The So-Called "Light Bulb Ban"

What's Buggin' Curtie...light bulbs.

If I hear one more person complain about the "light bulb ban", I'm going to scream.

Yes, its true that on January 1, 2012 a new law takes effect that general purpose light bulbs that today put out light equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent lamp use no more than 72-watts of electricity.  Yes, that means that eventually you won't be able to pick up a 100-watt "Thomas Edison" light bulb at your local Menards.

But there has been SO MUCH distortion from people, mainly on the far right, who equate the new efficiency standards to some denial of our essential rights as Americans.  So here are some facts:

FACT:  The law that includes the new light bulb energy efficiency standards, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, was approved by bi-partisan margins in both the House (314-100) and Senate (86-8) and signed by President George W. Bush.  It is NOT some socialist conspiracy, unless you consider W a socialist.  And it's certainly not "Obama taking away our light bulbs!"

FACT:  Incandescent light bulbs are not banned.  ANY technology that can meet the efficiency standards can continue to be manufactured and sold...including incandescents.  Most people think they are going to be forced into replacing their beloved Edisons with CFL's, but they won't.  First of all, the ban only affects 100 watt light bulbs in 2012, and even then they will continue to be on store shelves until they are out of inventory.  Secondly, you can buy an incandescent light bulb that looks EXACTLY like your old favorite but only uses 72 watts.  It's called a halogen lamp, and it produces the same amount of light as the old standby.

FACT:  You can continue to buy old fashioned Tom Edison light bulbs during 2012 (75-watt and 60-watt) and 2013 (60-watt).  After that, smaller lamps such as 40-watt bulbs will still be on sale, and specialty bulbs will also still be available.

This is not government taking something away from you, this is government enforcing standards designed to help save energy and the environment.  There's a reason why you can't buy a car that gets 10 miles per gallon anymore...because fuel efficiency standards mandated it.  There's a reason why you can't shoot ducks with lead shot anymore...environmental standards mandated it.  It's called progress people.

Are YOU Better Off Today Than Four Years Ago?

Soon the politicians will start asking us if we are personally better off today than we were four years ago.  It's a typical question posed on the electorate during a presidential campaign.  With a Democrat in the White House, the question is most likely to be posed by the GOP nominee (once one emerges from what's likely to be a long and bloody battle).

First of all, I've always considered this question to be at best moot and at worst insulting to the intelligence of the American voter.  If you want to ask whether or not THE COUNTRY is better off today than it was four years ago, that's a topic that we can have a reasoned and logical argument about.  But does it really matter if I personally am better off?  It doesn't, and here's why.

My personal well being has nothing to do with Washington, D.C.  It has everything to do with our own hard work (or lack thereof), our intelligence (or similar lack), and good old fashioned luck.

I can personally say that I am better off today than four years ago without reservation, and it matters not a bit whether Barack Obama or John McCain was my president.  What matters is that, together with my partner Rhonda, we have taken control of our lives like never before.  In 2008 we began a concerted effort to rid debt from our lives.  We have a long way to go, but we've already disposed of a good portion of it.  Our goal is to be completely debt-free (except our mortgage) by August 2014.  And I think we'll get there.

We are working toward our financial security using two methods that our leaders in Washington ought to be looking at...by increasing our income and reducing our spending.  We've made some sacrifices, but we can most closely credit our reduced spending by simply paying closer attention to it.  Money used to just fly out of our bank account without leaving any value to our lives.  Now that we know where our money is going, we control it better.  We also increased our income by working harder, making ourselves better employees and business owners, and eventually finding new careers.

Depending on which wingtip you occupy politically (far right or far left), you either espouse all spending cuts and no tax increases, or no spending cuts and all tax increases, to improve our country's fiscal situation.  GUESS WHAT...it's gonna take BOTH!

My Bold (and almost surely wrong) Predictions for 2012

It's that dead week between Christmas and New Years where many of the websites I follow tend to post their predictions for the New Year.  Before reading any of THEIR predictions, I decided to try my luck at creating a list of my own.  No, I do not possess psychic capabilities.  I'm really not even that smart.  But I do have a blog and that makes me qualified.

So here, in no particular order of importance, are my predictions for 2012:

Sudden Apocalypse
The world will NOT end in December as the Mayan calendar predicted.

