Saw some nice jazz last night - the Scott Amendola Band.
A fine San Francisco Band with one of my favorite guitarists, Nels Cline. It seems that Nels plays in the Scott Amendola Band, and then Scott plays in the Nels Cline Singers and the sound is somewhat similar - they probably just take it in turns to whose name is on the bill.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The end of a never ending job....
Probably everyone who has been around me this past year has heard about my disastrous construction project at the house – a replacement of the driveway and back yard patio. Well after 15 months it might be over.
It all started innocently enough back in the summer of 2006. I had some plans drawn up for re-landscaping the back yard which entailed remodeling the patio. As my 50+ year old driveway was cracked in places, I decided to replace it at the same time. The company I engaged had done some good work for a friend and they seemed professional, so I thought I was alright. However from the very start it all went wrong – they did work sporadically and dragged things out over 2 months or more and when the work was complete the quality was pretty shabby.
I of course made the blunder of all blunders by paying most of the $15,000 price tag before I inspected the work closely (you aren’t supposed to walk on concrete for a while, so I wasn’t aware of all the defects until later – but still how stupid of me to pay before making sure I was satisfied). Anyway, all parties recognized that it was a bad job, the company that laid the concrete blamed the materials, the concrete materials company blamed the guys that laid it, and I was left holding the bag.
To make a long story short, I got nowhere by myself so I complained to the California State License Contractor’s Board. They looked at things and arbitrated a settlement which at the time looked great for me - they would tear out the entire project and redo it. Well that work finally started in August but things again went wrong. Since there was no money in the job for anyone (they had already been paid) there was no incentive to complete things so over the last 3 months I have had sporadic work done and I have been given every excuse in the book. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong – they severed the phone cable to the house, they broke my neighbor’s sprinklers, they left me without a driveway for months! For the last month I have had the job 3/4 done, but pouring the last section was being put off again and again.
My patience, which had been unbounded, finally broke this week and I threatened legal action if the job wasn't done this week. This appears to have gotten through to them and yesterday evening the final pour was made.
Note that I said evening, I came home from work to find everyone working on the final drive section. However, this was 6:00 in the evening - it was going to be dark in an hour. Sure enough as darkness fell they were still working, with a truck pointing its headlights down the drive. Someone went to get lights which then turned out to be defective and so they went on a search for bulbs. Finally at 10:30 they applied the finishing touches and it is finished!
So it has been since August 2006 to the end of October 2007 that I have been without a backyard. I can't say I have missed it really - life is a lot simpler without a yard - very low maintenance.
As for the concrete company, he informed me that he is now out of the business - I was his last customer. He is a victim of the downturn of construction in the area. That's why downturns are good - it weeds out the people who shouldn't be there in the first place.
It all started innocently enough back in the summer of 2006. I had some plans drawn up for re-landscaping the back yard which entailed remodeling the patio. As my 50+ year old driveway was cracked in places, I decided to replace it at the same time. The company I engaged had done some good work for a friend and they seemed professional, so I thought I was alright. However from the very start it all went wrong – they did work sporadically and dragged things out over 2 months or more and when the work was complete the quality was pretty shabby.
I of course made the blunder of all blunders by paying most of the $15,000 price tag before I inspected the work closely (you aren’t supposed to walk on concrete for a while, so I wasn’t aware of all the defects until later – but still how stupid of me to pay before making sure I was satisfied). Anyway, all parties recognized that it was a bad job, the company that laid the concrete blamed the materials, the concrete materials company blamed the guys that laid it, and I was left holding the bag.
To make a long story short, I got nowhere by myself so I complained to the California State License Contractor’s Board. They looked at things and arbitrated a settlement which at the time looked great for me - they would tear out the entire project and redo it. Well that work finally started in August but things again went wrong. Since there was no money in the job for anyone (they had already been paid) there was no incentive to complete things so over the last 3 months I have had sporadic work done and I have been given every excuse in the book. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong – they severed the phone cable to the house, they broke my neighbor’s sprinklers, they left me without a driveway for months! For the last month I have had the job 3/4 done, but pouring the last section was being put off again and again.
