Allon

Good one, tsap. Funny and sooooo true.

Putting up the levels so everyone can see is a good idea. The ph level is as important as the chlorine level, as they are related. A ph of 6.5 is too low. Should be 7.2 to 7.6. The high ph they show in the interval (6.5 - 8.5) is too high. There might be some irritation to the mucus membranes of swimmers at 6.5. The temperature is also medium (26 C) low so that ph might be OK. The chlorine level is expressed as a % and at that ph level, it should be at about 90% which is good. The water just looks cloudy. Some clarifier might help and sodium carbonate (I hope my memory is correct) will raise that ph level a bit but they might have to add some more chlorine. A level of .5 total combined chlorine is OK. A big pool like that would require frequent testing at different areas of the pool. But I have dipped my toes in worse I guess. I love seeing a big pool like that.....

I am a swimmer and I check swimming pools closely before i get in. Same with scuba when I did it although I've been in some cloudy water with a full kit. Ear infections are common with me since I have had my ears blown out many times. I don't think I would swim in that pool. They probably need to get a water clarifier but the water is too cloudy. Usually emulsified sweat and oil causes that. And pee. The admission fee is a good idea. Helps pay for maintenance..... But it's a nice pool. Great for laps.....if it were not for the obstacles.

What's interesting is the notion that the NSA or CIA knows exactly what happened. I think this comes from the Korean 007 incident where our listening posts in Japan picked up the pilot conversation. But by this time, if I had loved ones on the plane, I would take my settlement money, have a remembrance or memorial service, and go through mourning. War casualties have the same lack of closure although this is not a war. It is sad that the plane just disappeared. Just for science I hope we find out what happened.

Most banks will allow a second account with you as the primary and her as the secondary. (Usually you have to have a minimum amount in the primary account.) Put some money ($1000) in that account for her to use with an ATM or debit card. If she uses it wisely, the offers of credit apps will come along with time, maybe 6 -12 months. When you get a department store account add her to it with a card. She may never use it but credit companies look at her name. If you are good with credit she will show up too and get offers. We are getting offers for a card for her that fortunately I get first so I can screen them. Up to you to monitor....

Good article, Randy. I think the comments about American workers is mostly BS. American workers are the most productive in the world. I have read just as many complaints about Chinese workers from America factory owners. But I think China coming back here is a good thing. The US has to get out of the "investor" cycle and start making products to sell. Unfortunately here, in this article, the profits go back to China. Same thing happened to Volkswagen, Honda, and a number of other names.

She lost the battle over whether I can sleep naked. She said she was tired of sleeping under a tent.

Shopping with her. She is like a little kid. But she's a smart shopper. And when she smiles, I smile.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/theodore-bikel-fiddler-on-the-roof-star-dies-124691897352.html A legend in folk music and acting.

That green camo stripe would make an excellent target. It's too bright.

CNN is reporting that all three problems (United, WSJ, and NYSE) are not the result of hacking. WSJ and United are back up. A router was blamed on one of the problems.

Looks like router issue. WSJ was also down but successfully redirected. The NYSE is still down right now with a loss of -205. But it has been worse earlier in the day. News is varied. Some say trading is still going on, just some is frozen out because of a computer "glitch." None of these problems are supposed to be hacking related.

Fantastic anecdote. You might refer some people on here to your lawyer, who was able to get actual results! http://asl-lawfirm.com/?src=Adwords&med=cpc&cam=Allan%20Lolly&random=6904720342778761276&network=g&matchtype=e&keyword=allan%20s%20lolly%20%26%20associates&locp=9030078&loci=&gclid=CI7YvNn1ycYCFYQpjgodQ70A3A Allan Lolly & Associates. Don't be turned off by paralegals. Tami is good if you can get her. And Allan sticks by you.

Stunning, Randy. Thanks for posting these.

We waited almost two years after initially being rejected for her not knowing English. We sent in a receipt for an English school and got no response. The lawyer we hired kept writing letters and finally wrote a full Demand letter, which basically said we will sue if you don't answer. We got the visa approval in two weeks.

I remember a Sad Sack cartoon (uh, it was my father's book of WWII cartoons -- I am not that old) that showed Sad Sack sitting on the toilet with toilet paper all over and there were poor kids placidly looking at him grimace. No peace at all in war even on the, uh, throne. Sorry to say the same is true here. Her door is open and she will barge in to get some make up or something when I am performing my daily routines. I had to train her not to spit or fart when we are in public company. There are other traits but minor like how to eat with a fork and knife. (No, you do not pick up the chicken fillet with your hands and take a bite out of it.)

I am not actually after the hair. It is a collateral target.

I have lots to say about Iris Chang and James Bradley but (seriously) I am bound by a promise not to discuss it until after October, 2015. Some of you may know Iris killed herself, November, 2004. .45 bullet to the head. I would recommend not only Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking but her first book, The Thread of the Silkworm. (Her last book, The Chinese in America is long but is a definitive history of the migrations of Chinese to America, the famous ones, the workers, the people we still see in our daily lives as husbands and wives. They have not changed much. It is richly rewarding reading.) The Thread of the Silkworm is about professor Tsien Hsue-shen (or Qian Xuesen), one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory here in America. During the Red Scare of the 50's he was purged by the McCarthy committee and was deported to China. He then invented the Silkworm, the deadly nuclear missile still in China's arsenal in one form or another. He never granted Iris an interview. You an imagine how difficult it was for her to write the book. Any of Bradley's books are well-written and give the reader an in-depth look at history in Asia. Bradley has a fantastic book called China Mirage, about how Teddy Roosevelt set the message to the Japanese that they could invade Manchuria and take over Korea (TR got a Nobel for that) all on the racist premise that the Japanese were a far superior race than the Chinese. He also discusses at length the events leading to Pearl Harbor and how both Roosevelt's stumbled into war with Japan for different reasons. A lot of history about the civil war in China and the real Chiang Kai-shek, the crook, the liar, and wife, Mayling (Madame Chiang).

