JRS Personal Blog

Add NSF fees to the list of commercial banking reforms

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Wednesday, the New York Times published a story announcing that two commercial banks, Chase and Bank of America, were preparing to reduce the fees that occur when a customer’s balance becomes negative.

Anyone who runs a month-to-month family budget knows that in recent years many commercial banks have slowly adjusted account policies in ways that increase their revenue from fees.

In the spirit of full disclosure, my wife and I used to hold accounts at Bank of America. In 2006, we became alarmed at the contents of a series of policy notices we received, and eventually canceled our accounts in 2007 after experiencing the “snowballing effect” in which a $7 overdraft and a delayed deposit credit resulted in more than $200 in bank fees and charges.

We opened an account with Wells Fargo, largely because friends who bank there suggested the bank was more customer-centric than some of the other larger banks.

But the Wells Fargo experience proved similar (and in fact, given this morning’s announcements, WF might be less hospitable to its customers than Bank of America and Chase). My current concern involves the insufficient funds policy on a customer’s checking account, but I’ll return to that momentarily.

The September 9 New York Times article by Ron Lieber and Andrew Martin, “Overspending on Debit Cards Is a Boon for Banks," featured Wells Fargo. Peter Means, a 59-year-old graduate student from Colorado, cited a case in which Wells Fargo charged him $238 for seven transactions, each less than $12. This is the “snowball effect” in action: one transaction exceeds the balance of an account, and each subsequent bank fee makes it more difficult for an account holder to return the balance to positive numbers. And, as numerous customers have pointed out (check out an entry posted on Complaints.com from the fall of 2006 or even the muckraking site Wells Fargo Watch), deposits and credits are often delayed at least 24 hours for verification, whereas debits and charges are posted within the same transaction day, exacerbating the snowball effect and delaying efforts to repair the damage to one’s account.

Ron Lieber wrote a follow-up article explaining why this practice began and why it’s not likely to change in the near future.

Add to this mix changes concerning the ordering of transaction reports. According to Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, the firm launched a suit against Wells Fargo in Seattle for its practice of ordering daily transactions from largest to smallest (which effectively maximizes bank fees, because smaller charges that might have otherwise been covered are calculated last. Overdraft fees are assessed per transaction, not by the amount a customer overspends). Similar suits have been filed against Wachovia, though this practice appears fairly standard among commercial banks.

I called Bank of America customer service after the announced implementation of this policy. The individual with whom I spoke claimed that the policy change was geared to better serve the customer (the standard argument is that a customer would want to cover larger expenses like mortgage payments and car payments, rather than have them returned). I asked at the time what data had been collected from customers concerning this preference (I am, after all, a social scientist and am always interested in survey and focus group methodology), but the representative could only cite vague claims of customer requests. I repeated this exercise recently with Wells Fargo, specifically requesting, as a customer, that my account clear smaller transactions first. The customer service representative I spoke to again cited the policy’s intent to “serve the interests of our customers” and explained that “the computers” could not be reconfigured to handle my account differently.

As I said, my small contribution to the laundry list of concerning bank practices involves the non-sufficient fund (NSF) fee policy changes. As anyone who’s ever bounced a check knows, banks and commercial retailers both charge penalty fees for writing a check that exceeds one’s available funds. The new policy change involved the reporting mechanism.

When a retailer is informed that a transaction failed to clear the customer’s bank account, the standard practice is to submit the check for payment again, to make sure the problem is not due to a banking error. Only when a second failure is reported will many retailers take the next step of contacting the customer to rectify the situation.

What has changed at commercial banks like Wells Fargo is the manner in which NSF fees are applied to checks. Currently, a customer is charged an NSF fee for each attempt a retailer makes to deposit a customer’s check into their account. In effect, this means that a $10 check that does not clear a customer’s account will most likely accrue multiple NSF fees, at least $70 from the bank in addition to the $25-35 the retailer will charge the customer. Unlike debit card transactions, which are pre-approved at the moment of transaction, customers who bounce a check typically face around $100 in fees per transaction, as well as the original amount of the transaction no longer honored.

The same deregulation that led to the recent financial upheaval on Wall Street would appear to be at least partly responsible for these recent policy changes. With a wider portfolio of increasingly leveraged assets, it’s understandable why most commercial banks have altered their policies to generate more revenue. What isn’t understandable is why these alterations are framed as having the customer’s interests at heart.

