Dynamic Dummy Images

This site is fantastic, as their naming convention allows you to easily predict the needed url for img links when doing some quick web design.  I can see myself using this a lot.

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HausTalk is Fantastic

Tonight I had the great pleasure of swinging by the most recent Haustalk, a monthly panel put together by John O’Neil of ThinkHaus Design.  Instead of the usual issue-focused meeting, this month’s was more of a meetup of some of the most recent Top 40 Under 40 from Style Weekly, discussing their issue focuses and how we can collectively make Richmond a better city.

Not only did I get the chance to connect with some great people (such as Brother Manifest), but just as importantly, it helped reinvigorate my own passion in lobbying at the General Assembly.  The past few weeks have been pretty rough, as not only has every waking minute been seemingly devoted to work, but all of that work has so obviously been for naught.  The issues I care the most about, such as protecting funding for social service programs, aren’t even being protected by legislators that can politically afford to do so.

So tonight was good, because it reminded me of two things:  First, that I and my colleagues at the Interfaith Center aren’t alone in our efforts.  Even if we tend to forget it at times, we are part of a larger movement, a sleeping giant that is still stirring from its slumber.  People are tired of the hollow rhetoric, and the ceaseless march by the anti-tax, anti-community crowd as they try to dismantle government.  We may lose this budget battle, but I grow more convinced with time that we can win the war.

Second, just as I remembered I was part of a community, I was also reminded of my unique contribution to the greater scheme of things.  Especially with Virginia being a Dillon Rule state, people that can navigate the state legislature are vital for any innovative city and regional programs.  I am one of the few that is in a position to be able to help in this regard, and it is my responsibility to do so as someone that complains about the need for Richmond to change.

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Are You Serious.

From here until next weekend is yet more snow.

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If I Die, Blame the Landlord

This weekend, Richmond (along with much of Virginia) had a pretty rough snowstorm blow through.  Around here we got about 10-12 inches, which is probably the same as the amount of snow that had fallen in the past three years.  Now, I’m usually in love with the snow, but this year has been an exception.  In short, freezing temperatures are less fun when you live in a drafty apartment without heat.

VCU kids in the snow Now, I’m the kind of guy that will go to Monroe Park for the inevitable snowball fight that will occur, and even help organize it in the first place.  Snow has always been one of those rare gifts that would only come once or twice a year, bringing with it not only school closings, but family bonding time in the form of board games played and old movies watched.  It has always been one of my secret pleasures, and so the death of my enjoyment of snow hits me the same as a child who realizes he is too old to continue trick-or-treating.

For the past two months, we have received in excess of $400 heating bills, far outside our ability to pay.  We discovered after the fact that my girlfriend’s former roommate, a pothead who had to move out because she couldn’t be bothered to get a job when her student loans ran out, had been raising the temperature to 78 degrees most nights.  Her rationale once we realized what was going on was that it was cold in her room at night because there was no insulation in the walls.  Excusing the blatant waste of energy on the face of it, my girlfriend reminded her of the space heater in the closet, packaged under two other boxes.  The roommate opened the door, realized how much work it would take, said “Yeahhhhhh, I’ll just be cold,” and shut the door.

But I digress.

The real reason we are currently in this jam is because of an interesting provision in our leasing arrangement.  Our supplier had been Woodfin Oil, one of the most expensive in the region, and I suggested to the girlfriend (as I’m not on the lease) that we should switch providers.  Apparently we are required per the lease not only to use Woodfin, but also to have a regular fillup arrangement instead of on a per-call basis.  What this means is that to have any oil whatsoever would be another $400+ bill on top of our current $1000 debt.

Ah, but Joe, I have the solution to your predicament! You might be thinking.  Space heaters. Indeed, I could just use aSnowboarding near Belle Isle dozen or so space heaters, because the coal-fired electricity is still cheaper than the oil, even if less efficient.  Unfortunately, just as the apartment is quite drafty, whoever did the wiring back in the ’20s for this place was also completely unhinged.  All but three sockets (one in the kitchen, two in the bathroom) in the house run on the same circuit, which also allows one of the smallest amounts of total current on the market.  If more than one space heater is plugged in, the circuit breaks, regardless of whatever else is plugged in.  We’ve currently got an extension cord running from the kitchen into one of the new roommate’s bedrooms to run her space heater while the girlfriend and myself run another.  These heaters are by no means intended to heat a house with  an ambient temperature of 38 degrees.

So thank you, oh glorious landlord.  While others enjoy the snow, you have taught me to fear it.  In your scheme to derive some sort of pricing arrangement with Woodfin, you have robbed of me a simply and innocent delight, one that I have held since childhood.  I know what you do is without malice, but cannot help but hold it against you all the same.

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