Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Camera repair - is it a vanishing industry?

I have been getting daily use out of a Sony DSC F828 Cybershot for many years now and it is beginning to fail. I feel a real loss because this 8 megapixel dinosaur has performed faithfully for tens of thousands of shots and has a rotating back assembly which gives it great flexibility in composing shots on the fly.

Picture credit: www.dpreview.com

The prospects for getting this camera repaired are dismal. If anyone has a suggestion, I am open to considering it.

I have Googled Sony Camera Repair repeatedly and it appears that Precision Camera Repair in Enfield Ct is the official repair center for most camera manufacturers including Sony. This is really depressing news because Precision Camera   has more service complaints than the Brooklyn Camera Shops I have written about previously.

They have a great looking web site, impressive service guarantees, and a whole lot of blather about how customers can get fixed-price quotes and can track the progress of the repairs being made on their cameras.

Then, if you Google "Precision Camera repair complaints" you get about 10,100 results which is not encouraging.

I spent about an hour reading complaints and praise for Precision's repair service and it seems that complaints slightly outnumber positive reactions.

To qualify this further, the complainants generally provide names and email addresses while those who praise Precision are mostly anonymous while seeming to have incredibly wonderful service. That doesn't add up.

There were a few people who actually had good experiences with Precision and gave real names, but the majority seemed to be "corporate spin artists" who counter complaints with fantastically favorable reports. These "favorable" reports are similar to the bogus reports used by Royal Camera and the other Brooklyn camera shops that prey on online shoppers.

I have been writing for more a year about the amazing scams perpetrated by the Brooklyn camera shop known as Royal Camera, City Camera, Tcscamera.com, and bananaboatcamera.com, and Prestige Camera (aka: A&M Photo World, Regal Camera, Broadway Photo, Preferred Photo)

If you see any of those names in an online ad, look elsewhere for your purchase.

It is really discouraging to see the camera repair business descend to that same level.

Container gardening again

A few weeks ago,we caught the tail end of a special on Square Foot Gardening and it inspired me to start container gardening again, but in a new and more productive way.

I have been gardening in containers for many years, and even designed and built cedar planters to allow stand-up gardening. These planters allowed us to grow vegetables on our deck where the deer herds at Lake Monticello could not get at them.

When we moved to Floyd, VA, in 2005 I tried conventional gardening but the local deer and other varmints ate most of what we planted.

I considered container gardening again but could not get enthused because of the expense and the effort involved.

Mel Bartholomew and his Square Foot Gardening showed me how to create better container gardens for less money.

 After reading his website and viewing his videos, I realized that I had never really understood how to create potting soil. My previous container gardens were basically amended topsoil which worked after a fashion, but was very dense and hard to work with in a container.

Using some of the Square Foot Gardening ideas and incorporating my own, I created an expandable container garden out of old file storage baskets, some plastic trash bags and some landscaping cloth.

The potting soil is one third vermiculite, one third topsoil, and one third compost for which I am substituting spagnum moss, humus, and composted manure until I am making compost in enough volume. This combination is easy to work with, the plants love it and it drains well but stays moist.

Currently, I have onions, beans, peas, potatoes, parsley, tomatoes and squash coming up. Parsnips should be showing up any week now and I will be adding more containers as time and money permits. I have also used heritage vegetables wherever possible.

With the container garden sitting on our back deck, our first action of the day is to pour a cup of coffee and saunter out to see how the vegetable are progressing. It is truly satisfying as every day brings new surprises.

Teaching Children to Hate

Of all the things that a culture can do, the most self-destructive is to teach children to hate. I was reminded of this when I reread an essay I wrote several years ago.

Teaching children to hate is almost the ultimate evil. It spreads the sickness of racial and cultural bigotry by replacing a child's natural curiosity with fear. 

There is a song by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young which contains these prophetic words:

Teach your children well...
And feed them on your dreams,
The one they picks, the one you'll know by.