On Lies and Liars …

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Last night, as I watched the president’s speech on healthcare before a joint gathering of Congress, I was struck by the muted partisanship and rancor coming from both sides of the aisle.

Don’t get me wrong, I find it endemic of our national character that so many members of our leadership will launch invective through media coverage and public events and then act so reserved in a personal confrontation with their opposition. Nor am I suggesting that I favor this behavior. I see it as false statesmanship, a show for masses that does not accurately reflect our leaders’ character, their motives, nor even their “class” (whatever that is).

Which brings me to the outburst by South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson.

For those that missed it, when President Obama refuted the claim that the healthcare reform would provide coverage to illegal immigrants, Wilson shouted from his seat, “YOU LIE!”

It was a startling moment. I, like many listeners, was taken aback by that exchange.

Not because of the “breach of decorum” so widely derided by so many this morning. Frankly, I think our democracy is a bit too controlled, with certain speakers being allowed access to the public sphere at certain times. In my opinion, much goes unsaid in our public space, which is one of the reasons I think the pseudo-public space (cable news, talk radio, email chain letters, etc.) are so partisan and nasty.

No, I found the moment interesting for a framing and content reason.

By choosing (or not choosing, the Congressman says this morning he simply was caught up in the moment) to shout “YOU LIE!” instead of “THAT’S WRONG!” or “I DISAGREE!,” the Congressman displays precisely why this discourse surrounding the healthcare debate has been so divisive.

When one frames disagreement in terms of a moral claim about another person, rather than on the arguments themselves, it appears to display a closed approach to said discourse. In other words, there’s not much room for the consideration of the other’s views, much less compromise.

I remember hearing an NPR segment a few months back between a representative of the NRA and a representative from the ACLU. They had been invited to discuss the lapse and proposed reinstatement of the federal assault weapons ban.

As the segment drew on, I was struck by how many times the NRA spokesman said “That’s a lie” and how many times the ACLU spokesman said “That’s simply not true.”

Not that progressives have the monopoly on the high ground nor the conservatives on the low ground. I’ve heard plenty from each side stoop low to claim “lies” (who can forget “Bush lied and people died!”?), and members of both sides frame their remarks in terms of factual disputes and disagreements over evidence.

I do wish, just once, someone in President Obama’s position (or even former President Bush's position) would take an opportunity like the occurrence last night to say, “Excuse me, sir! As I implore my progressive friends and my conservative friends to come together, let me offer you a suggestion about your choice in rhetoric. We may disagree on the evidence supporting your claim or mine. We may disagree about the intentions or likely policy outcomes of the plans under scrutiny. But you cannot claim to know what I know, what my intentions are, or that I am willfully disregarding what I do know in order to offer deceit. You simply don't know me well enough to make that claim. It is precisely this style of rhetoric that polarizes our policy debates and prevents compromise.”

I understand why President Obama could not make such a statement. Politically, it’s better to allow such a remark to pass unchallenged and put faith in the listener to discern the difference between the two approaches.

But I wonder if we’re putting too much faith in the casual listener?

I’ve heard so much discourse about “lies,” “liars,” and “deceit.” And precious little about the possibility of “misunderstanding,” “misinformed,” “disagreement,” etc.

And I fear by not allowing space in our discourse for misunderstandings, differing levels of information access, different ideological approaches to evidence or even simply errors in logic, we proclaim we know the person better than they themselves do, and limit our ability to understand precisely why it is we disagree with another.

In other words, we undermine our ability to interact, and reduce the strengths of a vibrant democracy (a marketplace of ideas in which differing positions interact to learn from one another) to a shallow shouting match where political muscle alone determines political outcomes.

Hitler Opposes Obama

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Normally I don't embed YouTube videos (from other people) in my blogs.

But this one hit my funny bone this morning. Had to share.

It's even funnier if you're seen Valkyrie.

The President's School Address

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Unexpected controversy has arisen over the President's plan to address the nation's school children this week.

Are there those that are really so fearful that they think holding their children out of school is the preferable choice to exposing their children to "dangerous ideology"? When did intellectual curiosity become something to fear for so many?

Well, regardless of the underpinning social context of these events, you can view the President's message to our children below. Enjoy.

