3rd:  Going to get some information and, maybe drugs, for my supposed high blood pressure.  Would rather diet and exercise it away but will go to see if that's a lost cause or whatever.

26th:  Well, a lot has happened since the 3rd.  Took delivery of a new Dell Dimension L700cx Celeron CD-R Windows Millennium 10Gb computer.  Spent the next week trying to get it to live up to the sales pitch.  Managed to get an AT-84 keyboard hooked up to it, a 56k Com3 U. S. Robotics modem that Dell sent to me at no charge since mine wouldn't work in it - something I was told would be possible when ordering it over the telephone.  Then, after not being able to log on to the Dell-MSN Net ISP, and spending another hour and a half on the telephone with the MSN-Dell "no help" people, Dell issued another $175.00 credit for me to obtain my own ISP.  [ Here's how my computer set-up looks 10 months later - without the Dell. ]

At least the Kodak DC-50 digital camera Tom sent to me last year works on the serial port on this computer.  It doesn't on the other.  (Had to take a picture of that full beard before it's lost in another few weeks - when the weather gets a little warmer.

Windows ME is probably the least debugged system I've seen in a long time.  It doesn't crash, but almost nothing works the way the documentation says it's supposed to.  For some reason, they decided to not automatically resort the Start Menu items as with Windows 95.  Instead there's a new "Resort" button in the Properties dialog box THAT DOESN'T WORK VERY WELL when it does work.  Some of the installed items don't show up in the Control Panel.  And, needless to say, most of the help documentation contradicts what actually displays and doesn't reference many of the keywords or phrases contained in pop-up windows from other processes.  I got a Linux 6.5 system for $7.00 at the Half-Price Bookstore at Northridge.  If that works at all, Windows ME may only be a temporary nightmare having tuned up my psyche for a little while.

30th:  Have switched from 50megs to bigsitecity for all the web sites.  Not only is the space doubled but the transfer process and server configuration is a lot friendlier.  About.com bought 50megs for $7 million and is in the process of running it into the ground.  The banners for bigsitecity also display at the bottom of the page instead of at the top - a much friendlier method.  All previous http://www8.50megs.com/benzden or http://benzden.50megs.com references should be changed to http://benzden.bigsitecity.  It goes without saying that good old http://www.jamrent.com will always work.  (Eventually reverted to 50megs - the alternatives being even worse.)
(3/2/01)Was too busy this month to update this file.  In summary, I:

1. returned the Dell Computer with Windows ME.  It was a nightmare from the day it arrived but did show me the advantage of CD-R, 10Gb+ memory and how to install the Kodak DC-50 digital camera that wouldn't install on my Pentium 200MHz.  It also highlighted what to avoid when ultimately getting back to normal computer operations;

2. decided upon the final configuration of the various partitions of my (whatever sized) hard drive.  That's complicated some, especially DOS based operations, but has vastly simplified overall Windows 95 based operations tremendously; as a result of that and the discoveries gained from the Dell computer, I bought and installed a 20Gb hard drive ($100) and partitioned it into:
   • C:\ 1.9Gb for Windows platform and other Microsoft program operations
   • D:\ 1.9Gb for working files of whatever nature, including online registrations
   • E:\ 5.7Gb for non-Microsoft programs
   • F:\ 188Mb for web site files
   • G:\ 94Mb for BZHbat and related files
   • H:\ 4.6Gb for Graphics files
   • I:\ 4.6Gb for the Visioneer Paperport scanner program and associated files
   • J:\ 94Mb for Cyriac genealogy
   • K:\ 94Mb for Michel genealogy
   • L:\ 180Mb for Terriau genealogy
   • M:\ 2Gb for temporary storage, including the 4th+ ² back-up of active web pages;
     ²The 50Mb of web site .gif, .htm, , ico, .jpg, .js and other files located on the primary remote server are also duplicated at:
     - one or more remote mirror servers;
     - the working clone of the server on my hard drive - the drive from which all files are accessed for local editing and tweaking;
     - 3.5" floppy disks containing the most recently revised files and images - fresh ones are added as each one fills up each month;
     - the clone of the web site server files here in the M: partition.

3. finally reformatted the C:\ drive (3 times as FAT32) of my Pentium 200MHz computer and re-installed the couple dozen programs requiring such.  (Most programs, now located in the E:\ drive/partition, are unaffected by a reformat of the C:\ drive and operate without change.  A few need to have their registration codes re-entered.  By the 3rd time that was done, it took less than a day to do the entire reinstall.  Also changed the BZHbat work files from C:\ to D:\ and then to I:\ and finally to G:\.  That required changing all the .pif files, along with a bunch of .lnk files to non-DOS related programs several times, but, eventually, even that process was automated with the help of the ALTER.EXE search and replace program.  It should be noted that every time I reinstall IE5.0 and then NS4.71, my computer operates differently.  The last appears to be the best.);

4. decided not to reinstall the Juno email program after it began making decisions contrary to my wishes.  Even though I had checked "no", it still superseded my Netscape email process and made itself the default email process on my computer - thereby disallowing me from using my much faster and more efficient Netscape address book and archive of past emails.  NetZero is now doing the same thing.  Everyone else will probably be doing so, too, so life on the internet, especially with email, is going to be a lot more difficult until these companies realize or are forced to realize that mugging their 'customers' is not a good business tactic;

5. bought ($150 - 30 rebate) and returned a Philips CD-RW drive.  It created disks that couldn't be read or otherwise used for ANYTHING!  It may have more to do with having Windows 95 instead of 98 as my operating system.  Doesn't make sense to install Windows 98 and the much faster USB ports it supports until I can get a faster motherboard - around 600MHz appears fast enough for my purposes.  And, since there still are few used computer or other computer support businesses around here, that may take a while;

6. finally installed and got working the Kodak DC-50 digital camera Tom sent me a year ago.  Used it to take a pictorial inventory of my house to place on CD back-up just 'before' the Dell computer was returned.

