another question

Traditional 401k or Roth?

New Job... begin

So I started a new phase of employment in my life today. My trip to back to the OSU career fair during my winter dry spell came to fruition today. And it looks like it is going to work out super nice. Seems like good people, I was impressed with how organized the company is, my health insurance starts instantly, I probably won't have to buy a vehicle, they do some 401-k matching also starting immediately, the work hours can be a little flexible each day, they'll be paying my cell phone bill, and... yeah. It just seems like a good fit.

I walked there this morning. I was going to take the bus, but Powell was all backed up like crazy, so I hoofed the two miles. And it worked out just fine.

My title is Building Science Consultant. I'll be doing some site visits, taking pictures and writing reports to help HOA's in litigation against their builder on account of faulty workmanship or materials when their windows or anything is leaking and causing damage. I'm pretty excited.

And props to go to my Maker, thank you Jesus for working this all out so far so well. I'm somehow surprised when You take care of me, but thank you.

A question

I've had this thought sloshing around in the back of my head for a while now, and it persists as I continue to waste countless hours reading about nothing on the internets. It's a theory really, and I need you to come up with only one good counter-example to blow it apart.

It is this: Whatever you are doing, at that moment it is the most important thing to you.

I want good rebuttals. I decided this was true thinking about how come I don't read my Bible and yet read lots of ESPN and blogs. But I think it's also true in many other areas. Certainly eating, sleeping, and excreting.

For work one must look at the big picture, it is important for me to have money so that I can pay my bills etc, and personally I often find work enjoyable and get to choose what order I do things in to some degree.

Spending time with friends also works as far as I can tell. What else is there that I've missed? I think this concept works to eliminate excuses, although so far it hasn't helped my time management.

a waste of time

The good folks at Oregonlive have come up with a wonderful bracket of the best thing ever. Brackets themselves should have been at least a 13 seed I think, but I guess the selection committee had to leave something out.

I love that bacon is the #1 overall seed. Which reminds me of this.

Anyway, my final four has to be Sports in HD over Penicillin and "...I'm Keith Jackson..." over free beer, with Keith Jackson taking it all. Ya gotta remember the game he went out on. Even though I watched it in my hole in Antioch, it was still a great game. It's at the 2:30 mark.

Ok so maybe it's not the best thing ever, but I miss football.

BO says FU

Alright Obama, I see how it is. I can take a hint. You think you don't need me. By declining the public financing system, I see you don't want my help. And you no longer have it.

I learned the most significant thing about your character today. I learned that when offered the ring of power and all the money behind it, unlike Galadriel, you will take it, rather than seek to destroy it. I don't like it that you think this election can be bought.

With such a large spending advantage, you are the clear front-runner now. I don't see how you can lose. But the Giants did beat the Patriots, so I suppose anything can happen.

I re-registered and voted for you in the primary, because I felt you needed my help to defeat Billary. I do have an unhealthy level of resentment for those two. But that battle is now won. And I've grown tired of trying to defend you.

I've got nobody's back now, and thats the way it should be in politics. I believe in change, every single day. We'll see how I feel come November 4. But it is clear now that who wins is not such a big deal to my life.

Awkward moments

Though there are many, I just decided I'd share maybe my two favorite scriptural awkward moments.

Luke 14:15. "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" Dinner party at the house of a pharisee, Jesus is in the midst of blasting everyone in the room for their attitudes of taking the place of honor at a banquet, and somebody just can't take the awkward tension and blurts this nugget out. Classic.

John 21:5. "Friends, haven't you any fish?" This is definitely my favorite chapter of the whole volume, and this is the most awkward moment for the disciples. The whole story had taken place, and Jesus had even already appeared to them after the resurrection, and yet there they go out in the boats back to fish anyway. And the the Man appears and asks what's up. They did manage to answer no, while they were all soiling themselves for being so stupid. It's perfect.

More Little Shack pics

More Little Shack pics. It is all buttoned up now, perhaps someday the interiors will be done, but I'm outta here after this week. We actually found some big cedar beams that were holding up the old barn that might be able to be resawn into 1x12's perfect for the inside, but that will be another time.

Since it's so small it's pretty difficult to take a picture of the inside, we extended the loft floor area to about 130 sf and decided how to do the ladder. I think it turned out well.

I really like the railing, it's all clear cedar save the pressure treated, and quite solid.

Don't look too close at the scaffolding, although I'm sure that's an approved method in some country somewhere. Or just anywhere where you are working by yourself. I sure wouldn't have anybody else crawl up on it.

I don't think that I'd quite posted a pic of the view from the deck yet.

And one day we had quite the adventure backing up the flatbed trailer in the mud. The wheelbase for the trailer is just enough wider than that of the tractor, and the ruts just deep enough and slippery, that when it gets off course it is pretty much impossible to correct.

And I refuse to spend the time trying to line up the pics with these words. Or essentially learn anything new as long as I'm using this lappy. Isaac has got me convinced that whenever I get a new machine to let him set up Ubuntu with Windows as a little slave on a partition or something. And that's when I'll spend lots of time learning new things, but this old dog doesn't have any new tricks in her, it just takes waaaay too long.