Pics are not in order! Oh well. End of project - make sure dogs are out of east side of house and gate is closed. I had wondered, when I set up that fence, whether I would hate having had put it up in the long run. Definitive answer: NO!! I LOVE that fence and gate, one of the best ideas I have had. The dogs are not getting into stuff as much as they used to, but still.

Not yet finished product.

Ummm, if don't want the sides of your cement to look craggly and stupid, you must tap it all the way up and down for a while - tap the wood that is holding it that is, so the concrete comes flush with the wood.

My exercise in tapping continued.

When mixing concrete, be SURE you know where you are going to do your cleanout - that is, washing out your wheelbarrow and whatever tools you used - BEFORE you mix the first bag of cement. I learned that a LONG time ago.

Click on the pic for larger view, you might be able to see the rather large goldfish.

Remember to close the gate! I had the 2 bags of "Crack resistant concrete" out front. 80 pound bags.

Told ya this wasn't in order and I didn't feel like making it so. This IS the finished product. I will be putting some sort of "wall" on the sides of this cement - the whole point is to have a waterproof set up. If water DOES somehow get in the rocks and down to the bottom, it won't be going into the ground, it will be going back into the pond. I have a plastic liner that I will be putting on that concrete that will overlap into the pond. The first large rock will actually jut out from the front of the concrete and, of course, water will spill into the pond. I may have 2 rocks together, who knows? I'm not at that part yet!

I'm very glad that I happened to buy 2 bags of cement to start this project. I was only going to get one. That is one bag of cement in there, definitely not enough cement.

Bag 2.

Back to the first mix!

Initial layout and getting prepared to mix the first bag.

Another view of the layout. Perfection wasn't necessary since it will be blotted out of view in the end, therefore, perfection was not acquired (but close enough!).

Pic before I started doing anything.

Just a pic of where I was going to place the waterfall.

BTW, SRP called me yesterday after I sent them a request about all the info I needed on their easement. The lady went right into "I don't know WHERE you got the idea that there is a 25 foot easement on the back of your property, cause' sir, there isn't one THAT big". I had corrected myself anyway - I remember they told me it was a 20 foot easement, not 25 feet. The 25 foot easement is on the front of the property imposed by the city, the 20 foot easement is on the back of it, imposed by the utilities.

Now, I AM sure I was told it was a 20 foot easement when I first started looking into putting another house onto this property.

The corrected version? 8 feet. That's 12 more feet of MY property that I can use for whatever. A 300 sqare foot casita on the southeast side of my property with a good sized pond "lapping up" in front of it would be awesome. Yes, I would live in it. If I really wanted to go as far with it as I may have to anyway, that master bed and bathroom of mine could be rented out.

However, I really have no intentions of renting out more than 3 rooms of my house at any given time. At the same time, that room setup could be rented out and I could have another, smaller bedroom as my "inside" place. Just thoughts for the future: I have no money whatsoever to even think about beginning a project such as this. It would cost thousands of dollars to build what I have in mind, even IF I did all the work myself. Just getting the permits from the city would undoubtedly be a pain in the rear. Everything has to be inspected and signed off by the city as you move along with such a project. If they don't like something you did, you have to do it over. I would have to have professionals do the slab cause' I wouldn't want to have to do THAT over. A 15X15 guest house, basically, with a small porch.

Hey, if I'm stuck here for years on end I'm going to work towards making this place a dream home, even if it never really will ever attain that status, at least for me.

It WAS a big sigh of relief to hear SRP telling me, after looking at the plans of my property, that it is only an 8 foot easement, not 20 or 25 feet. Were that there was no easement at all, but I can deal with 8 feet. It will allow me to make my future, large pond the size that I want it to be instead of having to cut size because of space constraints.

That's it.

ben

Final Day

As I had thought - after I had already asked for the time off - I should have asked for 3 days off instead of two.
Well, huge deal - I can deal with a 3-day work week. Sometime soon is Memorial Day Weekend and that will be 3 days off as well.

Regardless, I am headed over to a Maricopa County location in southwest Phoenix in a little while to get some Mosquito fish - free. I like the free stuff, lol. These things eat flies, apparently. A pond can be a breeding grounds for mosquitos - but not if there are little fishies in the pond that like to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'll only need 2 per pond, I'm thinking, every says they multiply in numbers quickly.

The cement for my posts has still not dried yet, I can't really finish that little project until that cement is set.

First pic: At the bottom is where I have finally determined to put the waterfall versus at the "top" of the ponds where you see some large rocks situaited.

Pic 2: I just got back from the County building - which is nestled in the midst of the Durango jail system which is also where Sheriff Joe Arpaio hangs out, lol. They gave me about 20 of the mosquito eaters for free. They do not need to be fed, the instructions say they will find all the food they need in mosquitos attempting to hatch larvae in the ponds themselves. I do NOT want mosquitos taking over my side yard. Apparently these little fish are VERY efficient in eliminating any problems. I saw a bunch of flies on the surface of the water this morning which got me moving a little faster to go and get these free fish. The pic is the lower pond - the green is clearing out quickly. I put some algae killer in there yesterday. The bottom of the pond is a bit dirty - got dirt and sand in there in my construction operation and may or may not clean it out. It's only natural for a pond to have dirt in it, yes?

Pic 3: From "above" the ponds, a view of where the waterfall is going to go. This is a learn as I go type of deal here.

Pic 4: Just another pic of where I was going to have the waterfall. Although I came to the conclusion on my own that it was not an ideal location for one, I was reading yesterday that you really want to situate the falls wherever you are going to be sitting or standing to view them. The new location is ideal for that.

Pic 5: A bit more broader of view of the posts I installed yesterday and STILL waiting for the cement to dry. Hopefully soon I can put the shade screen on it. Going to try to make it look nice, not junky, not sure how that will turn out.

That's that. It was cool out last night to the point that the pond water was very cool this morning. The goldfish are terrified of me. When I walk up to the pond the go hiding. Just trying to feed them, not kill them!

I am sort of taking my time on this waterfall project. I was in a hurry to get it done for the cooling effect it will have on the water, but, the more information I gather, the more I have a better idea of how to do this thing. For example, I had thought that I better build the waterfall first - before cementing it or anything, make sure it's how I want it and then - take it all back apart and go ahead and start the "real" construction of it.

I then read yesterday online that if you don't put it together first before making it permanent, you are likely to regret that action. yes, well we don't want to go regretting things in life, do we? I have enough regrets in human personal interations, thank you, don't need any more, such as putting something together with cement and then realizing I am going to have to take it apart again to fix whatever I may have done wrong in the first place.

Another thing I learned was to make sure the fall plates are perfectly level or the effect you are attempting to gain is not going to work. Good advice.

Onto a few other items. The trailer tenants are nowhere to be found, but their stuff is still in the trailer. He had major surgery, I'm assuming he is either still in the hospital or perhaps they found a place to be put up temporarily while he is recuperating. Dunno, really, haven't heard from them. The female tenant is gone for the week. The temp guy paid up another week in advance and was hinting at possibly staying until the end of the month. He is a very reserved, quiet individual and chooses to keep to himself, which is fine, I have no idea what his situation is but I will guess that he's looking for a room to rent somewhere and apparently is taking his time about it. Fine by me, I need the additional funds from that room.