7. bought ($7), perused and decided to abandon the alternative Linux 6.5 operating system.  It appeared to be too complex and limited for the type of work I do each day;

8. bought and placed on the shelf for a rainy day a couple of Javascript and Java Applets reference books.  Eventually, they should help make some of my web sites work a lot better;

9. added a "workhorse corral" folder to my desktop to contain the various files needing frequent but not daily access, including, especially, new "upgrades" and "search&replace" sub-folders therein.  The upgrades folder contains the ordered listing of links and step by step instructions needed to reinstall the operating files after a hard drive has been formatted.  Creating it was what made the 3rd re-formatting of the C:\ drive a lot easier that the first and second;

10. finally got back online at home to update the web site, first with the Dell (via Juno FREE ISP) and eventually with my Pentium 200MHz (via Netscape FREE ISP) computer.  Am looking for a good "PAID FOR" ISP, but am afraid they no longer exist.  May just abandon internet related operations for a couple years to devote time to offline operations.  There's plenty to do offline, but there's always some new web site needing creation - such at the new College of Artesia Reunion Schedule now up and running;

11. created or finalized web sites for:
    • the aforementioned CoA Reunion
    • Finney library & associated statue across from its new location
    • Inner City garbage (un)collection
    • Law portal site for an old friend
    • and some others I can't remember right now;

12. cleaned out the lower flat.

The new 22Gb hard drive(s) are working great.  Netscape closes faster than it's ever done but still has some bugs that are closing it during online sessions - usually doesn't happen when I'm offline, so it may have something to do with the interface with NetZero, which is also working pretty good - considering they are control freaks just like everyone else attempting to monopolize everything on the internet these days. 5th:  Have been fine tuning the Thank You and varying email/feedback platforms returned to therefrom in light of the changes to each utilizing the "same" emailing form in three separate configurations - proving that that form designed by Crystal at http://crystalwebdesigns.com is a VERY, VERY powerful one.

Also installed the, so far OUTSTANDING, K-Mart supported BlueLight.com FREE ISP as a backup to NetZero.  Use each on alternate days to access the internet and upload files to the 50megs.com server and download email into my computer.  Then, I walk up to Finney library to go online on their much faster computers to browse the web for reading and answering clones of the emails already downloaded at home but left on the web mail server.  ALL FOR FREE, so far!  Only get 12 hours per month with BlueLight but that changes to unlimited if I buy something from K-Mart online.  That may prove to be a lot more advantageous when the new Super K-Mart opens at 21st and North Avenue in October of 2002 AND the merchandise ordered online can be picked up there in person - thereby avoided the usually outrageous shipping and handling charges.!!

Have also discovered, since this last hard drive reformat and reinstallation of Windows 95 that my MSpaint.exe program now works a lot better.  Now see the pop-up box allowing me to change fonts, colors and sizes when writing text into images.  That capability was unknown to me for the first 3 years I used MSpaint on that computer!  Boy, my image making process would have been a lot better had I reformatted and re-installed upon purchasing this Inteva 200MMX from Sam's Club back in February 1998.

11th:  Filled out an application and interviewed with Jewel Food Stores for a 'grunt' position at the new location now anticipated to open in late June.  First time I'd done an interview in more than 20 years - the last being when Digitial Equipment called me to interview for their chief accountant position and then rejected me because I declined to move from Albuquerque to another place if the need arose.  Am not counting on getting a job at the new Jewel but could use the extra money to catch up on some luxories foregone over the last decade.  Made me feel good to have completed the application and interview process - even though neither was designed for a person of my age or background.

15thñ:  Strong winds blew down my wooden alley fence - the one built 15+ years ago for my mother by one of the strongest members of the present school board when he was doing such odd job favors for other community activists.  Used recycled chain link fence posts to brace it and the other side yard fence to withstand such winds in the future.

24th:  Met a former across-the-alley neighbor on 39th street just south of North Avenue while collecting cans.  She called out my name while sitting in the back seat with two slightly older boys in the front seat of a car the right rear tire of which was "on the flat".  She had a 6 month old baby on her lap.  Exchanged pleasantries but didn't ask whose baby it was.  (Learned two days later that it wasn't hers nor was it her older sister's.  Both her brothers are in prison, the youngest, 17 year old serving 40 years for being party to an armed car jacking.)

She was the young lady for whom I had the greatest hope - the one who was most eager to help me clean the alleys and streets when she was only 3 years old -- the one who didn't have to be asked to help clean up and put away chairs after some community meeting she and her sister, cousins or brothers and I attended --- the one among her siblings who appeared to have the most self-discipline ---- the one who seemed to have the best prospects of breaking out of the vicious cycle of ignorance breeding poverty breeding petty crime breeding peer group pressure breeding more ignorance.  She looked 10 years older than her 15 years.  They moved out of our neighborhood 4 years ago.

