I slept like a baby last night. For me, that's akin to miraculous proportions. I could only dream of sleeping like that every night. I went to be very early last night, I didn't sleep well the night before and hoped, if nothing else, I could get some good solid hours of sleep in before I - wake up in the middle of the night. I did wake up - but went right back to sleep.
I know that sounds normal for most people - sleep through the night, it isn't for me.
Well, I was reading a study on the U.S. 60 and it has consumed most of my morning time before work.
There is a very small community called Top Of The World (www.savetopoftheworld.com) who wants ADOT to reroute the entire highway around their little town. ADOT is considering expanding the highway to accodomate for increased traffic coming from the Valley (Phoenix area) heading up north for play/camping/wilderness outings and such.
The amount of taxpayer waste in order to reroute that highway through some other route through those mountains and canyons would be so extreme, that I took the time to fill out a public comment on ADOT's home page about it and give my opinion of it. That little town wouldn't even exist if the 60 hadn't been built through that area. I have driven through it hundreds of times, if there's a thousand people living there, I would be surprised. To reroute an entire highway for that small amount of people is absurd. The highway is already running through there.
Frankly, if I were living there, I would be of the entrepreunerial mind - open up a restaurant or a gift shop or a combination of both. There isn't even a convenience store there it's THAT small. A trading post is the extent of the business endeavors there.
Anyway, I have been seeing these signs every time I drive through about saving their community - an expanded highway may make life a little more interesting, but it's not going to destroy the place.
As for now, work day approaches and there is plenty to do in the truck routing system for today's deliveries.
G'day.
ben
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday
In talking with my mother on the phone yesterday, it came about full swing from listening to the sound of her voice just how - aged - she is getting. It kinda gets scary as one realizes their parents are not going to live forever and that one's parents are having some difficulties in the physical department. Dad will be 79 this year and his health has been steadily on the down side - he's not bedridden or anything, but he has had his share of problems. Mother - is just slowing down. She is also still getting around, quite well really. I always think of my brothers and their refusal to even talk with my dad. It's been years now - at least 5 years I think - since they have even spoken on the phone, much less seen each other.
It was also evident in my trip with my son for Christmas to dad's house this his wife's children - grown men - were holding it against them, and me, for such. It's funny how very easy it is to make judgments against people without having all the facts. Sometimes, without having any facts at all, just listening to rumors and gossip, drawing conclusions in pure and total ignorance, really. I wish not to spend another Christmas with those people, my dad - his wife - sure his wife's kids - not. I could tell one of them was biting his tongue, wanting to unleash fury. I assumed for the sake of our parents he said nothing.
Good and well, too, because I would have given it right back. I can be that way at times, a faulting of mine, lifelong faulting I should add.
Changing the subject, I banned Michael from the computer - indefinitely. Possibly permanently. First, he wanted to install Limewire, a music download service that is free for the basic service. It is also quite dangerous - the music can and often times does have viruses attached to it -- if your filtering system doesn't catch it, next thing you know you have a Trojan Horse in your harddrive - if you're like me - good luck getting it out. I always end up reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows. I told him no, you can't, the end.
I checked the history the next day and sure enough, he had either installed the software and then uninstalled it or at the very least had attempted to do such. Either way, he disrespected me and that was enough.
Another thing he was doing was searching for certain material on the internet - I will not be going into it, needless to say it was enough to make me quite angry, actually.
Ummm, wow - work day is almost here and I was just getting into getting this entry hammered out.
Well, I have plenty of work to get done, so, I'm outta here.
ben
It was also evident in my trip with my son for Christmas to dad's house this his wife's children - grown men - were holding it against them, and me, for such. It's funny how very easy it is to make judgments against people without having all the facts. Sometimes, without having any facts at all, just listening to rumors and gossip, drawing conclusions in pure and total ignorance, really. I wish not to spend another Christmas with those people, my dad - his wife - sure his wife's kids - not. I could tell one of them was biting his tongue, wanting to unleash fury. I assumed for the sake of our parents he said nothing.
Good and well, too, because I would have given it right back. I can be that way at times, a faulting of mine, lifelong faulting I should add.
Changing the subject, I banned Michael from the computer - indefinitely. Possibly permanently. First, he wanted to install Limewire, a music download service that is free for the basic service. It is also quite dangerous - the music can and often times does have viruses attached to it -- if your filtering system doesn't catch it, next thing you know you have a Trojan Horse in your harddrive - if you're like me - good luck getting it out. I always end up reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows. I told him no, you can't, the end.
I checked the history the next day and sure enough, he had either installed the software and then uninstalled it or at the very least had attempted to do such. Either way, he disrespected me and that was enough.
Another thing he was doing was searching for certain material on the internet - I will not be going into it, needless to say it was enough to make me quite angry, actually.
Ummm, wow - work day is almost here and I was just getting into getting this entry hammered out.
Well, I have plenty of work to get done, so, I'm outta here.
ben
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday Part 2
I am absolutely loving all these flags showing up on my Feedjit counter from ALL over the world! When I go to the live Feedjit page, I simply put the cursor on each flag to see what nation it is. I'm amazed at how many flags on this earth look very similar - while the U.S. definitely stands apart in it's appearance. Most of these people are looking for help with their Cafe World cafe - I have 8 entries devoted to that so far - but others are also going to some odd entries if I do say so myself in looking at the search parameters they put into the Google field.
My manager is the same sick I was last week. Gag. He sounds bad. But, he was trudging through the day regardless. I was driving all over creation today, I felt good enough and made it pretty well without getting too fatigued from the sickness that is leaving my body - thank GOD Almighty!
The people in the trailer are pretty much keeping to themselves - as I had asked them to. In other words, please do not expect to be hanging out in my living room - I have enough people in my house already. They are honoring that. Well, I really demanded that from the beginning - they moved in long before I was prepared for them to, I was going to run a Direct TV line out there to the trailer - provided they pay the extra monthly charge for such and pay for the receiver that I would have to get - and have their entertainment THERE, not in HERE. I'm not trying to be cruel, but those were my conditions set out from the git-go.
I have no idea whether they are liking it here or not, the man doesn't give such information out and the woman has been SO sick, I can hear her coughing and hacking in my house. I took a humidifier out there a couple of days ago. The man said it made him cough even more than before. Yes, will the humidity will get into your lungs and loosen all the junk up and yes, it will come out, that's a good thing. I also took my small refrigerator out there - the more they are confined to out there and not in here, the better. They only use the bathroom in here at this point, though I have offered them availibility for cooking. They have a microwave they brought and apparently are living off of frozen foods and sandwiches. Well, whatever, that is their business and none of mine. I've let them use the grill a few times as well, but I want to keep that "sparingly" as well - that thing uses up propane pretty fast if you are cooking every day on there.