Have put off cleaning the carpet in the living room only because I simply don't feel like doing it - cleaning it that is. Work tomorrow - not a bummer just would have liked a little more time off and have only myself to blame. I'm sure they would have given it to me if I would have asked. A full week off is really what I'm thinking now, I have plenty of hours for it. Michael IS in school now. He has been for a couple of weeks. It's a "special" school - basically for kids that get themselves thrown out of regular high schools. 3-1/2 hours a day. That's all it is. I have taken him there a few times including yesterday, did so to actually ensure that he IS going to school and not making it up.

Whatever the hours, it's better than nothing which he has been doing for quite a while now. He is not staying here permanently per his own words. I'm not sure why he is here after hearing him say that, assuming the situation at home is a bit tough to deal with in thinking about having to live with all of those people. They do not have internet, or possibly they do but I know the computer is old and it is very slow. The creature comforts here are probably a LOT better than there. I have made no attempts whatsoever to either encourage him to stay or to leave, I'll leave that up to him.

As for now, well, I want to lay out the form to pour concrete and get that footer poured if at all possible.

G'day.
ben

Staycation

Day 3, tomorrow the final day.
Not an extended deal and frankly, I am asking for at least 3 work days off next month or the month after. Time off is a GOOD thing. I have the rest of today and tomorrow and then back to work on Wednesday.

This morning, I went to work. Installed all 4 posts in the ground with post-hole cement. Won't be able to do anything more on that until the cement is completely dried. I then started situating the rocks on the lower pond. A waterfall can be on either the upper or lower pond, a pump supplies the waterfall with it's water, therefore, where you place it is irrelevant.

I changed the location because my first location simply was too cramped for room.
I could not, however, decide how to construct, even though I have spent many hours looking at pics and thinking about how I want to do it. I think I have finally decided how I want to do it and in the morning I will beging what looks to be a rather long process of building the thing. Simply because it will be built at one level at a time. The first thing I am going to do is pour a small concrete slab.

Of course, it will be at least 24 hours after that before I can do anything else, and the "anything else" will be to ........

wow, I'm glad I started writing this out. I just got another idea that will eliminate a step and will work much better. Thank you, diary!

Okay, I will line the sides of the slab with pavers instead of removable wood and those pavers will stick up, above the level of the concrete. That will constitute the bottom of my falls and will be a catch basin for any water that might leak through the deal. However, I intend on leakproofing it in 3 separate ways to ensure I am not losing water into the ground.

The reason this seems complicated - which it really isn't - is simply that I have never done this before. A pro could undoubtedly outline all of this to me in a few minutes - but then again - pro's don't want to give away their knowledge, mostly.

I put all 4 fish into the upper pond. Had no choice. Dunno what's with the lower one, maybe not deep enough is my guess - both fish in there were just laying on the bottom and doing nothing. I had to go buy a net to catch them and move them. Which was a good thing - the net is very closely woven - I am skimming the top of the water with it as well to got floatees out. I think smaller fish will work in that pond - less oxygen requirements.

Suns V Lakers is starting right now. No-one in their right mind would think that this is going to be an easy game tonight against the "almighty" Lakers. Yet, it would also be foolish to write off the Suns. It will hopefully be a good, close game.

Definitely blew the diet today. Kung Pao Chicken. How many calories? I have no clue. No caloric definitions given. Lots of rice - not so bad - but the main dish itself? I just have no clue what is in the sauce they put on there, I assume by default calorie laden. I also had some soup. It will be the extent of my eating today - along with 2 slices of bacon this morning. I say that a staycation deserves SOMETHING in exchange for not going anywhere. It would be a nice touch if the Suns could somehow pull off a win.

I've taken a long break from this post. I was seeing the water level going down on the lower pond for several days now, so I took the pumps out of it (no fish in there, plants don't care) and put them in the upper level. That makes them 2 separate ponds instead of one flowing into the other. NEITHER pond losing water. So what's the deal? The only possible answer is the overhang of the upper pond over the lower which feeds the water into the low. I have 2 pumps in the lower feeding back into the upper.

I was looking at the plastic overhang - pointed upwards. Probably meaning water going back to the upper pond out of it's outlet - but, of course, on the BOTTOM of the pond and into the ground.

This is easily remedied, which has already been done: put a large rock on the edge of the overhang to force the plastic down instead of up. Does it work? No idea, I'm letting this 2 separate pond situation go overnight to confirm my observations. I am not building a waterfall over a pond that is leaking.

Suns are getting their butts kicked on game 1. I mean, a veritable roasting. The game is a few minutes from over. Suns gave the Spurs a 4 game tidal wave, I hope we aren't in the for the same.

Whatever the case, it's getting late (for me) and I am tired of this game, but it's almost over - better come up with a different idea or we are going to see the Suns 2010 post-season - history.

G'night.
ben

Fish

So, I went and got some pretty good-sized gold fish from a person that has a pond in Sun Lakes.
He was giving them away. He had both Koi and goldfish, I would have liked to have gotten at least 1 Koi - but when I got to his house, another person was already there that also wanted Koi. They were hiding big-time. The owner greeted me and stated that they were not coming out and blamed it on Herring that were flying in and eating the fish.

I did not bother to correct the man - Herring is a fish; Heron is the bird that flies around these parts eating fish out of people's ponds. If you don't believe me, you are welcomed to look it up and correct me if I am wrong.

Regardless, the fish, over the years, had multiplied and he wanted to get rid of some of them to individuals. I've seen Koi going for big bucks. He has 24" inch "plus" sized Koi that he could have sold for a good deal of money. Not. Just wanted to give them out, big heart, nice guy, reminded me of myself in many of my dealings. Koi simply were not available - how he is going to catch them I don't know, cause' they must have a 6th sense and where they were hiding? NO way to get them out of there excepting on their own free will.

Well, the goldfish were not near as skittish, he asked me if I would be happy with them instead? Of course. They're FREE, that's a nice language. 2 ducks walked up on his sidewalk entrance to his home - through a partition no less - wanting their daily feeding. Funny creatures.

Anyway, I ended up with 4 very good sized fish. Not TOO big. I put 2 in each pond and came to regret that decision. For whatever reason, the lower pond isn't "nice" to the fish. The upper pond, yes. They all went into immediate shock, however, which sent me scurrying to the place I love to hate: Walmart - for some stuff that does whatever it does to help fish adapt to new environments. I put that stuff into both ponds and within 15 minutes, the fish in the upper pond were scurrying about as if nothing ever happened, the fish in the lower pond, however, were just sitting there, looking rather lifeless. One of them was hovering on a shelf - I decided to put my 5 gallon bucket in there and see if I could catch him. Easy. Dumped him into the other pond. About an hour later he was scurrying about with his buddies. I could not catch the other one in the lower pond, he was hiding out on the bottom and I do not have a fish net - yet. Hopefully he survives the night, I will catch him tomorrow and all of them will be in the one pond that IS deeper and has more swimming space.

I have 4 holes dug out for posts and I will be putting in the posts tomorrow to keep the sun off of the ponds. It's not even 100 degrees yet and they weren't getting warm, but you could feel the temp of the water going up. It will take longer to get the waterfall installed. I FINALLY decided where to put the thing. Actually, I will have 2 falls. One will be larger than the other. I need the second to house the "bio-filter" setup - it will be just large enough to have an enclosure for it where I can slide it in and out for cleaning purposes.