26th:  Ran into another young adult from the neighborhood.  Now 22, he and his 21 year old brother and older sister were among the first group of kids I worked with when starting my community activism back in 1988.  Having just got out of prison and off parole after 5 years, he's trying to get his life back together.  He wants to run for Alderman.  I recommended that he hook-up with some charity to establish a decent history and gather recommendations before attempting to request a pardon.  First impressions rule - requesting a pardon too soon would probably leave a negative impression that would hamper subsequent efforts.  Better to establish a decent track record, first. 6th:  Now own 26 domain names, including two that are now pointing to old Naval duty associated web sites - http://jspc-2.jamrent.org & VP-22.jamrent.org.  Also found another GREAT ex-Navy site at Joe Glockner's NCVA/SCPO site.  And, I created a separate guestbook page for old JSPC-2 Alumni, borrowing outstanding images created for Dave Doyle's site, at Hanza, JSPC-2 and Torii Station, Okinawa

Also began buying whatever of the most Cyriac family names are still available, including:  ciriack.com ¤ ciriacks.com ¤ cyriac-fhp.com ¤ cyriaca.com ¤ cyriack.com ¤ cyriacus.net ¤ cyriak.com.  And, since they were available, I also bought:  ¤ brylow.com ¤ hockerman.com ¤ reubenjames.com ¤ rubenjames.com.  This is all because I found a really great combination Registrat/Forwarding agent at enom.com - the ultimate registrar that's reached via simpleurl.com.  With the ability to have 50 sub-domain and email aliases, things like ben.ciriacks.com, edna.ciriacks.com and wade.brylow.com are possible.

And, since the price is only $12.00 per year, $11.00 for batches of 6+, it makes sense to buy as many domains as can be had that make sense.  That's why these additional domains were purchased:  ¤ lethisnakeatail.com ¤ chatforus.com ¤ ¤ duh-me.com ¤ moronsrus.com ¤ livemylife.com ¤ ¤ fundusfest.com ¤ silentauctionfest.com ¤ wecarefest.com ¤ ¤ wecare40.com.  Try them to see where they point to for now.  In the future, separate sites will be developed for most of them.

10th:  The first name check came back as already taken, but then a later search showed that jspc-2.com, the accurate form of the designation for the previously purchased jspc-2.com, was now available, so I bought it and the alternative for patron22.com, vp-22.jamrent.org.  Then making sure I had names for some sites comtemplated for the future, , churchtent.com , familytent.com , kidstent.com , godsoptions.com , kidsrespect.com & wnaaa.com were bought - the last being the abbreviation for the local "West North Avenue Advancement Association", the business improvement district in our area -- bringing to 34 the total number of domain names I now own at a total cost of only a little over $300 per year.

In case anyone isn't aware, there's around $60 million being spent on improvements along and adjacent to North Avenue between Fond du Lac and 50th over this and the ensuing few years.  After watching it go to hell since coming back here in 1987, it's finally being recognized for the valuable commercial strip its always been.  That plus the return to neighborhood schools is what's going to bring this neighhborhood back to the glory it knew back in the 1950s.  Eventually, when the local churches become filled with people living in and not commuting to the neighborhood, the redevelopment toward normalcy will have come full circle.  The greatest evidence of all that will be the increased values of the extrememly well constructed homes, mostly duplexes, in the area.  Sherman and Grant boulevards have been coming back for a decade, but the sales prices of the grand old homes on them are still less than one-third their real economic and architectural value.  The same is true for mine and the rest of the duplexes around here.  Of course, that also means that the taxes will rise so high I'll have to sell, but the price will be high enough to allow me alternative living accomodations almost anywhere else.  Now, were I to sell, the proceeds would only cover a third of the cost of buying similar income producing property somewhere else.

14th:  Finally signed up for the NetZero Platinum ISP service - $54.95 for six months of unlimited service - although I still get cut off after being online for only two hours -- the difference with the free service being that I can log on again, if I want to, and the dumb damn reminders and other controls attendent to the free service are no longer there.  The paid service still has a NetZero banner wasting space on my screen and automatically launches my "preferred" browser with the NetZero page as the home page - instead of allowing me to load it with my own home page.

27th:  Found a spent 25 cal brass shell casing in the alley this morning.  Don't recall hearing anything the night before, though.  Our alley has been getting much better since some new people moved in across from me.  The adult male, James, is someone from around the neighborhood.  He seems to be sincere about keeping the place well kept - a vast improvement over ALL THE PREVIOUS tenants there, up AND down, over the past 14 years!!!  He's apparently related to the new owners, who may eventually heed my advice about placing a fence at the alley to keep petty criminals from using the property as a convenient staging area for drug, gun, and stolen property sales.

That rear yard is conducive to crime because of the lack of fencing and the fact that the garage faces the street with a concrete pad in the rear yard instead of grass, dirt and mud when it rains, AND BECAUSE NONE OF THE PREVIOUS tenants bothered to chase strangers out of the yard - oftentimes, the tenants themselves were involved in the criminal activities -- even long after they moved away to other neighborhoods --- a condition that happens with a lot of such properties in the inner city where the lack of local care and attentiveness allows crime to thrive and escalate until it becomes serious enough (a triple murder) to force "official" attention.  And, all that can be minimized by a well maintained security fence in the alley and side yards restricting access by thugs and petty criminals!  One would think that after 40 years experience with this type of consistent behavior the police would know this - that they don't just proves that our modern policing strategies have less to do with minimizing crime than with making sure it doesn't happen "too much" outside the inner cities of America - the essence of the benign neglect foisted upon those less politically empowered in the 'great' country of ours. 9th:  This month's Drug Alert Information report from the MPD shows one of the long time miscreants from a supposedly good family the next block over being arrested for "Delivery of Cocaine."  It's about time!  A book could be written about these types of individuals and the negative effects they've had on neighborhoods such as ours over the past 4 decades - all in the face of a governmental bureacracy that has had it's collective head in the sand (or even a worse place) during that same time period.

