January 17, 2005
Four Day Weekend
MLK - TransDimension gave us Monday off. I was starting to believe that only government agencies took MLK day off. To extend the weekend, I took Friday off as well. I had other reasons to take Friday besides making a four day weekend.
Christian visit - The plan was that Thursday afternoon my friend, Christian, would fly in with his wife and son. Taking Friday off would allow me to spend more time with his family. Alas, the nasty weather moving up the coast Thursday caused major chaos on all east coast flight plans, delaying some, canceling the rest. In the end he didn't arrive until Friday evening after having endured many cancellations, delays, re-routes, and an overnight stay in Washington DC. I was amazed that they persisted. With children in tow I would have been tempted to give up! His son is a day younger than Timothy and the parallels are amazing. The personalities, behaviors, the physicque, etc…
Eye appointment - Friday I also had an eye doctor appointment. Continuing a trend detected in my last visit a year and a half ago, my eyes continue to slowly get better, although my astigmatism is also getting slowly worse. My current prescription is off, but not seriously so. I'm considering whether or not to get a new set of frames. More accurately, I'm interested in what are known as "rimless frames". This option would have significant "out of pocket" expense from an insurance point of view. The style is completely opposite to what we used to call in the USAF "BCGs" (Birth Control Glasses). BCGs were military issue glasses with thick durable black plastic rims. In this "rimless" design there is no plastic or wire framing around the lenses, just connections across the bridge of the nose and the supports back to the ears. Very minimalist. I worry about how fragile such a pair might be, but I like the look.
Crichton - I made an order for five books from Amazon that arrived Wednesday last week. I've been delving into Michael Crichton's new book, "State of Fear". I've been enjoying it as it combines a typical Crichton page turner with a healthy skepticism of both sides of the global warming debate. It's no wonder environmentalists screamed in the months leading up to its release. They want to keep pounding the "consensus" drum while the data remains sketchy. I'm about 180 pages into this book of ~550 pages. If the suspense keeps up, I'll probably be done with it by the end of the month. Once I'm done with it, the plan is to shift to something lighter but just as political with "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History".
OBD diagnostic - Frustrated at how little it takes to trigger a "Check Engine" light and how hard it is to discern how alarmed one should be when it does light, I purchased a handheld unit to read the codes of On Board Diagnostic computers built into all US automobiles since 1996. Once I hooked it up to the car, it spit out a code indicating intermittent problems with the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve. It will be moderately expensive to repair it, but it can wait a few weeks while I setup an appointment. It's just nice to confirm that the "Check Engine" was indeed an emissions problem and not something catastrophic like low oil pressure. If the government insists on making this light that ambigous, I wanted a diagnostic to help me clarify it.
Haircuts - Yesterday I helped Michelle give the boys their regular haircuts. Due to absent mindedness on my part, I had missed my hair appointment last week. Having helped Michelle so many times with the boys in the past, I decided to take the plunge and let her cut my hair. At least I don't cry or wriggle out of my chair… She did a great job. If we decide to do this in the future, I should pick her up a trimmer or two to make working along the ears and neckline easier. Overall, though, it's pretty indistinguishable from when I let it get cut at a barber. I guess her practice with the boys paid off.