I am going to also have to get some stuff to get rid of excessive algae. I have acquired lillies from some ponds that were totally green - I don't want green ponds. They don't have to be totally clear, but I want to be able to see into them. The point is that algae is all over those plants and it is starting to cloud the water.

My small ponds will have different treatment requirements, I am guessing, than much larger ponds. I have that UV filter, but it's missing the part that makes it work and I cannot order a new replacement. I have seen several ponds now that have very little algae problems by having the water travel through such a filter.

Tired. Time to go to bed.

G'nite.

ben

Apparently...........

........I have several Blogger accounts. I reset defaults for Explorer, which comletely cleared my cached history, which left me wondering just WHICH password it is to gain access to THIS account. I don't even remember starting up those other blogger accounts, which only have a few posts on them anyway. Well, whatever, just that this account is linked with a totally different email account that I never use - but am glad I still have or I wouldn't have found any way whatsoever to get back HERE! Anyway, I'm going outside in a bit to start work on the waterfall.

Strike that, I'm going to Home Depot in a bit to get cement to bring back here to start work on the waterfall. Let me also add here that WHERE I am going to put the waterfall is up in the air at this point. I had one place set to put it, but I felt that it possibly would not have enough room - so - I may be sitting out there, looking at these ponds and wondering just where AM I going to build this thing? Not sure yet. Where I had wanted to put it would be the best place, yes, so I am at least going to attempt to do a model/practice run and see if I can get it in that space and still have the effect I am lookng for.




Hopefully that video successfully uploads and yes, they were all giving permission to take pics of their property, I took this video right in front of the guy that owns the place, so no infringement going on here. What I liked about this guy's pond was the depth. Many ponds I am seeing online and the other 2 I saw yesterday besides this person's pond are at a depth of 2-1/2 to 3 feet. This pond is at 4 feet. I believe the water will stay cooler in the summer with extra depth. He had also built that above ground feature and yes,there were HUGE Koi in there, probably can't see them in the video.

What I saw dispelled the myth that I must have at least 3 feet deep pond to have koi. That above ground thing was maybe a couple of feet deep at best. No, the statement is that depth is good for keeping Heron away from eating your fish. This man stated he lost several fish last year, the first place I went to the man there stated they had lost up to 25 fish to Heron last year as well.

The place that lost 25 fish simply did not restock fish for a while until the Heron decided to go fish in greener pastures. I didn't even know Heron was a problem in these parts. I think those are those tall birds with long, spindly legs, yes?

I didn't really like the set up of this guy's pond in this video - I mean, it looked really nice and all and I definitely complimented them on the great job they had done, but, it isn't the design I am looking for. If I had enough room on my property, I would build a pond with an island in the middle. The island would have a gazebo type of setup with a table and benches and of course a BBQ grill. It would also have a misting system and overhead fan to move air around in the summer.

I don't have near that much room, but, I can put a setup like that on one side of the potential pond. Not quite the effect I will want, but it will work well regardless.

Where am I going to get the money to build a gazebo, you say? Who knows. Not even in the offering right now, just a long-term goal. I am stuck on this property for a long, long time as far as I can see, might as well continue to develop it and make it as appealing to any potential buyers as possible. This is not my dream house, it is better than nothing, but certainly not my idea of a retirement home or something. It is a starter home, that's all it is. It is FHA financed and qualified, which makes it easier for any potential buyer to get a loan on it though FHA instead of conventional loans.

The fact that I live in an area that was one of the hardest hit in referring to the housing collapse - housing values are not going to come back up any time soon. Homes are being short-saled all over the place which are bringing property values down even more. Home owners that are NOT walking away from their homes are getting pretty upset about it and understandably so. If you live in a neighborhood where all the homes are around $250,000 and then some person that lives in one of them can't make the payments and decides to short sale, what does that do to your property value? Well, if the house is sold for low 100's it reduces everyone else's property values substantially. I've seen them going even MUCH lower than that - 50's 60's even at auction.

Okay, now, you have all the rest of the property owners living around that house considering walking as well, even if they can afford the payment. The value of their house just plummeted 100k or more, they now owe a LOT more than the house is worth, bye bye. People are doing this all over the place. Short saling may help the distressed home owner but it totally SCREWS everyone else with the comps in any given neighborhood.

Where does it end? Well sooner or later it WILL end. When? Who knows. When jobs come back would be a good guess. OAD (Obama Administration) thinks everything is starting to look peachy and rosy now.......sure, if you're rich, sitting in the White House and are basically unaffected by financial problems. This has always been one of my biggest complaints with everyone that is sent to Washington: They are ALL rich, they have NO basis to connect with the common man or woman who is NOT rich and struggling to make it, which there are a LOT more of those than rich people. I do not envy them or hold it against them that they are wealthy, that's not the point: the point is they see things through very different sets of eyes in terms of perspective than someone like me that is basically living paycheck to paycheck.

Back to my own point: My house is not worth as much as the mortgage that is on it. It's about a 30k difference in being upside-down. I could easily walk from this place. There are plenty of houses that allow dogs that are available right now for rent - I've seen them going as low as $600 per month. I wouldn't need tenants, I could live all by my lonesome and have my privacy back. BUT, figure a good 10 years at least before I would EVER be able to get into a house again. That's a LONG time and I will be starting to get old by then.

Therefore, I am stuck here by my own decision. What would make this property very cool is if I could acquire 1 of the properties on either side of me or even behind me. One property has no house on it at all. The "houses" to the east and west of me are old, junky mobile homes. Having the property to do with what I want would be the point. Get rid of the junky mobiles, clear it out and build an oasis there instead.

Money, obvioiusly, constrains me from doing anything like that. It probably always will be an issue in my life, I have just learned to deal with it and not go around whining and complaining about it. If the good Lord ever sees fit to send some dough my way, then all bets are off.

Regardless, this posting has waxed long and I want to get up to Home Depot.

G'day.

ben

Pond Revisited

Yes, well I will be visiting the pond situation frequently.

I carried the large rocks I acquired from Miami in the rock yard up there into the side yard and placed them next to the pond.

Enough? No. But couple those rocks with some of the larger rocks I acquired from the side of the road near Superior plus the large rocks I have been unearthing for quite some time every time I plant a plant or dug out the holes for these ponds?

I just might have enough. Construction will begin tomorrow. Acquisition of the block I need for a retaining wall will occur tomorrow morning early and the cement. This is cheap stuff here. There will be block right next to the pond as well. I can put the rather large and heavy boulder that I intend to use as the final falls on the block instead of the plastic liner for the overhang that will have water pouring into the upper pond.

I really don't want to drive clear anywhere for any more rocks and I am fairly certain I can make this work. In fact, I have determined that if I have to, I can use ALL of the rocks I got from the side of the road near Superior. Why not? Sooner or later, I will get to go up north again in the semi and I can just stop on the side of the road again, using break time to do it, and gather up another trailer box full of rocks. No special trip in the car up there, mission will be accomplished. Getting a waterfall built is far more important right now than having rocks lining the sides of the ponds. The waterfall will create a cooling effect on the water, rocks sitting on the side of the pond will do no such thing.

