Thoughts on the NBA Thunder

At the risk of being called negative, yeah, it's happened before, here are some rambling thoughts on the Thunder season.

• Can we say consistency? Or rather lack of. Over halfway through the season and the team has had maybe two or three games with all four quarters being consistent. For some reason we can't keep it up all game. Don't tell me it's a young team. It wasn't this way last year.
• Defense? Where's the defense? We're supposed to be known as a defensive team, but it's just not happening. The loss of the defense assistant coach Ron Adams is the only thing different this year and apparently we are still smarting from the loss.
• I'm guessing other teams use the nine man rotation, but it kills us at times when the COY* doesn't deviate from it, even when something different needs to be done.
• Speaking of which, does he just write down his timeouts and rotations before the game. I'm not the only fan who is shaking their head and thinking what the heck are you doing? Yeah, how many times have we seen him pull out a player who is hot, is it to cool him off?
• The team record is not at all indicative of the level of play.
• Where's the beef? A year ago the staff admitted they needed a big man and that was a something that would be worked on. A year later, we're still waiting since apparently Aldrich is not going to be a part of this team for a while.
• There are good things. We're winning the close games better than we did last year.
• We have more wins than last year at the same point in the season. But even the GM told us "the team could be playing better".


• Russell Westbrook is coming into his own and overall has shown a pretty improvement over last year.
• Durant has been leading the league in scoring again this year.
• Collison is still the man, taking the hard charges and giving up his body for the cause.
• The rest of the stuff. . . Management does a great job and that trickles down to the ushers, restroom attendants and so on. Always helpful and always welcoming. Loads of entertainment (sometimes too much) and there is a great and avid fanbase that is fun to keep up with.

*COY Coach of the Year used very sarcastically.

Dog Days of August & Tomato Proclaimation

It's too hot even for a dog this August, although we've gotten some nice relief the last couple of days, the plants are beat up and sad looking, heat-beat! And after many years of sporadically trying to grow tomatoes. I GIVE UP.

Last year I spent probably $90. on plants, pots, upside-down, rightside-up, you name it... pots, fertilizer, plants. And the result was probably the most expensive tomato in history. Two or three little cherry tomatoes divided by $90. You do the math.

So I proclaim today and for everyone to see, no more will I try to grow tomatoes, lettuce, whatever. I will just haunt the farmers markets.

No, don't bother to send me your secrets to growing.. just sent me the best spots to BUY them!

Brooklyn Cherry Cheesecake

This recipe was adapted from the famous New York Lindy's Cheesecake Recipe. Crust
1/4 cup soft butter
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon peel

• Mix thoroughly together.
• Take approximately 1/4 of the dough and pat into the bottom of a
  large (8 - 9")springform pan.
  
• Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until slightly brown, let cool.


• Assemble springform pan. Take remaining dough and press onto the sides of the pan.
  
• Meet and seal the edges
  of the bottom baked crust to the dough on the sides.
• Crust should be about 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pan.
• Put aside while preparing filling.

---

Filling

5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
5 large pkgs cream cheese (8 oz)
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup evaporated milk

• Using mixer, blend cream cheese and sugar
• Add eggs one at a time and beat with mixer until smooth.
  Mixture should be smooth, but do not overbeat.
• Add lemon juice, peel and vanilla.
• After mixture is thoroughly combined and smooth, add evaporated milk and mix just until well blended.
• Pour into prepared crust.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. DO NOT OPEN oven door.
• Lower temperature to 275 and bake an additional hour. Cake is done when middle is "set".

Cherry Topping
1 can tart cherries in water
1 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Sometimes I add a few drops of red food coloring to the cherries

• Drain juice from cherries into small saucepan, set cherries aside.
• Mix together cornstarch with about 2 T water, just enough to disolve cornstarch.
• Add cornstarch mixture to the cherry "juice" and cook over low heat until mixture thickens
  and starts to turn "translucent".
• Add cherries, let cool until lukewarm. Spoon carefully over cooled cheesecake and let set
  for at least 2 - 3 hours.

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! DISNEY PARKS AND NASA SEND BUZZ LIGHTYEAR INTO SPACE

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! DISNEY PARKS AND NASA SEND BUZZ LIGHTYEAR INTO SPACE

Just Pin a Badge on Me . .. and Call Me Deputy Barb

A few months ago we found ourselves in the middle of a high-speed chase for a few seconds. Today was a little different, but still involved speeding cars.