Slow Apocolypse
2012 will be the year that global climate change really rears its ugly head.  The extent of Arctic sea ice in the summer of 2012 will reach its lowest level ever.  Heat waves in Europe and North America will kill thousands, and a continuing drought in parts of the south will cause crop failures and localized economic pain.  Despite all of this, the climate change deniers will keep on denying.

Politics
Since the Iowa Caucuses are going to be held in 2012, I am predicting the following order of finish among the GOP candidates.  1) Ron Paul  2) Mitt Romney  2) Newt Gingrich  4) Rick Santorum.  Perry and Bachmann will drop out because they have no money and no prayer.  Santorum will move to South Carolina and hope for the best, but drop out after that.  Huntsman will drop out after New Hampshire.  Paul and Romney will stay in the race throughout the spring, with Gingrich dropping out at some point.

Mitt Romney will win the Republican nomination, but his support in the fall will be hurt significantly by an independent run by crazy man Donald Trump.  The Donald will only win around 6% of the popular vote, but he will take away just enough conservative votes in key states that it will be the margin that President Obama needs to win re-election.

The election will be primarily about the economy, in particular the deficit and spending reform.  The battle lines will be familiar...Romney will argue for lower taxes and spending, Obama will call for higher taxes on the wealthy and strategic investments in certain areas but lower overall spending.  Neither of the major party candidates will dare to tackle the third rail of American politics...entitlement reform.  However, Mr. Trump will and that will account for a strong showing early in the campaign.  Trump will say what no one else wants to...that saving Social Security will require higher contributions and lower benefits, especially for higher income retirees.  While his willingness to talk candidly about the issue will bring Trump's support early in the campaign into the 20% range, it will drop off after Labor Day as voters figure out he's an insane megalomaniac.

The biggest headline from the 2012 presidential election will not be the winner, but the overwhelming role of big money.  The so-called "Super PAC's" that were enabled by the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizen's United case.  SO much money will be spent by these unaccountable Super PAC's that the American public may finally get sick enough to do something about it.  Progress will be made on efforts to pass a Constitutional amendment to overhaul campaign financing.

Anti-incumbent sentiment will mean a larger than normal number of challengers will win House and Senate seats, but the overall balance of power will not change significantly.  After the election, gridlock will still prevail.

Bob Jennings will be elected to the Iowa Senate in District 2.

Technology
Apple will release the iPhone 5 with 4G support in November.  An iPad 3 will also be released during the year with enhanced display and some other goodies, but Apple will NOT release a smaller iPad to compete with Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet.  Instead, the will announce lower pricing for the iPad 2 that will make it more attractive to tablet shoppers on a budget.  iPad 3 will remain at $499; iPad 2 will be priced at $299.

SOPA will NOT pass because it's an idea that's SO bad, even the current Congress will not support it.  Tech companies will use Super PAC's to throw money into races to try to defeat members of Congress who supported SOPA.

Economy
The economy will grow slowly in 2012, with unemployment falling below 8% by the end of the year.  Inflation will continue to be low and housing sales will start to increase again.

The deficit will continue to grow, and gridlock in Congress during an election year will mean that very little is accomplished.  President Obama will introduce several policy initiatives during the spring that are designed to bolster his support among the liberal wing of the Democratic party while appealing to the middle, but they won't gain any traction in the House where stopping Obama is the only focus.

OK, I may or may not have the energy for more predictions later.  But for now, that's what my crystal ball reveals.

Release...or Performance Piece?

There are a couple of different theories as to WHY a person should maintain a blog.

Theory 1:  It's a place where you record your thoughts as a way of "releasing" the intellectual pressure that builds up inside your mind like the CO2 that builds up in a bottle of soda.

Theory 2:  You blog not for internal reasons, but because you want someone to read it.

What motivates me?  I'm not sure.

Road Bloggin'

Just downloaded the Blogger app for my iPhone, and along with my Zagg bluetooth keyboard, I'm blogging while speeding east on I-80 toward a weekend in my birthplace of Davenport. Don't worry...Rhonda's driving.

These circumstances only serve to amplify the shocking nature of the technology that we can employ in our world today to communicate and recreate.

Most of my time in eastern Iowa was spent during the 1970's an 1980's. That doesn't seem like all that long ago, but in terms of technology, it's ancient history.

Sometimes I play a little mind game that I like to call "Time Machine". Wherever I am, I close my eyes for a few moments and pretend that I'm 21 years old. When I open my eyes, it's not 1985 any longer...it's today. And then I observe my surroundings with a fresh set of eyes.

