There doesn't seem to be...........

..........any lack of "things" going on around here on any given day.
Now, I've spent a good portion of today working on attempting to figure out a totally unknown realm of this thing called a "Home Wireless Network". I had NO clue that the rather expensive modem for this thing I bought some time ago actually has a built in wireless router!

I found that out earlier. The old router that that tenant left behind was a piece of garbage. I actually had to reformat the computer AGAIN because I did "something" to it that - no clue. Just lost internet and it wouldn't come back up. Some settings were changed and that was that.

Well, I'm fooling with that and decided to BBQ some fresh chicken breast I bought on sale yesterday. Got that stuff going, came back inside. Heard a loud crashing noise outside and went out the back door. There's a 70 foot tall pine tree in my neighbor's back yard. Part of it overhangs my yard. It's a nice tree, not saying anything's wrong with it, cepting' some dead branches.

Here's a neighborhood guy up that tree with one of those saws that cuts branches with at least a 20 foot extension on it, cutting off branches which are crashing into my backyard and land on .......... MY PLANTS. The old man back of me says "Uhh, you might want to get something and cover up your plants!".

I wasn't happy. It was quite obvious these branches were going to end up in my back yard - no big deal there, I could clean up THAT mess - but also that that numerous plants are RIGHT below where those branches are going to be falling. A simple visit to my house beforehand would have sufficed. I was not particularly happy. He offered and apology and said:"I guess I should have hollered at you first". Yes, indeed, you should have. I know I would definitely have if the places were reversed.

I haven't been real happy with these people for some time now, anyway. This is the family with 2 properties lining my back fences - and also where the residential landfill is located. He has more junk back there than he will ever do anything with. He continues to hoard more and more junk - appliances, evap coolers, cars, furniture. It's sitting out in the open and getting rained on every time inclement weather hits our area. It's also the source of the scorpions that have had their little stinging parties on fully 2 separate occasions now.

I try to be civil with people, but some of this stuff is too much. I was out there again, today, for a long time, pulling up yet MORE weeds that are coming from yet another neighbor's yard. I looked over their fence: HUGE weeds and also grass that has grown over 2 feet tall. I was thinking of buying weed control and spraying HIS yard with it. He has rock over there, it's not like he's TRYING to grow grass there.

Well, anyway. I'm back to trying to figure out this network stuff. I figure if I spend enough time at it - weeks maybe - lol - I'll figure it out.

I found almost a whole can of paint that I didn't know I had earlier - I was going to go out and buy another gallon to paint that room - standing down on that one. There's plenty of paint in there to paint a room and I will do it sometime tomorrow morning, hopefully.

Anyway, done for the night.
ben

Gag

I've spent literally hours trying to figure out how to get this in-home network going. The only thing I can figure out is that there is some sort of code that needs to be updated or changed to a new code. Apparently it does it by itself - but I haven't got a friggin' clue HOW to do it. And - I gave up. Ken - my roommate - has a friend at work who is coming over here after work today to try to figure it out for him/me. I cannot get a "Wizard" to pop up to install the setup, I have tried to install it manually - nothing works. I even got lost in all of it and didn't have internet access on THIS computer for a short time.

Whatever. I just received notice in my mailbox that for 2010, my property assessed value is going to TRIPLE. Well - it hasn't really been updated since my house burned down and I put this house on here - which is worth far more than their assessed value, so I ain't gonna dispute it. It might to UP if I do that. They're saying the property is worth $98,000.00, Zillow has it at $160,000.00, a year ago it was appraised at $178,000.00. Property values have gone way done, so Zillow's estimate is probably close.

Walgreens has a coupon online that you print out and get ink cartridges for $5 - whether color or ink. Couldn't pass that up as yellow was gone and though I don't use it often, I still want the option available. That and cleaning house have been my big projects for the day. I realized I am almost out of paint - will have to buy another gallon of paint to do that room. I'm feeling TOTALLY unmotivated today. I think this work week sorta knocked me out coupled with a 2-day fast.

Anyway, the City of Phoenix is "banging on the door" for me to pay my water bill - I didn't realize I had let it go. They give you lots of time and notices to pay up before they come out and shut it off. It AIN'T gonna go that far. I was going to pay it online today, but I realized that the shutoff date is well into next month, and I get paid next week. Just wait until then. Sometimes I forget a bill and then I get a reminder. Almost everything else is current - excepting the mortgage of course. The car payment will be a week past due it's due date - no big deal there. Insurance paid up until next month, all credit card bills paid up and of course child support payment is ALWAYS paid up regardless. Sheriff Joe had a program on last week where they were luring deadbeat dads into a freebie of a makeover or whatever it was. A person puts this junk on the person's face and cucumbers over the eyes, the deputies move in and arrest him/her. Sheriff Joe was actually there for this one. He walks up to one particular guy and reads him the riot act. You have warrants, you haven't been paying your child support, a list of things.

