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Topics - nhibbard
1
« on: January 26, 2017, 08:30:50 PM »
Two "No Parking This Side of Street" signs have found there way up on School Street. I was just wondering if there was any evaluation of putting these signs up, or can the Town put them up on any Town road whenever they want. I benefit from the sign, but it seems odd that there was no notice for those in the community to discuss the issue. If it's a matter of plowing and safety, which I assume it is, it would be a quick notice and conversation. What's to stop people from parking now on the "sidewalk" on my side of the street right in front of my house? This could cause the same problems as well as blocking what I'm not even sure is a sidewalk.
I checked the Board minutes and saw nothing there.
2
« on: September 17, 2015, 08:17:19 PM »
I love the Title conversation. We paid for one thing, got something else, and didn't call to tell them they delivered the wrong thing. Usually you don't pay for something until you receive it. As to who changed to get the purchase and sale, you could just call and ask who ordered that. I'm a little worried about a group who doesn't want to commit funds because of worries about grants and costs, but will spend money and have no idea why they paid for what they received. Very odd.
I also love that more people show up for a meeting in favor of this project than most other issues that have come up all year and for some reason members imply that there should have been an uproar. Has anyone looked at voter turnout. Actual voters, not eligible voters, are far fewer than eligible. Only 42% turned out last time. That's just over 1,300 people out of 3,100. So to take the item to voters is to say that less than half the group speaks for the whole. Well if that's ok and you were elected to make decisions by the percentage that you seem to think matter, then why not just make a decision. That's what elected officials do.
Then there's grant talk about finding out what actual dollar amount are available. Well when it comes to water, all I've heard is there is money but there are never amounts until the process is started. Now for some reason this project requires amounts before hand. Seems like the Rec Department has to provide more details than the Water Dept.
3
« on: August 16, 2015, 02:42:10 PM »
While there may not be a lot of games out yet for the One, the new feature that allows streaming of a game from your One to a Windows 10 PC is amazing. If the kids are watching a show and you want to play your shooter over on the side, throw on a headset and get a charging cable from your kindle and you're all set. Not everything streams but I'm sure most games will. I tried Assassin's Creed: Unity and it worked great even in Coop. The one thing I did see mentioned was that you should use a 5ghz wireless network setup which is not typical or capable in some older wifi equipment.
4
« on: May 30, 2015, 09:19:33 PM »
edX, Microsoft and Harvard are offering a great opportunity for anyone who teaches IT to high school students.
http://connect.microsoft.com/site862/Survey/Survey.aspx?SurveyID=17447
5
« on: May 13, 2015, 07:00:56 PM »
Cub Scout Pack 853 will be collecting bottles and cans to help raise funds for our pack on 5/31/2015. To schedule a pick, please contact me on here or email cubscoutpack853@gmail.com. Thank you for your support.
6
« on: April 26, 2015, 07:28:29 AM »
Make sure to check out:
Franklin West Supervisory Union 2015-03-18
One comment about making bus drivers SU employees was funny. First we did the supervisor, now maybe the drivers, then we just get rid of the busing and hire it out. Then a whole discussion of how to manage the SU explaining why busing was over budget. How about just a simple line item saying Fairfax Bus Expeneses. Then it's clear to the other SU towns.
7
« on: April 26, 2015, 06:36:08 AM »
Why is the conversation always about a backup well? Why don't we take the drilling we're getting and expand service until we find a well that can backup services? How about we use increase allocations based on more wells and use the funds generated from those to search for a backup source. If there are other towns that don't have backups, why are we always focus on one? Expand services, create a reserve fee to look for a backup and generate more revenue.
8
« on: January 29, 2015, 06:54:26 PM »
The bid process shows that we'd save over other vendors by keeping our busing the way it is but now we're paying our drivers too much so they get less of an increase than other positions at the school. And we move a supervisor to the SU where they would oversee the employee. That sounds like it will work out in the long run. I'm sure the SU won't make any changes once they're supervising.