I have absolutely no desire, whatsoever, to go out there and work on that trailer today, so I am not going to. Instead, I am going to spend and hour or 2 on the rock project. I LOVE working on my yard - and the weather has warmed up nicely so it's absolutely beautiful outside right now. Note that I said warmed up, not heated up so that you'd think you were in an oven. That's coming, yes it is - but it's still 2-1/2 - give or take - months away. I am dumping money onto the card reader - the power card reader - here and there to try and get at least $400 on there before the real heat hits. I'm still at windows only for cooling in here - it's perfectly nice.
I have had several replies to my tenancy opening, but they are all from women. I love women, don't get me wrong, but I have experience now: please go find a place with all women or go get your own place, cause' I've had almost nothing but trouble with them in here. Not saying I won't ever have a woman tenant in here again, but I have time on my side right now and I am continuing to run my ad - a new one everyday - until I get the "right" person in here. When push comes to shove - gender becomes meaningless.
That's my world. I am going to see about getting the pair of roller blades tomorrow after work and see about upping the ante on this diet. It's a stalemate right now - a good dose of daily exercise - rigorous exercise, should deal a blow to the stubborn weight loss department. Almost every diet on the planet includes the caveat that you exercise daily. I will take one dog on each trip out - different dog each time of course to make it fair. Get them exercised and me at the same time.
As for this entry, it's hitting the history shelves cause' - I'm outta here.
G'day.
ben
My manager is the same sick I was last week. Gag. He sounds bad. But, he was trudging through the day regardless. I was driving all over creation today, I felt good enough and made it pretty well without getting too fatigued from the sickness that is leaving my body - thank GOD Almighty!
The people in the trailer are pretty much keeping to themselves - as I had asked them to. In other words, please do not expect to be hanging out in my living room - I have enough people in my house already. They are honoring that. Well, I really demanded that from the beginning - they moved in long before I was prepared for them to, I was going to run a Direct TV line out there to the trailer - provided they pay the extra monthly charge for such and pay for the receiver that I would have to get - and have their entertainment THERE, not in HERE. I'm not trying to be cruel, but those were my conditions set out from the git-go.
I have no idea whether they are liking it here or not, the man doesn't give such information out and the woman has been SO sick, I can hear her coughing and hacking in my house. I took a humidifier out there a couple of days ago. The man said it made him cough even more than before. Yes, will the humidity will get into your lungs and loosen all the junk up and yes, it will come out, that's a good thing. I also took my small refrigerator out there - the more they are confined to out there and not in here, the better. They only use the bathroom in here at this point, though I have offered them availibility for cooking. They have a microwave they brought and apparently are living off of frozen foods and sandwiches. Well, whatever, that is their business and none of mine. I've let them use the grill a few times as well, but I want to keep that "sparingly" as well - that thing uses up propane pretty fast if you are cooking every day on there.
I have absolutely no desire, whatsoever, to go out there and work on that trailer today, so I am not going to. Instead, I am going to spend and hour or 2 on the rock project. I LOVE working on my yard - and the weather has warmed up nicely so it's absolutely beautiful outside right now. Note that I said warmed up, not heated up so that you'd think you were in an oven. That's coming, yes it is - but it's still 2-1/2 - give or take - months away. I am dumping money onto the card reader - the power card reader - here and there to try and get at least $400 on there before the real heat hits. I'm still at windows only for cooling in here - it's perfectly nice.
I have had several replies to my tenancy opening, but they are all from women. I love women, don't get me wrong, but I have experience now: please go find a place with all women or go get your own place, cause' I've had almost nothing but trouble with them in here. Not saying I won't ever have a woman tenant in here again, but I have time on my side right now and I am continuing to run my ad - a new one everyday - until I get the "right" person in here. When push comes to shove - gender becomes meaningless.
That's my world. I am going to see about getting the pair of roller blades tomorrow after work and see about upping the ante on this diet. It's a stalemate right now - a good dose of daily exercise - rigorous exercise, should deal a blow to the stubborn weight loss department. Almost every diet on the planet includes the caveat that you exercise daily. I will take one dog on each trip out - different dog each time of course to make it fair. Get them exercised and me at the same time.
As for this entry, it's hitting the history shelves cause' - I'm outta here.
G'day.
ben
Monday
I was a bit surprised to come into work, get into the system and see alot of work for today. 4 deliveries - 2 of them in Casa Grande and some pickups. Nice, a good way to start out the week: busy and get the day over with quickly.
The world started with a bang this morning - 2 commuter trains in Brussels in a head-on collision; Clinton stating that the Revolutionary Guard is basically THE government in Iran (that IS a scary thought if true); The offensive they started in Afghanistan; and then, the comics: Biden mouthing off again. That guy is hilarious - every time he opens his mouth, he sticks his foot into it.
I do feel for the dead and wounded and families thereof of the train collision; I'm always worried for our troops in such potentially deadly situations in any war - I hate to see any of our boys and gals getting killed over there. Pray for them, folks, they need that kind of covering.
I am actually feeling pretty good this morning - the sniffles are gone, the headaches are low-keyed at this point and I am not coughing near as much as I was. Good sign, maybe I'll be 100% by the end of the week. Then I can get back to the business of working on that trailer and other projects around the house.
As for yesterday, I ended up pulling a lot of weeds out of the ground. The rains caused a mini forest of them to start growing everywhere. I know it sounds weird, but I always water the weeds and come back to them a half hour or more later - it loosens up the soil around the roots and I can pull the entire weed out - roots and all, instead of just the top of it coming out and having to deal with it again in a week or two.
My before-work time is almost up, gotta get offa here and get into working mode.
Later.
ben
The world started with a bang this morning - 2 commuter trains in Brussels in a head-on collision; Clinton stating that the Revolutionary Guard is basically THE government in Iran (that IS a scary thought if true); The offensive they started in Afghanistan; and then, the comics: Biden mouthing off again. That guy is hilarious - every time he opens his mouth, he sticks his foot into it.
I do feel for the dead and wounded and families thereof of the train collision; I'm always worried for our troops in such potentially deadly situations in any war - I hate to see any of our boys and gals getting killed over there. Pray for them, folks, they need that kind of covering.
I am actually feeling pretty good this morning - the sniffles are gone, the headaches are low-keyed at this point and I am not coughing near as much as I was. Good sign, maybe I'll be 100% by the end of the week. Then I can get back to the business of working on that trailer and other projects around the house.
As for yesterday, I ended up pulling a lot of weeds out of the ground. The rains caused a mini forest of them to start growing everywhere. I know it sounds weird, but I always water the weeds and come back to them a half hour or more later - it loosens up the soil around the roots and I can pull the entire weed out - roots and all, instead of just the top of it coming out and having to deal with it again in a week or two.
My before-work time is almost up, gotta get offa here and get into working mode.
Later.
ben
Sunday, February 14, 2010
How Much Do You Spend On Groceries?!!
