Cafe World Tips 23: Low Buzz Rating Revisited

Low buzz rating.

Hiya chefs, I am doing some updating on my experiences with Café World, what makes it tick and how to make it play as well as your computer can.

Low buzz rating is almost invariably a problem with doors; blocked passage ways; poorly set up café (tables are thrown all over the place making it take a long time for servers to get food to the tables) and the lack of using teleporting.

In fact, if you AREN’T using teleporting – where waiters are trapped behind the counters and “throw” the dishes to the waiting customers, I STRONGLY suggest you set up your café to do so, especially if you have consistent low-buzz-rating problems.  When you have your waiters teleporting the food, you can set up your café just about anyway you please and you will still have a high buzz rating.

90% of the time that I have inspected a person’s café to try and help them fix their problem, the problem lied in the fact that they thought they had the waiters teleporting when, indeed, they were not.  When I reported back to them that their waiters are wandering around the restaurant, they were surprised at such and reported back that yes, you were right, they aren’t blocked!!

The point is that you have to make sure they are sufficiently blocked but at the same time that they have access from inside the blocked area to ALL counters with food on them.  THAT is where most people get it wrong.  People think that they can block in their waiters and at the same time have their counters set up any which way.  Simply not true. 

If you waiters do not have access to all counters from inside the blocked area, then they will simply walk right through the counters and deliver the food to the waiting customer.

Make sure, from INSIDE the blocked area, that you have nothing on the floor that will stop the waiter from accessing EVERY counter.  Make sure you haven’t got counters in front of counters, this is usually the problem and simply rearranging the counters usually fixes the problem.  Once you actually have your waiters teleporting the food, sit back and enjoy the fact that your buzz rating is going back up and will stay up there.  Occasionally you might find it go down for a few seconds upon entering your café, but it always should go right back up and stay there. 

Also, always make sure that when you leave your café, the buzz rating is at 105.  The buzz rating will NOT go down once you are out of your café and will stay there for however long until you return to your café to take care of your customers and waiting dishes. 

If, for some reason, you do not want to have your waiters teleporting, then you must closely inspect your café if you are having buzz issues.  The customers do NOT want to wait forever for a waiter to bring the food to them. If they have a long way to go, or there are obstacles in the way making them go far around to get to them, or there are blockages making serving them impossible, they will leave with thumbs down and buzz goes down, too.

Each table much have at least 1 access point for the waiter to be able to put the food on the table.  One of the biggest problems I have encountered is that many people put their counters up against a wall, far away from the tables.  This works fine with teleporting, but if you don’t want to teleport, probably not so fine.  A more effective setup has your counters in the middle of your café so that waiters don’t have far to walk to get food from counter to table. 

There is another issue I must address here that I have spoken about before as well:  Your computer.  I recently built a new computer.  It has 8 gigs of RAM; an AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor; and a medium quality ASUS motherboard, fitted with a 1 Terabyte hard drive and a 750 watt power supply.  My OLD computer IS old. It was built by Dell.  It has an Intel 4 processor, no clue what the motherboard is and 2 gigs of ram.  THAT computer had GREAT difficult running Cafe World.  I would enter my Cafe and buzz rating would drop and drop and drop.  If I let it sit there for a couple of hours without doing anything, the buzz rating would eventually come back up.

Yes, that's my point.  It isn't ALWAYS Zynga's fault.  Your computer might be a dinosaur that needs replacing.  There isn't much fun about an internet experience that is slow, gives you lots of error messages and causes Explorer to shut down.  I know, we are in bad economic times.  Maybe buying a new computer or building one yourself isn't in the cards.  But, if by chance, it is and your computer is old, you might consider it.  My entire internet experience greatly improved, not just with Cafe World, but - I have to say that Cafe World loads almost instantly now.  It used to take up to 15 minutes to load it.  I click on something and it's either there or a second passage and it's there.  For as much time as I spend on the computer and internet, the money spent was WELL worth it.

More to come in the future.  

Cafe World Tips 22: The Holiday Dinner - Goals and Mission

The Holiday Dinner – Goals and Mission

First, the 7 goals.  I am not going to go into the specifics of the goals here, since they are posted all over the internet, I AM going to go into the glitch that is making it impossible for numerous Café World cooks (players, lol) to be able to finish the goals.  The glitch is the inability to send out RSVP’s to your neighbors while asking them to help you finish whichever goal you are on.

In these 7 goals, they ask you to ask your neighbors for help getting various items.  You either ask your neighbors or you pay an exorbitant amount of café cash to finish each part of the goal that requires it. 

I cannot offer any assistance on this issue, Zynga knows ALL about this problem, they apparently have yet to fix it.  I DID encounter this glitch just about every time I went to send out requests.  “Sorry, something went wrong in the kitchen” would come up instead of a list of your Café World neighbors.  I just kept trying until the actual list would come up.  I would send out a LOT of requests on one thing just to make sure I got them out because, apparently, no-one is immune to this particular glitch.  When I tried to send the requests, another error message would come up, same error message as before.  But, I had already hit the send button and found out even though that error message is coming up, the requests were sent anyway.

I eeked through that 7 goal list.  The final goal has 30 requests that you have to get filled up, which in turn is making a lot of people made because many of them simply can’t send out any requests at all.

Moving on.

The Holiday Dinner Mission.

I like this mission, but a lot of people are hating it.  Many of them have one or another dish that is in the mission locked, even though they did everything necessary to unlock them.  The dishes you have to cook and serve are: Waldorf Salad; Baked Ham and Angel Slices.  MANY people don’t even HAVE the Angel Slices, making the mission impossible to complete on their own.  So, those people head straight to the Café World discussion board, venting and ranting about the situation.

I feel for those people, but, it IS possible to finish the mission if you have neighbors that are able to cook the dishes that you cannot. 

The point?  Another Zynga classic blunder.  Putting out a Christmas mission that SO many people can’t even participate in because of the numerous glitches.  I mean, it’s what, 10 days until Christmas? 

On another note, Zynga apparently is finally getting a clue.  You know that ugly Crane machine that looks like it belongs in a circus that you might have built, put in your café and then found out you can’t remove it from your café?  You know, the one that, after you built it, doesn’t WORK?!!!!  Well, on the boards, a moderator posted yesterday that Zynga is doing a trial run to see how well it works and whatever glitches might be encountered.  It’s not IF a glitch is encountered, at least not from my perspective, it’s how MANY will be encountered.  So, 3,000 people and 3,000 only are going to have that thing up and running in their cafes.  THIS is the way they should do ALL of their new rollouts.  Get a group of players that will test it (preferably without all the griping about the glitches they are going to encounter, since they are voluntarily being Guinea Pigs) FIRST before rolling it out to everyone. 

Since we’re almost at Christmas, I would also like to gripe about one more thing in this game: the lack of a freaking Christmas tree to be able to put INSIDE of your café.  They have one for the outside of it, great.  How many people put a Christmas tree outside? If they do, they probably also have one INSIDE as well.  They’ve come out  with everything BUT an indoor Christmas tree!

