GROSS. I was reading an article online about some famous Italian chef who started going on about cat stew and how wonderful "feline flesh" is. I cannot possibly fathom eating any kind of cat meat, ever. The idea of it is totally and absolutely repulsive to me. Not because I'm a cat lover - I happen to HATE cats actually - but I just don't see cats as an edible substance.`
Of course there was a public outcry and charges of animal cruelty - which I find totally bogus. We eat cows and chickens and pigs with impunity, there is no public outcry about that. Many countries eat dog meat as if it were ground beef, it's that popular. Horse flesh and all kinds of other animals are eaten - including raw bird meat in certain Asian countries - where's the outcry about that?
I personally could care less if a person wants to eat any kind of animal, but if you happen to love dog flesh, PLEASE stay AWAY from my dogs and my property: I have video surveillance, I will see who you are and you will hope that I never find you after you've eaten my beloved Great Danes. Get your OWN dogs/cats/horses/donkeys/whatever to eat.
You see, I don't see the correlation here. If it isn't animal cruelty to shoot a cow in the head to kill it, then drain it, then use every last part of it for everything from leather jackets to dog feed, how is it different with any other kind of animal? I can see such in a case of an endangered species. Lol, cats are certainly not an endangered species. Because I don't like it doesn't mean that those that do should be stopped from "enjoying" such. I couldn't even put a thimbleful of cat meat into my mouth, the idea of eating it is THAT repulsive to me, but to each his own. What moral arguments can you produce about eating a cat? If it's someone else's property, sure, otherwise, all bets are off. In the eyes of the law, that I know of, animals are chattel and nothing more.
Onto other things. I took a delivery out to a jobsite today - that's a daily thing for me, of course, that's pretty much my job description. I pulled that order and loaded it - anymore, I am pulling most of the orders I am delivering - I am responsible for screwups. The salesman on that account calls my manager and asks to know why I hadn't delivered the bolts and gaskets that were on that order?
Manager says hole'on, lemee look at the ticket - giving me the benefit of the doubt, he wants to SEE that stuff on the delivery ticket. NOT there. I am not a big fan of taking the blame for something I haven't done, but I've done it many times over to take the pressure off of the salesman who will look stupid in the eyes of the contractor. This salesman starts drilling my manager: well, there was (this that and the other item)on the ticket - you should have known they needed this stuff with it. Lol
LolX1,000. This is the salesman for the account. He has an inside salesman assigned to him to speak with purchasing agents at contractor's offices and write up tickets. WE are NOT mind readers, we get the ticket, we pull the order. Sometimes we question things based on what the order contains, most of the time we don't have time for that, pull the order and deliver it. To try and shift blame to people who have NOTHING to do with writing up the order is very lame, imo. We KNOW they will need those other parts to be able to do the job, but we don't know if they already have the stuff. We assume since it's not on the order - and certainly any salesman would know to ask if they need those parts - they don't need it, they must already have that stuff on hand. Happens frequently - contractors have leftover parts from jobs they have already completed.
I thought, gee, if you want us to contact the contractor and ask them every time whether they need this, that and the other thing to go along with all of that, maybe they should just get rid of the in and outside salesmen and we'll just do their job for them.
NOT. If that were possible, I'm sure it would already be implemented. Instead - we all have X amount of hours in the day to get X amount of whatever our assigned duties are. It's called TEAMWORK, a very good idea that works very well when all players are on the same page.
I have, actually, no problem in making duplicate trips to a jobsite in the same day, it's my job, take out parts to contractors that need them. I do, however, have a problem being blamed for something I had nothing to do with. Not that I will ever voice that (excepting here, where I write out my thoughts freely for the world to see) - I tend to try and keep a good attitude regardless of what's going on - or what fingers or judgments are being given to a person that are unjust at best. It's the idea that a person or persons will NOT own up to taking responsibility for their actions - or in this case, lack of action. Because the salesmen missed this imputes responsiblity to me? HOW, is my question. It does NOT, is my definitive answer.