"The Media" does it AGAIN!

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:48:00 +0000

*sigh*

So apparently Captain America is coming back from the dead. And though I am a subscriber (and suspected the return in July for reasons I won't go into here), I am somehwat irritated that CNN broke the story today.

I learned about his death from the New York Times. Now I receive confirmation of his rebirth from CNN. Can't "the Media" just let me enjoy my subscription?

Inscription from John Shelton Lawrence

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Last night, I received an amazing surprise.

John Shelton Lawrence had sent me a copy of The Myth of the American Superhero, which he had co-written with Robert Jewett.

When I opened it, there was an inscription:

To Rick Stevens, with admiration for your penetrating scholarship.

John Sheldon Lawrence
Berkeley, CA 4/17/09

And did I mention that I have an appointment to meet Robert Jewett for dinner to talk shop next month?

An unexpected compliment

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:01:00 +0000

I recently met with one of the potential PhD candidates the school was trying to recruit. Normally, I steer clear of the process, as I'm trying to establish my own research agenda before I start building a base around it.

But this one was different. During the meeting in which the selection committee set our list, this person had jumped out at me. The perfect combination of coding skills and cultural understanding, I placed him at the top of my list.

When he visited I met with him at length. We talked for three hours in my office and when I found out the school hadn't made dinner arrangements for him, I took him to the Sink for dinner.

During that afternoon/evening, our conversation wandered from systems theory, to journalism business approaches, to popular culture, to topics better unmentioned.

I received a card from the student the other day in which he informed me of his choice to attend another university.

But in the note, he included a surprising compliment:

"You were one of the main people I met on my visit who made it a difficult decision between Colorado and [other university]. I think it would have been fun and invigorating to work with you, and I hope we can collaborate in the future. Personally, I also enjoyed talking with you and would like to continue correspondence regardless. It is rare that I find someone smart enough that I can genuinely enjoy talking with them at length about a range of topics, and enjoy them as a person, too."

Wow. Coming from the person in question, this is high praise indeed.

Every once in a while, I'm surprised by the words of others. I don't often assess my capabilities or efforts, more content to just "get things done."

But this compliment certainly put a spring in my step I hadn't had in a while.

Photos of the Storm Aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:08:00 +0000

I just posted a photo gallery of the snowstorm aftermath:

http://jrichardstevens.com/rickpix/20090419Snowstorm/

The Return V2

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:45:00 +0000

More YouTube videos

A look at the front deck (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exe5jWaA2-g):

A look at the side deck (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=887q7YqULI4):

A look at the back deck (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ByqM7BnlU):

A panoramic view from upstairs (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVgQUhuS1kM):

Home at last

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:43:00 +0000

Home at last.

After a couple of days in Boulder, Austin and I returned to Nederland to see how bad the conditions were.

I stopped off for groceries and gas on the way up (who knows how long we'll be cut off from the world). It looked like the majority of people who didn't have electricity were still without.

The drive up was harrowing. The weather was warm (relatively, "warm" was 26) and sunny, but the canyon highways was covered with slush and black ice. One turn almost cost us as I skidded across both lanes to the oncoming shoulder. I managed to regain control (and avoided the instinct to hit the brake, which would have put us in the canyon).

We arrived at our house about 9 a.m. The snow had built up a few more inches, and I could tell that the brilliant sun was beginning to harden the top layer.

Austin and I trudged in to the house. Austin made it most of the way on his own, but once again I had to rescue him when his little legs stiffened up.

The garage door was still open, but no snow was inside, nor was there any evidence of creature invasion. And thankfully, the power was restored.

I took Austin upstairs and dropped him off, stripped off my wet clothes and started looking the house over. Nothing was out of place.

After resting for a few moments, I drank some water, bundled up and headed back out.

Grabbing the snow shovel, I began to create a path back out to Caribou. Foot by foot, I cleared a trench 18 inches across and from 2-4 feet deep. It's easily 100 years, and it took me 2 1/2 hours to clear.

Here's the YouTube video featuring the trench (I originally shot the video in HD, but reduced it in quality before uploading, Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpyv5TzoC8Q):

Of course, I was extremely hot during this activity, despite the 34 degree weather. The sun makes a huge difference, and I definitely have a sun burn from the snow reflection.