I’m not all mad and upset about Café World and what’s going on, I’m just expressing my discontent with a game that is bugged with all kinds of known glitches that are never fixed. There are far too many bugs with the game that have plagued the game for SO long, it's a bit ridiculous that they continue to bring out new goals, missions and other things yet they don't seem to get it: FIX the EXISTING issues!

Wednesday 12/15/2010

Wednesday

Okay, so, my mother attempts to talk me into coming to Christmas party with family. I said no thanks, not if middle bro is there. It was a drawn out argument a month or more ago and the end was, whatever. I mean, she just wants to see us, that's fine, she doesn't have to see us at the same time.

Then I get a call from my sister-in-law. My mother put her up to it. She had no idea that there was anything going on. She wasn't too happy my mother put her up to something without letting her know what's going on. Got into a bit of a discussion about other things, but that story ended the same way: no thanks.

Yesterday, I am going through my email box and find my middle brother has sent me an email. Morbid curiosity caused me to open the thing, otherwise I would have passed on it. He asks in the letter if we would come to Christmas dinner at his house, his son is going to be there and wants to see Caleb.

I've always wondered how people can do that. Act like there's nothing wrong. Politicians obviously can do that with the financial nightmare going on, but in personal relationships, I have no clue.

I've been in this situation before with brothers who thought I was some sort of religious zealot and therefore deserved a good tongue-lashing at either Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations - or both. I have walked out on such before and don't even want to put myself in the position of having to do so again. I didn't start preaching to them, either, I didn't even bring up the subject, THEY did.

So what to do? Write him back and ask some blunt questions. WHY do you want us to come to your house for Christmas? What's going to happen when we get there? Are you going to start s*** again? If so, I can stay home with my doggies, cook a Christmas meal and be as content and happy as a bug in a rug. I have a large end Standing Rib Roast in the freezer, just itching to be taken out, cooked and eaten. And so it will be, just deciding when.

December 15, 2010 6:02 AM 

Anonymous said...

Onto other things. In the last week, I have left my son messages about helping me get the car in to the shop. I am not going to drive the thing over there and then pay $40 to get at taxi home, which was included in those messages.

He never returned the calls. I thought, well, who cares then, leave the car sit and I will do nothing with it. I called him up again, no answer as was the case with the other calls, this time I just let it loose: Since you don't seem to care one way or the other if you have a car to drive, I don't either, the thing is going to sit there and rot, or, I will get it fixed and sell it for whatever I can get out of it.

I dunno, I guess if I have to get rotten about it, I will. He calls back, this time, in about 20 minute's time. Yeah, yeah, I'll help you get it there tomorrow afternoon. Ohhh? Why didn't you return my other calls? He had no answer. I wanted to know. I mean, this is for HIM, not for me. I can drive MY car and it won't bother me one way or the other. He blamed his phone. Another whatever moment.

Limited chance of success in Afghanistan. That's the new reports out. I'll say it again: Let's get the bleep OUT of that country and let them kill themselves. They have been doing it for centuries, why get OUR troops killed along with them? Is this a matter of pride or something? Like, "we're America, we can't lose!". Who CARES. This is a worthless war, imo, it's time to LEAVE. It would be helpful if we had a president who actually had some kind of respect from other nations and who could stand up and put the gauntlet down, but, that's not going to happen with this chap that's in the Oval office.

If the tax cut thing didn't have such serious ramifications, it would be hilarious just watching these politicians mouthing off all over the place. I'm just sorta running around the news. I mean, I don't want my taxes raised, I want the government to live within it's means. It gets enough money, DEAL WITH IT.

Work day is here. Not much to do in the truck routing system. The closer we get to Christmas the more it will slow down. In between Christmas and New Year's is almost always very slow. Yeah, not much fun.

Anyway, I'm outta here.

G'day.

ben

Tuesday 12/14/2010

Tuesday

Sangfroid, huh? I don't recall hearing that word before. I must admit I had to look it up and see what it meant. I was reading a story about the 17 year old that took the french nursery hostage, with a description of the teacher of the class having had "great sangfroid".

I probably won't be adding that word to my repertroire, it has a strange sound to it and I don't really ......like it, really.

It WAS an interesting read yesterday after the Federal judge threw out a portion of the health care law, the portion that states that buying the health insurance is mandatory and if you don't, you will be - fined I think it was, no penalized on your tax returns.

The issue is whether congress has the statutory power to force anyone to buy anything. The judge found not. I read the judge's opinion and ruling on the thing - I think it was over 30 pages long. It was an interesting read, I thought anyway. Will his ruling stand? Who knows - if/when it gets to the Supreme court, we'll hear the answer to that - don't hold your breath, not like it's going to happen tomorrow.

IF it does stand, it will basically take the teeth out of the bill, from my perspective anyway, cause' the bill relies on the "fact" that everyone MUST pay into it for it to be able to work.

Lots of other stuff in there, too, but, enough of that. The tenant that likes to do 8 loads of laundry per week certainly was well at it again the last time she was at my house - she comes and goes, no rhyme or reason to it. She had already done her 2 load limit for that week, but continued right on in the wee hours of the morning, doing laundry and thinking I didn't know about it.

There are 2 reasons I DO know about it. First, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. The laundry room is next to that bathroom and I could hear the machines running. SHE is the ONLY person that does laundry THAT late at night.

Second, my electric usage went up $4 for that day and $3 for the next day - that's above and beyond what it normally would be without her doing all of that.

So, the question stands: HOW MUCH LAUNDRY DOES ONE PERSON NEED TO DO IN ONE WEEK? She doesn't have a family of 8 living with her, it's just HER. I am going to write her a notice. She is behind in her rent again anyway. I'm kinda getting tired of dealing with this person who has lost 2 jobs since the time she has moved in and the loss of the jobs were solely her fault. 

Whatever the case, I just noticed the work day is almost here already. I also realized this morning that though I have the front of my house lit up VERY nicely, I have done NOTHING with the inside of my house!! I need a Christmas tree!!

Oh, and my sister-in-law called yesterday. She wanted to know if I am going to show up to my middle brother's for Christmas. My mother put her up to it. I said no, explained the altercation between my brother and I - the fact that I am definitely NOT going to go to HIS house to do what, have a blowup with him dissing me to my face in front of everyone? How many Christmases has that happened in the past? SEVERAL. I would rather stay home, thanks and have a great celebration without me, I don't care to attend that kind of atmosphere, it is only stress, not enjoyment.

I did say to her that she should be looking for a package, coming soon. She knew what that meant. "Is it coming from Nebraska?". Lol, yes, it is. She finally admitted, for the first time in years, that they actually look FORWARD to getting that package delivered to their doorstep. It's Omaha steaks, I came up with that as their present 4 or 5 years ago - they are the "have-everything" type of people that are tough to buy for, but not with that little gem.

Well, gotta git offa here.

G'day.

ben

Monday 12/13/2010

Monday

Here we are again, yet another Monday.
Woke up groggy and I am feeling the signs of potentially some respiratory illness setting in. There were sick people at that party on Saturday, I tried to stay away from them, but, I dunno. It really isn't too pleasant for people who are sick to show up to such an affair, hacking and coughing all over the place, spreading those germs everywhere.