My patience, which had been unbounded, finally broke this week and I threatened legal action if the job wasn't done this week. This appears to have gotten through to them and yesterday evening the final pour was made.
Note that I said evening, I came home from work to find everyone working on the final drive section. However, this was 6:00 in the evening - it was going to be dark in an hour. Sure enough as darkness fell they were still working, with a truck pointing its headlights down the drive. Someone went to get lights which then turned out to be defective and so they went on a search for bulbs. Finally at 10:30 they applied the finishing touches and it is finished!
So it has been since August 2006 to the end of October 2007 that I have been without a backyard. I can't say I have missed it really - life is a lot simpler without a yard - very low maintenance.
As for the concrete company, he informed me that he is now out of the business - I was his last customer. He is a victim of the downturn of construction in the area. That's why downturns are good - it weeds out the people who shouldn't be there in the first place.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
A Doc Watson Concert
Last night I went to the Mondavi Center, the fine new concert hall in Davis to see Doc Watson – a guitarist who is now in his 80’s and still performing. He is one of those legendary figures in the acoustic guitar world, having developed his own distinctive finger-picking and flat-picking styles in the middle of last century. He is now an old man and is stooping and a little frail, but he was in good voice and his playing was still good. Though, I think even he would admit, not as good as in his prime.
A strange thing happened as I was picking up my tickets. I bought them on the internet, and arranged to pick them up at the hall (in the US they call this “the Will Call” – a strange name that I never quite got, but it is just one of those quirky American English things - there are more here). There was a long line, and when I get to the window, I gave my name and the lady pulled what should have been my ticket. However when asked to confirm my address things didn’t match. Meanwhile, I hear someone a couple of windows down having the exact same problem. He was also Steve White, he was being asked to confirm what was in fact my address. So we switched windows, and all was well.
I suppose Steve White is a fairly common name, but two of us picking up tickets for the same concert at the exact same time – now there’s a coincidence.
A strange thing happened as I was picking up my tickets. I bought them on the internet, and arranged to pick them up at the hall (in the US they call this “the Will Call” – a strange name that I never quite got, but it is just one of those quirky American English things - there are more here). There was a long line, and when I get to the window, I gave my name and the lady pulled what should have been my ticket. However when asked to confirm my address things didn’t match. Meanwhile, I hear someone a couple of windows down having the exact same problem. He was also Steve White, he was being asked to confirm what was in fact my address. So we switched windows, and all was well.
I suppose Steve White is a fairly common name, but two of us picking up tickets for the same concert at the exact same time – now there’s a coincidence.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Entry into the USA
On my way back from the UK the other day, I happened to peruse the questions that were asked on the visa waiver form for UK residents entering the USA. There's a strange mix of questions that I am sure raise some eyebrows amongst the applicants. Still we as Americans can rest soundly in our beds knowing that we are weeding out the ‘bad guys’ as they try to gain entry to the country. Question C is particularly good, it asks the applicant:
I wonder how many people have responded in the positive to this question. The other questions were similar – things of a nefarious nature that you would never own up to if you wanted to come to the USA.
At least now there wasn’t any question about membership in the Communist Party. I seem to recall in my earlier visa applications for the US there was a question about this, and presumably if you answered yes, then you were in for a lot of trouble.
"Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; or in terrorist activities; or genocide; or between 1933 and 1945 were involved, in any way, in persecutions associated with Nazi Germany or its allies?"That's how we catch them - those unsuspecting would-be terrorists check the wrong box and the authorities swoop in!
I wonder how many people have responded in the positive to this question. The other questions were similar – things of a nefarious nature that you would never own up to if you wanted to come to the USA.
At least now there wasn’t any question about membership in the Communist Party. I seem to recall in my earlier visa applications for the US there was a question about this, and presumably if you answered yes, then you were in for a lot of trouble.
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