I was astounded - today really - when I started thinking about the staggering amounts of money I have spent on groceries in just the past 5 years. I was writing yesterday about my visit to Fry's Food Stores and the manager's agreeing to replace rotten chicken sight unseen. I said something about the conservative estimate I had spent at the place in the 5 years I have been going there - $25,000.00.
Perhaps one shouldn't look at food in such terms, but my gosh. If I really came up with an accurate amount, it would be much more than that in counting visits to other grocery stores such as Walmart Supercenters; Bashas; Safeway and occasionally Albertson's and Fresh & Easy. Did I throw in Smart & Final? Which also doesn't count the lunch I normally eat at work which is, normally, bought at Subway.
How much more have I spent, really? Double the amount I said - 25k - probably is more realistic.
I have had thoughts in the past about getting a freezer and buying meats when they are on ridiculous sale and freezing them - hopefully being able to get them wrapped for long-term freezing - this is something I am definitely going to revisit. In fact, I am definitely going to start looking. Meats are easily the highest cost food I buy. Lots of chicken and ground beef - and whatever else may be on sale.
I have bypassed pork for some time now - for whatever reason, it's extremely high priced per pound and I just don't believe pork should cost more than steak.
Long interlude. I got distracted, went outside and started pulling weeds - all the rain has caused weeds to sprout up everywhere. Gunshots just went off, 6 of them, somewhere near here. Last time I heard gunshots, I called the Phoenix police who gave me a hard time about it, as if I don't know the difference between a car backfiring and 6 shots from a handgun going off. I did not call this time. Why bother if they aren't going to believe you anyway.
The weekend is over. As normal, weekends fly by as if they never started. I'm not complaining, I love my weekends off. There is work to be done tomorrow, but I totally put it out of my head to the point that I don't remember what was in the truck routing system at work. I have a lot on my mind these days - time goes into a black hole somewhere and disappears. I am getting over the sickness - thank God - not 100% but definitely feeling better. I realized I got it from the new people wh have been sick since they got here. Their explanation - offered not asked - is that people get sick at the food pantries and such and don't go to doctors to get help, thereby handing the sickness out to everyone else because of close proximities at times to everyone else.
Well they are out of that situation so I hope they get better soon and all the coughing and hacking will disappear.
Anyway, I'm done for the day,
g'nite.
ben
Perhaps one shouldn't look at food in such terms, but my gosh. If I really came up with an accurate amount, it would be much more than that in counting visits to other grocery stores such as Walmart Supercenters; Bashas; Safeway and occasionally Albertson's and Fresh & Easy. Did I throw in Smart & Final? Which also doesn't count the lunch I normally eat at work which is, normally, bought at Subway.
How much more have I spent, really? Double the amount I said - 25k - probably is more realistic.
I have had thoughts in the past about getting a freezer and buying meats when they are on ridiculous sale and freezing them - hopefully being able to get them wrapped for long-term freezing - this is something I am definitely going to revisit. In fact, I am definitely going to start looking. Meats are easily the highest cost food I buy. Lots of chicken and ground beef - and whatever else may be on sale.
I have bypassed pork for some time now - for whatever reason, it's extremely high priced per pound and I just don't believe pork should cost more than steak.
Long interlude. I got distracted, went outside and started pulling weeds - all the rain has caused weeds to sprout up everywhere. Gunshots just went off, 6 of them, somewhere near here. Last time I heard gunshots, I called the Phoenix police who gave me a hard time about it, as if I don't know the difference between a car backfiring and 6 shots from a handgun going off. I did not call this time. Why bother if they aren't going to believe you anyway.
The weekend is over. As normal, weekends fly by as if they never started. I'm not complaining, I love my weekends off. There is work to be done tomorrow, but I totally put it out of my head to the point that I don't remember what was in the truck routing system at work. I have a lot on my mind these days - time goes into a black hole somewhere and disappears. I am getting over the sickness - thank God - not 100% but definitely feeling better. I realized I got it from the new people wh have been sick since they got here. Their explanation - offered not asked - is that people get sick at the food pantries and such and don't go to doctors to get help, thereby handing the sickness out to everyone else because of close proximities at times to everyone else.
Well they are out of that situation so I hope they get better soon and all the coughing and hacking will disappear.
Anyway, I'm done for the day,
g'nite.
ben
1 More Leaving.........
.............heading to Craigslist soon enough to start another tenant seeking campaing. This time, the one that's leaving is the ex-Marine. He is going to move in with his buddy that he is always hanging out with. Hardly unexpected, still undesirable. There is no such thing that I have found yet in keeping tenants. They are all temporary, they are in-between one thing and another.
Not the end of the world, especially since I have until the first of the month to find the next victim to live in my house : )
The downside is that that room is unfurnished. It seems much easier to find new tenants when having a furnished or near-furnished room than an empty one. Never-the-less, I have a couple of weeks to find this person - whoever he may be - and yes I totally prefer male tenants at this point in having a slew of bad luck with female tenants and ensuing chaos in several cases.
So, anyway, that will occupy time and my mind until I get a firm commitment on the room.
Today's doings will include at attempt to get the new paneling started in the trailer. It has become obvious - to me anyway, that the front of the trailer is going to take much longer to finish than the rear section that we have been working on. It's larger, there is flooring to replace and there is much more area of paneling to be replaced. I have also determined that every single window in that thing is going to have to be unscrewed pulled out and fresh caulking put on the metal frame between the window and the trailer's skin. The windows have been obvious leaking points from rain water getting in.
Fortunately, there is this modern miracle called a cordless drill. It takes those screws out in a hurry. Pulling the window away from the metal it is mounted on is pretty easy stuff, already did it on one window. There are fully 7 windows in that camper. The windows themselves are all in great condition - one of the selling points for me in getting that camper. Replacing those windows would be a pain at the very least.
I will say that the guy living in the thing is motivated to get this done. He is not, however, confident in installing the paneling and isn't even going to attempt it. That's okay by me, I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I would hate to have spent that money on that stuff only to find a half-@$$ed job done of installing it. the trailer is really a challenge - something different to do - that I am keeping tabs of how much money I am spending on the renovation. I am not going to have those people living in it forever. The man is a worker - he simply cannot find a job right now. Sooner or later, he will find one and hopefully make enough money to get their own apartment or something - and then I will be coaxing them out of it.
My thoughts are simply, if the job is done well enough on that trailer, can I turn a profit on it, even a small one, to make it worth trying it again? Maybe. At the price, this trailer was really a find. The roof, exterior metal and windows were all in good condition. I found a lot of trailers that were in crappy condition - leaking roofs to be precise. That is a deal-killer for me. A roof that has been leaking is going to take much more work in both fixing the roofand the damage it has done to the ceiling and everywhere else the water has gone.
