Dr Copa

When J was between his junior and senior year in high school, we encouraged him to take a college course in statistics during the summer.  We reasoned that since he was so advanced in his courses (taking college level courses) and statistics was not available in his school, that he would have a leg up and head start in college this way. 

And, since my wife had taken statistics herself at the same college, and still had her statistics books, we figured that she could act as a Statistics tutor if J should need any Statistics help during the course.  There were a couple of times that J asked for help with some of the Statistics problems that he had as homework, and my wife was glad she had kept her book!  The book she had for her course was a lot easier to understand than the textbook J had been assigned!  So it was good that he had her old one to reference when he needed help!

I was just reading a story on the yahoo news page that some football star showed he has a big heart by giving a homeless kid a jersey and a week’s tuition at a summer camp.  The article was talking about what a big heart this football player has.  Big fat whoopie do.  Why not hire the kid’s mother to do something so she can afford a house for the family?  I’m sure she could do SOMETHING.  Or maybe pay for the mother to take some courses to learn how to do something and help her find a job somewhere?  Is a jersey and a week of camp going to keep the kids warm, dry, and fed?  I don’t think so.  Big whoop.

I fear I have gotten to the point in life that my jeans just aren’t as comfortable as they used to be. I remember practically living in my blue jeans, a few nights I had even slept in them without a problem. I don’t think that I could handle doing something like that these days, they just don’t feel right anymore. Even with all the different brands and styles that they have to offer in the stores, I just can’t seem to find a pair that I can call comfortable, especially in the summer heat, that can make for a long hot day and that just isn’t acceptable to me.

So, I have turned to wearing cargo pants when I want to dress casual. They are readily available and are usually affordable, depending on where you purchase them. I have been doing most of my shopping online and have been finding some good deals. It works for me since I am not the type that enjoys going out and shopping for clothes, so shopping online is perfect for me.

I have found a good company at Blair.com and they have a good selection of cargo elastic waist pants, which are my favorite type of cargo pants. The elastic waist band makes them nice and comfortable all through the day and well into the night which is just what I’m looking for in my clothes. And I like all the pockets that cargo pants are known to have. Too bad I have such skinny legs and refuse to wear shorts because they are having a good sale on them right now, but I’ve never been a fan of wearing shorts, even on the hottest days of the summer.

I’m going to shoot off an order this weekend with them, gonna order a few pairs and see how I like them.

One of the things that I like about youtube is that I can always find something that will make me laugh! Take for example, these clips of funny (but banned) commercials! I think they are a riot!

Guest post by Linda Bradshaw

When my hubby was injured in my car accident in 2007, I tried to get my mortage company for our house in New England that we were trying to sell to grant me a hardship forebearance. Since he wasn’t able to work due to my injuries, I was hopeful to get some empathy from the company. Boy, was I wrong!

Long story short, the mortgage company has dropped the ball and tossed me around from department to department, where I have been met with gross incompetence at every turn.

After over two years, even though we FINALLY did a deed-in-lieu with the company last November, and the deed to the house was transferred into their name in December the company is continuing to send me notices that I owe them the money and the company is still sending notices to the credit agencies that the mortgage is overdue. This is resulting in credit card companies closing my credit cards or lowering my credit limits.

Every time I call Bank of America I am shuttled around from department to department, and told the matter will be escalated and someone will call me back within the next week. That never happens. I have called them about once every two weeks, and nothing is resolved. I have sent them letters, and I get replies that someone will contact me within 20 days, and that never happens either! I got collection calls several times a day for years on end until I finally blocked their telephone number!

As of today, I have been on the phone with Bank of America for the past four hours, being shuttled around from department to department, trying to find some help. I’m on hold at the moment, waiting for a supervisor to talk to me. The lady I just spoke with said that my account was in the process of being assigned to someone in the home retention department!

I have contacted my state senator Mark Warner’s office, asking for help a couple of weeks ago. Haven’t heard back from them yet.

Anyone know a good lawyer that would like to sue this company on my behalf to get this resolved and maybe some punitive damages for emotional distress it is causing? I had hired a lawyer that I was told is an agressive lawyer that loves to sue people, but for some reason he just doesn’t seem to be in the mood to take this on! If you know of a class-action suit going on for people in situations like this, or know a good lawyer that could/would help me, please post comment to this blog and I’ll get the information!

Can you feel my pain?

I have always found it interesting how many different people struggle with different academic subjects. For example, my biggest problems in school were in Chemistry and in Geometry. For the life of me I couldn’t do well in those classes! Although I found it relatively easy to pass most math courses, sometimes I feel that I really didn’t learn much about the problem solving process – I just memorized a lot of formulas. Lucky for me, I’ve found that the Internet is a great source for brushing up on a variety of subjects.

For example, even though I took statistics in school, it has been many years since I studied it. I’m sure that if I really needed to apply what I learned, I would be in for a real struggle. But there are great websites, such as the tutorvista.com website that is designed to give Statistics help to students that I think I could use to help me with any Statistics problems that I might stumble upon as I go through life. I think it’s great; having a Statistics tutor right in your own home, with just a click of the mouse to get the help you need!

I was browsing the Internet this morning and saw a lot of hoopla about a new creation – a wedding dress that dissolves in water. The photos that are provided with all of the articles look like ballet tutus. What’s up with that? I can’t imagine a bride walking down the aisle in a tutu! Is that really the dress?

The articles talk about how women buy wedding dresses, wear them once and never again. And what a waste it is. In my family, it seems that the women save their wedding dresses in the hopes that one day their daughters will wear them to their weddings! Of course women who only bear sons might have problems with that!

I can remember going to a historical place that held lectures and the lecturer spoke of how wedding dresses used to be black, and that the women wore the same dress to church every Sunday, and that the dress was also used as dress that the woman was buried in. I guess those dresses really earned their keep!

There are several of my in-laws that I really enjoy hanging out with.  My brother-in-law Will, for example, has a Harley.  I have a Harley.  We like to ride together.  He’s a nice guy and would give the shirt off his back to help another family member.  But by day, he is a self-employed IT specialist.  He has several clients that pay him handsomely to take care of the details of the computer and Internet needs.

And because he is self-employed, he is always networking; trying to line up more clients.  So there have been times when we’ve gone riding together and ended up meeting with potential clients.  After a few minutes of listening to them talk about such things as dedicated server hosting,  colocation services, and managed hosting solutions I usually wander off and try to find myself a place to grab a drink and take a short nap.  I’m beginning to think that I should pack a bedroll and a good book onto the back of my bike!  I don’t mind mixing a little bit of business with pleasure, but these are topics above and beyond my own needs and interests.  But, it pays him a good salary, so I’m all for it!

My wife says that I have a hard time dealing with change.  I have to agree with her – I like things to stay the same.  I like to sit in the same chair at supper.  I like to leave the house in the morning knowing what is for supper, and if plans change and that supper doesn’t happen, I don’t like it.  Even if the food is something I like even better!  I know that there are a lot of people like that out there.  I wonder why people are so uncomfortable with change.  Why should it upset me when I get home and find that supper is even better than I thought it would be?  I know that children need a structured routine to be comfortable; I wonder if we ever really outgrow that?