In 2000, nine years ago, Palestinian kids were being taught to hate and kill Jews through 'Sesame Street'-type TV shows. I understand that this practice is still going on.

When I first read about this, I felt the Palestinians were setting themselves up for disaster. It is like raising a nation of "Jack the Rippers" and thinking they will be loyal and obedient citizens who will create a bright future.  The events of the last nine years have not showed this to be a successful activity.

Hitler did it in a nation stunned and apathetic after WWI. He also created the SS, one of the most despised organizations in the world at the time. Like Ozymandias, only rubble remains of Hitler's dreams.

Teaching hate is not unique to any nation. There are too many examples in the good old USA for us to point fingers at any other country. What we can do as a vast community of bloggers is to cast light into the dark corners where this despicable practice is being performed.

In today's world of weblogs, such evil deeds are impossible to hide for very long. Exposing them to public view is a first step toward bringing sanity to troubled areas that are self-destructing.

If you are in doubt about the destructiveness of teaching children to hate, take a good look at the cultures where this is being done and see whether the culture is succeeding or declining.

On the home front, you might give your kids a hug and teach them how to recognize good people.

It's a start anyway.

Teach your children well...
And feed them on your dreams,
The one they picks, the one you'll know by.

Signs and portents

What do you do when the signs and portents are confusing and contradictory? Do you search for answers or do you strike off in the most likely direction?

A quick sampling of recent observations made in Southwest Virginia:

• Government grants (your taxpayer dollars coming back to you) are funding jobs and projects that help our local economy
• The government and the United Auto Workers union are taking over General Motors to protect our "national interests"
• Nationalization of banks is well underway
• The servicing of our national debt requires a strong private economy, yet all signs point to increasing Federal control of the economy.
• More layoffs are anticipated, but numbers of new business startups is on the rise in many areas
• Some local businesses are going like gangbusters, while other local businesses are laying off employees

One can read the signs any way you choose, but reliance on external forces to solve your problems leaves you at a continuing disadvantage. You become effect instead of being at cause.

Sitting and worrying about things you cannot directly control achieves nothing and leaves you in a state of apathy toward life in general. Try taking life into your own hands and see how much better you feel at the end of each day.

There is a well-proven fact that a person or group's morale improves as worthwhile production is achieved.

Finding something that you can do which people need and want is a first step toward creating income. Joining a group that needs your skills or starting your own business is the next step toward creating an income flow.

Sooner than you expect, you will have to learn how to actually manage the business because people tend to support and buy from businesses that have a positive outlook and are providing excellent service.

Your concerns shift from "how to generate income" to the more challenging problems of "how do I get all the work done and am I covering my expenses?"

You may still be concerned with how things are being run at a national or state level, but your waking hours will be fully occupied with problems related to satisfying customers or corporate employers. Your morale may be improved and you will have the confidence that you are doing what is right for you.

I know this sounds counterintuitive, but producing worthwhile results will raise your spirits more effectively than anything else you might try. Leave the signs and portents for the media pundits and concentrate your energies on things you can do right now to improve your life and community.

If everything matters, does anything get accomplished?

In a life where every issue is ratcheted up to the sticking point, how does anything get accomplished?  Perhaps it is a matter of choosing your priorities and sticking to them.

If you are truly concerned about these issues, can you decide which ones are really important to you?

The demise of newspapers
Climate change
The Socialization of America
Mountaintop removal
Decline of literacy
Lack of recycling
Real or imagined pandemics
Preserving the Constitution
Supreme Court Justice appointments
Making a living
Staying healthy
Your children's futures
loss of basic freedoms
loss of jobs to other countries
illegal immigration
Being/staying creative
Doing things you enjoy

You are bombarded with urgent requests to contribute money and time to making a difference in other people's lives. If you are a parent with young children, every day has an endless list of things that have to be done just to keep life on an even keel.

So, how do you chart a course through all of this?

First of all, there is no single answer. Your first choice is to decide whether you will take control or whether you will let life control you.