Arizona Immigration SB 1070 - New And Alarming Information

http://www.wsbtv.com/video/23438021/index.html

Watch the video at that link. It's a news station out of Atlanta doing a story on the kinds of people that are crossing OUR border in ARIZONA. Names of people? From Iran; Yemen; Afghanistan; the Hezbollah; Egypt; Iraq; Pakistan and the Sudan.

Does ANY of this alarm you at all? Nations that sponsor or support terrorism.

THIS kind of reporting puts a TOTALLY new face to this border issue. Terrorists entering our country from what amounts to a virtually unprotected border? And the Feds KNOW about this? And have done virtually NOTHING to stop it?

Excuse my language before I even write it, but this is total BULLSHIT!!

Ponds

Went to 3 houses. I had no desire to fight heavy, Saturday traffic all over the place, 3 was enough. The first house was absolutely incredible. They had a HUGE back yard filled with mature, very tall trees. The ponds were incredible as well - though they didn't do the work themselves. These were very rich people, very nice too, not dissing their wealth, but they were well out of my "league".

Not that I won't end up with a somewhat similar situation on my property - in about 10 years after the trees and plants mature, but I got some great ideas not only for ponding but also about trees. I had no idea an Australian Bottleneck tree could survive and thrive here. They also has very tall Ash - beautiful trees, only problem with them is they require a lot of water. The shade effect, though, is pretty awesome. I could see 3 or 4 of those bottle trees around my property. Mostly, my property has Sissoo trees, a very hardy tree that can withstand the Arizona temps since they do come from India.

I would like to now acquire some different looking trees - saplings - and get them going. I think those bottlenecks would be the perfect touch. They take years to grow, of course, but - you have to start somewhere. I got the Sissoos because they grow SO fast.

I am definitely going to take some of the seed pods on those other trees that are growing here naturally, plant them in pots and get a dozen or so of those going as well. Another tree I have growing has literally hundreds of pods on them right now, that will be a mess to clean up when they finally fall off of the tree.

I just got through putting in a request to SRP to show me the dimensions of the easement they have running through my back yard. Also asked what, if anything, I can do on that easement. I also asked if I can put a portion of a pond on there - well away from their underground lines. I will need that space to have the kind of pond I want. I imagine they are going to want to come out and look at the situation to assess the situation.

As for the pond I want, I am beginning to formulate in my mind how I want it. I will be in the planning stages of it for a long time, I'm sure. I spoke with some individuals today that had started a pond and then ran into a lot of problems. They had not researched everything out in advance. I am not one to jump into something like that without doing a LOT of research and finding out what other's had for problems. There really are a lot of things to take into consideration before taking the first shovelful out of the ground.

I was put at ease with the plastic liners they use - apparently they are so thick that they are very resistant to leakage. One pond setup had been there for 12 years with that plastic material and the owner said he hadn't experienced any leaks at all. Another had been there 15 years - though they used the rubber stuff - I think that's a lot more expensiive. What will put this project off for quite a while is money - I must be able to purchase the liner, pump and filter at the very least before even thinking about actually starting this project. Plus, I want to deal with SRP - a government entity - which will probably take quite some time. Add on top of that acquiring a LOT more rocks and yes, I figure the setup will probably cost at least a grand the way I do things - on the cheap. However, in this kind of thing, you simply must do it right at the get-go.

Then there were the complaints from the pond owners that said they wished they would have done things diffently. One person didn't want shelves in their pond, but another did. He said it's a pain to have to put the plants on top of things from the bottom of his pond and if he had it to do over, he would have definitely put some shelves in. I'm going to spend time talking to as many pond owners as I possibly can to find out what they think they did wrong or should have done differently. I have my 2 little ponds in the interim, I will enjoy those and not attempt to rush into this thing.

As for my 2 little ponds, I am definitely going to put 4 posts into the ground and shade the ponds with nursery grade screen material. It will allow some sunlight through - the plants need that - but it will really stop the heat from building up in the ponds. Another thing one guy stated was that keeping the water moving is very important. He says he moves about an entire pond's worth of water every hour. Mine are doing about 2 full rotations, so I hope not to have to worry about that.

I am considering a trip to wherever tomorrow morning for my rocks. Haven't decided on that yet, I may do it on Monday as well.

As for the temporary tenant? - totally changing the subject but a very important topic for me at this point in time - he is staying at least another week, possibly until the end of the month. Meaning tomorrow I will be handed another $90 - and yes, that $90 is also going directly to the power card to be loaded onto my meter. I have heard that SRP has different plans that somehow save money, I will be calling them next week to find out more. Actually, that info is probably on their website, I'll just visit there instead. I am also intent on reading this 10 page Arizona Immigration SB1070 bill today. 10 pages isn't that much and I want to edumacate meself as to what, EXACTLY, the thing says.

ben

Saturday

Yesterday, I came home to find one of my ponds half emptied. Upon closer inspection, one of the tubes had come out of the bio filter and had pumped the water onto the ground. The pump was clogged up (thankfully) or it would have pumped ALL the water out.

Fortunately no damage to the plants. I do not have a permanent setup with that filter yet and it will stay that way until I get a waterfall constructed. I do not need a giant waterfall and have no plans on constructing some huge affair, but I still need minimal amount of rock to do it with.

I'll be attempting to get the rest of the rock I need sometime during the next 4 days that I have off. Whether out in the desert, up in the mountains - whatever, I want to get on with this project already.

Currently uploading pics and such from my camera so I can empty it out and have a full card's worth of memory to take pics of the ponds I am about to go visit. The pond tour is today and starts in about an hour. I figure to see 3 or 4 of them and the possibly head east. I have not decided where, exactly, I am going to go to look for these rocks. Several options, none of them are close - perhaps I will be able to get some ideas from the pond owners.

Anyway, I have to keep this short, I want to get out there and get to looking before this afternoon - it's going to get warm and I have no desire to bake in the sun today.

G'day.

ben

It Finally Arrived!!

What am I going to do with it?
How will I spend it?
Where will it go?
Will I end up doing anything with it that I that will add to an extensive list of good memories?

Time off of work, that is what IT is. 2 days plus the weekend equals 4 days off.

Well I can tell you right now that I am going to that pond society tour tomorrow - not all of it, I have determined 5 homes that I will go to to view their properties and ponds. I will undoubtedly also join their club. Why not? It might be a year or more before I can actually get a "real" pond, but I like my little ponds so no big deal.

Will I go up north to get the rock for my waterfall? Dunno yet, I am thinking of another location that is about 40-50 miles from here. There is another location about 30 miles from my house that should have some nice rocks - but I am not sure about that location. Then, yet more locations - east and then north - probably a good 40 mile drive.

You see, I am not a fan of driving anymore. I hate it. I do it at work, every day, driving in city traffic, which is what has ruined my appetite for driving. Okay, admittedly, I do like driving the semi on country roads out in the middle of nowhere. I just take in whatever the scenery is and I immerse my mind in it. In city driving? You have to be alert all the time, intense, focused driving. It is draining to say the least. I could go into all of that, but it would take numerous paragraphs worth of writing and frankly, I don't feel like it. Most people do NOT understand what it is like to drive a tractor-trailer rig, but - oh well, this is not a night I am going to detail that stuff.

