. . . one nation, under Gun, with Liberty and Justice for all?
Veterans Day — 2015 — or any year
Veterans’ — Wall of Honor
A few years before I retired the people at my school (Cerro Villa Middle School in Villa Park, California) decided to honor our veterans. Students and staff were invited to contribute pictures of the veterans in their families to a “wall of honor” which would be displayed on our stage the week of Veterans Day.
The following are pictures from that observance.
Broadband Speeds — Time Warner Cable
Broadband Speeds — Internet — Speakeasy Speed Test — Time Warner Cable
Our Service: Extreme — Speeds up to 50 (Download) /5 (Upload) Mbps
Equipment
All tests conducted on a MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 running OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.1 on my home Wi-Fi network. (AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0xEF), 802.11 n
Firefox used except where noted.
Broadband tested speeds:
Tuesday
10.27.15 / 08:17 am — Download — 45.86 Mbps — Upload — 6.10 Mbps
10.27.15 / 08:24 am — Download — 46.87 Mbps — Upload — 6.01 Mbps
10.27.15 / 08:35 am — Download — 45.29 Mbps — Upload — 6.13 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0%; Latency — 20 ms; Jitter — 5 ms
Friday
10.30.15 / 10:05 am — Download — 42.33 Mbps — Upload — 5.89 Mbps
10.30.15 / 10:07 am — Download — 48.32 Mbps — Upload — 6.07 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0%; Latency — 19 ms; Jitter — 3 ms
10.30.15 / 02:18 pm — Download — 45.23 Mbps — Upload — 6.07 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0%; Latency — 18 ms; Jitter 4 ms
10.30.15 / 07:47 pm — Download — 40.35 Mbps — Upload — 5.84 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0%; Latency — 42 ms; Jitter — 4 ms
Saturday (Halloween)
10.31.15 / 07:27 pm — Download — 18.97 Mbps — Upload — 6.02 Mbps
10.31.15 / 07:30 pm — Download — 47.67 Mbps — Upload — 5.94 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0%: Latency — 17 ms; Jitter — 6 ms
Monday
11.2.15 / 04:33 pm — Download — 43.51 Mbps — Upload — 6.04 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0%; Latency — 20 ms; Jitter — 6 ms
Tuesday
11.3.15 / 04:14 pm — Download — 48.76 Mbps — Upload — 6.06 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0%; Latency — 20 ms; Jitter — 3 — ms
Friday
11.6.15 / 06:47 pm — Download — 6.67 Mbps — Upload — 2.82 Mbps
——Packet Loss — ?; Latency — 63 ms; Jitter — 146 ms
11.6.15 / 06:52 pm — Download — 21.52 Mbps — Upload — 5.74 Mbps
——Packet Loss — 0.01%; Latency — 19 ms; Jitter — 24 ms
11.6.15 / 07:03 pm — Download — 6.91 Mbps — Upload — 6.06 Mbps
11.6.15 / 07:09 pm — Download — 4.6 Mbps — Upload — 6.07 Mbps (Google Chrome)
11.6.15 / 08:49 pm — Download — 14.98 Mbps — Upload — 6.07 Mbps (Google Chrome)
Saturday
11.7.15 / 09:57 pm — Download — 46.72 Mbps — Upload — 5.99 Mbps
11.7.15 / 10:00 pm — Download — 46.02 Mbps — Upload — 6.01 Mbps
11.7.15 / 10:02 pm — Download — 47.03 Mbps — Upload — 6.00 Mbps (Google Chrome)
Sunday
11.8.15 / 09:20 am — Download — 44.76 Mbps — Upload — 6.01 Mbps
11.8.15 / 09:25 am — Download — 40.55 Mbps — Upload — 6.11 Mbps
Monday
11.9.15 / 11:20 am — Download — 37.93 Mbps — Upload — 6.06 Mbps
11.9.15 / 11:23 am — Download — 50.92 Mbps — Upload — 6.03 Mbps
11.9.15 / 11:35 am — Download — 33.41 Mbps — Upload — 5.99 Mbps
Conclusions
This testing was done at random–that is, when I had the time, inclination and actually thought about doing it. I used the Speakeasy test because that is what the TWC tech had me use several months ago to diagnose a problem I had with too low speeds.