Susan and I were starting out on our evening walk, when a car comes speeding up the quiet subdivision street. Close to 60 mph. Crazy, it's only a few blocks long and this was much too fast. I don't recognize it. Soon we see the car come back around the other way, make a few turns and still driving around in the subdivision (one way in and out).

Now I'm annoyed and decide to call the cops. While I am calling them, the driver turns a corner and stops a little ways from me. By now I have the police on the phone and we walk up to the back of the car and tell them the make/model and license plate.
When I say we walk up to the back of the car, we're less than six feet away.

I think I tell them there are two people in the car.

The police officer on the phone repeats the color/make to me and says that car has just eluded a motorcycle cop at at nearby intersection. He asks again where the car is and I tell them, it's still stopped just a few feet away from us and I give them the intersection. Then I tell them what way the car is facing and what way to the police should drive in to approach him. He asks me to stay on the phone with him and keep an eye on the car until the police arrive. No Problem...

A few moments later I tell him I hear the sirens.. He says "what, they're supposed to be coming in silently". Well they weren't. The police car comes in the way I tell them to and stops right in front of the car, a second one shows up seconds later from the other way and stops in back of him.

So I tell the cop on the phone that they're here and taking the guy of the car. He asks me to hold on a few more seconds and gets name/phone number.

Another police car and motorcycle cop show up and we go back to our power walk.

By the time we went around one long block, the girl passenger had apparently called her mom or a friend, as another car pulls up and eventually winds up taking her home.

The driver is taken away in one of the police cars, as the local wrecker shows up and is soon towing the car away. From the first phone call to the wrecker loading the car is no longer than fifteen to twenty minutes. No kidding.. Bethany Police are the best!

Cox UPDATE

It's now been almost a month and I've not had any problems with our Cox service since March 26 or so. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the new wiring, new box and connections have all fixed the ongoing problems.

I have to admit the Cox service techs seem to try hard, although a few of the problems should have been found earlier. I still have never heard from anyone apologizing or responding to my letters and phone calls from the higher levels. They apparently kicked the problem down and it was taken care of, but it would have been good customer service to at least respond. What do I think of Dave B.?? Not much

Cox Part II, More Problems

After I finally received a call from a Cox service manager (ONLY AFTER contacting the customer relations in Atlanta), two service reps came out to check our system. After looking at everything there were no apparent problems except the wiring and outside boxes were not in great shape, so were replaced.

The amps were also too high, so two more Cox guys came out the next day to re-do the Power pole in the alley way.

Four Service men total in one week.

All is well, or so I think.
I find out a few days later that our second phone line has not been working since the boxes were rewired.

So Cox comes out and finds a wire not attached and the second line finally works.

All is well or so I think.
That evening I find out the primary phone line which worked all along is now not working via one jack. Another call to Cox the next morning. This time a broken wire is found in that rewired box.

So far I think we're up to nine different service techs in March.

In the Bermuda Triangle of Cox Service

Suffice it to say I am not a happy Cox customer. Emails to the Oklahoma head of Cox have resulted in no response. It was not until I finally forwarded the email to Customer Relations at the head office that I received a response.

Here's my initial letter, in part.

I've found the Cox services we've had remind me of the Nursery rhyme about the little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very
good, but when she was bad, she was horrid.

I am one of those who expect good and efficient service from a
service company. It's just not happening. We've had some technicians
who are superb, in fact "Chris" who came out today was great, but
others have me wondering -- just what's going on. But it's not all
their fault, there must be something wrong with the system, lines or
equipment for us to continually have the numerous and always different
problems we've had.

We've been Cox customers since mid 1980s. Last year alone we paid Cox
$2,951.03 for services. We've have telephone, Internet, and almost
everything on Cable. In January we discontinued some of the premium
channels that we were not using.

Over the years we've had numerous problems with the service, but the
worst time was about three years ago when I literally could not get
the Internet to work for days at a time. The customer field service
manager was here many times trying to figure it why it would go out
and come back on, I even had his personal phone number. But nothing
definitive was ever figured out and it started working again after
almost three weeks. This was the beginning of the real problems. At
the time the field service manager suggested we try the Business
Internet to see if it would help, we signed up for the service with
the promise of being able to discontinue it within 30 days if it
wasn't working as we felt it should. We did have a some small problems
called up the special Business Service number and got a ridiculous
response and discontinued the service after that. If the company keeps
records that goes back a few years, there should be notes on just what
happened.