Still, if I took a dog or 2 with me and went out to a mountain in the desert - I am thinking of a particular area about 40 miles from my house- well, I think I could enjoy that. I could also go up to the mountains. I could take my son and he could drive on the highway after getting out of town. He might not want to go for rocks, but he would love to drive. He is attempting to learn how to drive - I am attempting to teach him.

I can think of numeous areas full of good rock near my mom's property where I could find what I need. It's all a matter of my mind: get it out of the city driving mode and I can enjoy it.

I'm not stressing the waterfall for my ponds - when it happens it happens. But, I am a very goal oriented person. Once I have made such, I will be thinking of ways to make it happen until - it happens. I do believe, regardless, that I will enjoy my time off whatever may come.

With that, I am just about to go to bed.

Early? yes. Hating it? No. I LIKE going to bed early and getting up early.

G'nite.

ben

Friday

I am not sorry, really, for all the posts I have made in concern to boycotting the entire state of California as they apparently are inclined to do to us. Us Arizonans spend BILLIONS of dollars per year JUST in tourism over there alone. Now, a local businessman has stated he will pull out 1.5 million in money he spends in CA with his business. You will see more and more of this until CA's hard stance is reversed.

If they don't like the bill Arizona Immigration SB1070, FINE, argue it out, call on the Feds to sue AZ, whatever, but boycotting an entire state? WHO are you hurting? That's right, not just "white" people, but hispanics, blacks, asians - everyone that lives here!

But I'll take a breather off of that subject for a moment's time, since this blog also serves for my daily journal and get onto that. It was a very nice revelation to find out that I CAN take rocks off of Tonto forest land without a permit, I just can't take that MANY rocks. I am assuming the intent is to keep people from messing with the eco-system, the balance of nature and not going in there digging up huge plots of land to unearth rocks. I only intend on taking rocks that are already unearthed - and I don't need that much to boot. I'm not building Niagra Falls, I'm just building a small waterfall in back yard, lol.

I just didn't want to be standing there putting rocks into the trunk of my car and have a DOT officer or a Forestry Ranger come up and put handcuffs on me.

FINALLY Friday - well actually, this week has passed by very quickly. Work days have been busy and I always keep myself busy at home.

The ex wrote me an email to my company account and informed an old - well used-to-be friend had passed and gone on to be with the Lord. I haven't seen her in many years. I remember quite some time back she was going through cancer treatment, I sort of helped her out a little as well as a lot of other folks in trying to help her get through it. I guess you can't really say it's "sad" that a person has gone on to be with the Lord, if you are sure that that person actually IS with the Lord.

I won't go into my religious beliefs here, I haven't got time for it - but, Jesus Christ IS Lord!!

No, the work day is almost here and I must be about the company's business.

G'day.

ben

Boycott San Diego And Anaheim

Heya, San Diego, do you like the hundreds of millions of dollars that are spent in your city, each and every year, by the 2,000,000 (that's TWO MILLION) visitors that come from ARIZONA?

It's a well known fact that Arizonans and especially Phoenicians LOVE to escape the desert heat and take trips to San Diego to cool off on the beaches. That's hotel, entertainment, food, related support institutions.

Since it appears the entire state of California is jumping on this "Boycott Arizona" bandwagon, let's BOYCOTT THEM! Don't go to San Diego this year to cool off, instead, take a trip to Colorado and go on a white water river rafting adventure. It's GREAT fun and is really something everyone should have on their "things to do before I die" list.

Heck, Arizona has it's own white water river rafting - through the Grand Canyon and also through the Salt River Canyons.

While we're at it, let's stop going to Disneyland; Six Flags Magic Mountain; SeaWorld San Diego; LegoLand; and all the rest of these giant amusement parks that Arizonans flock to every year to get away from the heat and enjoy a good time with your families.

Good luck with that, California, I do believe this boycott nonsense is going to come back and slap you smack dab right in the face.

ben

Attorney General Eric Holder Has NOT Read Immigration Law..........

..........yet he has trashed it.
How do you diss a law that you haven't read, especially the United States Attorney General????!!!!????????

UNBELIEVABLE.

"Despite repeatedly voicing concerns about Arizona's new immigration enforcement law in recent weeks and threatening to challenge it, Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday he has not yet read the law -- which is only 10 pages long.

"I have not had a chance to -- I've glanced at it," Holder said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing when asked had he read the state law cracking down on illegal immigrants.

Holder told reporters last month that he fears the new law is subject to abuse and that the Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department are in the midst of conducting a review"k

Would you "glance" at a bill that is getting the kind of negative outcry that it is, being the Attorney General of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, come out publicly and denounce the law and then, after doing so, ADMIT THAT YOU HAVEN'T EVEN READ THE LAW YET?

MORON!!!!

I will be continuing with this intent on my blog for a while. This whole Immigrant Bill has been taken to extremely outrageous proportions. If WE, the State of Arizona, it's people, business and corporations and the state as a whole, dole out back to these entities that are officially pronouncing a boycott against us, WHAT THEN?

Yes, I am especially liking the find I did today on California's dependence on the energy generated by OUR nuclear generating plant. I haven't heard anyone over there saying: "THAT POWER IS BEING GENERATED IN ARIZONA BY ARIZONAN, BOYCOTT THEIR POWER TOO!!"

THAT, folks, ISN'T going to happen. Why?

..............Arizona„s Palo Verde Nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear generating facility in the United States. It has supplied clean electricity for 4 million customers in Arizona and California for the past 22 years. The plant‟s three reactors, completed in 1988, have experienced 85% to 95% availability and annually produced ~3.2 gigawatts of electricity. Three reactors were eventually built for a total cost of $5.9 billion. In 2008 the operating cost to produce 1 megawatt of electricity at Palo Verde was 1.33 cents, 50 percent of average energy cost in the U.S. southwest, cheaper than both coal and gas fired electricity - and cleaner than both. The plant employed 2,386 workers during construction and today employs 2,055 directly. Another 3,943 are employed indirectly in the Maricopa County and the Arizona economy. In 2002, for example, the Palo Verde facility contributed $868 million to the local economy.............

Notice that that statement doesn't say "Arizona" only, it also includes California. Again, the graph of ownership in the plant:

Operator Owner Share
(Percent)
Arizona Public Svc
Arizona Public Svc
29.10
Salt River Project
17.49
Southern California Edison Company
15.80
El Paso Electric Co
15.80
Public Service Co. of New Mexico
10.20
Southern California Public Power Auth
5.91
City of Los Angeles
8.70
Total 100

30.4 percent ownership by California entities. That's off the top of my head, if you come up with something different, I'll change it. This is JUST electricity!!! THOUSANDS of Arizonans - maybe more than that - go to San Diego in the summertime to get away from our desert heat - hotels/entertainment/food/transportation.

Wanna see that go away, San Diego? How about Anaheim? It's a 4-1/2 drive to Anaheim - which houses, for one, Disneyland, - okay, it's much longer drive for most people, I don' like to waste time driving, but that isn't the point here - Anaheim, like to see all of Arizona's business go away?

What about the business we give to California? I haven't found any concrete figures on that - yet - but if/when I do, it will surely be posted here. It is, however, a very good amount of money being spent there to employ THEIR people (if they are going to treat us as space aliens, I am going to give them a dose back) and a HUGE influx of money to hotels/restaurants/entertainment beyond the theme parks.

