Slightly Off KIlter

Normal is overrated

  • Our Industrious Day

    Our industrious day: breakfast at the diner fixing the garage door 1/2. The "spool" at one end had gone out of sync with its mate, causing the door to have a 1" or so gap at one end when it was "closed". Rich used vice grips with a chain jaw to twist the spool to… Continue reading

  • Looking for Work

    After 5 years with the same company, I'm looking for a new job. There was a division re-org back in August and my manager resigned the same week (coincidentally). I wasn't a fit for the new team I was assigned to and, despite my best efforts, couldn't find a team I did fit. "What you… Continue reading

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  • Haskell

    At a techie Meetup last night, I met an IT guy who programs in Haskell. Haskell is described as a "polymorphically statically typed, lazy, purely functional language". The language is named for Haskell Brooks Curry, "whose work in mathematical logic serves as a foundation for functional languages". * I've never used Haskell, the language, but… Continue reading

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  • Ultimate Sack

    Many years ago, we had a poof (pouf) – a giant bean bag stuffed with foam instead of "beans". It wore out, we recovered it, the new covering didn't work. It's gone now. Today we got a new one from Ultimate Sack. The cats already approve. Continue reading

  • My Name is Me

    (Posted under the category, Supporters at My Name is Me. The site supports your freedom to choose the name you use on social networks and other online services. My name is Vicki. That's not the name on my birth certificate or how the IRS knows me. It _is_ the name my mother gave me. My… Continue reading

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  • “I don’t want Borders to go.”

    This evening as they were driving along, the child suddenly looked very happy. She shouted and laughed, "Lets go to Borders Book Store." Grandpa explained they couldn't because Borders were out of business. A while later he looked in the mirror. She was sitting very quietly. Her face was all scrunged up. The tears where… Continue reading

  • Highly Sensitive People and the Interruptive Workplace

    Good News: I have a new manager and increased scope at Dayjob. My job title and description will be adjusted to formally recognize what I’ve actually been doing for the past three years. Bad news: New manager wants me in the office “more often”. It’s the only point on which we disagree. But it’s a… Continue reading

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  • Highly Sensitive People and the Interruptive Workplace

    Good News: I have a new manager and increased scope at Dayjob. My job title and description will be adjusted to formally recognize what I’ve actually been doing for the past three years. Bad news: New manager wants me in the office “more often”. It’s the only point on which we disagree. But it’s a… Continue reading

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  • Is Customer Satisfaction Worth $9.95?

    If you were this company, what would you have done? Read my commentary: http://vlb.typepad.com/commentary/2010/08/is-customer-satisfaction-worth-995.html Continue reading

  • Is Customer Satisfaction Worth $9.95?

    Back in early June, I noticed that the front grill emblem on our Scion xB was missing. I decided I wanted to replace it and our local dealership’s price seemed high so I checked online. I found a decent price but their web ordering system was out of whack and proposed $35 for shipping (um,… Continue reading