You are not going to please everyone and you might as well decide that you are going to do what is best for you and your family first, then your friends and the community and then the world beyond.

Attempting to save the world but losing yourself and your family in the process is not a winning strategy.

On the other hand, focusing only on yourself and your family leaves you at the mercy of those who are far more organized and have created political power structures that can affect your life and that of your family.

We also know what we think of politicians who put their family interests ahead of their job responsibilities. Feeding government contracts to family members is a well established tradition in Washington, DC, and elsewhere.

So a balance is required between family and personal needs and the needs of the greater community in which you live and depend on for security, income, etc.

Perhaps the best solution is to include your immediate family in prioritizing your activities while making sure to include both short and long term goals into your planning. Remember too that playtime is as necessary for adults as it is for kids.

Everyone has to find the mix that works for them. If you have any suggestions that have worked well for you, please share them.

Poor Billy's Sushi - hospitality and good food in Blacksburg

I love good food, especially when it is served up in comfortable and hospitable surroundings.

Every so often I make the run to Mish Mish in Blacksburg, VA, for art supplies. Today I took the time to have lunch at Poor Billy's Sushi which is tucked away on the side street next to Mish Mish.

I was not in the mood for a burger so I was attracted by the sign offering a luncheon special of a sushi roll and a bowl of miso for $5.

When I walked in the door, I immediately felt at home. This is a restaurant that knows that pleasurable eating involves more than good food. It is not a fast food restaurant, but the service was quick and my California roll and miso soup were excellent.

I was greeted by Billy himself and I learned that the adjacent restaurants, Big Al's Grille and Sports Bar, Poor Billy's Seafood Restaurant, are all run by the same family.

I preferred the ambiance of the smaller Poor Billy's Sushi for my solitary lunch. It was a good choice. The place has three TV screens and all were muted with text displays. I could have watched sports, politics, or the Food Channel. I chose the Food Channel which was a fine accompaniment while dining alone.

Billy told me they were launching a Tapas menu for the dinner hour in addition to the regular menu.

One look at the Tapas offerings and I knew I would find an excuse to take Gretchen to Poor Billy's some night for Tapas. We will order a bunch of them and share.

Take a look at this excerpt from the Tapas menu or click on the thumbnail to see the whole page.

Poor Billy's Sushi, a good place for a quiet lunch.

Has anyone had a chance to try the Tapas yet?

Image credits: Big Al's Sports Bar

Handling unfortunate situations

There is no bad situation that cannot be made worse by whining about it and blaming others.

On the other hand, there is no situation that cannot be improved by learning more about what is causing it and actually doing something to make things go better for yourself and for your family and your community.

Possibly the best approach is to apply your creative energies to improving your life and helping those around you while keeping an eye open for situations that are getting out of hand. Concentrate on creating good effects for self and for others, but be ready to tackle unfortunate situations as they arise.

The amount of responsibility you take determines your span of control and your chances of survival. Looking out only for yourself puts you at effect from all of the rest of the world that is trying to survive too. In effect, you can put yourself in a game where everyone else, including your own family, is "against" you.

Any solution that pits "you" or "us" against "them" creates a game of force against force and reason goes out the window.

A pan-determined approach to solving life's problems takes into account what is causing others to oppose you or in the worst case to destroy you. In most cases, understanding another's viewpoint leads to better communication and eventually understanding and resolution.

Open communication solves many of the everyday upsets that you will encounter, but hugs all around is not a solution to insane or antisocial behavior on the parts of others. One can only negotiate a solution with others who also seek rational solutions.

Most of us at one time or other have encountered persons or animals who were exhibiting insane and antisocial behavior. Unless you realize that the person or animal is stuck in a dramatization of some past incident, it is impossible to see that the only hope of handling this situation is to communicate with whatever scraps of rationality still exist in the person or animal.

If there is no rationality left, the solutions are to leave, to eliminate the threat, or to succumb. Ignoring the threat and pretending that it doesn't exist invites further insanity.