I was thinking of chucking $50 per paycheck into my ING account and see if I can just find a way to live without it. My head says no, but - who knows. The money would go for the August slim and trim vacation. I'll have to really think that one out - I have things to get done around here that really need to be done. I definitely intend on getting that doggy door with this rent money from the 3rd tenant. I hope this person works out well enough to be around here a couple of months - but - you never know. Deal with it, as always. Security deposit up front - in fact, the check is a month's rent and the deposit. Good enough.

Oh, well, maybe Obama's newest deal to order companies to decrease the amount of taxes being withheld will pay for that? A "savings" of something like $60 per month, I think? He certainly is going to town in attempting to do something about the economy - I have to wonder, though, HOW all of this money is going to get paid back? Doesn't take much thinking.......

I'm gonna laze today - much as I hate to admit it, I'm not into doing projects and therefore, I'm simply not going to do them. Tomorrow, I'll have no choice but to go buy the paint and do that room. Oh well......
ben

Saturday

Success! Reformatted the harddrive, downloaded the drivers correctly - and I have sound again.
Of course, now I have to call Microsoft again and have them validate this edition of Microsoft Windows.
My roommate bought a new computer last night - I was trying to figure out how to set up the router so that it would work. I have no clue. I mean, I hooked it up the way it was set up before - but I cannot get a signal to start emitting for the other computer to pick up. This is out of my area of "expertise", as I have not set up the routers that were being used before. I'm fairly sure there must be a disc that comes with them - this one doesn't have one.

Going to the website of the manufacturer - I just gave up last night as I was tired and wanted to get to bed. I have spent no little amount of time this morning getting the computer set back up the way I want it. Surveillance software; Avast! spyware; installing IE7 with tabs - I love Internet Explorer with tabs!; and other software. I mean, I could hire myself out to going around and reformatting harddrives on Windows XP and reinstalling windows for people that haven't figured out how to do it for themselves at this point.

Trust me, it took me a LONG time to understand how to do all of this stuff. I'm simply not a computer genius and doubt I ever will be. I learn what I must learn in order to not have to call some computer geek out here at $75, $100 and more per hour to have them fix it. I think the HARDEST thing that I have had to figure out is how to get sound to work. I do not have the original discs that came with this computer - all of the drivers are on those discs which were stolen out of my former house.

Now what was it I was going to do today? Oh yes, painting and fencing. Stay tuned for that junk. Lol.

So, Fin and Bobby have planted this seed in my head to try and figure out a way to get to North Carolina in early August so I can join the festivities of a giant family reunion with people I haven't seen since I was a little kid. I suppose if I set my mind to it and accept that flying out there will be WELL out of my budget - considering I would most certainly want to take my son with me - and that even having to pitch a tent in a KOA campground or something instead of doing a hotel (I hope they at least have showers at those campgrounds!), eating sandwiches and cheap stuff the entire time - I might be able to do it. I'm NOT sure, however, if I will enjoy doing all of that and spending an entire vacation in such mode.

My son, however, would probably love it, because I would most certainly want him to drive some of the way at least. Having to cover that many miles in a short period of time basically means driving all day and night. He could drive day, I'd take the night. Night driving - I believe - is really very dangerous. I don't like it - at all - especially driving trucks at night. But - Interstate driving - although it has it's perils - not near as dangerous as driving through cities. My son doesn't have his learner's permit yet - I am waiting for him to turn 16, which is in May. If he wants to drive, he is going to have to pay for his own insurance, as I cannot afford it and wouldn't pay for it if I could. I didn't get a free ride when I was growing up, I don't believe he should get the idea that everything is handed to him on a silver platter.

One of his friends that comes over now and then is working 4 nights a week - at the age of 14. He's taking in some money, considering his age, too. About $300 per week. That's pretty good for a 14 year old. He isn't supposed to be working that job at all - he's too young legally - but apparently he knows the guy that works there that knows the owner - you know, it's always about who you know. I figure that a good model for my son to look at. This kid is really helping out his parents, one of which apparently lost their job and they are tanking, fast. The kid buys his own clothes, buys food, pays for his cellphone - taking care of himself mostly.

Onto other things. The idea has been getting thrown around about combining one of the plumbing branches with ours. Our company's plumbing division is being hit even harder than the waterworks division. They have shut down stores all over the place. There is a plumbing store a mile away from our store - the idea is to have both stores running out of one complex. It would save them a chunk of change in the rental of that facility they have now - which MUST be costing them no small amount of money. That store had a forklift, a company truck and other things "necessary" for the operation of a store - at this point? They have none of that stuff, just trying to float and keep the few employees that are working there in a job.

For me? I don't care what has to happen to keep my job. If plumbing has to open up shop along side us - so beit. There's room. It would be a little crowded with all of their product and ours in the same building and yard, but - we could make it work. Or, they could find a larger facility and still be saving a lot of money. I doubt they would do that, probably tell us to make it work, whatever it takes.

The Cavco man is here - this will be his last visit. I have just about everything fixed that I was looking to get fixed. After today, no more visits. Anything further needing to be done to this place will have to occur by my own hand or a paid contractor.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out this wireless network - totally clueless. But trying : )
Happy Saturday!
ben