If I were to do this exercise right now (and ignoring the fact that I have a tiny keyboard with an iPhone parked on my lap), here's what I might observe.

First of all, I would observe that I'm in a vehicle of some sort heading east on I-80. That wouldn't feel so weird...I could have travelled this same road 26 years ago and not much would have changed. I would note that the vehicle I'm in is a bit different than my experience, but I would recognize it as a minivan. As I look to my left, I would see the strawberry blonde woman driving and immediately recognize her as my soon-to-be-wife. She's obviously older, and as I position the visor mirror, I would see that I am obviously aged as well.

As I looked around the cabin of the van, I would start to observe some things I don't recognize. There's a small rectangular box sitting on the console between me and Rhonda. Again, or purposes of this edition of "Time Machine", I'm ignoring the stuff on my lap as I write this. Rhonda picks up the "thing" and moves her finger across its glassy surface. Suddenly, the unrecognizable music playing on the radio changes to something I can relate to..."She Bop" by Cindy Lauper. I note that there's a cord running from the thing to the cassette deck in the stereo of the van.

After she sets the thing back down on the console, I look at it to see that the glassy surface appears to have a number of small colored boxes on it. Icons, I think. I pick up the box and it appears as if its some sort of video screen. When I touch the surface of the screen, a picture of Cindy Lauper appears mysteriously. There is nothing in my experience (in 1985) that provides me any context about this device and its purpose, other than the fact that it seems to be playing music through the van's stereo.

I'll end my TIme Machine exercise there. If I were conducting this fantasy in other circumstances, such as in my office at work, my observations would be even more remarkable.

As I wrap up the blog, now back in 2011, I'm heading toward a weekend getaway with my bride of 26 years in the town I was born a bit over 47 years ago. In the words of Steve Miller, "Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin into the future." The future is today.

Loud Commercials: A Menace To Our Nation

One year ago, Congress finally set aside it's partisan bickering to deal with an issue that affects the quality of life of every citizen of our nation.  They passed a law that took a bold step to deal with a menace.  And today, the Federal Communications Commission released the rules by which it will enforce this law and end the scourge.

That scourge is...loud TV commercials.

I know what you're thinking.  "Curtie, loud commercials are REALLY annoying!  I mean, I can't even enjoy my favorite TV show without having my sensitive eardrums overwhelmed by high-decibel Sham-Wow commercials!"  You're damn right they are annoying, and thank our lucky stars that our elected officials and the regulatory officials they appoint have taken action!

Because let's face it, we're Americans dammit.  We shouldn't have to put up with this crap!  We have been endowed by our creators with certain inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of "Glee".  And to achieve these inalienable rights we should NOT have to move our thumb to turn the volume up or down, or to hit the mute button.  After all, what did our soldiers fight and die for on the beaches of Normandy, or the sands of Iraq?  Freedom...freedom from annoyance.

Some skeptics may bemoan the fact that our lawmakers can tackle loud commercials and not issues such as growing income inequity and skyrocketing debt.  But really, does that surprise anyone?  After all, those issues and many others are ones where our elected officials don't agree on solutions.  But EVERYONE agrees that TV commercials are too loud!  Plus, elected officials respond to input from citizens.  When half of citizens say raise taxes and the other half say lower spending, what are they supposed to do?  But when 100% of the citizens say commercials are too loud, that's an easy call.

Since we've established that Congress cannot tackle difficult issues but can handle the "slam dunks", here are some other pieces of legislation I'd like to see my government consider.  Each one of these laws would rid us of some pesky annoyances in our lives that (unlike excessive debt and crumbling infrastructure), our nation should NOT tolerate.

• The Mattress and Pillow Freedom Act:  This law would outlaw the placement of those annoying tags on mattresses and pillows.  We Americans are tired of dealing with the stress of whether or not we'll be arrested if we remove them, so let's pass a law that doesn't allow them in the first place!
• The Unnecessary Packaging Act:  This would make it illegal for manufacturers to put a product in a package that requires scissors to open.  Just think of how many broken nails can be saved?
• The FFFF Act (Freedom From Flip-Flops):  This law would outlaw this annoying form of footwear from any workplace, thereby saving our ears from the sound of people walking by our cubicle with them on.  

I'm sure everyone has some things that annoy them from time to time.  So, make your own list and contact your congressperson or senator.  Chances are they are bored of disagreeing about how to tackle the big problems and would welcome the opportunity to bring something back to their constituents.

