CDL Drivers Hands Free Device

So the company handed out all these hands free devices yesterday, I started using it in the semi today.
Pretty simple stuff, actually.  You enable blue-tooth on your cellphone. Turn on the device and it finds your device, you add it.  That's it.  Incoming calls are automatically directed to the device and you push a single button to answer the phone.

The problem?  Background noise.  Driving down the road, a semi makes a considerably amount more of noise than most any car does.  And it's a constant noise.  It conflicts with your voice and makes it hard for the person on the other end of the line to hear what you are saying.  Further, with the volume turned all the way up, it is hard to hear what someone is saying unless you get your ear pretty much right next to it.

I have seen people wearing an earpiece device that has no wires on it so I assume those are blue tooth and that is what I thought we were going to get in the first place.  I don't wonder if those might work better for the noise element at hand in the truck.  It's good to be able to talk again while driving the truck - but - it would be better with a different setup, I do believe.

CDL Drivers Hands Free Device

So the company handed out all these hands free devices yesterday, I started using it in the semi today.
Pretty simple stuff, actually.  You enable blue-tooth on your cellphone. Turn on the device and it finds your device, you add it.  That's it.  Incoming calls are automatically directed to the device and you push a single button to answer the phone.

The problem?  Background noise.  Driving down the road, a semi makes a considerably amount more of noise than most any car does.  And it's a constant noise.  It conflicts with your voice and makes it hard for the person on the other end of the line to hear what you are saying.  Further, with the volume turned all the way up, it is hard to hear what someone is saying unless you get your ear pretty much right next to it.

I have seen people wearing an earpiece device that has no wires on it so I assume those are blue tooth and that is what I thought we were going to get in the first place.  I don't wonder if those might work better for the noise element at hand in the truck.  It's good to be able to talk again while driving the truck - but - it would be better with a different setup, I do believe.

Thursday 1/12/2012

Hmmm, well for all the superstitious people out there, prepare yourself: tomorrow is Friday and falls on the 13th.

I have decided one of the best ways to find a new place to live is to simply keep my eyes open.  I drive all over the place in the east valley - which is where I prefer to live - there are "lower income" areas all over the place.  Whether they accept hundreds of pounds of dogs, who knows.  There is one thing for certain: after 2012, the government is allegedly going to start coming after people for taxes owed on the difference in a short sale and if one is going to get it done, best get it done this year.

Moving is such an arduous task, though.  I can only say that I am happy that I do not have a LOT of stuff.  I have stuff, just like everyone, but not piles of things that would have to be moved.  Mostly furniture more than anything.  I have to get myself into the mode of yes, I am leaving this place regardless and keep that mode up for quite a while before I will even force myself into this action.  I could start the short-sale process today, but to sell it before I even know where I am going? Lol.  Not going to happen.  I'm going to check the maps for county islands and land and see what's available in those areas as well.  Some of it is well out into the boonies, but I work in Chandler which is a bit closer to the boonies. I guess I'm saying with these dogs, there aren't a lot of rental options out there.

A pre-cursory glance at the Craigslist housing ads shows a LOT of rental units allowing dogs.  However, it is doubtful that most or any of those places are going to allow Great Danes, much less 2-1/2 of them.  I suppose I could just write up a form letter and start sending it out to all of them in my price range.  There are both houses and apartments alike claiming dogs are allowed.  The arrangement would include a room for Mark and Lynnette, if they so desired to move on with me as this would be an ideal situation, at least for me.

In that case, it would have to be minimum 3 bedrooms to accommodate for Caleb as well.  The only type of  "apartment" I would even consider is a single story situation.  There are many duplexes and quadplexes over in Mesa, probably at good rates I am guessing.  Not far from Caleb's job or school and Mark and Lynnette prefer to live in Mesa, anyway.

That is, undoubtedly, the first area I am going to start looking in since it is loaded with houses and other types of rentals that would be in the price range I am looking for.

I have only mentioned to tenants here that I am thinking about doing this, I haven't concretely sealed that in cement yet as I am working on another refinance option, a lead I was given by a mortgage broker at a large bank who says she has worked with this particular company for 15 years and they are good at getting things done.  If I could JUST bring the payment down another couple of hundred bucks a month,  I wouldn't even think about moving out of this place.  That would be the one thing that would keep me in this house. It would make it a good rental unit - at say $800 per month, a house with 5 bedrooms would easily rent in this market.  Perhaps it would at a grand a month, too, but, I don't want to take that kind of chance.

In that scenario, I would have to start saving up a substantial down payment on another house since banks aren't really all that kind about second loans - but with enough down payment that situation can be altered.

Well, the day's work is almost here and near time to leave for work.  As of lates, plenty to do at work and today?  Plenty of driving to do as well.

G'day.

ben