Well, they're going to make other people sick, that's all I'm saying. At least take a healthy dose of cough medicine and try to keep the coughing down if you ARE going to show up to such an event in sickly condition. At the VERY least you could COVER YOUR MOUTH to try and contain the spread of the germs every time you are coughing away.

I just stay away from people as much as possible when I get sick, but there are plenty of people out there that apparently don't care one way or the other whether they are going to be responsible for making others sick by their rather selfish behavior. 

I have avoided lines at grocery stores when seeing people standing in those lines, sneezing and coughing, not even covering their mouth. Or, if I'm stuck in one of those lines, I stay back from them as far as possible and yes, I WILL say something to them if they are coughing without, at the very least, TRYING to cover their mouth. I've received some pretty nasty responses for my bluntness and I always do very well at dishing it right back at them. 

I'll find out later on whether I'm sick or this is just some fluke. It happens when cold air hits my lungs - my respiratory system isn't exactly the most perfect unit on earth as evidenced by much childhood sickness with asthma and bronchitis. 

At least there is one delivery in the system this morning - spent hours loading it on the truck on Friday. I get in this morning and find out that half the order is cancelled and they only want a fraction of what was loaded onto the semi. I don't give the salesman a pass on this one, he claims the contractor called and said he only wanted the larger pipe over the weekend, I'm guessing the salesman didn't bother to get the full story from the contractor and didn't communicate. Frequent occurence around these parts: a great lack of communication. 

Anyway, work day approaches, I was just reading more North Korean rhetoric, this time they are threatening nuclear war against the south. Yeah, good luck with THAT idea.

G'day.

ben

Sunday 12/12/2010

I watched the Steelers/Bengals game today, Steelers won handsomely.  I left the room after that and came back to hear a bunch of booing and broadcasters saying "that ain't right".  I was on the end of it, so I didn't find out why the fans were booing or the broadcast personnel were making their statements.

A Christmas Carol, my favorite version, is airing tomorrow.  I have it set to record on both DVR's.  It's my favorite Christmas movie of all time, though there are others that are definitely up there as well.

The weekend is over.  Nothing grand, but the party was fun.  I have done nothing much of anything today besides some cleaning stuff and internet surfing.

I have no clue.  My mind is elsewhere right now, lots of things I am "thinking" about.  Christmas lights are on.  I was going to go buy a Christmas tree today for my living room - but - my son had to take the car to work.  I might have been able to take the old Buick - but - not worth risk of a breakdown.  THAT car is going into the electrical shop sometime this coming week.

I was just looking at a report about Disneyland.  As much as I have hated some of the last visits I have gone on - so many people you couldn't move around without brushing up against others - I still love the place.  It took me to a different place - I have been there so many times since I was 10 years old, I have most of it memorized.  It's the memories of the good times there that got a hold of me, probably why I'm rather distracted right now.  Those thoughts took me to the distinct lack of having a significant other - a person that might also like Disneyland, even if we are in our 40's.

G'nite.

ben

The Company Christmas Party

Well, I took a lot of cheeses, crackers, meats out there for hors D'ouevres.  Well liked, yes, but some of the dishes that other people brought were absolutely amazing.  Think of 20 dishes that are family secrets handed down for generations all showing up at the same place, think the party I was at tonight.

I freely admit I WAY overate.  Fried turkey; Beef rib rack; Pasoli; all kinds of stuff that was absolutely amazing. The highlight, though, was the second annual Corn Hole competition.  I figured my team - 2 people to a team - would nail this one.  He's very good at the game, I'm not too shabby.  Today, my skills greatly increased.  I was nailing it right in the hole, or pushing another bag into the hole, even got 2 bags into the hole at once by hitting a bag that was right on the edge of the hole and the one I threw to hit it both going in.

Net gain? $130 to be split equally.  My partner shook hands, the Ops manager pulled out the earnings, he walked off and said: "give it all to Ben".  Ops manager comes to me, counts out $130 in bills and that was that.  Not.  I am not going to just take the whole till.  I could certainly USE the till, but I wasn't even going to say that, that would be tacky at a Christmas party.  I found him, had his $65 in hand, he refused.  He is an outside salesman, he has made a lot of money in his life, this I am pretty confident of.

So, I put the money in my wallet, thanked him for a great game and walked to another group of people.  Someone made a comment about my team - being paired up with an ex-pitcher from the Seattle Mariners.  Huh?  I chuckled, thought they were joking.  No joke, he actually DID pitch at one point in time for the Mariners!! I don't know what years or even if he actually started or played in any actual MLB game.

Somehow, I had it in my head that today is Sunday.  I only just in the last half hour have readjusted that thought: it's Saturday night, enjoy the rest of the day with a very full belly, go to bed, get up in the morning and get some house cleaning done.    Pleasant, enjoyable day.  The money won at the competition should pay for the diagnosis on the car.  Hey, I didn't say anything to anyone there about what I am doing with the money, but blowing it on something is not in the equation.  I mean, the thought of hitting the casino hit my mind, but I dismissed it.  Don't feel like going there tonight and I only do that on weekends nights, it would have to wait  until next week.  But, it isn't waiting for anything, I would rather be guaranteed that I spent the money on something I needed to get done - though it is sometimes very tempting.  I don't go that much any more and when I do go, it's usually a good night.

I also am tempted to go on Tuesday cause they are giving away 9, brand new cars that night.  However, the giveaway STARTS at 6:00 pm.  I think they are drawing names throughout the night.  I can't really spend all night long at a casino and then expect to go to work the next morning.

Ummm, well, I think I'll dismiss that thought, at least for now.

That's it.

G'day.

ben

Saturday 12/11/2010

So, did they get it?  Did Washington come the conclusion that we don't want them spending more money?

NO, is the definitive answer, they did NOT.  Another almost TRILLION dollar bill that is getting loaded with useless junk.  $857,000,000.00 was the "current" estimate and it sounds like even more is going to be loaded into it.

Nope, they didn't get the message.  We cannot continue to spend this kind of money, period.  This kind of spending is, in a word: unsustainable.  This isn't what I voted for last month.  I don't know what the House is going to do with this bill, but - if they don't vote it down and quash it, smash it and pulverize it, then no, they definitely didn't get the message and -- what are voters supposed to do?

Some economists are making statements that eventually, this whole thing is going to crash.  We will end up in financial/monetary crisis and then what?  The collapse of our government?   How does government function without money?  You think employees are going to work for free?  I'm just musing here - what kind of low is it going to take to "get there" - to have our hand forced back on us?  How about if China stops buying all the bonds?  I'm all for getting it over with.  Simply meaning that when our hand is forced back on us, there will be no choice but to incorporate massive cuts in government spending.

If the current House doesn't stop this madness, then the only truth that has prevailed all along anyway is:  it doesn't matter who you vote for, it all ends up with the same outcome: spend, spend, spend like there's no tomorrow.