19th:  Finally, we're going to have a real grocery store within walking distance, again, where I can buy ice cream that doesn't melt before I get it home.  The Jewel-Osco at 36th & Meinecke is opening this Saturday!

On the way back from taking pictures of the new Jewel-Osco and other improvements along North Avenue I managed to catch Mike, formerly known as "Little Mike" at the corner.  He's been my buddy since moving onto the block last year.  He and his sister were in the group that went to Sherman Park last September as part of our block grant.  I'd thought they'd moved but his disappearance from the street was a result of his being hit by a car and the hospitalization and convalescing at home over the winter.  Not being out "on the street" 6 hours a day makes it harder to keep up to date on what's happening on our block - especially the day to day changes affecting all the kids who use the sidewalks, street and alleys as their playground -- me doing what I can to make those venues safe and sound for them.

25th:  Another ShermanFest ended with incident.  Outsiders called it a riot.  Given that it involved only a couple dozen of the more than 1,000 kids in the immediate area, I'd call it a bunch of hoodlums failing to start a riot - most likely so they could then use that as their excuse to loot various stores along Burleigh.  As it was, only one store was damaged and looted.  Some others had their windows broken.

The Silent Auction went as well as those of the two previous years - meaning we only collected 28% of the stated value of the donated items.  But, this year, for the first time, most of the donated items were from local businesses - meaning that Shermanfest was truly a celebration promoting our local businesses and neighborhood.  The businesses from whom I solicited donations represented 38% of the items and 40% of the bids.  The most popular items were the Breakfast for 4 and $10 & $20 Gift Certificates from McBob's Pub & Grill at 49th & North Avenue.  (All except two of the businesses I solicited were along North Avenue.)

I bid and won the t-shirt and Private Tour Certificate donated by the Finney Public Library and a reconditioned lawn mower donated by Staples Bros. Hardware at 35th & Burleigh.  (I was the sole bidder on all 3 items.)

10th:  Lester Staples of Staples Bros. Hardware at 35th & Burleigh delivered my reconditioned lawn mower, today.  Finally, after 14 years with a push mower, I'll be able to get the job done a lot faster and neater.  I volunteered to help Lester buy his first Domain Name and set up his first web site.

11th:  Completed scraping and painting the 3rd of three sets of attic windows to protect the wood surfaces from the elements.  Almost all the rest of the wood trim on the house is covered by the aluminum siding mother had installed back in the 1970s.  Will start scraping and painting the basement window frames tomorrow.  Sure hope these efforts survive as long as the work done on the front porch steps back in 1972.  Only one of the two by sixes purchased 30 years ago needed replacing 3 dedades later.  And, the lowest 8 foot replacement is already warping - indicating that today's lumber isn't very good -- primarily because of the age of the trees from which it comes.  The hundreds of years old trees cut down early in this century to build duplexes like this one throughout the United States were a lot stronger - in other words, so long as the old wood used to build this house back in 1913 is thoroughly covered with paint, it may last forever.  It's apparently so hard that even the insects that love wood have a hard time chewing into it.  (Knock on wood!)

15th:  Finished painting the south and west basement windows.  Used the brown paint saved for removing graffiti off the garage door for touching up the exposed areas of the window frames - will have to repaint them entirely at some later date -- keeping the rain out is the immediate priority --- even though it's not rained in almost 3 weeks ---- predicting some for Monday night, though. 7th:  Got back from 6 days in Albuquerque for the College of Artesia Alumni reunion.  The Continental flight out of Houston took off 2 hours late - after a layover in Houston of 2 1/2 hours!  So, rather than take a chance on the last Milwaukee County Transit bus, I paid $32 (incl $5 tip) for a cab ride home.  Had saved $270, anyway, by spending the last 3 nights home and dog sitting for Ann & Bruce and checking out of the Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown Hotel after only two nights, so, I wrote it off as part of the vacation experience.

10th:  The strong winds at the beginning of last night's thunder & lightening storm blew down the tree in front of the house across the street.  That's the 5th tree in front of our 6 houses that has had to be removed in the past few years - an indication that some of the trees planted by the city in the past were of poor quality.  Adjacent trees, as can be seen in the pictures, are strong and healthy.  Fortunately for Cora, her fence was only slightly damaged, and the porch work she just had done was not damaged at all.  The city tree crew was on the block four months ago in April.  They mustn't be able to spot dead or dying trees when seen!

11th:  Finished the initial draft of the new site reflecting the pictures taken and places visited during my recent vacation in New Mexico.  Will revise the text and add pictures as more information is received from College of Artesia alumni.

25th:  Have reverted back to the lesser quality Maxi-Switch AT-84 key keyboard to see if that'll help my efficiency regarding the Esc key.  The much higher quality IBM keyboard - the springs and extra weight make it a more stable platform upon which to type - has the Esc key to the right next to the Backspace key.  When using IE 50 and some other programs, hitting the Esc key erases all one has typed and, needless to say, the recovery keys that are supposed to work don't.  So, always making mistakes requiring the backspace key, I'm always also hitting the Esc key right next to it by mistake.  Already don't like this keyboard - it's too soft and requires extra pressure to register each keystroke -- and it doesn't spell any better than the other --- still am hitting that damn backspace key too often.

That switch lasted less than an hour.  The IBM keyboard is much better than any alternative found, so far.  It requires less pressure per keystroke, is heavier (doesn't move around) and feels less 'plastic' than the others.  I have another that's heavy and not made by IBM but it's too wide to fit into the keyboard platform at my computer work station. 5th:  Have just tested a new script that displays images when one places the mouse over the associated text.  Given that the images must be preloaded, it doesn't save any bandwidth usage - one of the hoped for advantages to this technique.  Another disadvantage is that the images must all be the same size.  It's neat but doesn't seem to be of much utility.