However, I have determined that since this particular salesman thinks we should double-check his work and his inside salesman's work - which is all he has to do, all day long - his total, complete job description: contact contractors, take orders and write them up - find the materials if we don't have them and order them - I will start calling the foreman at the jobsite in advance to determine that the material being delivered is correct, complete and that nothing is being left out. I did that today before taking the 4 parts - a total weight of about 2 pounds - out there.
Do I have time for that? No. I don't. I have plenty of tasks to do in a day that keep my plate full. Guess I'll have to heap that plate now.
You could call this a rant or venting, I suppose it's a little of that. Mostly, I dislike people who never own up to their own junk - they ALWAYS have to blame someone else.
Fortunately - I am also able to brush such things off after a short period of time. I can guarantee you this will not be going to bed with me tonight, in fact, it's already history -I just like to write about the things that happen in my daily life, such as the man that decided he was going to come into my lane today. Ummm, the problem with that? He was NEXT to me. What kind of moron drives a vehicle and doesn't even bother to look beside them to see a vehicle is RIGHT there? I'm a very alert driver - I saw it happening and laid on the horn to get his attention. He swerved back into his own lane and then - proceeded to flip me off. ROFL!!! I find this amusing because this guy was the driver making the error, not me in any way, shape or form, yet - he gets angry at ME? LOL!!! I was in my car, btw, not the semi. Yes, well the beautiful blonde next to him in the front seat undoubtedly was the cause of the "distraction".
I am done with this, I have things to do and I want to get them done before the sun goes down.
G'day.
ben
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday
So, this blind woman with seeing eye dog started writing me about the room available for rent on the 1st. I have received something like 15 emails from her, all of them long, drawn-out, rambling about how her friends have to come over here and look at the place and on, and on, and on. Redundancy up the ying-yang. I was thinking, since she kept referring to her friends so much, why THEY don't just put her up? Yeah, I can imagine. Probably not a good fit, this person and my house.
Things I saw yesterday:
I was driving the semi down 40th street - a surface street in Phoenix - going to a vendor. I'm in the middle turning lane. I car comes ROARING by me - I'm guessing at least 80 mph in a 45 zone. Instead of slowing down for traffic in front of him (or her), he decides to use the middle/turning lane to pass! Freaking scary - taking everyone's lives in their hands by virtue of the fact that if that driver crashes, their probably going to die and they're probably going to take someone or several someone's with them. One of those "where are the cops when you need them?" type of deals. Going that fast on a street like that - they would have taken that driver to jail.
Our street where my company's building is located. They shut half the street down at the intersection where our street ends and T's into the main surface street. They put up barricades for traffic to come into the street and exit. The lanes were so narrow, I had to move the semi side to side as I was navigating through the barricades. I had to pull straight out across 3 lanes of traffic, across the center lane and into oncoming traffic to execute a turn out of that mess.
There was a cop sitting there, in his car - doing nothing. I came back later - same mess and same cop, seeing all of this going on, not directing traffic, not doing anything. Took several minutes of waiting before the street was completely clear of traffic so I could execute the turn that needed to be made to get into the street.
Coming back out. Same cop, same nothingness. This time, a utility truck was in front of me. He made a turn out of the street onto the major street - too sharp. The barricades were so close, the rear of his vehicle took out a sign, then a barricade, then 2 more barricades, knocking them all over. I thought maybe I had stepped into the Twilight Zone and was watching a real-live showing of the 3 Stooges with all of this nonsense going on and the cop - doing NOTHING at all. What's the point of him being there? Take a nap all day long and get paid for it?
Well, anyway, it's Friday. I got my new rollerblades and tried them out yesterday. Whatta hoot. The extra money spent was well worth it. I bought the most expensive pair in the store - for several reasons. 1, the construction of the blades was much better than anything else they had. I figured they would last several years if treated well. 2, the bearings and the wheels were high quality - ABEC 5 bearings, where are good bearings and the wheels were much higher quality than anything else they had. 3 - and foremost - it was the only pair there that had a good fit. The rest of the blades there were too tight a fit and would have caused a lot of discomfort in using them.
