The Horrors

I received a Facebook friend request from someone I hadn't had any contact with in over fifteen years.   It took a bit to place him specifically, although I knew it was from the company I used to work with.   But after we had swapped some messages on Facebook it all came back.   He worked as a consultant for my company and travelled to do work projects all over the United States.   Only, he didn't live in the United States, he lived in New Zealand.

He also reminded me of his work partner in New Zealand that I had also worked with during that time.  I had gone on a consulting assignment to work with the New Zealand Police Department to them with some software development issues they had.  This was around 1998 and before I started with that project, I stopped in to work with these two guys from our company, Heath and Darren, for a few days.

We had a great week getting some things done.   When we weren't working, we were going out to dinner and bars and having an all around good time as work buddies.   I have some specific memories from that trip, including some things I saw that we didn't have in the United States yet, but I had hopes they would come soon.

The first was something called a "Reverse Mortgage".   Darren and his wife had one.   The mortgage on their home was rolled into their bank account's overall balance.   That means that if you owed $100,000 on your home and had your salary check of $2,000 deposited into your account, your total balance would show as  $-98,000.  The idea was that before you spent that $2,000, your daily interest calculation on the house would be for less than the $100,000 resulting in taking less time to pay off the balance.   It also encouraged you to pay off the loan sooner (or it could cause you to spend more if you had a credit limit and poor spending habits).

They told me it was an attractive option for older, retired people who had lots of equity in their homes with little to no income.  Over time, they could spend equity in their homes if needed, instead of dying and giving a paid-off house to their heirs.  

I still haven't seen that type of loan here in the United States, but the next three things I have seen.  The first is larger ketchup and condiment packets.  Instead of getting lots of small packets of ketchup, you got one large one with your meal.  You could open it in such a way that it would squirt out without getting your hands messy.   Many fast food restaurants now have larger packets of ketchup that you can either open and dip into or open a second way and squeeze onto something.

The second thing that is becoming more prevalent is the "big flush, little flush" toilets.   I'd never seen them back in 1998 but it made good sense.  Liquids only?  Use the small flush button.   Need more flushing power?  Use the big flush option.

The one that surprised me the most because it took so long to catch on here was something they were calling EFTPOS.   They pronounced it as though it was an acronym.   This was the latest—everyone was doing it.  If you didn't have it you might loose customers.    It stood for Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale.   We went to a bar and everyone ordered drinks.  You got your drink, they held up an electronic keypad on a cord, you swiped your card and entered your PIN.   Drink paid for...that easy.

It was years later that machines started showing up on the customer's side of the counter where you could pay yourself.   Today I don't think it's as prevalent here as it was in New Zealand back in 1998. Maybe credit card fees are too high here or there's some other barrier to making it more ubiquitous.

The final thing I remember is my associate Darren and his wife.   I don't remember her name or their son's name but I know their daughter was named Baley.   Darren and his wife loved their three- and five-year-old children, but they had a nick name for them that would make you think otherwise.   They called them, "The Horrors".   It was said so lovingly that you knew they were joking, but it was funny still.   Every now and then, I call my children, "the horrors" and think of Darren and Heath and my trip to New Zealand.

The Big Boy Update:  I got some information about what my son is doing at school today—and I got it from the most unlikely of places...my son.   He doesn't like to talk about what he has done, he likes to tell you what he is currently doing.   Today he told me he worked with button frames and cylinders.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter is not aware that she has two teachers (from what I can tell). She is infatuated with her teacher, Susan.   When Anne, the other teacher, put her in the car yesterday I told her Reese was in love with Susan.   Anne said, "well, aren't we all!"   Both Anne and Susan are great.

Fitness Update:   I did a twenty-minute workout on the Xbox today.  Uncle Jonathan told me the new Xbox fitness was really impressive.   I was beat after twenty minutes.  I'm not sure how Uncle Jonathan did two twenty-minute sessions in a row.