The test comes in both a short and a long version, which requires Java. My computer does not care for Java and I, therefore, use the short version most of the time. Google Chrome would not work at all with the long version of the test.
There are times when I would like greater broadband speed, but those higher speeds cost more. Until TWC or another provider comes out with a faster service that has a minimum speed a good deal faster than our current maximum speed I’ll keep what we have. I have no desire to go with a “faster” and more expensive service which may, at times, deliver speeds slower my current service, yet cost a good deal more.
Accessible Shower / Tub / Spa — Our Experience
With my wife’s neuropathy and difficulties in walking and balancing, we (she) decided to re-do her bathroom with an accessible shower/tub cum spa.
She contacted Bliss Tubs to see if a shower/tub would fit in her bathroom, which is attached to our bedroom.
A sales rep from the company came to our house, measured her bathroom (and my bathroom, which backs up onto our bedroom and her bathroom) and told her that the shower/tub she had chosen would fit–one of us wasn’t so sure, but he assured us that it would. Work was scheduled to begin on October 19 and be concluded by October 23 (Monday to Friday).
On Monday two workers (from Blankenship Construction) arrived to begin the work of demolition and re-building the wall that would be necessary. They began by cutting a hold in the drywall in her bathroom (to see what was in that space behind her shower) and drilled a hole through to the other side. Lo and behold–they drilled into my bathroom. It turned out that the sales rep erred in his measurements and the shower/tub would not fit in her bathroom. (Yes, the workers did fix the drywall in her bathroom.)
At that point the workers and I looked at my bathroom and determined that it would fit in my bathroom in the space where my standard shower/tub was located.
The sales rep (the very embarrassed salesman) came out and we eventually settled on installing the unit in my bathroom, widening the doorway and tiling (with soap/shampoo shelf) the area around the unit.
Work then commenced.
At this time (because of the motors/jets in the shower/tub/spa) we found that we would need to install a new electrical circuit control box as there was no space left in our fifty year old unit for new circuits–read: more $$$.
With all that went on most work was finished by Friday, October 30. On Saturday, October 31 (yes, Halloween) the electrician came to change out the electrical box–no power through most of the day. (Charlie was disappointed in that we missed both the USC and UCLA football games.) The rest of the work was finished on Monday, November 2. The final inspection by the city is supposed to be done tomorrow.
PS: No phone calls–no inspection. Hmmmm . . .
Accessible?
Does it really work? Yes, it does–with a couple of caveats.
Charlie used the unit and likes it quite well, but . . .
— both the floor and the seat of the unit are too slick–you can easily slide and hurt yourself. I cut the mat I’d been using in my shower to fit on the new tub’s floor and it worked well. I’ll need to find something for the seat that is comfortable to sit on.
— the metal grab bars are too slippery when wet. I need to find something to put on them while still having them comfortable to hold.
— there was no grab bar on the inside of the tub door and Charlie needed one to assist her in standing. I used the portable suction grab bar that we had been taking on our trips to use in hotel bathrooms that were not so equipped. It worked quite well and I may buy a couple more for the shower/tub: they work well; they’re cheap and can be moved as desired.
The Workers
The two guys who did most of the work were the kind of people you want to work on your home. They worked hard and were both polite and considerate (taking care to make sure they did not allow the cats out of the house in their coming and going).
Our entry and hallway floors were well protected and received no damage. The tiling looks great. The patching in the walls is good. The floor patching where the bathroom doorway was widened looks OK, even though they couldn’t locate a piece of flooring that was identical to the original bathroom flooring.
Evaluation
Although the entire project took longer than expected (and, of course, was more expensive than the original estimate–read new electrical box), I think it’ll prove to have been a wise decision. My wife likes her new shower/tub/spa–it’ll make her life easier and more enjoyable (and, maybe, mine too).
Oh, yeah. We also installed grab bars next to the toilets in both of our bathrooms.
And, with the dropping nighttime temperatures this week we found out that our heater (1989–and I’ve had it worked on three or four times in the last ten years) no longer works. So, next week we’re getting a new heater, replacing the asbestos ducting–with holes–in the attic and adding air conditioning. Ahhh . . . Although, if you heard a cracking sound about eleven this morning, that was my bank account.