6th:  Took pictures of mother's new apartment yesterday.  Looks like rain, today.

7th:  The garage across the alley was boarded, again - the last time being in June 1999.  (16 months of wild tree and brush growth can be seen in the pictures - trees removed various times over the years.
    This time a notice was placed on the large garage door facing the alley - first time I've ever seen one of those -- it specifies why the open garage was secured by the city carpenters --- the cost being added to the property tax bill.  (The slumlord piled a bunch of trash against the garage door just before Christmas - undoubtedly his indication of disrespect for this neighborhood.

12th:  What a tragedy - especially since our government has done little about airline security and efficiency for the past couple decades.  Let's hope something is done this time other than lash out against another bunch of foreigners.  Airline passengers need instructions on how to help neutralize disruptive passengers IMMEDIATELY - along with those instructing us how to use our seat cushions as floatation devices WHILE WE FLY OVER LAND from one place to another.  We need to neutralize ANY WEAPON - not just the last one used successfully in the last tragedy.  WE ALSO NEED TO '''''''IMMEDIATELY''''''' HARDEN THE COCKPIT DOORS ON ALL AIRLINERS - not merely try to convice people that it's safer to fly now then before the 11th because we've redoubled our long incompetent efforts at airport security - doubling zero still ends up with zero!

30th:  Well, just after I started relaxing sounds in the alley got my attention.  The fire department was already putting out a fire at the garage 3 lots north of mine - the garage already having pictures and a letter to local politicians associated with it regarding other problems in the past.  Remembering my digital camera, I proceeded to take pictures for another web site located at fire01930.wecare40.com.  Also discovered that several families plan to move off the block within the next year - they have been following each other around various neighborhoods of the city for the past several years.  Too bad, they have some of the most well disciplined 'street kids' on the block. 5th:  Upon making a deposit at TCF Bank today, I discovered that the TCF CD I'd cashed in and deposited with another check 3 days earlier hadn't been recognized by the bank.  The bank had even allowed a check when their erroneous records showing I had insufficient funds - charging $28.00 to my account, of course, for doing so.  The problem apparently, is that the manager, who handled the CD liquidation handled the subsequent deposit himself rather than bring it to a teller.  Him not being a teller, he probably didn't reconcile his deposits at the end of the day - resulting in my deposit never making it into the system.

Well, on Friday, only the CD portion of the deposit was recognized - the other check included on the deposit slip FOR WHICH I HAVE A RECEIPT, EVEN INCLUDING THE BALANCE WRITTEN BY HAND ON THE RECEIPT BY THE MANAGER was ignored.  The manager called me Friday night several times - each time with a different balance.  Initially, even the deposit I'd just made that afternoon BEFORE 2:00 pm THE ONE WHICH TRIGGERED MY AWARENESS OF THE BANK'S ERRORS FOR HAVING A HAND WRITTEN BALANCE $1000 LESS THAN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN wasn't being recognized.  I decided to let the bank straighten it all out over the weekend.

8th:  Still no call back from Time_Warner Cable.  My TCF Bank balance was still in error.

Had a series of 3 s in the neighborhood today.  I heard one of them while on the computer inside Finney Library around noon - the more than half-dozen shots were very loud -- as if from an old B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle).  Later, the news said there were s involving injuries at 38th & Wright and 36th & Garfield - the one I heard (at Sherman & Garfield) wasn't reported.  Apparently, the new strategy inplemented by the Mayor at the beginning of July isn't working too well - criminals with guns seem to run as free as they want in this neighborhood -- primarily because so-called "hero" policemen (mostly White) are afraid to spend much time in our neighborhood (mostly Black).

9th:  TCF Bank still hadn't gotten my balance adjusted.  It was now a full week after the initial deposit.  Their records, obtainable via online viewing, showed the CD portion of my Tuesday, 10/2/01 deposit being made on Friday 10/5/01 and my "before 2:00 pm" Friday deposit being made on Monday, 10/8/01. [ Deposits made at TCF Banks after 2:00 pm are counted in the next business day's transactions - doubt if they do the same for checks charged against such accounts -- a policy seemingly designed to increase their $28.00 per transaction insufficient funds fees. ]

So, I called the bank number on my statement.  The woman there told me to call the manager - THE PERSON WHO COULDN'T HANDLE IT UP TO NOW! - but also gave me the number of his supervisor in Elm Grove.  Called him, first.  He now stated that the 'other' check couldn't be found and that any deposits made at any time on Fridays were counted in the following Monday's transactions - GOD, IF THE BANK CONTINUES DOWN THIS LINE THERE WILL EVENTUALLY BE A ONE HOUR WINDOW ON WEDNESDAYS IN WHICH DEPOSITS CAN BE MADE TO BE COUNTED FOR THAT WEEK -- the bank could make millions in extra $28.00 insufficient funds fees with that system!

Next, I called his manager; got her machine; left my message outlining the whole situation; and never received a call-back.  Later that afternoon, someone else from the local bank (in the Jewel-Osco grocery/drug store a few blocks away - the reason I use this bank -- IT'S THE ONLY ONE WITHIN A MILE OF MY HOUSE) called to say that the manager said I should call him the next morning.  The regional office in Illinois was going to "review" my account - maybe they had people who understood numbers and symbols and all that stuff the local people apparently weren't hired to do.  I indicated that it was still pretty disrepectful to me and my time that he wasn't calling me instead of the other way around - he apparently not wanting to talk to someone who DID UNDERSTAND NUMBERS, SYMBOLS and all that other stuff associated with normal financial transactions.