No, I do believe we can flex our muscles here. California is more dependent on us than we are on them.

What say ye, CA?

Arizona Immigration SB 1070 - Boycott The State Of California - Los Angeles

Okay, Los Angeles, you own a 8.70 percent share of the Arizona Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.
Does you boycott also include the exemption of using ARIZONA generated POWER??? HMMMM???
This graph found at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/palo_verde.html

Plant Operator and Ownership,* 2004 Operator Owner Share
(Percent)
Arizona Public Svc
Arizona Public Svc
29.10
Salt River Project
17.49
Southern California Edison Company
15.80
El Paso Electric Co
15.80
Public Service Co. of New Mexico
10.20
Southern California Public Power Auth
5.91
City of Los Angeles
8.70
Total 100
* The Pinnacle West Corporation's holdings include the Palo Verde Plant. Their largest affiliate, Arizona Public Service (APS) is the operator and co-owner.


It seems California has an over 31% owned interest in the Palo Verde Nuclear plant.

Why? Because they CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT THE POWER COMING FROM THAT PLANT!!!

What are they going to do, BAN the electricity coming from that plant because it is generated and originated in Arizona?!!!

Arizona Immigration SB 1070 - Boycott The State Of California

Please join my newly formed Facebook group located at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=126345970710069&ref=mf

I have had enough of this hype and hysteria over boycotting our great state - Arizona.
The state of California is the most outspoken state yet with cities all over officially boycotting the state of Arizona, and now an outspoken senator from that state wanting the ENTIRE state to boycott AZ. The latest city being Los Angeles.

It's time to turn the tables. Let's begin with shutting off the power coming from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Plant located about 70 or so miles west of Phoenix, Arizona, IN Arizona. California is HEAVILY reliant on that power coming from that power plant. You want to talk about rolling blackouts as California experienced several years ago? Shut THAT power off and there they go again. That will be my main focus and I am going to write the governor, senators, ops columns, voice it in comments at the bottoms of news feeds (already started doing that) until it gains some momentum. WE should be fighting BACK at this point. SCREW California. Let them STEW in their own juices - I guarantee you that if we, Arizona, said: "Great, you want to boycott us, we are going to boycott you" and shut that power off, that WILL get EVERYONE'S attention. We are already negatively viewed EVERYWHERE because of one, single bill that MIRRORS federal law!!!

That in itself should be enough to shut their mouths about an outrageous, ill-gotten, boycott.

Let's also start talking about all the Arizonans that go to San Diego - the Phoenix Hideaway during summers here in the hot desert state - and having all of those folks BAN San Diego. Oh, and Anaheim, California as well.

Further, for you opponents of the bill, since this bill does mirror Federal law, why aren't you boycotting our Federal Government? They MUST be racist too, it's the law of the land!! HYPOCRITES!! Why aren't you standing on Obama's doorstep demanding that we do away with the Law of The Land as well? No, I haven't heard ANYTHING about that going on.

Arizonans, let's step up to the plate and smack it to them right back in their faces and BOYCOTT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA!!!

Is It Thursday Already?

So, the "great" city of Los Angeles has boycotted Arizona. You know? What goes around comes around. It will end up right back on their lap in one form or another. Apparently, Arizona has much more money going to California than CA has coming here, at least according to news reports, if WE pull out, THEY stand to lose. Should we act in kind? You're darn right we should, they want to give some kind of kneejerk reaction related to a hysteria that seems to be sweeping the country, I say let AZ respond back. But that's just me.

There was only one city council-member who voted against, stating that the council really has no business in sticking it's nose into another STATE'S legal actions. Really? One person with an actual brain functioning on it's own, kudos to that city-council member. When the mob-mentality takes over, and in a very real sense that's what's going on here, people don't think for themselves. They react to what others are doing and act out on the impulses that are being generated by that mob. It will, sooner or later, be reported in the news about businesses that operate in Arizona pulling out of those city's/states and doing business elsewhere.

Well, I got so involved in reading the news I lost track of time and here it is, almost 6:00 am and time to get about the day's business.

G'day.

ben

I'm Fighting........

...........to not eat anything for the rest of the day. I ate the second of 3 free sandwiches at Dunkin Donuts this morning: a Ham Swiss Flatbread Sandwich. 350 calories with 110 of those from fat.
That isn't TERRIBLY bad, but then, my manager was suggesting "breakfast burritos" this morning after I had already eaten that sandwich. I went. I got, well I ordered a taco salad. Instead, I got nachos heaped with cheese and sour cream. I ate half of it and forced myself to stop. I'm still guessing around 700 calories for that little dream of a dish, it WAS delicious, but I had opted for a taco salad to get less junk and more good stuff.

I'm at a minimum of 1050 calories today. I KNOW the Dunkin Donuts calories because it is listed online. I figured there was around 250 calories of cheese, 200 calories of sour cream, 3 - 4 hundred calories of meat, plus chips and everything else on those nachos. I would upgrade the calorie count I ate from it to a higher level, but remember I only at half of it and put the rest in the refrigerator at work. So, actually, a grand worth of calories is probably a good guess. But there was a lot of fat calories in that dish. I won't last today, I can feel it, so I am planning now what I am going to eat before 6 pm - a salad. Just a salad. No meat, vinagette dressing. Calories will be low, nutritional content will be good.

I would rather just say okay, eat and plan it ahead than give in the last minute and eat something - stupid. There is plenty of stupid stuff around here, btw. I may actually be going way overboard on the amount of calories I consumed on that nachos plate, but I would rather be exagerated in my guess than under. The scale at my branch is giving me wild variations on my weight, I can't rely on it as an accurate indication. I will be at the main branch tomorrow, that scale should be right on. Even if it isn't, as long as it is consistent, I can gauge my losses - or gains - with it. They say not to get on a scale too much, but I disagree. If I see that my weight is going back up, it will only motivate me to eat FAR less calories in the next coming days and say no to whatever temptations come my way.

And THAT'S the singlemost, largest problem I have with dieting. When you start dieting, what is the first thing that happens? All of a sudden, people who never offer you anything now are asking you to partake in donuts, junk food, McDonald's garbage. I LOVE all that stuff, yes I do, but it isn't ANYTHING that would be included in any concept of a diet.

Changing gears. The newest female tenant paid up her rent today. It is 3 days late. No big deal. I was thinking maybe letting her in was a mistake, but she got paid today and gave me her entire check. She's a waitress and waiter salaries are minimal, they figure you to make your money on tips. I was a bit surprised that she just handed it all over to me. She said this: "A roof over my head is more important than anything else". This is the kind of thinking that I like to see from tenants. When a person comes up to me and tells me they can't pay the rent, not-withstanding the fact that they have an expensive cell phone glued to their ear without ever missing a beat in paying that and having a vehicle that they are making the payments on and going out to bars and such, while telling me that?

I can only say that my good nature is getting less and less in such department. If you can't pay, then leave. I suppose in a true business sense, leaving emotion out of it is the best venue. But, I am something of a humanitarianist and that kind of thinking has never set well with me. Would the Lord throw that person out? Yes or no? I can't answer that question at times. Sometimes the answer is VERY clear, such as with Mary: GET HER OUT OF MY HOUSE AND NOWWWWWWW!!