I took all 3 dogs - consecutively - for a walk - well call it a galloping run, actually. Prince about knocked me over a couple of times - he has a mind of his own and when something gets into that pea brain, look out, he's going to do what he's going to do regardless.
Anyway, those blades performed very nicely.
Well, here we are again: work day almost upon me, gotta get offa here and get ready to start the day.
Later.
ben
Things I saw yesterday:
I was driving the semi down 40th street - a surface street in Phoenix - going to a vendor. I'm in the middle turning lane. I car comes ROARING by me - I'm guessing at least 80 mph in a 45 zone. Instead of slowing down for traffic in front of him (or her), he decides to use the middle/turning lane to pass! Freaking scary - taking everyone's lives in their hands by virtue of the fact that if that driver crashes, their probably going to die and they're probably going to take someone or several someone's with them. One of those "where are the cops when you need them?" type of deals. Going that fast on a street like that - they would have taken that driver to jail.
Our street where my company's building is located. They shut half the street down at the intersection where our street ends and T's into the main surface street. They put up barricades for traffic to come into the street and exit. The lanes were so narrow, I had to move the semi side to side as I was navigating through the barricades. I had to pull straight out across 3 lanes of traffic, across the center lane and into oncoming traffic to execute a turn out of that mess.
There was a cop sitting there, in his car - doing nothing. I came back later - same mess and same cop, seeing all of this going on, not directing traffic, not doing anything. Took several minutes of waiting before the street was completely clear of traffic so I could execute the turn that needed to be made to get into the street.
Coming back out. Same cop, same nothingness. This time, a utility truck was in front of me. He made a turn out of the street onto the major street - too sharp. The barricades were so close, the rear of his vehicle took out a sign, then a barricade, then 2 more barricades, knocking them all over. I thought maybe I had stepped into the Twilight Zone and was watching a real-live showing of the 3 Stooges with all of this nonsense going on and the cop - doing NOTHING at all. What's the point of him being there? Take a nap all day long and get paid for it?
Well, anyway, it's Friday. I got my new rollerblades and tried them out yesterday. Whatta hoot. The extra money spent was well worth it. I bought the most expensive pair in the store - for several reasons. 1, the construction of the blades was much better than anything else they had. I figured they would last several years if treated well. 2, the bearings and the wheels were high quality - ABEC 5 bearings, where are good bearings and the wheels were much higher quality than anything else they had. 3 - and foremost - it was the only pair there that had a good fit. The rest of the blades there were too tight a fit and would have caused a lot of discomfort in using them.
I took all 3 dogs - consecutively - for a walk - well call it a galloping run, actually. Prince about knocked me over a couple of times - he has a mind of his own and when something gets into that pea brain, look out, he's going to do what he's going to do regardless.
Anyway, those blades performed very nicely.
Well, here we are again: work day almost upon me, gotta get offa here and get ready to start the day.
Later.
ben
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday
Thursday already?!!
Hey, I even slept pretty good last night, too!
That's 2 freakin' nights in a row!
Yeeeeehawwwww!
Just out of morbid curiosity, what is it with doctors using their exam rooms to put people under and ---- have sex with them? I really don't understand a lot of stuff that goes on in this world. Are these people unable to find their own - awake - boy or girlfriend and have their with them = legally?
Guy from Top of the World writes me back and says that he doesn't understand why I am opposed to moving the 60 to another location and that the next time I drive through there, look at all the dead animals laying on the side of the road. There are no more dead animals along that very short stretch of road than there is anywhere else. It's a ludicrous argument: let's spend millions and millions of dollars to completely move a highway around a town of 400 people because - they don't want the highway there anymore. I wrote him back and asked if the people living in that community want to foot the bill for it, cause' I can guarantee you that when the facts come out from ADOT, most Arizona taxpayers are NOT going to want to see our taxpayer money wasted on something as petty as what they are asking for with such a big price tag.