All in all, it's highly apparent that anyone, if they can avoid it, should not never, nohow, noway, ever, ever open an account or otherwise do business with TCF Bank.  I hope I live long enough to see another bank open in this neighborhood - I may have to revert to walking the mile up to the Firstar branch at 52nd and North to make my deposits.

Had another s but not in our neighborhood.  The s at Sherman and Garfield have still not been noticed by the media - no blood involved, so that's not news.  And, the media is reporting that all these s are apparently unrelated - eating hook, line and sinker the misinformation released by the Milwaukee Police Department.  One has to be a prize moron to believe that a series of four s within 24 hours along the primary 'drug avenues' of the neighborhood are NOT RELATED - a condition (prize moron, that is) almost all our local media representatives revel in.  Still also haven't heard anything about the new policy implemented for our neighborhood a couple months ago to PREVENT EXACTLY this type of activity - the media being prize morons, of course, have already forgotten all about that -- it being so long ago and especially happening in a part of the city they know next to nothing about or couldn't care less about in their own personal, day to day lives --- lives spent avoiding transiting through or near any part of the actual city, itself ---- other than on the freeways going to and from their suburban homes.

10th:  Happy Shuang-Shih Day!  October 10th is the anniversary of the Republic of China.  It ended the Dynasties that ruled China for thousands of years until early in the 20th century.

21st:  Had another in the neighborhood.  Two sets of three shots each, separated by about a second were heard behind me as I reached the bus shelter at the corner of Sherman Blvd and North Ave.  Looking back toward 44th, I saw three or four kids running south across North Avenue from the 2300 block of 44th Street.

The spacing and timing of the shots indicated a self-discipline learned at a school - implying it was a police officer doing the firing.  I'd just been thinking of what I'd do if a shooter ran past me on North Ave - thinking having arisen from the people I'd passed by the store immediately west of the 4-plex where I'd taken my piano lessons 50 years ago.  That was the same store location where a clerk had been killed more than a half-dozen years ago.

While walking by picking up cans after coming back from getting this week's TV schedule (free) at Walgreen's on 45th and North, I noticed a man with a gold badge hanging around his neck walk hurriedly out of the store - the store being unoccupied for business but apparently being readied for one to open in the near future.  He walked toward the alley in the narrow walkway between the two brick 2 story office buildings.  At first, I thought the badge must have been one purchased to make a clerk look more official or maybe for a 'rent-a-cop' private security company - I didn't see the accouterments law enforcement (belt, gun, hat, jacket, pants, shoes, radio, etc.) so didn't think he was a Milwaukee Police Officer.

At around the same time, one of a group of men hanging around the 4-plex broke away from them and walked hurriedly in the same direction as the other.  His expression and features, as he passed me, gave me the impression of someone wanting to shoot someone - thereby giving rise to my thoughts of what I'd do after just such a .  Haven't heard anything on the news about a .  Haven't heard other than one at 20th and Cherry.  A police paddy wagon (white mini-van) did go by on North by the time I was walking north on 40th - it sounded like the siren stopped around 44th and North.  (10 days later, a man was shot and killed in the next block west.  Another occurred on 44th on 11/8/02.  The store was closed due to fire damage on 7/10/04.  Walgreen's isn't the only 'drug dealer' in this locale.)

24th:  Had the umpteenth forum concentrating on issues in this neighborhood - this time one sponsored by the Anna E. Casey Foundation.  (The founder of United Postal Service named it in honor of his mother.  It appears to be one of the very few 501c(3)-type charitable foundations which is actually "TRYING" to help resolve problems in the Inner City of Milwaukee.  Our block received an $870.00 grant from them last year - $500 of which couldn't be spent for not being able to find or even "hire" chaperones to take kids to distant recreation or educational venues -- those venues requiring one adult for each 10 kids --- we having one adult, me, and more than 30 kids wanting to go.)

It was called the Central City Employment Issues Forum and was almost entirely attended by individuals representing other non-profit groups focusing on issues in the Inner City - 6 of the 40+ attendees were residents -- half of those again already working with non-profit also in attendance groups.  We broke up into 4 work groups in the afternoon.  My group focused on Neighborhood Jobs.

One of the statistics brought out during the morning-long presentation by consultants was that most of the males in our target area were ex-offenders - many on parole or probation.  They had a hard time getting and keeping jobs - one reason why our unemployment rate (not even counting those who've stopped looking for work) is 5 to 6 times the rate for the rest of the city.

One strategy to help ex-offenders and others who needed work, sometimes for the first time, involved housing rehabilition.  There are dozens, if not hundreds of board-ups in the target area (Highland Blvd to Center Street and 24th Place to 47th Street) - most of them probably already owned by or abandoned to city control.  They are rapidly deteriorating - oftentimes to the point that they are eventually demolished after extensive fire damage.  Many are used by drug dealers - who don't need permits and permission to occupy empty buildings.  And there is a dearth of owner occupied housing in the same target area.

So, what better way to train people to show up for work on time each day, awake and attentive, than by working on properties that nobody cares about, now.  Hell, even if the training process destroyed the property, it would save the city demolition costs later on.  And, workers wouldn't need driver's licenses, cars or tools, because they could walk to work in their own neighborhood.  And, given that there's no rush to complete each rehab job, time off for visits to the 'system' for various reasons wouldn't be a problem.