Meanwhile, my quest with the ponds continues on. I determined that the 2 lillies were not enough. When they grow larger, sure, but for now? Gardener's World is less than a mile from my house, they told me on the phone last week that they have lillies for ponds. Okay. I went there. They had a small pond with some healthy looking specimens in there.

They first told me a price I wasn't interested in, their second offer caused me to buy 2 "clumps" as they call them. They go to the pond, stick their hand into that thick mess and pull out a clump of them. I actually got 3 clumps for the price of 2.
This is obvious something that is rarely ever bought - the pond was full of lillies and it did not appear that any had been removed any time in the recent past. Well, I also asked - no, not a big demand. Well, probably because no-one knows they have them. At the price I got them, they would sell out in no-time. I have no inclination of making this public other than this posting as I hope to eventually build a much larger pond and I will need to buy a dozen or more of them. In fact, I will want to buy out their stock.

Meanwhile, I am going to be thinking about what I can do to shade the ponds. It is obvious - to me if no-one else - that the summer sun glaring down on them is going to heat them up considerably. I have nursery grade screening, I could put up something temporary and not spend ANY money - which right now is probably a good idea. I dumped that week long tenant's money onto the power reader, I am also dumping today's rent from the lady tenant on there as well. I want to get that thing up to $400 on there and keep it there. That way, if some kind of problem occurs, I don't have to worry about electricity.

Also, now that I'm discussing things, I could also get another pond, add that much more water to the system. I would not have to buy any more filters or pumps than that of which I already have. More water equals longer time for the AZ heat to heat it up. The waterfall is a huge priority at this point: the cooling effect it will have is tantamount to either having hot pools of water or at least moderately cool. Oh, I can get another pond for $20. Lol. People are dumping those things like flies - and even more people are picking them up as they are listed.

Tomorrow I am headed to the far southeast valley and am hoping to find some good sized rocks/almost boulders on a particular stretch of road that is out in the middle of nowhere. Many areas of the desert are loaded with rocks. I really do not want to waste my 4 days off in NOT getting this done or at least getting a very good start on it.

Meanwhile, the trailer tenant is still in the hospital and probably will be for several more days. I am going to offer to bring him home - he is in a hospital some 20 miles from here. Taking a bus in his condition is a ridiculous notion and I don't mind going and getting him. He is in extreme pain - well he is unless he pushes the button. Pushing the button releases pain medication and the pain - poof - disappears. Well of course it does!! I am also looking for a queen sized mattress - they are on an air thing and it keeps leaking. I don't want to pay for it, I have no finances to spend on such things right now, I continue to look on the free section of Craigslist for one.

Ummm, so that's it, I think. I have totally forgotten about dumping Direct TV and going with Dish Network. I actually like Direct TV much better than Dish Network, but I want a deal and Direct TV isn't going to give me one - their standard modus operandi. Don't give existing customers who have been with them for a decade any deals, only give the deals to new customers. What utter stupidity. Seriously. It may BE a pain to switch to a different company, but for reduced costs and brand new equipment, who cares? Intend on "contacting" them through my account after I finish this entry with a final appeal before I make my contact to Dish Network.

2 more days. Just 2 more days til' 4 days off. Next time? I'm taking 3 days off so I can have 5 in a row. At least, if I can get it. I will work the Memorial Day stuff before and after that holiday and going for the throat on July 4th - 3 days plus 3 days.

Done.

ben

Wednesday

Another jetliner crash? Absolutely incredible - all killed excepting a 10 year old boy. You know, I read the news in the morning online and some of it is pretty hair-raising stuff. This talk about Iran, North Korea and Syria being a new axis of evil is just that kind of thing. But - evil not only exists in this world, it is bred, raised and nurtured by people whose intentions are - evil, frankly. When I look at the president of Iran, that's exactly what I see (and hear): and evil person with ill intent. I definitely do not believe sanctions against these nations will EVER work.

They will continue on with their mission to build nuclear weapons and then....what? Blow up the earth? It is conceivable that a rogue nation such as Iran will not care what the consequences of using such a weapon are and I state that because they believe they are on God's side and the rest of us are vermin, rodent-like trash that needs to be eradicated from the earth.

3rd day of this work week and my hopes are dashed yet again. No trip to the mountains. In fact, I will only be driving around town doing pickups and deliveries. I am hoping for a trip to the mountains to get some more rocks for my waterfall and lining the pond edges. However, tomorrow I am going to the far, southeast valley and I know a couple of places where I might be able to find some cool rocks to pick up and bring back with me off of the Indian Reservation.

Of course, the question that evolves in my mind after making such a statement is: is that legal? Can you take rocks - plain old rocks - from the Indian Reservation legally? I have NO idea, but I will be looking after work online to find out or possibly call the "legal department" of the Gila River Indian Reservation to find out. Last thing I want to do is end up in an Indian Reservation jail.

Anyway, work day is here already,

c'yall later!

ben

Porterhouse Steak

Stopped at Fry's Food Stores on the way home from work today. I do that often. I almost always go to the meat department and see what manager's specials are going. That's meat that is going to expire in a couple of days and they need to unload it. I don't often see Porterhouse steak in that portion, in fact, today's finding was the first of such in a long time.

Porterhouse steak - especially one the size that I snagged up - does not cost $6.50.

No, it costs double or more that. Porterhouse is my most favorite steak out of all of them. It's EXTREMLY tender and tastes wonderful barely cooked. Like, bloody on the inside, lol. The rareness that I like to eat steak often grosses people out. Warm it up a little, I'm good to go.

Anyway, long day at work. Did not have a chance to stop and eat, so I went about 22 hours without eating. I blew my diet a bit on Sunday so I'm attempting to make up for it. Eating a single steak and some baked potatoes with fat free sour cream on it? NOT going to blow my diet. About 600 calories in that steak and baked potatoes have almost no fat calories. Yes, I ate around a 1,000 calorie meal, but it's the only meal today, so no biggies. I won't be hungry again after eating steak, that stuff fills me up and I won't even be thinking about food until tomorrow morning.

3 days to go to my 4-day weekend. I'm going to ask for 2 days off next month or in July as well. Memorial Day is coming up soon enough and that is a 3 day weekend. I just want some time off. Really, I'm thinking about asking for a full week off. Other drivers have taken much more time off this year than I have. I took 2 days off to get that thyroid scan which (fortunately) was a bust. Ummm, I was sick I think and took some days off for that as well. But neither of those were vacation days where you are - vacationing even IF staying at home.

Which reminds me, I need to get a copy of the schedule that shows the the locations of the houses that are going to show off their ponds at the pond expo. Take my camera, take a lot of pics. Get some ideas. I was sitting out there yesterday - I have a limited area of where to put the thing. I still can't believe SRP has a 25 FOOT easement in my back yard. Why do they need THAT much space? They DON'T is the answer. The J-box was already dug up once back there, was maybe a 4x4 hole. I am going to look into getting and amendment to that, there is absolutely no good reason for them to have that kind of an easement on my property. It means I can't build or do much of anything with it.