Of course, if I found one that had a leaking roof but still has potential - at the right price it might be worth acquiring. It's neither here nor there, but as some readers know, I am always looking for legitimate ways to increase the fatness of my wallet. Right now it's pretty thin.
Anyway, this tenancy business is a constant battle. I did get a reprieve with the last 3, it was a good little while that I had 3 of them paying regularly and no-one leaving.
Umm, I have more I wanted to write about but - I want to get over to Craigslist and get the first ad published, it's just an urge that needs to be quelched.
C'yall later.
Oh, and thanks to Fin for turning me onto Feedjit - I saw it on his journal quite a while back and wanted it on mine. In recent times, I have seen the flags - on Feejit - from all sorts of different countries around the world and am attempting to be able to say which flag is from where before I put the cursor on it to tell me. Pretty cool, really.
ben
Not the end of the world, especially since I have until the first of the month to find the next victim to live in my house : )
The downside is that that room is unfurnished. It seems much easier to find new tenants when having a furnished or near-furnished room than an empty one. Never-the-less, I have a couple of weeks to find this person - whoever he may be - and yes I totally prefer male tenants at this point in having a slew of bad luck with female tenants and ensuing chaos in several cases.
So, anyway, that will occupy time and my mind until I get a firm commitment on the room.
Today's doings will include at attempt to get the new paneling started in the trailer. It has become obvious - to me anyway, that the front of the trailer is going to take much longer to finish than the rear section that we have been working on. It's larger, there is flooring to replace and there is much more area of paneling to be replaced. I have also determined that every single window in that thing is going to have to be unscrewed pulled out and fresh caulking put on the metal frame between the window and the trailer's skin. The windows have been obvious leaking points from rain water getting in.
Fortunately, there is this modern miracle called a cordless drill. It takes those screws out in a hurry. Pulling the window away from the metal it is mounted on is pretty easy stuff, already did it on one window. There are fully 7 windows in that camper. The windows themselves are all in great condition - one of the selling points for me in getting that camper. Replacing those windows would be a pain at the very least.
I will say that the guy living in the thing is motivated to get this done. He is not, however, confident in installing the paneling and isn't even going to attempt it. That's okay by me, I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I would hate to have spent that money on that stuff only to find a half-@$$ed job done of installing it. the trailer is really a challenge - something different to do - that I am keeping tabs of how much money I am spending on the renovation. I am not going to have those people living in it forever. The man is a worker - he simply cannot find a job right now. Sooner or later, he will find one and hopefully make enough money to get their own apartment or something - and then I will be coaxing them out of it.
My thoughts are simply, if the job is done well enough on that trailer, can I turn a profit on it, even a small one, to make it worth trying it again? Maybe. At the price, this trailer was really a find. The roof, exterior metal and windows were all in good condition. I found a lot of trailers that were in crappy condition - leaking roofs to be precise. That is a deal-killer for me. A roof that has been leaking is going to take much more work in both fixing the roofand the damage it has done to the ceiling and everywhere else the water has gone.
Of course, if I found one that had a leaking roof but still has potential - at the right price it might be worth acquiring. It's neither here nor there, but as some readers know, I am always looking for legitimate ways to increase the fatness of my wallet. Right now it's pretty thin.
Anyway, this tenancy business is a constant battle. I did get a reprieve with the last 3, it was a good little while that I had 3 of them paying regularly and no-one leaving.
Umm, I have more I wanted to write about but - I want to get over to Craigslist and get the first ad published, it's just an urge that needs to be quelched.
C'yall later.
Oh, and thanks to Fin for turning me onto Feedjit - I saw it on his journal quite a while back and wanted it on mine. In recent times, I have seen the flags - on Feejit - from all sorts of different countries around the world and am attempting to be able to say which flag is from where before I put the cursor on it to tell me. Pretty cool, really.
ben
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Today
I - couldn't stop myself. I went to work. But - it wasn't the kind of work that takes a lot of physical output. I'm saying this because I'm trying to put the lid on this sickness, bury it in it's coffin and say goodbye to it.
But there is just too much to do around here. I abandoned the idea of a fence around the plants on the southwest side of the house. I would have had to build the thing at least 4 feet tall and I just don't want that kind of thing back there. Instead, I put up chicken wire around each individual plant. The dogs want to walk along that fenceline - fine - they will be able to do it without trampling the plants.
Trampling the plants at this point would entail stepping into a circle with very sharp points sticking out the top. I'm not going to say it's dog-proofed, but I do have some level of confidence. They aren't after the plants, they could care less about them - they're after the fence. Someday - I'll either be off of this property and it won't matter or I will build a block fence there and the dogs will lose interest in whatever's behind the fence.
I then got to work on the travel trailer's bedroom. Specifically, cutting pieces of styrofoam to size and filling in the gaps. I was enjoying this work because I was nailing it. My cuts were just a little larger than the hole to fill - intentionally - to make a secure, tight fit. The bedroom is done - with insulation.
Now comes the difficult stuff. Cutting the panelling to size. This will be no easy affair. Windows/corners/outlets/angles. I intend on making cutouts for the angled pieces that simply defy my level of ability. I imagine precise measurements could be taken at various point along an angled cut to give precise cutting points - it would be far easier, imo, to simply take newspaper and tape and make a precise cutout of it, put it on the paneling, draw the outline and have a close enough cut. Any offage can be covered with molding.
I quit after getting the insulation done today. I will be in no hurry for the paneling. Meaning that yes, I will do the work, but no, I am not doing a rush job. I spent the money, I want it to look good. A pain in the @$$ - definitely - worth the outcome - definitely. These people living in it? The man has figured out I am going to get this done right regardless of the fact that they want to have it done. I would be pissed at myself for caving in to their desire to have the finished product. Won't they also be happy with a good looking, clean environment? Yes, I think so.
Done with this, long lapse - numerous things going on.
ben
But there is just too much to do around here. I abandoned the idea of a fence around the plants on the southwest side of the house. I would have had to build the thing at least 4 feet tall and I just don't want that kind of thing back there. Instead, I put up chicken wire around each individual plant. The dogs want to walk along that fenceline - fine - they will be able to do it without trampling the plants.
Trampling the plants at this point would entail stepping into a circle with very sharp points sticking out the top. I'm not going to say it's dog-proofed, but I do have some level of confidence. They aren't after the plants, they could care less about them - they're after the fence. Someday - I'll either be off of this property and it won't matter or I will build a block fence there and the dogs will lose interest in whatever's behind the fence.
I then got to work on the travel trailer's bedroom. Specifically, cutting pieces of styrofoam to size and filling in the gaps. I was enjoying this work because I was nailing it. My cuts were just a little larger than the hole to fill - intentionally - to make a secure, tight fit. The bedroom is done - with insulation.