Pictures
I took pictures throughout the work and here they are in a general order of beginning to end.
I will update this post as needed depending on our continued experiences with this shower/tub/spa–and very quickly if the inspection finds something wrong tomorrow.
Update on Scooter Carrier
It already shows signs of rust (cheap Chinese manufacture and finishing?). I am not pleased, but I can purchase a can of Rust-Oleum black paint for the carrier. Some of the bolts and nuts are also showing rust–very cheap plating.
Pro Athletes — former Student Athletes?
Professional / Student Athletes
Are the professional athletes who play for our NFL teams (and other professional sports) really former student athletes or did they just attend school on dollars paid by others, including taxpayers and other students?
What kind of an education did, and do, these players actually get? What do they learn beside how to be better athletes? Do they attend the same classes other students attend, or do they attend classes especially set up for student athletes?
Many of them never graduate.
Los Angeles is currently in the hunt for an NFL franchise to call its own. Personally, I think our two current “professional” football teams are sufficient, but what do I know? In the running are three teams which used to call Los Angeles home: the San Diego Chargers, the Oakland Raiders and the Saint Louis Rams. Why we would want any of these back again is beyond me.
I ventured to the San Diego Chargers website and looked to see if I could find out anything about the education their players received while in college. After all, if you had a team composed entirely, or almost entirely, of college graduates, wouldn’t you want to brag about it?
The only place I could find any information about the education of the people in the Charger organization was their Media Guide. As you might expect those in charge of the organization and its finances were highly educated. The players . . . not so much.
Following is a list of coaches and players and their college majors and degrees. I may have missed a few but the list below contains the information I found while looking at the Media Guide rather than watching football.
Maybe you’ll come to the same conclusion about “student” athletes I did.
San Diego Chargers
General Manager — Tom Telesco — John Carrol University, 1995, degree in business management
Head Coach — Mike McCoy — University of Utah “graduated”
Asst — John Pagano — Mesa State, degree in business marketing
Asst — Frank Reich — Maryland, graduation and degree not mentioned
Asst — Kevin Spencer — He earned his bachelor’s degree from Springfield College and a Master’s from Cortland State.
Asst — Joe D’Alessandris — Bachelor and Masters from Western Carolina University
Asst — Fred Graves — Utah, degree in business
Asst — Don Johnson — Butler Community College and Jersey City State, no degree mentioned
Asst — Kent Johnston — graduated from Stephen F. Austin University and he earned a master’s in physical education from Alabama
Asst — Pete Metzelaars — Wabash College, degree in economics
Asst — Ron Milus — University of Washington, graduation and degree not mentioned
Asst — Mike Nolan — University of Oregon, graduation and degree not mentioned, “Nolan began his coaching career in 1981 as a graduate assistant at Oregon.”
Asst — Nick Sirianni — Mount Union, graduation and degree not mentioned
Asst — Ollie Wilson — Springfield College, BA, MA in physical education
Asst — Craig Aukerman — University of Findlay, degree in elementary education
Asst — Andrew Dees — Syracuse, degree in child and family studies
Asst — Bobby King — UTEP, graduation and degree not mentioned
Asst — Rick Lyle — Missouri, degree in parks, recreation and tourism
Asst — Greg Williams — North Carolina, degree in sociology
Asst — Shane Steichen — UNLV, degree in journalism and media studies
Asst — Chris Shula — bachelor degree from Miami of Ohio and masters in education from Oklahoma
Asst — Mark Ridgley — Pittsburgh, degree in economics, masters in education from Central Michigan
Players —
Jahleel Addae — Central Michigan, major/degree not mentioned
Keenan Allen — University of California, African-American studies major, degree not mentioned
Jerry Attaochu — Georgia Tech, science, technology and culture major, degree not mentioned
Joe Barksdale — LSU, general studies major, degree not mentioned
Donald Brown — Connecticut, exercise science degree
Donald Butler — Washington, construction management and business major, degree not mentioned