But, I didn't care and put up my shed back there anyway. I also planted all of those plants. But, that's ALL I have done with it. In reality, behind my house would be a great place to build a small casita/guesthouse. Not that I have the money to do any such thing right now, but it IS sitting on a shelf in my mind and I occasionally take it off the shelf to shake off the dust and give it a fresh look : )

I know where the utilities are located because they were marked when I had my house placed on this property - Their easement needs about 5 feet from the back fence, not 25 feet. It REALLY sucks to have that kind of restriction placed on YOUR own property. I didn't know anything about an easement here until after I bought the place. Considering the dilemna I was in at the time, I would have bought it anyway.

Well enough whining, I haven't even bothered to find out if you can ask them to change it so until I do that, I'm going to put a zip on it.

Cafe Word Tip 17: Zynga Allows Cheating On Cafe World

Look, I'm not a big fan of cheating in games simply so you can get ahead of everyone else. On an online game, though, the owners of the software should be able to patch any hacks that come along that allow such cheating to occur.

The cheating I am referring to is the Cheat Engine 5.5 which is used to hack into Cafe World and allows a person to set up their stoves to cook without the cook having to do anything at all. It's called a Cafe Clicker. I have reported 3 people to Zynga so far with no results whatsoever. Which is why I titled this "tip" with Zynga allowing the cheating to occur.

There is not an equal playing field for those that want to play the game legitimately and those that do not. I am getting sick of it, to the point I am considering simply quitting playing the game. I reported on some of the Cafe World messages about what's going on as well. You know what Zynga did? They suspended my "priviledge" to write messages on their board. Apparently they don't like the truth.

Well, I am going to write on MY blog and there isn't a DAMN thing they can do about that. I'm also going to spread this information out across the net. I am definitely NOT the only person that has watched another Cafe World Neighbor come from WAY behind and suddenly, in a few weeks time, not only catch up to you but blow you away and leaving gasping. HOW did they do that? I am not one to let things hang forever.

When I found out how these people are doing this, I then confronted my own ethical steadfastness: did I want to cheat as well? NO. Didn't take long to figure out what I wanted to do in this: nothing. It's a game, it has it's parameters. You're SUPPOSED to have to cook to get Cafe points and get ahead, but this hack is a glaring red thumb that sticks out to anyone that is playing the game and has seen neighbors shoot off into cyberspace in terms of their Cafe points.

It's a joke that you get on the game and a screen pops up saying check out the competition, get neighbors and all that junk. ZYNGA should be FIXING this problem and stripping those that cheated of all their points and make them start from scratch. Am I the only one that hates the cheating? Anecdotally, I can say definitely not. I have had conversations with several of my Cafe World neighbors now who also hate the cheating, don't want to use the hack and want to see Zynga stop this garbage. Oh come on, you say, it's just a little cheating.

I have found in my 46 years of living that when a person is inclined to cheat on anything, regardless of what it may be, even "just" an internet game, they probably incorporate such use across the board when it is convenient for them to do so. Cheating is an ethical issue, some would call it a moral issue.

For those Cafe World players that don't cheat, does it set well with you that this is going on and that more and more players are using this hack?

For those Cafe World players that are cheating? I have nothing to say to you. If you are cheating, it shows a part of your character. I could ask you if you feel small for engaging in such, but obviously you don't so there is context here for a discussion.

Enough of this, I'm going to eat my Porterhouse steak and baked potato with fat-free sour cream and enjoy!

G'day.

Tuesday

17 orders on 9 stops.
This isn't a pizza delivery service I'm talking about, it's what's in our truck routing system for today. In my kind of work, that many stops is next to impossible to do in one day. Well, we'll see is all I can say about that. Certainly, I'll try : ) I smell OT in the air?!

Speaking of air, it has cooled down considerably this morning. Wow! Just when you thought the folds of earthy hell had arrived, here comes a cold front to whisk it away, if ever so temporarily.

Anyway, yesterday, I got home from work, TV on, junk, crap, yada yada, went outside, put a blanket on the ground next to the ponds and took a nice, long nap. Yes, I will be finding, sooner or later, some nice piece of outdoor furniture to put somewhere in the vicinity of those ponds as the intended effect has already be gained and I'm only half done with the setup!! Of course, a giant, black Great Dane decided to snooze next to me, and then a half Great Dane came around and laid down in the grass, followed by a third Great Dane that decided that the cement slap was for him.

Life's simple pleasures. How many of us actually engage ourselves in the simple things that life offers that don't involve having to go somewhere, put down large sums of cash and may not even be ethical to begin with? I know I have been guilty. No, I come to enjoy being more of a homebody than anything. I used to be very outgoing, parties and events and this that and the other thing. Nothing wrong with it, I guess, but it was to the exclusion of doing anything at home. I'm on the other side of that equation now and eventually? Probably find some middle ground as I am really not happy that I am not at least involved in a church somewhere.

Not blaming anyone, I just can't get past the situation that occured during the divorce almost 6 years ago now.

But I am not going into that here. NO time for it and no desire to ruin a perfectly beautiful morning thinking about such.

Instead, I'm offa here to get about the business of the day at hand.

G'day.

ben

Monday

The Verdict?
A wire that wasn't installed correctly in the main pedestal.
THAT is why my internet wasn't working worth a crap.
It's back up to 7 mbps, I fully intend on calling Qwest and demanding at least 50% off on this month's payment considering this thing has been this way for 2 weeks now.

Live and learn - next time I have this problem check the internet speed FIRST. Here I was freakin' trying to do all this stuff to my computer thinking the kids had downloaded "something" - which has happened in the past on several occasions. I gave up on Cafe World - 10 minutes to access the game and 20 plus minutes just to get dishes cooking, that's how bad it was. Of course, finally getting back on the game again I found one neighbor had totally passed me by and waving a blithy goodbye.

I assume that person thought I wouldn't catch up to him considering he was almost 50,000 points ahead of me. Yes, well I know how to play catch up WITHOUT cheating. You simply buy the dishes to cook, prepare them and delete them. You spend a lot of money doing it - around 2,000,000 gold coins to catch up and pass that sucker - but I didn't care in this case because of circumstances that were out of my control. I have removed neighbors 3 times now that were using a cheat hack to get ahead, but, again, buying your way up isn't cheating. You can't do it forever, either, your gold coins will run out sooner or later. Good thing I still have around 4,000,000 gold coins!!

Newest, temporary tenant is a bit strange. Nothing psycho strange, just an unusual - temperament. He's only there til' Sunday, so I figure I can deal with it. He brought all of his landscaping equipment into the back last night, I forgot to warn him about the dogs. Nothing is sacred out there, especially anything "new". Yup, they started attempting to piss on his lawn mower. Good thing they aren't very good aim. They lift their leg and usually are FAR short of actually hitting what they are aiming for. I did, however, shoo them off of the stuff.

I now have 2 people attempting to talk me into buying their ponds. I had had an ad up and forgot to take it down. I was thinking about a very small pond for the front of the house - a plant only version, no fish. It would add a very cool look to that area. But, though the pond is cheap - $20 - it all adds up when you start talking about another filter and buying plants. Still, a small pond with a small waterfall would add a very cool looking effect to my jungle out front. Figure around $100 to build another filter with pump, buy the pond and put some plants in it, not including another pump for a waterfall.

Yeah, I think I will pass on that for now. I already have a waterfall to build - isn't going to cost me anything more then about 20 blocks for a retaining will and some concrete, but the work is enough in itself for now.

Well, 5 days, including today, until my 4-days off : )

G'day.

ben