And, in addition to the minimum wage earned, lottery chits could be earned toward drawings giving away those houses that couldn't be sold on the open market.  Hey, even if the winning new owners eventually destroyed the house, we'd just have another rehab job in the pipeline.

There are so many benefits to this type of strategy it's a no brainer.  Home owners need maintenance skills - provided by just this type of 'on the job' training.  Neighborhood kids need role models - especially role models in their own neighborhoods who they can relate to and from whom they can learn the skills needed to maintain their own home when they become old enough to do so.

So, with more work group meetings to be announced, I look forward to something actually happening in this neighborhood - THIS TIME!  I volunteered to create and maintain a web site for the project.  Have already done so after purchasing the FixinToWork.com domain name for it.
    (But, I'm keeping my reality hat on - it's more likely the bureaucracy, unions, poverty pimps and politicians who represent them will kill the plan before it gets off the ground - continuing the 4 decade long tradition of spending money ON the Inner City that never sees the INSIDE OF the Inner City - all that money going to people talking about and organizing over problems who don't live in the target areas and, therefore, don't have the slightest idea of what it really takes to resolve problems therein.)

28th:  Got around to cleaning and recycling another piece of furniture thrown away a week ago by the group home next door.  It's an example of how little the quality woodwork of the past is appreciated nowadays.  One of my favorite sayings has always been, "I live off what poor people (or people on welfare or people in the Inner City) throw away" - this is a good example of one item I didn't have to go out and purchase and then pay someone else even more to haul it to my house.
    This afternoon, from 1:00 to 4:00, was our "official" TRICK OR TREAT time.  Got a couple rolls of quarters to give away while I worked in the front yard raking leaves and getting ready for winter.  Most of the early kids didn't bother TRICK OR TREATing me.  Eventually, after around 3:00 pm, I prodded some kids who asked if I had any candy if that's all they were looking for.  After a minute of hints and teasing from me, they finally said the magic words for the day, TRICK OR TREAT and I gave them each a quarter.  Did so with others after that to the tune of $5.00 worth of quarters - only one child from our block came by -- a girl from across the street who was handing out candy from her porch.  (Most of the older kids, usually not in costume, just asked, "Do you have any candy?"  I just answered, "No!" and left if up to them to TRICK OR TREAT or ask more questions.  A couple parents drove their kids by in cars.  Nobody got a quarter from he unless they first said the magic words - TRICK OR TREAT.)

31st:  This morning's news reported that a man was shot and killed in the 2300 block of N. 45th last night.  Apparently, the on the 21st in the same area was a practice session.  (The 2300 block of N. 45th was the worst block in this neighborhood for a decade.  A Walgreen's drug store is located on the southwest end of the block - at the corner of 45th and North.  More traditional drugs could be bought all along the block.  A typical "stale and outdated food" grocery store stood at the southeast corner.  It had been empty most of this year and was demolished a couple weeks ago.
    Most recently, up until this past year, this block seemed to have been the headquarters for dog fights in our area.  Now, it has a half-dozen empty lots which have decreased the population density to the point where the long term decent residents can handle problems to minimize further crime and deterioration.

1st:  Had another price discrepancy at the Jewel store at 36th & Meinecke.

2nd:  Well, the latest buildings along North Avenue to be rehabbed and reoccupied are the OUTSTANDING commercial structure on the northwest corner of 36th and the old Ben Franklin 5 & 10 at 35th - the latter to be a much needed hardware store -- albeit one not as good as the Rheinhard's closing at 24th & Lisbon --- the closest extant hardware stores are Staples Bros. a mile north at 35th & Burleigh and Cunningham a mile west at 50th & North - Cunningham's eventually going out of business by 2003.  (In the meantime, I get most of my construction material from that laying in alleys after being thrown away by others, especially other local rehab projects which can't store the perfectly good but odd sized odds and ends - a much more convenient process -- those alleys being closer than the hardware stores. )

5th:  Took a picture of the leaf pile in front of my house - the leaves have been there for two weeks, so far -- being freshened yesterday with the new leaves having fallen off the trees and settled on my front lawn this past week.  Note that there are no trees near my house from whence these leaves come - they all come from trees at least two houses away from mine.  Note also that the A Better Way Group Home next door doesn't rake the leaves outside its front fence - thereby ensuring that they too will end up in my front yard when the wind comes from the north.  It's a good thing I rake my leaves.
      Ran into (our) Alderman Willie Hines at Jewel last night.  His daughter is a real cutie pie - just at the age of being able to wander around and get lost all on her own.  Should have mentioned the leaves to him.  The city stops picking them up after the 15th of November - I predict they won't pick those up in the picture -- thereby maintaining a 14 year tradition of ignoring our block when it comes to street sweeping and leaf collection.  But, later this afternoon, Merrie from Sherman Park Community Association called about our block club - which is one in name only -- me being the only person who is willing to do anything in public --- and I don't need meetings for that.  (It'd be nice to support someone else from a distance, but even that tactic has not worked over the past 14 years on our block.)
      Anyway, I brought up the leaves with Merrie.  She called the appropriate people and called back to say that they'd be picked up the next day IF THERE WAS A TWO CAR LENGTH SPACE OPENING for the leaf collection truck to get them.  (Having worked on a leaf collection truck in Whitefish Bay back in 1972, I knew that wasn't really necessary but didn't bring it up.)

6th:  Met Goldie from the group home next door coming to work.  Told her about the leaf collection truck and the two car empty space requirement.  She said she'd move her van across the street where there were no leaves.