When I finally reached the road, I cleared enough room to park the jeep at the mouth of the driveway.

Refugees 'R Us

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:31:00 +0000

Austin and I are currently refugees. We were forced to evacuate Nederland yesterday because of the snow.

This was a pretty big storm (UPI reportage). On Friday, about 36 inches of snow fell between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. By the next evening, Ned had about 48 inches, and Rollinsville (7 miles west) has about 54 inches. That makes this the biggest storm in five years, bt not bigger than the 2003 storm that dropped more than 60 inches in 24 hours all over the region.

Austin and I were in Boulder early on Friday (I teach from 8 to 10:20 on Fridays). Boulder got the weather, but the snow was mixed with rain, resulting in a slushy mix about 4-6 inches deep. I had a couple of meetings in the afternoon and then about 4 p.m., Austin and I set off for home.

The drive up through the canyon was very treacherous. I was in four-wheel drive the whole way, and still almost lost control a couple of times. We arrived in Ned about 4:45 and managed to get up Caribou ok (they were still plowing then). But then we got to the house, we were confronted with a 3-foot pack on our driveway, with a five foot buildup near the road (courtesy of the snow plow).

Austin and I picked our way to the house (Austin made it about half-way before he couldn't make it any further). The trip was exhausting, blazing a trail through thigh-high snow is extremely difficult for a few feet, much less the 100 yards separating the road from the house. But we made it. I deposited Austin, grabbed a couple of shovels, and trudged back to the Jeep.

I spent a couple of hours digging out the first 15 feet of the driveway, just enough to pull my Jeep off the road (I was worried about the snowplow coming along and hitting it, though I didn't know at the time that the snowplows had already given up on keeping Caribou clear).

When I finished (around 6:30 or so), I trudged back to the house and collapsed in the garage, exhausted. Then I started to go upstairs when I realized the garage door wasn't coming down. The power was out.

That sent a chill down my spine. We lost power once before for a couple of hours and discovered that when the electric pump that pulls water from our well loses power, we lose water.

Suddenly I realized that we had not heat, lights or water, and about an hour of daylight left. I hurriedly stripped (my clothes were soaked), pulled together a suitcase and started trying to gather resources. I knew I couldn't make more than two trips to the Jeep, and one of those would probably be carrying Austin.

So I packed some supplies and everything I might need for a an extended trip, and made the first trip. Each time down and back cost me about half an hour. On the second trip, I planned to carry Austin, but he proved to be a trooper and he scampered about 3/4 of the distance before his back legs froze and I had to rescue him.

Once in the Jeep, I thought we were safe, but I didn't know the half of the challenges ahead of us.

The storm finally unleashed its fury, and I experienced my first whiteout. The snow fell so fast that when I tried to clear the windows of the Jeep, the first one I cleared would be caked by the time I rounded the Jeep. We were taking on about an inch a minute. And it was only a matter of time before I was going to have to dig the Jeep out.

So I set off, even though visibility was poor.

The problem with driving in heavy snow is that as the snow falls faster and faster, one can't distinguish between the foreground and the background of the view. I couldn't tell the difference between the road and the sky, much less the road and the snow banks on either side.

Adding to this challenge is the fact that you cannot clear the vapor from the inside of a vehicle. I opened the back windows completely and ran the defroster on full blast, but only the middle third of the windshield was clear (and it never improved, not even hours later).

But I knew if I waited, the conditions would only deteriorate. So I pushed on, trying to use the trees as memory markers for where the road was.

I did ok until I reached the turn at the Caribou ridge. This isn't a terribly difficult turn, but it's where the treeline drops away. If you drive off the ridge, it's a good 100-foot drop to the base of the canyon.

There are guard rails and reflective signs, and I eased around the corner.

Right on the other side of the turn, I encountered another vehicle. Caribou is dual lane, but the snowplows usually don't clear a full path. So I moved closer and closer to the edge of the ridge and barely passed the vehicle. At this point, I had rounded the bend and entered the main crosswinds. Visibility was zero. I couldn't see the road, I couldn't the edge of the ridge, everything was pure white.

Nervous not knowing how close I was to the edge (falling off the mountain is not a good image), I tried to get to the center of the road I couldn't see. Then I saw the outline of a cross that marked the death of a local woman who had slid off the ridge years before. I decided I didn't want to be close to that, and slightly overcorrected. Fifty yards later, I had buried the jeep in a snowbank on the left.

