January 2008 – Jackie Koerner

Robo-Kari

I ran all over town buying Christmas presents for this child on Black Friday. I got up at 2 a.m. after cleaning up from Thanksgiving until 11 p.m. I froze my tushy off without a Starbucks in sight. I got punched in the kidney at Target. I got motion sick in the line at Toys R Us – it just was too much weaving back and forth. I dealt with ripped bags and tripped up the deck steps. I wrapped and wrapped and wrapped. And, after all that effort, she puts the cardboard bucket on her head and walks around the house.

Student Loan Stress

I work in financial aid, and there is a ‘big hoopla’ going on right now in regards to financial aid. Essentially, due to said ‘big hoopla’ propaganda/media is advising students not to trust financial aid offices and to apply for the loans they need on their own. This is causing complete insanity for the following reasons:

1. Students must abide by the rules set out by the Department of Education. The financial aid offices at universities help students follow such rules. Without following certain rules (borrowing within the set cost of attendance), cheaper financial aid could be revoked.
2. Financial aid offices also work FOR the student. I don’t know how many students I had to counsel about the difference between Federal and private loans just last semester alone. I ended up just saying, “Listen, I’m returning your private loan and you need to call ‘lender’ to get it changed to a cheaper GradPLUS loan”.
3. Financial aid offices are the watch dogs. We read the fine print that some students overlook. If a lender or a loan sounds kind of funny, we have the experience to know this and we counsel the student. Good financial aid officers will always do so.
4. Financial aid offices know the rules and regulations. Similar to point 3, but on a bigger scale. Some private lenders have a business of taking students for a ride. They will offer benefits and great teasers, but when it comes time to repay the loan, it could be really ugly. Financial aid officers know who is good and who is bad. It’s not about offices signing with lenders and making partnerships.
5. Other aid could be available. Do not take a loan of any kind before grants and scholarships are exhausted. At that point, take Federal loans. Only take private loans if desperate.
6. Only use non-school channeled loans after speaking with a financial aid officer. These loans can be scary because they don’t even go through a financial aid office. So, the ‘guard dogs’ don’t even see if anyone could be raiding the ‘cookie jar’.

Just be careful and borrow wisely. Remember that not everyone graduates making six figures, so don’t throw money away! Keep your credit clean – you don’t want to have your college borrowing mistakes follow you.

“You need to live like a student, so you don’t have to live like a student for the rest of your life.”
-my good friend from TG

Dogs: How to Train your Humans

The people at the Humane Society of Missouri offer services through a wonderful partnership with Greater St. Louis Training Club. GSLTC offers a variety of courses to inform humans about canine behavior, how to best communicate with your fuzzy bud and provide resources for specific behavioral issues. They have been a great resource for me over the past year and I hope to continue to work with them.

Last year, I attended two of their courses and received wonderful suggestions about reading materials and future courses for Busch. In the next few weeks, I will be taking a human course to better handle my anxious pup, Busch. Also, Coal and I will be starting down the Canine Good Citizen path!

If anyone is looking into training, see what your local Humane Society suggests. Often times you’ll run into wonderful people who really love working with people and their pups to produce a more productive relationship.

P.S. Coal is now 55 pounds! Great from her 45 pounds a little less than two months ago.

Heating Small Outbuildings

For the coop, I have two infrared heat lamps that I put in 3 gallon plastic buckets so the metal wouldn’t catch fire with feathers, etc. I took a short extension cord, cut it and used the male end to hook into an extension cord from the deck. I wired the bare end of the extension cord into a baseboard thermostat on the inside of the coop (you must get one that is 120 volt and water heater thermostats didn’t have the desired temp range). The thermostat then powers the outlet inside. Once it’s above 50 degress, the lamps kick off.

Cost of all materials ~$80

Heat lamps $6.50 each from Buchheit
Buckets $3 each
Cord $6.50
Thermostat $19
Bulbs $11 (noticed that name brand put off stronger heat than o ff brand)
Extension cord $10
Protective box for outdoor cord union $3
Outlet $.46
Face Plate $.20
Insulated housing $2 each
Wire nuts

Need drill, pocket knife, screwdrivers.

Took an hour. Hang lamps low (not too low to catch straw on fire, but remember heat rises). Keeps uninsulated 8×10 coop at 35 degrees in single digit windy, weather.