All was well for a bit and after several friends mentioned they had
Cox telephone and never had a problem, we decided to bite the bullet
and try it during a promotion. Even though we had misgivings because
I've always had dial-up AOL as a backup for the times Cox went out.
Yes, I paid for dual services.

The savings are wonderful, but to us it's been a case of "you get what
you pay for". The first inkling was just two or three weeks after the phone service was started. A gas leak developed in the neighborhood and the gas company was
dispatched to fix it in the evening. Amidst the digging up and
hammering, they cut the cable lines to four or five houses. Everything
went dead. I was present and it was apparent what happened. Even the
gas contractors knew what they did.

I called Cox and was told that nothing could be done until more phone
calls were received. Well, at the time I was probably the only one in
the area who had the phone service. The rest on the cut service line
were not home (I went and checked!), but I was told nothing could be
until the next day UNLESS more customers called, even though it was
evident what happened.

When I expressed dismay saying I had no phone service, I had just
switched from SW Bell and they always responded promptly, I was told
-- the exact words were "well, we're not the phone company". Yes that
was apparent. It took over 48 hours to get the line repaired because
others in the area were either out or town, or elderly and didn't
realize they needed to call. I still don't understand how a line break
could be considered so trivial, I was tempted to try and fix it myself
since I knew exactly where it was!

Over the next year it was dismaying to see just how many times the
lines were dead, the Internet didn't work and we would have to wait
hours to get any relief. Now going back to the "phone company" -- when
the lines were dead or cut, there was the option to at least let
callers know that the line was down by changing the Call Notes
message.. With Cox callers have no idea what is going on. The phone
could be disconnected, or whatever.

Fast forwarding.. Over the past years the power box in the alley has
been replaced, rewired, etc the buried line in our yard has been
replaced at least twice, maybe three times. The connections at the
outside box have been tightened so many times, I assume the threads
are probably stripped by now.

Our service is typically out at least a half hour or so every two
weeks or so. I don't keep track anymore and I rarely call until 45
minutes has passed. I do happen to be more aware of it because I use
the Internet for research and to upload the articles I write for an
Internet publication.

The last two or three months have proved to be even more annoying.
When we decided to switch to a HD box I took the old boxes to the
local store on 39th Expressway. The customer service reps were so busy
talking amongst each other and working on crossword puzzles, they
could barely help a person in the door. I almost dropped the boxes
because of the strong wind whipping the door out of my hands, then
when I sat down to switch out the boxes. I said I need to replace the
two boxes with different ones. She ignored me as she kept typing
away, never saying a word, filing out the online form. Then she said I
would have to pay $20. to replace the cables I didn't bring in. Okay I
said, but I am replacing the boxes so I can leave the wires. Nothing
else from her, she typed away. I finally said -- probably a bit rudely
-- "are you listening to me or hearing anything I am saying"? She
finally looked up startled. I said I need to replace these, not just
turning them in. BTW, she did get up and help hold the door on the
way out as the wind was pretty bad in that area.

So I get home to connect the new boxes, and one HD box does not work
properly. Phone calls and holding on forever, and it's finally
determined a repair man has to come out. When he comes out, it's by
coincidence a TV technician friend is here. The Cox guy connects some
stuff and finds out that the HD service was not switched on or
whatever happens when I got the box. Meanwhile the TV tech friend says
-- there are more channels that should be working. Oh no, says Cox
service man, that's a paid for subscription. No it's not the TV guy
says. Finally it's determined that even more buttons haven't been
switched at the headquarters (or wherever the magic happens) and
everything finally works. For a while that is.

Last week service was out again for 30 minutes or so in the middle of
the week, but as usual I don't call until 45 minutes goes by so I
didn't call.

Yesterday everything went dead again. I called and was told someone
would be here between noon - four, no one showed up or called. I
finally called at 4:30 and was told they were running late. That's
fine, but I should be told that by a call to my cell phone.

The Cox tech finds some loose connections outside and all works well.
For a while. Last night it went out again. This morning another Tech
came out and this time found a connection that burnt out/melted (he
showed me) in the outside connection box and replaced it. For now
everything is working again.