Better yet, run for Congress yourself!  Since the title of my blog is "What's Buggin' Curtie", that could be my entire platform when I run for Congress.  "If elected, I will only work on legislation that will make you like me.  Because what's buggin' Curtie is what's buggin' you, and I'm gonna do something about it!" 

The Joys...and hazards...of slowing down

Although this is one of several weekends I've enjoyed without commitments this fall, I'm still getting used to not having to be somewhere.

For so many months, it was go-go-go with barely a day to just stop and BE.  Then, when the dance stretch ended in mid-October, the slowdown began.  The first couple of free weekends were difficult.  There was a strong feeling of emptiness, like I was cheating myself and others by not doing something or going somewhere.  It's better now, but it still feels strange.  Decompression is not easy I guess.

One way I've tried to ease into slowdown mode is to keep busy in my free time with my efforts to network here in central Iowa, especially regarding the DJ business.  Just when I felt like I was pounding my head against the wall, I finally booked that first local gig.  Here's hoping its not an isolated incident!  I keep pushing, sending emails, making phone calls, updating the various internet marketing venues to try to build a buzz.  I'm sure it will be a slower than usual summer of 2012.

The real fear I have about slowing down-and especially about the prospect of a light schedule next wedding season-is that I'll get used to it.  That's right...what if I start to LIKE having free time?  A few years ago I felt like it was time to hang up the headphones and stop doing the mobile DJ biz.  Thank God I didn't, because it has allowed me to accomplish many of my financial goals over the past few years.  And I've been in a pretty good groove...just the right number of events (busy with an occasional summer weekend off).  It's kept me motivated with a goal of continuing to keep doing 20-40 events a year over the next five years (with similar numbers by Chris and Eric), followed by easing back on the throttle as we become debt free.  

But if next year only has me working 10-15 events, a pace that will be about half of what I'm used to, I fear that old, bad habits will reappear.  By bad habits I mean things like wanting to start golfing again (and thereby spending heaps of money and putting myself through heaps of self-loathing), or that I'll start to let my financial goals slip.  

So I'm planning to stay vigilant and keep pushing the business through the winter months.  I'm looking at it not as a chore, but a challenge, to re-establish myself in a new area where they don't know me , and where I face a very competitive marketplace.

My Brief, Torrid Affair With CenturyLink

I feel dirty.

Just moments ago, I gave my wife the go-ahead to call Mediacom and order broadband internet service.  Just moments before that, she finished her final of countless support sessions with our current internet provider, CenturyLink.  After over a week of very sporadic connectivity, we severed our ties and are moving on.

What began as a love affair with CenturyLink DSL ended, as many relationships do, with finger-pointing and disappointment.  When the decision was made to move to Ankeny for our new careers, I really felt we had only one choice for getting internet.  My experience at Spencer Municipal Utilities competing against Mediacom had left me determined to never do business with them.  I don't think they are a bad company, or necessarily have bad service.  It's just that they made my life fairly difficult for a number of years as Mediacom fought to keep SMU out of the cable, internet, and phone business.  I was called names, I was forced to testify in a court proceeding, and I was subjected to a smear advertising campaign against the municipal telecom utility that I had helped to establish 14 years ago.  So it never seemed an option to call Mediacom for internet.  Instead I turned to CenturyLink, formerly Qwest, and for the first time in my life subscribed to DSL service.

Our romance began strongly.  For the first four months of our residence in Ankeny we rented a townhouse where we were able to receive 15 Mbps VDSL from CenturyLink.  The speeds we experienced were, with few exceptions, stellar.  We had decided to forgo a paid video subscription, and that decision was made fairly painless by the ability to stream high-definition video via Netflix on our Apple TV box.  That, along with rabbit-ears to pick up the broadcast stations, kept us satisfied with our entertainment avenues.  

As we searched for a home to purchase, the "need for speed" was at the forefront of our minds.  Unfortunately, almost nowhere else in Ankeny had speeds even approaching 15 Mbps.  As we identified each new potential Dean home, I anxiously awaited a verdict from CenturyLink on the DSL speeds available at that location.  And each time I found myself disappointed by the answer.  The home we settled on-the home we now own-was one of only a few where even 3 Mbps was said to be available.  However, during my initial conversation with a customer service person, I was told that there were no DSL circuits available in that area.  I informed her that the people who lived in the house already had DSL, and that they wouldn't need a NEW circuit...they would only need to keep it active so that I could begin using it.  They accepted that logic, but later I discovered that maybe they shouldn't have.