At first I didn't know what had happened. Everything was still white, but I couldn't move.. I tried to open the driver side door, but it was held shut.

I climbed over the console and exited the passenger door, and then saw that I was, indeed, deeply buried in the drift. So deep, the light from my left headlight was not visible. I climbed back in and tried to back up, but had no traction. I downshifted into low 4-wheel drive and tried to pull forward, and didn't budge.

Thankfully, I had been too tired to carry the blade shovel back to the house and had thrown it into the back of the Jeep. I began to try and dig the Jeep out, which was up to the roof in the drift.

Over the next hour, alternated digging and climbing back in to move. I finally got the Jeep to rock, and eventually demolished enough of the drift in front of me to pull free.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, I cautiously pulled forward. The snow that had accumulated in my hair began to melt and rivers of cold water ran down my face and down the back of my neck. But I didn't dare kill my inertia, so I slowly picked my way down Caribou.

When I finally reached Highway 72 (Peak-to-Peak), I thought I was golden. But it hadn't been plowed either, and had about 3 inches on snow.

I slowly worked my way toward town. I couldn't see much, and everything looked unfamiliar. The circle was invisible.

I simply trusted that the signs were accurate and turned out the circle just to the left of the sign for Hwy 119. I saw two vehicles get stuck ON THE HIGHWAY, so I made sure not to allow my inertia to fall below 10 mph. When I reached the reservoir, visibility improved a little. Or at least, I could see the dark void to my right that I knew I wanted to avoid.

Once I passed the dam, visibility again deteriorated. I finally caught up to someone and used the dull red eyes of their taillights to aim the jeep. Every turn was a nightmare, twice I lost control and had to fight it back. The Outback in front of me lost control once, and I thought they were headed into the canyon ravine, but they corrected just in time.

It took an hour to get to Boulder. But we made it. And I'm glad. I saw the Associated Press reports later that night. One person had already died and hundreds were stranded in their vehicles. The national guard was mobilized to get people to shelters and deliver cots and blankets to those stuck between communities.

So, Austin and I spent the next 48 hours in Boulder. The snow continued to fall in Nederland, and I later found out that 9,600 people had lost power (including 4,600 in the Nederland area), and it didn't come back all night.

Note from John Shelton Lawrence

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Wow. About five days after I returned from the PCA conference in New Orleans, I received a note from John Shelton Lawrence.

My paper had considered the historic portrayals of violence and considering the American Monomyth, and two of the scholars I cited at length (of course) were John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett.

Lawrence was asking me to send Jewett a copy of the paper, and he had high praise for the work.

I was somewhat surprised and humbled. And, of course, I complied.

I even was able to ask both authors some follow-up questions to inform my book project.

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:32:00 +0000

I've just been asked to serve on the publications board of the CUIndependent. This student-run news outlet has been controversial in recent years and is in the process of being separated from the SJMC program's oversight.

The board's duties? To select the editor-in chief for each upcoming semester, and to provide journalistic accountability for the CUI.

So, I guess I should start reading it more consistently. I should probably also keep some notes in my Media, Technology and Society blog about what I see.

Driveway Snow

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:58:00 +0000

Why the Jeep got stuck. This was about where the rear axle was when the back tires hit gravel.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Art Spiegleman @ CU

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Spiegleman begins his lecture
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

How Austin spends most of his days these days

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:20:00 +0000

With Mommy in France, Austin gets to come to school with Daddy. And by "gets to," I mean "has to."

Posted via Pixelpipe.

test4

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:36:00 +0000

test4
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

Frozen Dingleberries

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Poor Austin. He misses his Mommy so much (who is in France at the wedding of her brother).

Daddy works all day and only takes Austin out to play in the snow twice.

Which means, each time he goes out, relief is a major priority.

But sometimes, crouching to get a good spot has unintended consequences. Sometimes Austin Boston picks up unwanted hitchhikers.

Daddy was so kind to only make Austin Boston wait 5 minutes before heading to the bathroom to unhitch his snowy mementos.

You can also see the whole gory archive.

Austin Vid

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:27:00 +0000

Just a video I made for a faculty video workshop. Video clips shot entirely with the new Pure Digital flip HD Camcorder (NYTimes review).