Now comes the difficult stuff. Cutting the panelling to size. This will be no easy affair. Windows/corners/outlets/angles. I intend on making cutouts for the angled pieces that simply defy my level of ability. I imagine precise measurements could be taken at various point along an angled cut to give precise cutting points - it would be far easier, imo, to simply take newspaper and tape and make a precise cutout of it, put it on the paneling, draw the outline and have a close enough cut. Any offage can be covered with molding.
I quit after getting the insulation done today. I will be in no hurry for the paneling. Meaning that yes, I will do the work, but no, I am not doing a rush job. I spent the money, I want it to look good. A pain in the @$$ - definitely - worth the outcome - definitely. These people living in it? The man has figured out I am going to get this done right regardless of the fact that they want to have it done. I would be pissed at myself for caving in to their desire to have the finished product. Won't they also be happy with a good looking, clean environment? Yes, I think so.
Done with this, long lapse - numerous things going on.
ben
Fry's Food Stores
Yes, another entry about Fry's Food Stores, but this time I give them kudos. I bought some chicken leg quarters there earlier this week which had an expiration date of - use by today, actually. I opened it 2 days ago and that fowl smelled REALLY foul.
I don't do rotten chicken, no way, no how, no nothing. I kept forgetting to take it back with me to exchange it. So, today, I figured I would at least try asking and seeing if I could exchange it sight unseen. I rarely - and I mean rarely - return anything to Fry's. I think this dude I asked was actually the newest general manager of that store. I do miss Kim, the guy that was running that place for a long time. Apparently - coming from several store associates - Fry's has some sort of policy to move managers around every couple of years.
I will not give them kudos for that. I like the idea of knowing the people that work there and having some sort of business relationship. In the 5 years I have been going to that store, I estimate I have spent a minimum of 25 grand there. $500 minimum per month times 12 months times 5 years. That's actually 30k, my estimates are on the conservative side.
Regardless, I asked the manager about the chicken - do I have to bring back the rotten stuff or can I just get a fresh package sight unseen? I was totally honest about it, it was a package of the cheap stuff at 74 cents per pound, a loss of a little over 3 bucks for the package I had purchased. He walked with me to the back of the store, picked up a package, took it to the front, bagged it and said have a nice day.
I consider that good customer service. Prolly he didn't even have to do that, in fact I'm pretty sure they want to see either the receipt or the rotten merchandise. So, Fry's, hats off to you for today's visit. Amazingly, in the last few months, even a couple of workers that usually have some pretty consistent, sour attitudes have also brightened up considerably. Nice job. I was going to complain the other day about their 93% lean ground beef on sale for less than 2 bucks per pound - a good deal for that kind of meat - but I didn't feel like going to the trouble. Fry's seems to make a habit out of advertising something at a great sale price and then - not having the product available when you show up. No, they didn't have any - at all.
Anyway, onto Fry's Electronics. My attempted trip there today met with a 3/4 mile backup of traffic on Baseline road. My keyboard failed - again - had to replace it - again. I couldn't believe the amount of traffic, like rush hour on a weekday afternoon with people coming home from work. Took an entirely back route to the store which is less than 2 miles from my house. That store was PACKED with people. You'da thought it was Christmas in February. The line was over 100 feet long to pay.
I can only say my trips to anywhere today are over with. I have no desire, whatsoever, to fight that kind of traffic. This keyboard is different than my old one and I am finding it troublesome trying to get my fingers used to the smaller keys.
Anyway, I'm off to the back yard to finish a fencing project I started this morning. For all you Fry's execs that read this journal - I know of at least 2 when I post anything about Fry's Food Stores - thumbs up for today's visit.
G'day.
ben
I don't do rotten chicken, no way, no how, no nothing. I kept forgetting to take it back with me to exchange it. So, today, I figured I would at least try asking and seeing if I could exchange it sight unseen. I rarely - and I mean rarely - return anything to Fry's. I think this dude I asked was actually the newest general manager of that store. I do miss Kim, the guy that was running that place for a long time. Apparently - coming from several store associates - Fry's has some sort of policy to move managers around every couple of years.
I will not give them kudos for that. I like the idea of knowing the people that work there and having some sort of business relationship. In the 5 years I have been going to that store, I estimate I have spent a minimum of 25 grand there. $500 minimum per month times 12 months times 5 years. That's actually 30k, my estimates are on the conservative side.
Regardless, I asked the manager about the chicken - do I have to bring back the rotten stuff or can I just get a fresh package sight unseen? I was totally honest about it, it was a package of the cheap stuff at 74 cents per pound, a loss of a little over 3 bucks for the package I had purchased. He walked with me to the back of the store, picked up a package, took it to the front, bagged it and said have a nice day.
I consider that good customer service. Prolly he didn't even have to do that, in fact I'm pretty sure they want to see either the receipt or the rotten merchandise. So, Fry's, hats off to you for today's visit. Amazingly, in the last few months, even a couple of workers that usually have some pretty consistent, sour attitudes have also brightened up considerably. Nice job. I was going to complain the other day about their 93% lean ground beef on sale for less than 2 bucks per pound - a good deal for that kind of meat - but I didn't feel like going to the trouble. Fry's seems to make a habit out of advertising something at a great sale price and then - not having the product available when you show up. No, they didn't have any - at all.
Anyway, onto Fry's Electronics. My attempted trip there today met with a 3/4 mile backup of traffic on Baseline road. My keyboard failed - again - had to replace it - again. I couldn't believe the amount of traffic, like rush hour on a weekday afternoon with people coming home from work. Took an entirely back route to the store which is less than 2 miles from my house. That store was PACKED with people. You'da thought it was Christmas in February. The line was over 100 feet long to pay.
I can only say my trips to anywhere today are over with. I have no desire, whatsoever, to fight that kind of traffic. This keyboard is different than my old one and I am finding it troublesome trying to get my fingers used to the smaller keys.
Anyway, I'm off to the back yard to finish a fencing project I started this morning. For all you Fry's execs that read this journal - I know of at least 2 when I post anything about Fry's Food Stores - thumbs up for today's visit.
G'day.
ben
Saturday
I was reviewing my credit card statements this morning - I have been paying everything almost a full month in advance to ensure that I am not late on any payments - and am very nicely encouraged by the fact that 4 out of 5 of the accounts are coming to an end in terms of money owed and the use I got out of them for getting into this house.
There is one card, however, that has such high interest and loaded with so many fees - a $21.00 monthly, minimum payment only brings the principal amount down a few dollars. This - I find to be highly irritating. Not only that, but the card itself is no longer issued, the bank of Delaware or whatever the name of the company is dumped that card.
I have only myself to blame, of course, but still. I have tried several times to contact them and arrange a payoff on it. They refuse. Probably because I am talking to people in Delhi, India, not mainstreet America. I ended up contacting the bank itself to file a complaint. The complaint is simply that they had offered a substantial reduction to the amount owed on the card if I would simply make a one-time payment to get rid of the balance. Now, they are refusing to honor that deal. Note that at the end of the first year of use and the beginning of the second year, they dumped a $150 "annual fee" onto the card. THAT is what really got me cooking about this "card".