The problems began immediately upon our move.  We were told we should be able to just "plug and play" our modem from the townhouse.  It didn't work.  I spent a few hours on technical support to find out that the VDSL modem I had used before was "too advanced" for the ADSL speeds available at the new house.  So they shipped me a new modem and I shipped the old one back.  It still didn't work, at least not reliably.  We put up with marginal service for a couple of weeks, but the interruptions kept getting longer and more frequent.  Finally, a little over one week ago, my wife's German-descendant blood began to boil and she decided to get things resolved once and for all.  A technician appointment was scheduled.  My wife waited at home for several hours for the technician that didn't show.  She called in and was told that the technician HAD been there, but didn't need to come inside because he had discovered that the problem was in the CO (central office), not at our premise, and that we weren't the only people affected.  Still no internet.

As all of this was going on, we were watching the blinking DSL light on the modem for hours at a time.  When the light went solid for more than a few seconds, we raced to our computers to try to complete some task before it went out again.  Inevitably we would be half-way through that task when we would lose the connection again.  

Things all came to a head last night when I was unable to complete an online course for my job as an instructor for Homeland Security.  We decided it was time to break up.  My wife called CenturyLink and after crabbing her way up the chain, CenturyLink admitted that the reason why we weren't getting a reliable connection...their DSL circuits WERE overloaded in our area.  As a result, the agreed to release us from our contract.

So this backstory leads to a very inconvenient truth, and thus the reason I feel dirty.  I will be going back on my pledge and being a customer of Mediacom for the first time.  Alright, technically my WIFE will be the customer...the account will be in her name to help me save at least some face.  I'm relieved in a way because I'm fairly certain that Mediacom's internet will be faster and more reliable than CenturyLink's was (not that it will be difficult).  But still, it's the first real setback in our entire transition to central Iowa.

At least I can take a long, hot shower.

Technology...You're Soaking In It!

Hat's off to anyone who "gets" the reference to a 1970's Palmolive commercial...

This move to central Iowa has been an eye-opening experience.  One of the things it's really brought home is the fact that technology has become so pervasive in our lives that it dictates how and why we do things.

Take for example our house search.  Technology is not only aiding our search, but it is guiding it.  Allow me to explain.

In 1998 when we decided to look for homes in Spencer, we had very limited access to information to aid us in our search.  We had our realtor, and we had a few newspaper ads.  The saving grace was the fact that we were in Spencer, Iowa and not Ankeny, Iowa at the time, so we had a much smaller haystack within which to find the needle.

Fast-forward to 2011 here in central Iowa.  We still have the assistance of a realtor (who, like our Spencer realtor John Goede, is doing an excellent job...thanks Erika Hansen!).  But now we have technology to aid us in our "scouting".  So now we spend a few minutes (or, lets be honest, a few hours) on Realtor.com or Zillow.com scouting for possibilities.  When we come across a house that we have some level of interest in, we "Save" it to our online account.  When we decide on a home we want to go physically walk through, we email Erika the online listing and she sets it up (using email, of course, to communicate with the listing realtor).

When we arrive at the showing, we are armed with our iPhones.  The iPhone acts as a multi-purpose device in the house hunt.  First of all, it's our navigation device to find the house we are going to look at.  Type in the address and follow the instructions.  Secondly, it's a note pad.  As we prepare for the showing, we use an app to type in notes of things we want to check during the walk-through, and during the walkthru its what we can use to take notes about what we find.  

Our iPhones are our digital cameras that we use to take photos of things that catch our eye. It's also our video camera that we use to do a video walk-through of the house.  And finally, the iPhone serves as our mobile internet hub so we can continue our house search from the road.  For example, one night we took a walk through a nearby neighborhood.  As we passed a house that had a "FOR SALE" sign in the yard, I would use one of the iPhone apps to look it up and see if it was in our price range.  The Zillow.com app even has an interactive map that allows you to see a symbol for every listed house in an area, then zoom in on it.  It uses the GPS to know where you are in relation to the listing, so as you drive around town, you can see all of the houses for sale in your vicinity.

So obviously technology, particularly the internet, has been a huge help in our job search.  But the surprising part for both of us is how important access to a quality internet connection is in actually SELECTING a place to live.