I'm not sorry to say that I am disgusted and repulsed by the actions of these irresponsible, selfish, greedy people that are running our government.  I will still hold out a glimmer of hope to see what the House does with this garbage.

Off of that subject, company Christmas party today.  I haven't started on cutting anything up - but that's intentional, I was waiting until sometime this morning to start that process.  I am going to slice up all the cheese and put them individually in plastic storage bags to be transported in such fashion to the party, which is about 50 miles away.  I guess I am going to have to use a cooler, too, since the high today is slated at 80 degrees, which is too warm to just let cheese sit out.  I figure to put out a platter with the stuff, but not all of it and replenish it as time moves forward during the party if needed.  That way, my expensive cheese won't go bad and perhaps I'll be bringing some of it back home with me.

Ummm, a lot of time passed.  Cut up everything that needed cutting, went up to the store for another 2 dips - they were on manager special, normally $4.99, $1.59 today - meaning it probably only has a couple more days shelf life before expiring.

Gotta get ready to go - later!

ben

Hummingbirds and Cheese

No, I am not going to start eating hummingbird sandwiches with cheese on it.

Yesterday, I was sitting next to my big pond. I REALLY like doing that, as long as dogs aren't barking out there (and no, I am not referring to mine, I do not allow them to bark incessantly), interfering with the tranquility of the moment, I can sit out there for an hour, 2 hours, whatever, enjoying the fruits of the labor of my hands  - and God's hands since I neither invented fish nor could I ever think up the perfection in the way He created such to work so brilliantly even in a setting with my house in the middle of a desert, in the middle of a very polluted and populated town.

Well, I moved the hummingbird feeder because I haven't seen any feeding from it.  I thought maybe it was too hidden for them to find.

Au contraire.  A hummingbird that is the most beautiful version of one I have seen around here yet came up to the thing, took a drink, backed off, took another and then headed straight for my Honeysuckle plants.  They are blooming in full force right now, literally hundreds of flowers in the front and the side of my house.

I concluded from that that probably, that stuff is too old to try and be using anymore.  I've had the base mixture in my refrigerator for a year, time to throw it out and get some fresh stuff.  I would have done that today while at Fry's, but I totally forgot.  There are quite a number of Hummingbirds visiting my property and partaking of the Honeysuckles, I just want to be able to watch them feeding from inside my house which is only doable if I get some fresh mix.  It isn't expensive, I'm just cheap in such things.  Use it ALL up before getting anymore.

The cheese part of this entry comes from my visit to Trader Joe's today.  I had never noticed the huge and very fine selection of quality cheeses they have.  I mean, they have just about everything and they have some great prices on fine cheeses.  They also have some very high prices, I can only imagine what such must taste like - cheese heaven - and imagining is as far as it goes.  I've spent $50 - far more than I really wanted to - on this endeavor, but, it's for a good cause: make everyone at work including the general manager happy, lol.

I also got a variety of crackers - from plain old Ritz to wafer to a variety box to an entertainment box and some other stuff.  It sounds like more than it is, I bought just enough of it to give a good sampling of each, but I didn't go overboard with it.  I have 2 rolls of summer sausage, a package of sliced pepperoni and 1 container of some very excellent dip.  I am going to buy 2 more of the dips and call it done.  I will be cutting that stuff up tomorrow morning.  I don't even want to open the packages until then - just want to keep it fresh and not getting dried out. I am going to make my cheese tray a party experience, that's all I can say about it, and it is, IMO, money well spent.

That's it for the entry, OH< WAIT A MINUTE!!!

I just got a call from the ex - Caleb (our son) found out today that he passed the AIM's test!! YAAAAHOOOOOO!!   You don't graduate High School without passing that test, period.

Oops, the sun is beginning to go down and I want to hang out next to the ponds for a while.

ben

Friday 12/10/2010

Friday

Just a few minutes left in my pre-work rituals here. I got started in looking at the news and then realized I had placed a bid on Microsoft Office last night on Ebay.

Went to see if I had won - not. I am NOT going to buy a brand new version of that junk for my new computer. It isn't worth anything near what they want to me. I use that stuff in a limited fashion, I have no need for expensive bells and whistles. I found an old one on ebay this morning for $2. The bidding is over in about an hour. They want more for shipping on it than the product itself, lol.

I am going to put a bid on it before I leave in the truck this morning - I have pickups to do today for a delivery on Monday morning. 

As for this weekend, well, there's the company Christmas party tomorrow - which will probably go on for at least 4 or 5 hours. I am going to stay until the Cornhole competition is over with. Usually, that goes on for quite a while. After that's over? I'm outta there. 

My muscles are sorer today than they were yesterday from a workout 3 days ago. I knew this would happen, but it usually doesn't go into a third day!!!

Ummm, well that's it. Time's up, workday is here and to you..

I bid a g'day.

ben

The People Across The Street

Well, let's go straight to the heart of the problem: NOISE.
I ain't talking yelling and screaming, they do plenty of that, but that's not my issue.
Have you ever heard a Harley Davidson, sitting idle, with it's owner revving up the engine?
Sure, lots of people love that sound.
I'm not saying I hate it.
But when 3 of them are sitting across the street, revving them up and making a LOT of noise for 20 or 30 minutes?
Doors and windows closed, they might as well have them sitting where my kitchen table is, the noise is that loud.
Oh, and the car that is driven over there whose owner visits - 40 or 50 year old something or another, beautiufl car, glass packs.  Oh, there they are!! Right NOW, that guy just showed up over there as I was writing this.  There are a dozen vehicles over there for whatever reason, no clue, don't care. They only socialize with their kind, I tried to introduce myself to them when they moved in.

Yup, there are the glasspacks.  Look'em up on a Google search if you don't know.

But, the Harleys are much louder.  Just that you get all of this noise making going on at the same time, for sometimes hours on end.  No respect for neighbors.  They don't even care what neighbors think.  My campaign against them will start sooner or later.  When I've had enough, they will be getting visits from the Phoenix police department.  I'll send them a letter first.  It will be nice, it will be as unconfrontational as possible, but it will be to the point.  That letter will go out tomorrow, actually, as after tonight?  I'm done with this.

Take action, slow at first.  No need to start a war if they might, just might, realize that that kind of noise is unreasonable.

I do not live in a "normal" neighborhood. Besides child molesters, meth-heads, illegals, people that don't work and haven't worked since LONG before the recession even thought about popping it's ugly head out, total assholes and a few other types?  This is the biggest reason I want out of this neighborhood.  I'm stuck here - I don't know for how long.  My property is surrounded, literally, by trailer trash.  There is not a normal property on any side.  4 properties against my one, all of them filled with trash, junk vehicles, old appliances and this that and the other thing.

I can't change people.  I can try to make friends, and in some cases I have. I dunno.  I just want to live in a normal neighborhood.  I can call the city, they will do their job, they always do.  But then I feel funny.  Like a narc, a tattle-tale.  It takes  a while for me to get to the point that I actually call them or, nowadays, just fill out the form online and send it in.

Umm, different subject? Sure, but I started this entry in extreme irritation at neighbors who don't give a DAMN about their neighbors peace.