Ryan Carrethers — Arkansas State, interdisciplinary studies degree
Kellen Clemens — Oregon, business administration degree
Kavell Conner — Clemson, sociology degree
Richard Crawford — SMU, major and degree not mentioned
Chris Davis — Auburn, public administration degree
Greg Ducre — Washington, sociology major, degree not mentioned
King Dunlap — Auburn, adult education degree
Brandon Flowers — Virginia Tech, sociology major, degree not mentioned
Malcom Floyd — Wyoming, health sciences major, degree not mentioned
D. J. Fluker — Alabama, health studies degree
Orlando Franklin — Miami, psychology degree
Antonio Gates — Kent State, general studies major, degree not mentioned
Ladarius Green — Louisiana-Lafayette, degree in finance
Chris Hairston — Clemson, management major, degree not mentioned
Melvin Ingram — South Carolina, degree in African-American studies
Dontrelle Inman — Virginia, digital art major, degree not mentioned
David Johnson — Arkansas State, degree in physical therapy
Stevie Johnson — Kentucky, sociology major, degree not mentioned
Jacoby Jones — Lane College, Tenn., interdisciplinary studies major, degree not mentioned
Cordarro Law — coaching education major, degree not mentioned
Sean Lissemore — William & Mary, kinesiology major, degree not mentioned
Corey Liuget — Illinois, sociology major, degree not mentioned
Ricardo Mathews — Cincinnati, criminal justice major, degree not mentioned
Kyle Miller — Mount Union, health and physical education major, degree not mentioned
Nick Novak — Maryland, degree in kinesiology
Branden Oliver — Buffalo, completed last two classes for a degree in sociology
Tenny Palepoi — Utah, degree in sociology
David Paulson — Oregon, business major, degree not mentioned
Austin Pettis — Boise State, communications major, degree not mentioned
John Phillips — Virginia — degree in sociology
Kendall Reyes — Connecticut, degree in communications
Philip Rivers — North Carolina State, degree in business
Patrick Robinson — Florida State, social science major, degree not mentioned
Trevor Robinson — Notre Dame, management/consulting major, degree not mentioned
Lowell Rose — Tulsa, communications major, degree not mentioned
Mike Scifres — Western Illinois, communications and broadcasting degree
Brad Sorensen — Southern Utah, economics major, degree not mentioned
Damion Square — Alabama, major and degree not mentioned
Darrell Stuckey — Kansas, degree in communications
Manti Te’o — Notre Dame, graphic design degree
Johnnie Troutman — Penn State, African and African-American studies degree
Mitch Unrein — Wyoming, criminal justice degree
Jason Verrett — Texas Christian, sports broadcasting major, degree not mentioned
Chris Watt — Notre Dame, marketing degree
Eric Weddle — Utah, special education major, degree not mentioned
Kenny Wiggins — Fresno State, communications major, degree not mentioned
Steve Williams — California, sociology major, degree not mentioned
Tourek Williams — Florida International, sport and fitness major, degree not mentioned
Jimmy Wilson — Montana, business major, degree not mentioned
Mike Windt — Cincinnati, degree in psychology
Danny Woodhead — Chadron State, math education major, degree not mentioned
Melvin Gordon — Wisconsin, life science communications major, degree not mentioned
Denzel Perryman — Miami, Sociology major, degree not mentioned
Craig Mager — Texas State, physical therapy degree
Kyle Emanuel — North Dakota State, degree in construction management
Darius Philon — Arkansas, enrolled in college of arts and science, degree not mentioned
The list goes on, but I got tired after the sixty or so above. I may have spelled a name or two incorrectly or missed a degree or two, but on the whole I believe the data is correct–at least, as it was laid out in the Media Guide.
I realize that in today’s world we treat entertainers, and professional athletes are only entertainers, in a manner that is different from how we treat others. I do not, however, believe that we should give them or their organizations a free ride. If they go to tax-supported schools, they should take real classes designed to give them a real education–in something other than the sport they wish to play. College should not be a taxpayer supported minor league for the NFL or the NBA.
They should get an education that will prepare them for life, not just a couple of good years in the professional leagues before they are worn out and tossed away.
Perhaps this article would be instructive–The cost of a career: NFL players and bankruptcy