A little review of family and world history will provide many examples of how few unfortunate situations have actually been resolved. Solutions always involve open communication. When that is prevented, unfortunate situations can fester for years.

Finding the true facts behind a conflict lead to a resolution. If nothing is resolving, the truth has not been found.

We are encountering many unfortunate situations on a national level. Learning the true facts is a first step in resolving them.

Meanwhile, we need to focus on keeping our businesses and families thriving. Contributing to our local community in every way possible is a good way to start.

An unexpected fork in the road

A fork in the road is a metaphor for a deciding moment or a turning point in life or history when a major choice of options is required.

My recent heart attack makes it advisable for me to make some changes in the volume and the direction of the projects that I pursue from this point on.

I can no longer follow Yogi Berra's advice, "When you come to a fork in the road. Take it." That requires an expansion of effort and a broadening of attention. My future plans are to focus on the things I can get done.

I plan to continue the framing business as long as possible because it is one of my favorite creative outlets and gives me an opportunity to do collaborative design work with talented artists and art lovers.

Because of the state of the economy, the business model will incorporate a greater percentage of do-it-yourself framing and I expect to see increasing exchanges of services and food for custom frames and mirrors.

We are seeing a huge increase in trading services locally and I expect that it will last for the next several years, especially for "luxuries" like art and books and other items that brighten our lives.

To keep things simple, I am finding new homes for some fairly new woodworking equipment, tools, artwork and supplies that I am no longer using. I am offering them to neighbors, local artisans and other small business owners in exchange for services and for help with things I can no longer do.

This has been going on for weeks now and has been beneficial to all concerned.

Stay  tuned...

Do not wait for Angina to serve as your wake-up call

Thanks for all of your good wishes. I feel fortunate in having so many caring friends and in landing in the Coronary Care Unit at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

This hospital offers everything I need. In my opinion, it is the best place to be while the competent and caring staff figures out what is going on with my heart.

For the detail-minded, they have installed three stents and are planning to install more on Thursday. This is a wake-up call to adopt a different diet, exercise program and to learn evey one of the symptoms of coronary disease and its prevention.

I am extremely fortunate that I escaped with as little damage as I did. By not recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack, I continued on my usual way and and probably caused more damage over the next few days.

A close friend of mine pointed out that I may not be in the clear even with stents installed and following an exercise program. He returned several times after his initial attack and accumulated more internal hardware and bypass surgery as well. I am  heeding his advice.

I intend to stay alert and will do everything possible to stay on top of this situation. I have lots of projects to do and have many close friends to share life with.

What you don't know about your health may kill you

During the past few days, I learned that I was missing vital information concerning the care and maintenance of my body. As a result, I am blogging from the Cardiac Care Unit of the Roanoke Memorial Hospital instead of working at home.

I now know that shortness of breath and a feeling of great pressure in my upper chest and neck area was a sign that I was experiencing a heart attack early this week.

I did not have a clue at the time and I continued working at my regular pace for the next few days. When the pain returned, I realized that I had a problem. I Googled "chest pain" and learned that "Angina Pectoris" is the body's way of telling you that the heart muscle is not getting enough oxygen.

When I went to my family physician, she routed me immediately to ER at Radford Hospital. After a short round of tests, they sent me on to a Roanoke Hospital which is equipped to perform heart operations.

Since my condition was stable by then, they put me in the Cardiac Care unit for testing and observation. In the last two days I have learned how close to the edge I have been living, even though I have always been careful to eat natural foods and what I thought was a balanced diet.

I had been monitoring my health by my physical strength and the general lack of aches and pains. I am now aware that this approach can be a trap. I had shoveled 5 tons of gravel with no discomfort just days before my first heart attack, so I had no physical warning of the impending disaster.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to discover what blockage exists and to hopefully find a resolution of the problem.

I have already resolved to develop a healthier lifestyle. It is my big New Year's resolution for 2009.

If you are experiencing any chest pains, you might want to make sure they are not serious. They can be permanently damaging.