I bought most of the stuff for my offering in the company Christmas party today.  I figure to wait until Saturday morning to actually put all of that together.  It won't take that long, I just don't want cheese to be exposed to the elements too long, even if it's securely wrapped in plastic.

Got a nice haircut today.  Number 2 on the sides and hand cut short on the top.

The old Buick?  Sitting out there.  Fires right up, drives on down the road.  I am not driving it and took my car back from my son - I am not going to be fighting with a car that decides to quit on a whim.  The thing is crazy.  Going to cost $50 to $100 to find out what's wrong, allegedly anyway.  Don't have that to spare right now, bills take precedence.  If my son wants to fork up the money, then fine, I'll get it into the shop.  Otherwise, 2 Mondays from now, I can take it in, have it diagnosed and hopefully fixed.

A rant type of entry,  I guess.

ben

Thursday 12/9/2010

It's just entertainment at it's best (for me, anyway), to see the democrats falling all over themselvse  in an attempt to make themselves stick out in a crowd that used to have complete control and now..........

The President is being dissed by his own party, which is - pretty amazing, really, and a statement of who is really running this country, or has been anyway until the recent elections - Pelosi and Reid.  The president is really a puppet-man, at least the way I see it.

So it is.  Okay, it's kind of nauseating to see all of this bile coming out of so many different, elected politicians, but, I find entertainment in it as well.

I bought most of the stuff for my cheese tray today.  Summer sausage; pepperoni; the normal Pepper Jack and Medium Cheddar  and then, well, I got some fancy stuff, too.  Wine flows freely at those parties and good cheese go great with wine.  I also got some bread, crackers and will be looking for those thin, wafer type crackers that I couldn't find at the store today.

We have already been declared the winners of the 2 Annual Cornhole competition.  I ain't counting my chickens before they hatch, but the guy I am paired with was the best player out there last year, hands down. I'm not lauding myself here, I did okay, made quite a few tosses into the hole but that guy made a LOT of tosses straight into that hole.  My half of the prize, if we did happen to win, would be around $60.  Lol, that would pay for my cheese tray stuff and then some.

I sent out $1,616 worth of bills today, which really gave me an "ouch" moment.  OUCH!!!  Fortunately, I get paid next week as I still have a couple of Christmas presents I need to buy.  One tenant paid up the entire month in advance - all of that went to the Ouch moment - I know the other tenant will pay his up when it's due, it's the third I'm concerned about.  No need to go into that again, just that she is unemployed and I have no idea of what kind of ride I am in for there.

Oh, I couldn't write my normal morning daily news this morning because the new computer wouldn't let me get online.  Turns out it needed a password thing put into the network settings to make it work.  Oh well, just kind of annoying to show up to work early and not be able to go through with daily, morning rituals.  Tomorrow morning should be back to "normal", hopefully anyway.

Last night.  About 3:00 am.  I am zonked out asleep - a good thing of course.  I am awakened to a loud crashing noise.  I mean LOUD, I bolted upright in bed it was that much noise.  Couldn't see a thing - I MUST have pitch black in my room to be able to sleep, amongst other things.  I turned on the light.  It was obvious what happened: Prince fell out of his bed.  I busted out laughing, how he managed that, I have no idea, but he was looking around wondering, I was imagining, who did it to him.

Well, that's it.  Gonna head outside now that my "mandatory" internet stuff is done and visit with the fishies.  They are all doing quite well, looking healthy, moving around the ponds nicely, no issues so far.

G'day.

ben

Wednesday 12/8/2010

I wasn't in the mood to write anything this morning, the time of day when I normally write entries - so I didn't.

I found out who I am paired up with in the Corn Hold contest.  It's a game, it's actually fun and just about anyone can play it.  If you really want to know about what it is, just look it up on the net, there's plenty of info.

Anyway, we played that game last year, I was doing pretty good, my partner started out well and then, kablaam, dug himself into a rut and we lost.  Oh well.  There are 11 teams this year, but, I got the best partner of any of them from last year.  He was nailing the hole over and over and over.  I asked for fun who was going to win this year's contest, he pointed at me. Lol.  That's cause' I'm paired up with the best dude in it, I wasn't hitting as many as he was last year, but I did hit a lot of them.  

I wasn't really thinking I wanted to go to this party this year, but I have changed my mind.  The drag is that it's at least a 50 mile drive, one way.  I drive for work, other than that, driving isn't really all that much up there on my preferred list of things to do.  Have you ever heard a person say that they don't like doing in their free time what they do at work?  That's me.  I drive all day long.  Today was no exception.  So, when I get off of work, yes, the drive home, get it over with and I'm done.

I'm still getting some interest on Plenty of Fish, but the one I was most interested in has flown the coop.  Dunno what happened, but I'm going to send another note anyway.  She did proclaim that she is very shy, so I probably should be working on that angle by itself.  I am not shy, in any way, shape or form.  At least, not in any situation I can think of.  I might be a bit intimidated walking up to an entire couch full of available ladies if that scenario even ever played itself out.  Years of ministry took any inhibitions I had out of me.  Go ahead and get up and preach to 1,000 people - whatever is in you that might be a blockage is going to have to go by the wayside if you want to be effective.  

Just saying I'm actively searching again : ) 

My Christmas lights - of which are plenteous out there - are costing me about 50 cents per night to run.  That was good news.  I looked at the money spent since midnight last night early this morning just before shutting them off, the power usage was nominal.  I figured as such,they are VERY low wattage bulbs, I think they only use half a watt per bulb.  

I haven't logged into KCL in so long, I don't even remember my user name.  The entire format of that site has completely changed.  I see a few people on there that, yes, I do like.  

Okay, I have to chime in on this. I am not wealthy, not even close.  So that's out of the way: WHY do democrats think that wealthy people should have to pay disproportionately more than everyone else?  I don't understand this "logic".  Democrats have had carte blanch to pass whatever bills they wanted for 2 solid YEARS now.  So, they could have done this Bush tax thing LONG ago, when they had total control.  Who do they have to blame?  THEMSELVES.  Again, READ THIS CAREFULLY: The democrats could have already ram-rodded down everyone's throats WHATEVER bill they wanted concerning the Bush-era tax cuts, yet they did nothing.  Now they are whining like a bunch of babies that are teething.  

THEY HAD THEIR CHANCE, 2 YEARS WORTH OF IT.  So SHUT UP ALREADY.  I don't CARE about their pathetic whinings.  Like a bunch of squealing pigs going off to slaughter, it's ridiculous.  I would REALLY like to hear WHY they didn't address this issue when they had full, complete power?  PLEASE and if someone's going to reply here, NO BS and political ramblings.  Thank you.

Too much time has passed, almost bedtime.

G'nite.

ben

I called the auto electric shop.

The lady on the phone told me $95 per hour shop labor and that it usually takes between a half hour to an hour to diagnose a problem. 

I had to call, it was an "urge" - find out what it would cost to at least find out what's wrong with it. 

My son gets paid every Friday, he already offered to help.  He likes driving, obviously.  So, I'll contact him again and tell him what it's going to cost - or hopefully not more than $100 - and at this point, hopefully nothing left serious to go.  But who knows.  