So, while waiting for the Roadrunner cable installer to come by, I raked her leaves and those of the next two houses south of me.  While doing so, the wind blew a lot more into the spots I'd just raked - all from the trees at the corner which are still shedding.

Also ordered Roadrunner cable internet access to be installed today.  Had dreams all night about it and what could go wrong.  Am most concerned about being able to FTP and send email via Netscape Messenger, in that order.  Will have to test it before parting with my first month check.  Time Warner Cable is another company deserving of another spot on the Duh-me.com site - one for its organization or lack thereof.  Here's the particulars:

1. They require that I give them PIN number over the telephone in order to access help thereafter.  But, it can't be changed thereafter.  So, I'm not going to give them a PIN that's easy for me to remember - one already associated with some other service providers.  And, a month from now, I'm not going to remember the PIN I give them, now, especially without any hints from them about what it is - AND THEY WON'T GIVE HINTS, EITHER!!  So, I have to write down the PIN in the Time Warner Cable file and remember to get that file whenever I call them for help in order to get it - meaning that anyone with access to that file can pretend to be me -- thereby keeping them safe in a COVER YOUR ASS kind of way but leaving me as unsecure as hell.  (That's a typical attitude one can expect from Theory-X type companies - AOL has long been in that category -- maybe why they agreed to partner up so quickly.)
2. According to their advertisement, the installation is FREE and the first two months service are free, except that I have to pay the first month and an additional $20 (plus tax) for the ethernet card to the installer.  He is supposed to give me two coupons that I'm to use in lieu of payment for my first two months service, but when asked if I could use one of them instead of the amount due him for the "first" month's service the answer was no.  YOU FIGURE THAT OUT!
3. (Open for problems that are bound to appear when the installer comes with the service contract, not mentioned over the telephone but bound to be there, and demands payment BEFORE the work is done.  I, of course, am not going to pay for anything until I see it working - it not being my problem they can't do that until all the cable is strung.  They could have demo laptops I could use to test the functions I need but don't have that "customer friendly" capability, either.)

7th:  Well, I'm as happy as a clam.  Not only did the Roadrunner cable installation proceed without a hitch, 90% of the leaves were removed from the 3 piles on my end of the block this morning - don't know why the other 10% were left and am happy any of them are gone -- maybe the labor contract with the city requires that union workers only put out a 90% effort --- a level previously unattained in this neighborhood.  (A picture of the better pick-up a block away at 41st & Meinecke is included for comparison purposes.)

But, they still didn't get the bunch at the northeast corner - the leaves that the wind will eventually blow onto my front yard.  So, I can look forward to some more exercise raking more leaves before the 15th when leaf raking into the street is supposed to end for all city residents.

With the new (broadband) Roadrunner connection, I'm now able to compose email, edit web sites, tweak and upload images and web pages without fear of being cut-off in mid-stream, so to speak.  The FTP uploading of files to the web server is almost instantaneous.  I LOVE IT!  Can't wait to cancel my really dumb NetZero (dis)service.

30th:  Spent Thanksgiving at Jack's up in Neenah.  Lynne prepared a great feast and I won the 99 tournament, again.  Christoph Schiewe from Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany (one of Jack's two foreign guest students) came in second.

Jack bought a new Campaq Presario with Windows XP.  I bought his old emachine with Windows 98.  Have been busy since Sunday getting Windows 98 on top of my 20Gb hard drive so that I didn't lose the files already there.  Tested the process on the 4.3Gb drive that came with the emachine, first.  So, am now, finally, operating from a better platform on a faster (400MHz vs 200) computer with USB scanner and CD-RW drive.  I love it!  [ Click the picture to see how my computer set-up looked in January. ]
    And, having a decent version and platform from which to check out Outlook Express (OE), I've grown to love it, too - especially since it appears to be an almost most identical, but much better version of Netscape Messenger (NSM).  I could even import my entire Netscape Messenger email folder (5Mb+) into Outlook Express!  Given the complexity of my hundreds of email sub-folders, that was a real blessing.  Also, just composed and sent my first email with OE - it was a fantastic improvment over the now tedious NSM process - I LOVE IT EVEN MORE! 4th:  Attended the grand opening of the new   Police Station up at 49th & Lisbon.

9th:  Attended my very first professional football game.  It proved that:
DA BEARS STILL SUCK
- being beaten by the Packers 17 to 7 -- after playing a very conservative game.  My nephew, Thomas, was the host for his Dad, brother, a co-worker, a Chicago client and me.  We had a great time - wasn't a cloud to be seen during the entire game on a day of around 40 degrees temperature with a slight wind coming from the south.  He got the tickets 6 months ago when the game was anticipated to be just another in the century long Packers vs Bears rivalry - NOT A CONTEST FOR FIRST PLACE IN THE CENTRAL DIVISION!

10th:  Read the best joke all week at a site that's beginning to accumulate them.

22nd:  Here's the disrespect one of our local "absentee" landlords shows our neighborhood.  It's a pile of trash thrown against the garage across the alley.  This is the kind of crap the city lets slumlords get away with while charging us home owners an extra $75 per year to haul our 'normal' trash.  Were they to charge just $10 for each occurance of this kind of behavior, our property taxes could be eliminated!  (Click here to see the pile on January 5th.)
(This is the same garage posted and boarded by the city back in September.)
Found a bunch of web sites referencing

DA BEARS STILL SUCK

which are accumulating at one of my postings at the Cult Forum.

25th: 

Merry Christmas   and

Happy New Year   to all!

Website link/location/URL: http://Diary.Jamrent.com or http://www.Jamrent.com/ben/ben01d15.htm