On behalf of Randy and Don, and the rest of the crew who helped me through 3 years of utter torment, I will send in something as soon as I stop traveling. Give or take a few more days. And thanks for being there...... Allon (aka Eric)

Stunning....

BB was there when I first started playing the guitar. He will always be in my memories, all the riffs included. Sad day for me....

If someone is injured on your property and is a paid licensed contractor, usually by state law he must be insured, not only for injury but for professional misconduct. Where you end up in trouble is when you have a neighbor or non-professional licensed person do the work. They can sue but usually your home insurance will cover such an injury. They will even hire a lawyer if the guy exaggerates his claim. When you hire a professional licensed contractor to do work for you, he usually will present an estimate which may contain a clause that releases you from any lawsuit -- but not always. Check the language of the estimate (fine print). Often a shady contractor will add a clause that makes you liable for any injuries. Also, get a Release of Lien, or Lien Waiver from him, so he cannot put a lien on your property if you are not satisfied with his work and decide not to pay him. With such a release he must satisfy you that the work was done right if you withhold payment. Usually differences such as these go to arbitration or mediation rather than general court. And many states have a Division of Corporations that often is as powerful as a court. But to stay out of trouble, hire a licensed, bonded, insured contractor for your work and obtain a lien waiver before any work is done. That's why such work is generally more expensive. They have to pay those insurance fees.

Well, it was fun for a while anyway.....

Like tsapper, I studied bipolar as part of research I did on the life of Iris Chang. For those that don't know her, she was famous for writing The Rape of Nanking. She was also known for her strong defense of human rights. She had been traveling and writing, traveling and writing. As her maid was helping her pack to go to Louisville for more research on her new book, the maid walked out and told Iris' mother that Iris should not go. She was acting very very tired. Iris would go on marathon writing sessions, often not sleeping for days. Some writers claim that was her "manic" state. She was an extremely talented writer, as bipolar people are known for: high talent, creativity and intelligence. She collapsed in her hotel in Louisville and called her parents, who said she was having hallucinations from the television. She felt people were following her. With the help of another writer, who was a colonel in the army and his wife, a nurse, they got her to a hospital where the preliminary diagnosis was a "psychotic event." Likely bipolar. From April of 2004 when she got back from Kentucky, until her death in November by gunshot, it was a massive episode of depression. The family finally decided to take Iris' child (who had Asperger's syndrome) to Illinois with her husband's parents. I believe this event was the final trigger, as finding out Robin had Parkinson's, that led her to seek suicide as a final answer. It is thought such is the way of all suicides. The sufferer of depression lives not every day but every minute, trying to keep their head above water. And then there is a triggering event, that pushes them over the edge. Death is the only answer when they see a future of more sadness and pain. Her mother wrote a book (The Woman Who Could Not Forget -- Ying-Ying Chang) about the life of Iris Chang and her final moments. She is a Ph. D. in biochemistry (Harvard) and feels drugs were the cause of the problem, not the cure. Science is now rethinking the use of some drugs on Chinese people since they are so sensitive to drugs, especially when many never took an aspirin their entire lives. But Iris had been taking Chinese herbal medicines at the same time, so there is still controversy about Iris' medical condition. The day after she took her life along a beautiful stretch of road south of Los Gatos, CA, mental health clinics were flooded with Chinese American women. For them, the stigma of seeing a psychologist was overcome. They finally decided depression is a disease. My Chinese wife told me she had tried to kill herself with drugs when she lived in China. I try to watch her every single moment I can, and really try to keep her happy. Anyone who tries once will likely try again. I miss Iris Chang. I know her family and they are wonderful people. Her father is the strongest and probably the smartest man I have ever met. You would not know that to talk to him. He is quiet and reserved, as only a Ph.D in physics (Harvard) can be. There are still rumors of Iris' death. I guess there will be with Robin Williams. But I think the Chinese are prone to rumors since they seem accustomed to their government lying to them. Some still mistakenly believe that Japanese agents killed her for her punishing book on what the Japanese Imperial Army did to China at Nanking (Nanjing). Her book is a good read, if you can get through it.

I agree that generic is often cheaper and the same product so with small ticket items, it doesn't matter. But with large ticket items like bedding and especially some foods, you know what you are buying (think Costco not Kroger) and usually most studies for the "best" item use the brand name. At Costco for instance, I have gotten coffee or olive oil from the so-called "trade-free" brands that are like buying generics. But most of the time, I was disappointed in the variance between quality and price. And with a brand name, there is usually a place you can go to take it back. Most generics do too since they are usually the store brand but I have called to complain about some things, and my questions were answered quicker from a brand name product. As far as drugs or medicines, always buy generic. I have a thing about Big Pharma.