My dad's wife fell in their house the other day and hurt herself.  Bad situation, but nothing that is going to end up costing her life, fortunately.  She is really a great person.  Anyway, she has been in terrible pain - I assume, however, the pain killers are taking care of that problem.  

I'm not a moocher or a beggar.  But I have to say it's become very helpful that my dad has been sending me a check every month for what, almost a year now.  I thought perhaps the end of it had come.  I said nothing.  I never asked for the money to begin with.  I just don't do things like that.  It just didn't arrive on it's normal day, or the day after, or the day after that.  I never count money I don't have until I receive, which put the budget in a bit of a strain.  

I dunno, wasn't going to let that kind of thing get me down.  Yesterday, we were going through all the stuff I scored from the lady moving out of her house that was being foreclosed upon.  No, I didn't ask her for any of it, all this Christmas stuff, I was helping my manager move the stuff he bought from her and she was getting rid of EVERYTHING.  She asked if I needed any Christmas stuff - it was what, July I think?  Yes, I said, I'm always game for Christmas stuff!  She gave me all of it.  She loaded up my car with boxes of Christmas goodies that I hadn't seen and didn't know what was in there.

I'm STILL amazed that she just gave all that stuff away.  I'm estimating at least $500 worth and that would be on Craigslist, not in the stores.  I have my front yard lit up very nicely, including a frosty, a deer with moving head, a full, fake Christmas tree and a lot of other stuff.  I don't care what my financial situation is, I am always going to be in love with Christmas for 2 reasons.  One, I was infatuated with it when I was a kid and that ideal never left me. 2, because it is a celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Whether it's the ACTUAL date or not, I don't care.  It's what is in my heart.  

So, I put it out of my mind.  I look at what I have, not at what I might be getting. What I had at that point? Definitely not enough.  Umm, well, enough, but scary.  The only way I can say it.  So, I get home today and I find what in the mailbox? Yes, my dad had sent the check.  I chalk it up to the ordeal they are going through with his wife's accident, pain, hospitalization.  Thank you dad.  He wrote me an email today and said Christmas probably isn't going to work out with her in pain and the accident effects.  Yes, well, I doubt it's going to go on THAT long, but I wrote him back and said we could come at another time.

Company Christmas party.  Uhh, our company got a bit of a late start on that scenario.  It's this Saturday. I committed to bringing  a cheese party platter.  It's just that it snuck up on me because the forewarning wasn't given near as far in advance as it normally is.  I mean, it's 4 days away.  Cause for alarm? No, not exactly, I'm just going through the internet to see how I can put together a bit more appealing cheese dish than what I had last year.  Not that it was bad, but a better variety of cheeses is in order.  

I have at least a half full day tomorrow.  It's strange having all these people coming out to our branch to cover the manager's absence.  I was asked to close today because the inside sales associate who was covering asked me to - he wanted to go back to the main branch, get on his computer there that has all of his stuff on it so he could get some work done.  Yeah, no problem.  I have closed many times in the past, no big deal.

I started working out with free weights again today.  I have my own weight set.  It's enough to get me started for now.  I will go 3 to 4 days per week, though I suspect after today's workout, my muscles are going to be sore tomorrow and it might be a few days before I can go again.  My muscle tone has deteriorated quite a lot since this economic turn down.  The reason is we used to be extremely busy - I was working my ass off, every day, all day long.  That ended with the housing bubble and though I still work as much as is afforded, it's a 1/4 at most of what it used to be.  Work has pretty much kept me in shape my entire life because I have always had extremely physical jobs.  I faced the fact that I better start pumping iron again or I'm going to look like a pig with whale proportionments in short order.

That's enough.  I just didn't get to write out a good entry this morning because the guy showing up today showed up - very early.  

G'nite.

ben

Tuesday 12/7/2010

Tuesday

Quite a lot of interesting stuff in the news today. Of particular interest because of the evilness of the act are the 4 "adults" that tortured that teenaged kid for over a year. Burned him, starved him, kept him tied up in chains, made him "sleep in a fireplace". 

Hmm, the interim "Manager" has already shown up, ready to tackle the day. Not so fast, Hoss, I'm still in pre-work rituals and not signed in yet, thanks.

Oh, but it is distracting and I'm getting offa here. Try again later.

G'day

ben

Monday 12/6/2010

Although no time is a good time for a car to break down, certainly on the way to work would be considered one of the "badder" times for it to happen.

So, I"m on the freeway, the car dies.  I pull over onto the shoulder, try to crank, it, not happening.  In this case, it was different because in all other cases, the car would crank away as long as I tried to, not this time. It wouldn't even turn over once.  I figured a bad alternator, perhaps a broken serpentine belt.

Parked the car, walked up the off ramp, called my son.  Come get me, I am not taking a taxi when he's at my house, with my car.  I've made PLENTY of sacrifices in this exchange of him getting to drive a car, the least he could do is get up a bit earlier than normal, come pick me up and I would drop him off at his mother's house - only a mile and a half away - he will have to go without a car until I get this situation resolved.

I had the car towed to my house.  I have no money to take it to yet another shop as the previous shop owner informed me: if it happens again, take it to Village Electric in Mesa.  Further, since it appeared to be a dead battery, I just bought that battery, I could get it recharged or replaced, free and have the alternator tested for free at Autozone as well.  No sense in hurrying to spend money I might not need to spend.

So, I get home from work today.  The car fires right up, as if nothing ever happened.  I wasn't laughing.  And I'm not driving it until I get it to the electrical shop and get a good diagnosis on it.  I did let it idle for about an hour.  Just sat there, running.  Didn't shut off, didn't do anything but sit there, taunting me - drive me if you dare.  I drove it around the block.  Not satisfied driving it to work when I can't trust that it will actually make it to work.

Onto other things.  Got into the most in-depth conversation with the female side of the trailer tenants that I have gotten out of her yet.  Bah Humbug.  Mark and I are out there fooling with Christmas lights, Santa Clauses, this that and the other thing.  She wants to see the lights up, she is definitely not in the Christmas spirit.  On a side note: UNBELIEVABLE the amount of stuff I got from that lady that was being foreclosed on! We were going through it today, hundreds of dollars worth of VERY fine Christmas decor that I paid nothing for.

As for Lynn, - trailer tenant - she said she has worked for Boeing, the state and some other large company.  I gave a double-take on that, if that's true, she would have been making some serious money.  I asked her flat out: HOW did you get into this situation?  "It's a LOOOONG story". I didn't push her on it.  She didn't want to talk about it.  She stated she used to have her own house, car, etc etc etc.

I did ask why it is she might not be able to find another job such as what she used to have?  A car and the apparrel.  I can see the professional dress to be able to land that kind of job - a car, well, yes, in a place like this where everything is spread out, pretty necessary, but to start out with, there is the bus system.