9
« on: December 11, 2014, 10:27:30 PM »
Anyone know what it takes to replace the leadership at the supervisory union? It seems more and more that they represent their own interests and not that of the community. The comments I've heard out of the superintendent are just amazingly uninformed busing and contracts. The more the state moves to supervisory unions, the more power he gets in a position where soon he won't have to even entertain our community positions.
10
« on: December 09, 2014, 07:58:08 PM »
This could be the most asinine solution to a simple problem. If direct heat is the problem, put up shade shacks. $3,900 in paint or shacks you can drive under that get you entirely out of direct heat. Seems to work pretty well anywhere in the world where people live in houses and seek shade from heat. Why was this never an issue until we got pretty new toys? Are we buying these planes with the same type of paint too?
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/air-base-prepares-case-f-35-cant-take-hot-fuel-n264876
11
« on: December 05, 2014, 07:10:59 PM »
Just finished installing AXIS security cameras at work on a Synology Network-Attached-Storage (NAS) system. This was a great experience. The overall cost was reasonable to setup using IP cameras. The smaller install was:
4 AXIS IP cameras
1 Synology NAS
1 POE switch
CAT6 wiring
There is no electrical wiring because the switch provides all the power for the camera as well as the networking. This is a major benefit over all the entry level systems that require power at each camera. Running CAT6 is much cheaper and easier that having to get outlets where you want the camera.
You can use the Synology NAS as network storage as well as a security system. Each camera has a web portal to view and setup the camera and the Synology software pulls all the feeds together. If you have a Windows domain at your office, you can use that to authorize users access to the NAS.
With a little extra work, the cameras are available remotely on a computer or phone.
Much of this sounds like what you can get at Costco for a few hundred dollars but overall the quality and customization is far greater. Don't underestimate the savings associated with removing direct power connections. You can add IP cameras anyway you like as long as they are connected. If you network has more than one subnet (192.168.1.1 and 192.168.2.1) you can easily keep the cameras in those subnets and have access to all the cameras at one site.
13
« on: August 29, 2014, 06:32:40 PM »
Cub Scout Pack 853 will be holding our annual signup night on September 12th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at the BFA Elementary Lobby. We're also looking for leaders for both the 1st and 2nd grade groups. If you have any questions about the Scouting program or are interested in having your child join scouting, please visit us at the signup night.
14
« on: April 14, 2014, 06:25:06 PM »
If you ever wanted to learn more about computers or computer programming but didn't know where to go:
Free
Kahn Academy - kahnacademy.com - videos about many topics including computer basics. geared toward beginners
Microsoft Virtual Academy - microsoftvirtualacademy.com - self paced videos and tutorials that teach about microsoft products and coding.
EdX - edx.org - more like college classes but still free
CodeCademy - codecademy.com - self paced learning of all types of computer coding
Code - code.org - another self paced set of classes that are developed toward younger users and those wanting to learn
Paid
IT Pro TV - itpro.tv - large online library of videos that explain topics for many certifications in a tv sort of format
15
« on: March 06, 2014, 08:26:11 PM »
Since Burlington is creating yet another TIF district, I thought I'd throw it out there for those of you who hadn't heard about this in the past. A few towns in Vermont already use this tool. I'm not entirely sure what the downsides are in relation do where the taxable appreciation goes but Tax Increment Financing seems like an interesting topic to explore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_increment_financing
http://accd.vermont.gov/strong_communities/opportunities/funding/tif
http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/tsd/tifs/pages/tifs101.aspx
My basic understanding is that if we defined a portion of town that could be utilized for future development, we would then note the current tax value related to that area. Then we would take the anticipated future appreciation in tax revenue based on a series of public projects to finance the debt we would take out on the TIF. The idea being that if we expand our water district, expand our school infrastructure, build sidewalks, fix our roads and make certain areas where development would be possible, we would increase land values and thus the tax basis. Take the additional taxes generated by that base and pay down the debt. On the downside, if those improvements don't generate the upward swing, the TIF debt is paid by the Town.
I'm not sure what actual project could utilize this tool but these seemed to reasonably fit into the examples given.
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