I will be calling that company - the bank itself, not the outsourced company that is being used to collect payments - until they get sick of my phone calls. They WILL, at the very least, respond to me and not dump me off onto a voice messaging system with a person that promises to "call back as soon as possible" - with ensuing phone call never being made. I am going to pay 2 of the other cards off - the balances are less than $100 now - and take the monthly payment money I was making on those cards and apply it to this card.
Even my Fingerhut account is getting close to a $100 balance. I usually pay more - sometimes much more - than the minimum monthly amount due. I want to keep my Capital One card; the Chevron-Texaco card; the Fingerhut account - but probably not the prepaid card. It only has a $200 limit - it's a prepaid account, I could just cancel the account, they would take the amount owed out of my "savings account" with them and that would end that card.
It was also nice to see that this month's monthly payments - including Direct TV and also Qwest high speed internet - are paid until next month. Child support also already paid and in the ex's account, the only other payment due this month is the car payment. Oh, water bill should be showing up sooner or later as well. Getting ahead feels so much better than always being behind.
I will be putting any more purchases for the trailer on hold until next month. The only exception would be if I could find a smoking deal on carpet. However, we are nowhere near the point of putting carpet in and there is enough material to keep busy for - weeks actually at the rate we are going. The walls - insulation and paneling - have to be installed and the leak-proofing has to be completed. Well, in order - leak-proofing before any new materials are put in there. The floor in the bedroom is done. Insulation in the floor, new wood, good to go.
Ex-Marine landed a new security job. The only thing that saved me from his lack of employment in terms of receiving monthly rent is the fact that he receives a check from the military every month for damage to his hearing while serving in the Marines. The newest guy? Seems pretty cool - I hope to be able to ask him today about anything that might be bothering him and try to address any issues - if at all possible.
Work? Who knows. I just continue to bust-@$$, keep a good attitude, work work work. I left early a couple of times this week - but only after all the deliveries were done - because I wasn't feeling well. Jury's out on how I feel today, I usually only start feeling it when I start working or doing something, and right now? I don't feel like doing anything. I sense that things are not all well in the land of my employer - numbers aren't exactly high - just the feeling that decisions are being made. What decisions affecting who, no clue. When companies do lay-offs, it's not like they broadcast that they are going to do it in advance or tell the affected individuals about the demise of their employment, either. That's standard, modus-operandi for most all corporations. I neither expect or want to be laid off from work. I can only hope the job situation continues, I'll take reduced hours over NO hours any day of the week, month or year. I can imagine the alternatives - not a pretty picture.
I do have a plan if such happens - ugly at best - to try and save my home from foreclosure if I lose my employment income. $1,000 per month in unemployment benefits to start with - but that's taxed, lol. I could easily see myself renting my master bed and bath out. My son wouldn't much care for it, but I would be moving into his room. I could get $500 a month for my bedroom and bath - it's large, a lot of room with a walk-in closet. I would still have a deficit to deal with - but at least I would be able to make the mortgage payment, keep the internet and satellite tv on (not for me - tenants will not stay without either of those 2 - either and both are equally important), water and electricity. The painted picture is actually not as bad as - people losing their homes and ending up living in apartments or - in many cases - having to move into someone else's house and rent out rooms. Craigslist is full of people advertising to rent a room - at a rate that is a give-away at best.
I understand these people are broke and destitute, but to take $250 per month for a room that is bringing $400 would not be doable in my situation. I am "giving" away help to those people in the trailer, that's as far as it goes for now. Even they are expected to pay for their own utilities - I demand that. No-one rides for free around here. I figure their $100 per month - $25 per week - pays for their usage of everything. They can figure whatever they want, but they would be on the streets right now and I am quite sure they understand that. If they stay, the amount they have to come up with will go up when they start running the AC on that trailer, and trust me, I have no doubts in my mind whatsoever that when it gets hot, they are going to cool that trailer. That is why I am making sure all walls and the flooring have a good amount of insulation going - try to get some kind of efficiency out of the use of it, but in the end, they are responsible and I will make sure that it happens - for payment for the amount of electricity they are using. I already know what my summer electricity usage is - I figure it to go at least $100 above that with that AC unit running out there.
Well, this entry grows long and I have some things I want to get done around here - mostly cleaning projects.
G'day.
ben
There is one card, however, that has such high interest and loaded with so many fees - a $21.00 monthly, minimum payment only brings the principal amount down a few dollars. This - I find to be highly irritating. Not only that, but the card itself is no longer issued, the bank of Delaware or whatever the name of the company is dumped that card.
I have only myself to blame, of course, but still. I have tried several times to contact them and arrange a payoff on it. They refuse. Probably because I am talking to people in Delhi, India, not mainstreet America. I ended up contacting the bank itself to file a complaint. The complaint is simply that they had offered a substantial reduction to the amount owed on the card if I would simply make a one-time payment to get rid of the balance. Now, they are refusing to honor that deal. Note that at the end of the first year of use and the beginning of the second year, they dumped a $150 "annual fee" onto the card. THAT is what really got me cooking about this "card".
I will be calling that company - the bank itself, not the outsourced company that is being used to collect payments - until they get sick of my phone calls. They WILL, at the very least, respond to me and not dump me off onto a voice messaging system with a person that promises to "call back as soon as possible" - with ensuing phone call never being made. I am going to pay 2 of the other cards off - the balances are less than $100 now - and take the monthly payment money I was making on those cards and apply it to this card.
Even my Fingerhut account is getting close to a $100 balance. I usually pay more - sometimes much more - than the minimum monthly amount due. I want to keep my Capital One card; the Chevron-Texaco card; the Fingerhut account - but probably not the prepaid card. It only has a $200 limit - it's a prepaid account, I could just cancel the account, they would take the amount owed out of my "savings account" with them and that would end that card.
It was also nice to see that this month's monthly payments - including Direct TV and also Qwest high speed internet - are paid until next month. Child support also already paid and in the ex's account, the only other payment due this month is the car payment. Oh, water bill should be showing up sooner or later as well. Getting ahead feels so much better than always being behind.
I will be putting any more purchases for the trailer on hold until next month. The only exception would be if I could find a smoking deal on carpet. However, we are nowhere near the point of putting carpet in and there is enough material to keep busy for - weeks actually at the rate we are going. The walls - insulation and paneling - have to be installed and the leak-proofing has to be completed. Well, in order - leak-proofing before any new materials are put in there. The floor in the bedroom is done. Insulation in the floor, new wood, good to go.
Ex-Marine landed a new security job. The only thing that saved me from his lack of employment in terms of receiving monthly rent is the fact that he receives a check from the military every month for damage to his hearing while serving in the Marines. The newest guy? Seems pretty cool - I hope to be able to ask him today about anything that might be bothering him and try to address any issues - if at all possible.
