and YouTube. Here's an example.
• I want to be able to create my own temporary transactions to my bank account.
• I could use some motivation.
  

This Week Made Me Wonder...

• How can mortgage rates go any lower w/the fed interest rate at almost 0%? Please go lower!
  
• I hope the dryer at the house is faster than Dan's dryer.
• How can payday, which is Friday, seem so far away, but the wedding in April seems just around the corner?
  

Things to look forward to

• Getting the appraisal info on the house.
• Tomorrow - Today is...... blah.
• Christaloo's housewarming party.
• Getting invitations mailed out.