I can't help her with a car, more than I can offer or would even want to offer.  I dunno about helping her with fine apparel.  I want to discuss this further with her.  I want to see what kind of ummmmph she has from within to get herself out of the current predicament: living in a 24 foot long trailer and not much of anything else.  I really would like to see her land any kind of job first.  If that happened, well, perhaps she could buy her own fine clothing.  I'm not doubting her statements.  I don't have any reason to, there is no reason for her to make up such a story.  She was a professional "in a different life", I think I'll just let this one play itself out.  However, I'm not letting her get away with Baaahhhh Humbugg.  So life sucks without money, I've been there too many times.  I never lost the Christmas spirit regardless of my financial situation.  It was a bit of a drag on Christmases where I was totally broke and couldn't even buy my son a present, but that's life as it has been dealt to me and I have learned to deal with it.  

As for this entry, that's it.  I got off work early,only to start right in on the car and they already had all the Christmas stuff out and I couldn't help but get involved with it.  For the first time in my life, I actually have a Christmas tree in my front yard!  I also have a large snowman and a deer that moves it's head up and down as if grazing in the grass, all lit up.  That lady that was getting foreclosed on gave me all this stuff and much more. 2 Santa Clause's - VERY fine product, those are going in my living room or kitchen.

Anyway, g'nite.

ben

Sunday 12/5/2010

Wow.  That's all I can say about the story in the news I just read.   A 24 year old "man" enters the bedroom of his parents.  He starts stabbing his father.  Then he attacks his mother.  Dad grabs a shotgun, shoots son, son is dead.

I don't remember reading that before.  "Usually", it's the kid that kills the parents or the entire family, the kid shows no remorse, the kid goes to jail to - get stuff done to him for the rest of his life, or most of his life, anyway.

I can't imagine, really, what it would take to shoot your own son and I don't believe I will EVER have to go there.  I CAN see a husband trying to save his wife's life, but the "extra-added-feature" that the assailant is your own son?  Wow!!!

Okay and now then.  I have spent today cleaning house, putting up some more Christmas deco, went to WalMart for dog food, ummmm, nothing much else.  Well, and try to get the female living in the trailer into the Christmas spirit.  She loves my setup out front, she is still walking around with the "bah-humbug" stuff.  God only knows what must have happened in her life to have that kind of view of Christmas, I only know I am going to turn it up. I put the fancy, silk, Santa Klause I got for free this summer RIGHT there, staring at the door of that trailer.  I informed her that I put him there on purpose.

That's it, really.  Or not.  Lots of things going on - talking with a lady through P of F, interesting situation there.  
Caleb left earlier to hang out with his friends.  My dad's wife fell, smacked her head on the floor and twisted her ankle (ouch!!), life goes on, I guess.

Strange, really.  Life is that way, sometimes.  I am mostly not shocked by such, but that situation with a dad shooting his own son, amazing.  That story was short on facts, but if the facts are that the son is crazy and dad was saving his wife's life, I have no problem with dad killing his son while son is stabbing wife, but still, wow!

G'nite.

ben

Saturday 12/4/2010

So, I went up to Home Depot to get the wire for the sub-panel.
I asked for help, wasn't really SURE about what I should be doing here.
A lady comes up, I asked if she knew anything about electrical.  "Some".
Well, I started asking questions which is when a man comes walking up - not
an employee - and begins asking me questions about my setup.
Back and forth for quite a while.
I am no expert here, I have never set up a sub-panel.
The conclusion I came to?  Gonna have to do a much thicker gauge wire to feed that sub-panel.
Because of that, I have decided to not use the lug that feeds the AC unit.
It would cost $200 worth of wire alone to feed it that far.
No, instead, I am going to move it to within about 10 feet of the main panel, outside, yes, but not
too far from the main box.
I can run Romex from the sub-panel to wherever outside that I need outlets.
However.  That 10 feet of wire will be another $35 or so.  I will have to install a 50 am breaker off the main panel, another $15.  I guess I am also going to have to drive a ground rod into the ground - dunno how much the rod is, plus the wire between the rod and the panel.  I have to buy a buss for the green/ground wire to install in the panel.  $5 for that.  Now we're talking about getting into some money here.  Plus a chunk of romex long enough to go from the sub-panel to the front of the house - about 80 feet anyway.  I did find some wire on Craigslist to cover that, though, at a good price.

I had no idea this box setup was going to cost me this much more money.  Talking another $120 or so.  I just don't think that's workable into my budget right now.  I think that box is going to wait for "better times".  I have my mom's Christmas present bought, I want to get Caleb something and probably send my oldest brother the steak deal from Omaha steaks.  I just shelled out $250 for auto insurance - though my son gave me $140 to cover most of his portion of it.  I have credit card payments; child support; car payment; water bill and other stuff to pay.

In other words, I can't justify spending that $120 or more on that electrical setup right now and it's going to have to wait.  I am going to use extension cords to put up my Christmas lights outside.  My main reason for wanting the electrical panel and outlets is for the pond setups.  That includes the setup I want to put out front, which will need an outlet out there to serve it.  No, this panel and finishing the job can wait until next month. I am also going to post an ad on CL and see if anyone might have extra from maybe tearing down a house or something that they want to get rid of.  Who knows,it's at least worth a try.  I'll get that panel setup done eventually, but definitely want to do it right, I don't need another house burning down : )

So, pretty quick here I am going into the shed, dig out the lights, start putting them out there.  I think Imight even go get a nice cigar for the occasion.

G'day.

ben

Arizona Department of Transportation Highway Patrol Commercial Enforcement

So, I was travelling through the same stretch of highway today as I was yesterday.
I got beyond where the "infraction" occured yesterday and was merrily cruising on SR 87
towards Coolidge.  Getting closer to Coolidge, I came upon 2 Highway Patrol - a cruiser and an SUV -
parked window to window so they could talk to each other.

Neither of those vehicles were that of which pulled me over yesterday, issuing bogus warnings.  Yes, I call them bogus because - they WERE bogus, both of them.

Well, I was cruising 63 in a 65 zone, so nothing there.  In fact, I didn't give them a second thought, I am doing nothing wrong, was checked out yesterday, why should I have to worry about it again today?

I check my mirrors frequently.  You learn that in trucking, check your sides.  But it isn't just for traffic, I am pulling a flatbed trailer, I am looking at my load and my straps.  Always looking back there.  Is there a loose strap? Has anything shifted for unknown reason? I can't help BUT to look back there and check it.

So, I can say, I was shocked, literally, after passing those 2 ADOT Highway Patrol cruisers, to see yet a different ADOT pickup behind me.  I mean, I never saw it coming - again, I check my mirrors frequently. WHEREVER it came from, it must have been cruising at VERY high speed, because it is out in the desert and you can see in all directions for quite a distance.  I was looking intently at it's driver, too much distance behind me to ID it as the same guy as yesterday. Well, he appeared out of nowhere and he sat there behind me.  I came into a 45 mph zone on that highway approaching a stop light, slowed to that speed, put on my turn signal, turned right on Arizona Boulevard going through Coolidge - yup- that truck turned right behind me.