Work? Who knows. I just continue to bust-@$$, keep a good attitude, work work work. I left early a couple of times this week - but only after all the deliveries were done - because I wasn't feeling well. Jury's out on how I feel today, I usually only start feeling it when I start working or doing something, and right now? I don't feel like doing anything. I sense that things are not all well in the land of my employer - numbers aren't exactly high - just the feeling that decisions are being made. What decisions affecting who, no clue. When companies do lay-offs, it's not like they broadcast that they are going to do it in advance or tell the affected individuals about the demise of their employment, either. That's standard, modus-operandi for most all corporations. I neither expect or want to be laid off from work. I can only hope the job situation continues, I'll take reduced hours over NO hours any day of the week, month or year. I can imagine the alternatives - not a pretty picture.
I do have a plan if such happens - ugly at best - to try and save my home from foreclosure if I lose my employment income. $1,000 per month in unemployment benefits to start with - but that's taxed, lol. I could easily see myself renting my master bed and bath out. My son wouldn't much care for it, but I would be moving into his room. I could get $500 a month for my bedroom and bath - it's large, a lot of room with a walk-in closet. I would still have a deficit to deal with - but at least I would be able to make the mortgage payment, keep the internet and satellite tv on (not for me - tenants will not stay without either of those 2 - either and both are equally important), water and electricity. The painted picture is actually not as bad as - people losing their homes and ending up living in apartments or - in many cases - having to move into someone else's house and rent out rooms. Craigslist is full of people advertising to rent a room - at a rate that is a give-away at best.
I understand these people are broke and destitute, but to take $250 per month for a room that is bringing $400 would not be doable in my situation. I am "giving" away help to those people in the trailer, that's as far as it goes for now. Even they are expected to pay for their own utilities - I demand that. No-one rides for free around here. I figure their $100 per month - $25 per week - pays for their usage of everything. They can figure whatever they want, but they would be on the streets right now and I am quite sure they understand that. If they stay, the amount they have to come up with will go up when they start running the AC on that trailer, and trust me, I have no doubts in my mind whatsoever that when it gets hot, they are going to cool that trailer. That is why I am making sure all walls and the flooring have a good amount of insulation going - try to get some kind of efficiency out of the use of it, but in the end, they are responsible and I will make sure that it happens - for payment for the amount of electricity they are using. I already know what my summer electricity usage is - I figure it to go at least $100 above that with that AC unit running out there.
Well, this entry grows long and I have some things I want to get done around here - mostly cleaning projects.
G'day.
ben
Friday, February 12, 2010
Friday..........
..........at last. This work day will not be over fast enough - I have no plans of doing anything this weekend but resting and trying to get better. Or course, knowing me, those plans will be dashed in a crux of things going on around the house - but I WILL find time to rest.
There is little to do in the truck routing system - so I'm basically hoping to get some things done in terms of pickups and then get off early again to go home and sleep, such as I did yesterday.
My newest tenant said he got sick last month, got better and then got sick again, much as what has happened to me. His visit to the doctor confirmed that at first, he WAS sick but what he had after that were extreme allergies. I'll tell you what, if what I have now are allergies, it's the worst I have ever experienced in my entire life and it certainly doesn't FEEL anything like "mere" allergies. It would basically mean I would have to start taking allergy medication, a thing I do not want to do, because the side effects of those medications are as or almost as bad as simply putting up with the allergies themselves.
The only thing I can say is it was a nice run - about a year and a half of not getting extremely ill - the longest I think I have ever gone.
Ummm, anyway, the work day is almost here so - I'm offa here.
Later.
There is little to do in the truck routing system - so I'm basically hoping to get some things done in terms of pickups and then get off early again to go home and sleep, such as I did yesterday.
My newest tenant said he got sick last month, got better and then got sick again, much as what has happened to me. His visit to the doctor confirmed that at first, he WAS sick but what he had after that were extreme allergies. I'll tell you what, if what I have now are allergies, it's the worst I have ever experienced in my entire life and it certainly doesn't FEEL anything like "mere" allergies. It would basically mean I would have to start taking allergy medication, a thing I do not want to do, because the side effects of those medications are as or almost as bad as simply putting up with the allergies themselves.
The only thing I can say is it was a nice run - about a year and a half of not getting extremely ill - the longest I think I have ever gone.
Ummm, anyway, the work day is almost here so - I'm offa here.
Later.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Cafe World - 8: Neighbors
So, you're asking, what's the big hype about neighbors?
Well first off, I would like to dispel one "myth". The "experts" say you must have neighbors so you can visit them every day to get free Cafe World gold coins and points. True that - you can. You get 5 Cafe Points and 20 gold coins for each neighbor you visit.
I don't know about your computer, but mine takes half of forever to actually open up Cafe World: I simply do NOT have the time to visit hundreds of neighbors for some gold coins and points.
What are the pro's of having neighbors?
Depends on you, really.
I have neighbors that have been become internet friends on Facebook. We have discussions several times a week about things that aren't even related to Cafe World. That's pretty cool, really, some really great people, too.
If you want to level up, you can't do it without neighbors unless you want to pay CASH - real money - to do so. I refuse to spend money on a game like this, ridiculous.
You HAVE to have neighbors to hire for waiters/waitresses.
But for the gold coins and points? Great - if you have a gazillion hours a day to visit all of them. I am up to level 70 with 654,000 Cafe Points - I don't visit neighbors all day long and I am gaining at a comfortable rate on the game. Again, as in the last posting on this subject, I have read that Cafe World has 120 levels and then it's over.
Well first off, I would like to dispel one "myth". The "experts" say you must have neighbors so you can visit them every day to get free Cafe World gold coins and points. True that - you can. You get 5 Cafe Points and 20 gold coins for each neighbor you visit.
I don't know about your computer, but mine takes half of forever to actually open up Cafe World: I simply do NOT have the time to visit hundreds of neighbors for some gold coins and points.
What are the pro's of having neighbors?
Depends on you, really.
I have neighbors that have been become internet friends on Facebook. We have discussions several times a week about things that aren't even related to Cafe World. That's pretty cool, really, some really great people, too.
If you want to level up, you can't do it without neighbors unless you want to pay CASH - real money - to do so. I refuse to spend money on a game like this, ridiculous.
You HAVE to have neighbors to hire for waiters/waitresses.
But for the gold coins and points? Great - if you have a gazillion hours a day to visit all of them. I am up to level 70 with 654,000 Cafe Points - I don't visit neighbors all day long and I am gaining at a comfortable rate on the game. Again, as in the last posting on this subject, I have read that Cafe World has 120 levels and then it's over.
Cafe World Tips - 7: Which Dishes To Prepare?
I have read all over the internet about which dishes you should prepare ot gain the most coins in the shortest period of time with what dishes.
