A little planning might help these make more sense. (Awesome Covers of Already Awesome Songs, 6)

The song being covered today is not actually awesome.

But I make the rules around here, and the song that is covering the not-awesome-song is, simply put, too awesome not to put on my blog.

The song being covered is Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. While Nirvana had a couple of good songs, my position on them (that they're the Bee Gees of the 90s) is well-known. And the song Smells Like Teen Spirit was not one of Nirvana's good songs. I was... how can I put this? Barely listenable.

Not so the cover version of it, which, as I said, is so awesome that it merits being on here. I give you: Smells Like Teen Spirit by The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain:





See what I mean? On the one hand, the overblown, tedious, Nirvana version. On the other hand, the Ukulele version, which, ironically* is like a musical nirvana.

*Is that ironic? Even I'm not sure anymore. Plus, I don't really know what "nirvana" means. I'm going to guess a state of bliss.**

** I was right.

Just as a bonus, here's the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain's version of "Life On Mars," which actually was an awesome song. So I guess I should've gone with this one:



But then I wouldn't have gotten to make fun of Nirvana.

Read all the Awesome Covers here.

This is not my finger holding a baby turtle. (3 Good Things from July 5)

Back to work after a long weekend (for me that means 2 days off), with only my tie, my ravioli for lunch, and my 3 Good Things from yesterday to keep me smiling:

1. I finished the Lensman book that I'd been reading forever. And it ended up pretty good, too -- good enough that I didn't really want to start another book right away, which is my test for a good book: when you finish it, do you feel like starting another book right off, or do you let the old book marinate for a while?

2. I got a good start on my redesign of the always-in-progress backyard -- and when Middle looked out she said "It looks like lily pads," which is exactly what I was going for.

3. Mr Bunches and I got to see a nest of turtle eggs, marked and protected by chicken wire, on the nature trail where we went for a walk yesterday. (Mr F got to see them, too, but he wasn't looking.)

Read all the 3 Good Things here.

Three clues to look for in evaluating a business...

I mentioned, on my law blog the other day, the importance of (among other things) hiring a home inspector before you buy a home (and then of listening to that home inspector.)

It's not like it's difficult to find a home inspector, and it's not like it's difficult to tell if they're qualified or not. TakeNew Jersey Home Inspectors "Looksmart Home Inspections LLC." If you go to their site, you can tell they're qualfied right off the bat.

Let me walk you through how: First, look at all the information they offer you for free about their area of business. People who are GOOD at their jobs don't need to sell you on why they should be hired. They can provide you information about their areas for free, rather than charge you to educate yourself. So when I see that Looksmart Home Inspections, LLC has answers about what home inspection is, why you should get one, and even a walk-through list to tell you what to expect, I see that they're a company that isn't looking to rook you -- they'll tell you what they can do, up front, BEFORE they start charging you.

Clue number two? They tell you how to check out their work -- and their competitors. They've got links to their code of ethics and to regulations that govern them and checklists of how to see how they're doing. They're not afraid of you knowing what they can and can't do -- and they're not afraid of you knowing the high standards they impose on themselves.

Clue number three? What they say just makes sense. They point out, for example, that while you shouldn't have to pay a bundle for home inspections, you shouldn't skimp either -- because skimping may get you an unqualified inspector and that'll lead to trouble down the line.

Honest, up front, qualified, and fair -- that sounds like the kind of person I'd want to trust with inspecting my home before I bought it.