When he pulled up beside my trailer, that was when I was able to ID him.  Yup,the guy from yesterday.  I accelerated to a whopping 25mph, he was scrutinizing my straps.  No nicks on them today, you can bank on that.  In fact, most of my straps are new, just replaced them a couple of months ago.  I did not go any faster, if he wants to pull me over, have at it.  I will demand a supervisor to show up at the scene.  If not, I will start making phone calls.  This guy may think he's king out there, just wait til' he gets someone like me going.  Everyone has to account to someone - he has a boss, who has a boss  on up the line until you reach the Governor of the state.

If he didn't pull me over, then I didn't care.  That was my thought at the time.  It still is.  This went on for at least 60 seconds.  Dude, either pull me over or let it go, do something because I have a delivery to make and I don't have time for these games.  He finally pulls up next to the tractor, looks at me, signals to me to show him that I have my seat belt on.  He apparently can't tell from down there.  Yes, it was on.  I pulled it forward, off my chest, to show him.  He gives me the thumbs up, pull into the center lane, flips a U-ey and that was that.

I know, it's about safety, right?  Whatever you say. There are JUNK trucks running up and down that road - they look like junk, they are junk.  Pull THEM over and check their tires, brakes, air lines, etc etc etc.  ONCE was good, the next day? GIVE ME A BREAK.  I have driven through sleet, snow, on ice, through torrential rains, fog, heavy winds, even a tornado.  Okay, the tornado wasn't a good idea, I was young and dumb and didn't know there was a tornado.  EVERY other car and truck out there was pulled over, that should have given me a clue.  I went past all of it, several of them pulled out behind me, apparently looking for a "leader".  I'll NEVER forget that ride.  Wow!!

I didn't know what I was going to do this weekend, it suddenly plunged into my head: CHRISTMAS!!!  Finish that electrical panel and get the lights out!!
That's what it is, it's CHRISTMAS TIME!! Hey, we're in December, my lights aren't on, forget about it. I"m getting it going if I can starting tomorrow.
\\

Friday 12/3/2010

Friday

I was pulled over in the semi yesterday by AZ DPS officer. These are the guys whose almost sole job is to pull over commercial vehicles and do inspections.

And, as is their custom, they will always find something wrong with your truck so as to either write up a citation or give you a warning.

I was given 2 warnings yesterday, thanks a lot, there goes my bonus next month, next?

The first warning, and this after the guy spent 40 minutes inspecting the truck, the tractor and the load to the nth degree, was for a strap that had a slit in it. After looking at the strap, I concluded that it was still legally usable. 3/4's of an inch. Further, the cargo that that strap was tying down? Had TWO straps on it. In the case of that cargo, which was a crate holding 3 small check valves weighing at most 500 pounds, ONE strap was legally enough to secure it. The cargo was over-strapped - a thing of which the officer complimented me on and then gives me the warning.

Whatever.

The second warning irritated me. You see, this officer followed me for almost 10 MILES before he pulled me over. Why he did that, I have no clue. He handed me the warnings and I looked at the second "infraction". It said I had followed too closely to a tractor-trailer rig in front me.

BUNK. I asked him WHERE this alleged activity took place. He told me where SR87 meets SR387. Yes, there was a tractor-trailer rig in front of me, yes I had PLENTY of room in front of me. The officer allegedly clocked me at 2.57 seconds distance behind the truck.

First off, the truck in front of me had started slowing down to turn off of SR87 onto SR387. He did not slow down using the footbrake, he began braking using the engine brake. When a truck in front of me does that, it takes a second to recognize that that truck is slowing down - the brake lights do not come on with the engine brake.

Second, this DPS officer was sitting in his pickup about 300 feet off the road semi-facing south. We were coming from the north. At the point where this officer would have been able to see both trucks, I would have been going between 10 and 15 miles per hour. That's right, the driver of the truck in front of me slowed WAY down, he was going maybe 5 mph when he made that turn, I was just rolling behind him waiting for him to clear the road.

I got into a discussion with this officer about that one. That will not look good to my company, following too closely that is. I stated to him the same thing I already wrote: by the time he would have been able to see me, I would have been going no more than 10mph. He stated that "he didn't know how fast I was going". PLEASE.

Don't tell me they don't have a good estimate of how fast a vehicle is going - that's a 6th sense they get after being out there for a long time, looking at vehicles and estimating pretty close how fast they are going. The fact that he stated that he didn't know how fast I was going was what got me going. He KNEW how fast I was going and IF I had been less than 3 seconds behind that truck, it was because we were going SO slow, even if that driver had slammed on his brakes I would have been able to stop before hitting him.

I brought that up as well. He didn't have an answer for it. I then told him these warnings were going to cost me my bonus. He looked at me in shock, but there was no retraction. If they had been citations I would have seen the guy in court, guaranteed. With warnings, I don't know that you can fight them because that's all they are: warnings. At the same time, I lose an entire week's worth of pay that I would have gotten next month for being a safe driver, which I still conclude that I am regardless of this guy's warnings.

Nice way to start the day, it was around 7:00am when this occured. After leaving, I go to the job site with the load and find no supers or foremen there for this company. Only workers. That can sometimes be a bad thing. Well, I was delivering some pipe (as well as a lot of other stuff on the truck). There were 2 different kinds of pipe - different ratings on it - that look EXACTLY the same as each other.

I pointed this out. This is class 52 pipe, this is class 350 pipe, don't mix them up. What do they do? Mix them up. I pointed it out for about the 5th time when another guy walked up, who got into an argument with the backhoe operator, who started yelling at another guy, who started yelling back.

I might have found these morons entertaining, throwing hard hats down, kicking dirt, hurling insults at each other but the encounter with the DPS officer had put me in a bad mood. Watching a bunch of clowns get into a pissing match wasn't top on my list of things to do.

That is what happens when there isn't a forman or a superintendant around to monitor them. I noted on the paperwork that the pipe had been mixed together. This because the super will eventually call and ask where his class 52 pipe is. It is thicker walled pipe and can take both more water pressure internally and also more abuse from traffic above it underground. Mostly, I think it's used to cross underneath roads. Then back to the regular class 350.
Whatever the case, it costs more. At least the pipe is marked, albeit you have to know where to look. I showed this guy - this was like the 5th time now - where the markings were on the pipe, where all 5 sticks were.

Got that truck unloaded and got the bleep out of there.

That was it. There were other deliveries but they had to get out so salesmen ended up delivering them. By the time I got back, it was almost time to go home - I am over hours and had to leave early yesterday and will have to leave early today as well.

And with that, the weekend is almost here.

The news is rife with garbage. "New report: Dream Act to cost taxpayers billions". No kidding? What, is this supposed to shock anyone? Is there ANYTHING that the government does that doesn't cost a buildingful of money?

Pollution. We get these advisories every winter. Pollution settles into the valley and doesn't go anywhere. Pollution advisories are issued - they are expecting this year to be particularly bad for whatever reason. Nice, breath in that wonderful, polluted air. Just another reason I would love to leave the Phoenix area permanently.

Whatever. No plans for the weekend besides usual stuff. Still responding to respondants who are interested - referring to "Plenty of Fish". One of them looks intriguing at least.

G'day.

ben