They almost ALL use the burger dish as their prime example. Well, that's all fine and dandy, it takes 5 minutes to COOK - you can make all kinds of coins and eventually earn a lot of Cafe Points if you want to go that route.
However, be prepared to spend your days doing nothing but cooking hamburgers. What these people forget to tell you is the prep time to also include in making them - when you have 16 ovens that is going to double the total cooking time. It's a bit ridiculous to think you are going to sit around 10 hours a day or whatever cooking food constantly - meaning clicking your mouse over and over and over until you are - sick of it. I actually did that at the begining when I first started but got tired of that quickly.
Now? I use dishes that work for my schedule. I don't want to sit here endlessly playing the game. I do LIKE the game, but not THAT much. I have a life apart from Cafe World, don't you? I would like to hope so!
You also don't need a tips and tricks download for however much money they want for them - I wouldn't know cause' I never went that far on their sites that are offering such - to figure out which dishes give you maximum returns for your money - or coins in this case. Go through all the dishes currently offered, see how much it costs compared to how much the dish will end up making. It's very simple math.
However, I don't cook dishes just for the maximum return - I have dishes I cook because the timing is right on the hours it takes to cook them. My best example of that is the Crackling Peking Duck dish. It costs 900 coins and gives you a total of 3600 coins when all 900 servings are sold. That's only 3 coins per serving - it tells you all of this right there on the menu. The lure for me? It takes 18 hours to cook. I prepare and get cooking all 16 ovens of it around 8:00pm - an hour before I go to bed, when I come home from work, it's done and ready to go.
Cake is also good. 14 hour prep time - it doesn't spoil even though it's done several hours before I get home. That's another question folks have - about the spoilage. It appears the shorter the time it takes to cook the dish, the shorter time you have to get it to your counters. Let me say here that once you get a dish on your counter - it NEVER spoils. I currently have 285,000 servings of food on my counters - yes, I actually have that many. They never go bad. I could quit playing the game for a week and still have food on there to serve.
The thing you have to pinpoint is how you want to play the game. I want all 8 of my counters to have different foods on them. I cook different dishes every day to keep the numbers up. You might just want to find one dish that pays out a lot and keep cooking that continuosly. Or 2 dishes with the same objective.
You have to determine whether you want to be a slave to the stove or do you want to just spend a few minutes here and there cooking. There are dishes available that take 2 days to cook. Chips and guacamole I believe is 3 MINUTES.
That's it for this tip.
Edited:
Will be editing my tips as new information comes along or I simply am moving ahead on the game. I now have 12 counters and 18 ovens. I just acquired 4 new counters that Cafe World made available a couple of days ago, as well as 2 new stoves that also were unavailable until - a couple of days ago. I have food on all 12 counters. I use 3 of them for gift food and the rest are dishes that I have cooked. Eventually I'll have it back down to 1 counter with gift food and the other 11 all with food I have been cooking.
Also, there is a glitch in Cafe World that has been exposed by - computer geeks I'm guessing - it's called a clicker. I am not going to post sites on here for you to see, just do a Google search for Cafe World clicker and you will find as many sites as you want with the info on how to set it up. It basically cooks the food FOR you. You don't have to do anything. I personally don't want to degrade the game by doing that, so I am not going to set it up on my cafe.
Also, since this posting, Cafe World has listened to it's users and they have released all kinds of new dishes in the menu. Pretty cool, really, plus they are adding all kinds of new decorations you can use in your Cafe.
They almost ALL use the burger dish as their prime example. Well, that's all fine and dandy, it takes 5 minutes to COOK - you can make all kinds of coins and eventually earn a lot of Cafe Points if you want to go that route.
However, be prepared to spend your days doing nothing but cooking hamburgers. What these people forget to tell you is the prep time to also include in making them - when you have 16 ovens that is going to double the total cooking time. It's a bit ridiculous to think you are going to sit around 10 hours a day or whatever cooking food constantly - meaning clicking your mouse over and over and over until you are - sick of it. I actually did that at the begining when I first started but got tired of that quickly.
Now? I use dishes that work for my schedule. I don't want to sit here endlessly playing the game. I do LIKE the game, but not THAT much. I have a life apart from Cafe World, don't you? I would like to hope so!
You also don't need a tips and tricks download for however much money they want for them - I wouldn't know cause' I never went that far on their sites that are offering such - to figure out which dishes give you maximum returns for your money - or coins in this case. Go through all the dishes currently offered, see how much it costs compared to how much the dish will end up making. It's very simple math.
However, I don't cook dishes just for the maximum return - I have dishes I cook because the timing is right on the hours it takes to cook them. My best example of that is the Crackling Peking Duck dish. It costs 900 coins and gives you a total of 3600 coins when all 900 servings are sold. That's only 3 coins per serving - it tells you all of this right there on the menu. The lure for me? It takes 18 hours to cook. I prepare and get cooking all 16 ovens of it around 8:00pm - an hour before I go to bed, when I come home from work, it's done and ready to go.
Cake is also good. 14 hour prep time - it doesn't spoil even though it's done several hours before I get home. That's another question folks have - about the spoilage. It appears the shorter the time it takes to cook the dish, the shorter time you have to get it to your counters. Let me say here that once you get a dish on your counter - it NEVER spoils. I currently have 285,000 servings of food on my counters - yes, I actually have that many. They never go bad. I could quit playing the game for a week and still have food on there to serve.
The thing you have to pinpoint is how you want to play the game. I want all 8 of my counters to have different foods on them. I cook different dishes every day to keep the numbers up. You might just want to find one dish that pays out a lot and keep cooking that continuosly. Or 2 dishes with the same objective.
You have to determine whether you want to be a slave to the stove or do you want to just spend a few minutes here and there cooking. There are dishes available that take 2 days to cook. Chips and guacamole I believe is 3 MINUTES.
That's it for this tip.
Edited:
Will be editing my tips as new information comes along or I simply am moving ahead on the game. I now have 12 counters and 18 ovens. I just acquired 4 new counters that Cafe World made available a couple of days ago, as well as 2 new stoves that also were unavailable until - a couple of days ago. I have food on all 12 counters. I use 3 of them for gift food and the rest are dishes that I have cooked. Eventually I'll have it back down to 1 counter with gift food and the other 11 all with food I have been cooking.
Also, there is a glitch in Cafe World that has been exposed by - computer geeks I'm guessing - it's called a clicker. I am not going to post sites on here for you to see, just do a Google search for Cafe World clicker and you will find as many sites as you want with the info on how to set it up. It basically cooks the food FOR you. You don't have to do anything. I personally don't want to degrade the game by doing that, so I am not going to set it up on my cafe.
Also, since this posting, Cafe World has listened to it's users and they have released all kinds of new dishes in the menu. Pretty cool, really, plus they are adding all kinds of new decorations you can use in your Cafe.
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