Christmas Day

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:02:00 +0000

Well, it's Christmas.

Because we celebrated Christmas a day early, Christmas Day became a day of rest and relaxation. Buddy and Bethany drove out to Estes Park to see the sights (and ran into a herd of elk), while Starr and I stayed in, ate and talked.

Oh, and Austin got a bath (much needed!). He looks like a wet rat when he's wet, and I really feel sorry for him, particularly when it's so cold outside.

Christmas Eve is Christmas Day

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:54:00 +0000

Because Bethany's sister Joanna was flying to Houston on Christmas Day to be with her ... well, the father of her daughter (long story), we had to have Christmas Day on Christmas Eve.

We had Christmas dinner, opened a few presents and posed for a series of Christmas photos.

Austin was forced to wear the Santa suit that we know he hates (Merry Christmas!).

A Day in Boulder

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:47:00 +0000

The third day of occupied Christmas, my loved ones said to me ... "Let's go to Boulder!"

The day began with a trip to Lucille's Creole Cafe, one of my favorite Boulder restaurants.

We had a serving of beignets and a hearty breakfast. After breakfast, we swung by my office on campus and had a virtual visit with my family in Fairfield via iChat.

After that concluded, we dropped Bethany off at work and went shopping at the Pearl Street outdoor mall for a couple of hours.

Finally, we took two HUGE trips to Whole Foods and a more traditional grocery store to buy the supplies needed for the organic Christmas Dinner.

Then, we came home and played in the snow until dinner (and I cooked Bethany's gourmet chili and corn casserole).

Getting around town

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:33:00 +0000

Day two of the family Christmas was our "active Ned day."

Nederland is such a funky town, and I thought the Hawkins needed to see it and get their bearings.

We began by driving into down to the Barker Reservoir (wikipedia), which was frozen over.

This is a favorite place of mine, because the ice is constantly cracking, melting and refreezing, leaving interesting formations.

We also went by Barker Dam to look at the snow-covered portions of the reservoir.

We then drove down the canyon a ways and looked at some of the ice formations there.

After a brief tour of the town, we drove up to Eldora to see the sites. Just before we reached the ski resort, we paused to look around. I found my way into a snow drift in which I sunk nearly to my crotch, while Austin ran alongside me without sinking at all.

I guess his skinny rear comes in handy ...

The first night of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:25:00 +0000

Wow what a day.

Bethany's parents showed up about 3:30, but it took us about an hour to get Buddy's truck up the driveway. He has four-wheel drive, but his truck is MUCH heavier than my Jeep, and his wheels seem to cut through the snow to the slick, densely packed layer underneath.

He managed to get his chains on, and things seem better now.

We spent the evening indoors. Bethany got home from work about an hour after her folks arrives.

Buddy took a lot of photos.

And I invented a new children's song tonight with Cedar June. It's called the "Clapping Cheerleader Song." Buddy shot a video of it the third time we ran through it.

The Christmas Occupation Begins

noreply@blogger.com (jrichard) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:23:00 +0000

And so it begins.

We drove to the airport tonight to pick up Joanna, Bethany's sister.

Bethany's parents are due in sometime tomorrow. We're going to have a houseful of people for about a week.

And I'm giving a final at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Yuk.

JRS Personal Blog

Add NSF fees to the list of commercial banking reforms

On Lies and Liars …

Hitler Opposes Obama

The President's School Address

"The Media" does it AGAIN!

Inscription from John Shelton Lawrence

An unexpected compliment

Photos of the Storm Aftermath

The Return V2

Home at last

Refugees 'R Us

Note from John Shelton Lawrence

Driveway Snow

Why the Jeep got stuck. This was about where the rear axle was when the back tires hit gravel.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Art Spiegleman @ CU

Spiegleman begins his lecturePosted via Pixelpipe.The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

How Austin spends most of his days these days

Posted via Pixelpipe.

test4

test4Posted via Pixelpipe.The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Frozen Dingleberries

Austin Vid

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve is Christmas Day

A Day in Boulder

Getting around town

The first night of Christmas

The Christmas Occupation Begins

Spiegleman begins his lecture
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.

test4
Posted via Pixelpipe.
The content of this blog was created by J. Richard Stevens. Visit JRichardStevens.com for more details.