I'm sorry, I have NEVER heard in my entire lifetime a community that decides they just don't want a highway running through their town, so let's start a movement against it?!!! I'm sure it's happened elsewhere, I just have never heard of it.
Whatever. I gave my 2 cents worth to ADOT, that's the best I can do.
Today was going to be a trip to Casa Grande with a pickup and delivery, but - the salesman called me last night saying to hold off on it. The contractor is wanting some pipe to be delivered to them but there is a glitch in getting paperwork changed at the pipe manufacturer - sooooo - no trip to Casa Grande today. I like my trips down south, really. There is another delivery going that way, but it's so small I'll be relegated to the pickup truck to deliver it. I'm a TRUCK driver, darnit, I wanna drive the big truck!! Wahhhhhh, lol. Hissy fit and temper tantrum over, it's not that big a deal, just that the pickup has an odor in the AC vents and it does not smell good, at all. Like there's mold or something growing in there.
Well, after work today, I figure to spend another 2 hours or so on ONE section of paneling. I know, it sometimes sucks to be a perfectionist, but I am spending the money, I want it done right. To do it right means taking the time to accurately measure all the angles and getting it cut to spec. They're obviously in a hurry to get it done, I'm in a hurry to make sure it's done right the first time - especially with new material that cost me, not them, the money in acquiring it.
Work day approaches, c'yall later.
ben
Hey, I even slept pretty good last night, too!
That's 2 freakin' nights in a row!
Yeeeeehawwwww!
Just out of morbid curiosity, what is it with doctors using their exam rooms to put people under and ---- have sex with them? I really don't understand a lot of stuff that goes on in this world. Are these people unable to find their own - awake - boy or girlfriend and have their with them = legally?
Guy from Top of the World writes me back and says that he doesn't understand why I am opposed to moving the 60 to another location and that the next time I drive through there, look at all the dead animals laying on the side of the road. There are no more dead animals along that very short stretch of road than there is anywhere else. It's a ludicrous argument: let's spend millions and millions of dollars to completely move a highway around a town of 400 people because - they don't want the highway there anymore. I wrote him back and asked if the people living in that community want to foot the bill for it, cause' I can guarantee you that when the facts come out from ADOT, most Arizona taxpayers are NOT going to want to see our taxpayer money wasted on something as petty as what they are asking for with such a big price tag.
I'm sorry, I have NEVER heard in my entire lifetime a community that decides they just don't want a highway running through their town, so let's start a movement against it?!!! I'm sure it's happened elsewhere, I just have never heard of it.
Whatever. I gave my 2 cents worth to ADOT, that's the best I can do.
Today was going to be a trip to Casa Grande with a pickup and delivery, but - the salesman called me last night saying to hold off on it. The contractor is wanting some pipe to be delivered to them but there is a glitch in getting paperwork changed at the pipe manufacturer - sooooo - no trip to Casa Grande today. I like my trips down south, really. There is another delivery going that way, but it's so small I'll be relegated to the pickup truck to deliver it. I'm a TRUCK driver, darnit, I wanna drive the big truck!! Wahhhhhh, lol. Hissy fit and temper tantrum over, it's not that big a deal, just that the pickup has an odor in the AC vents and it does not smell good, at all. Like there's mold or something growing in there.
Well, after work today, I figure to spend another 2 hours or so on ONE section of paneling. I know, it sometimes sucks to be a perfectionist, but I am spending the money, I want it done right. To do it right means taking the time to accurately measure all the angles and getting it cut to spec. They're obviously in a hurry to get it done, I'm in a hurry to make sure it's done right the first time - especially with new material that cost me, not them, the money in acquiring it.
Work day approaches, c'yall later.
ben
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
More
All of these flags showing up from everywhere are getting confusing. Not that I mind, but I was trying to be able to identify some of them - it's pretty much messed up. There is one flag that has the stripes just like the U.S. flag, but the square in the upper left hand corner has a moon and half moon, or so it appears, kinda strange lookin'. I love these 2 tone flags - half of it is one color the other is another. None of those people are here for my daily blogging, they're here almost entirely for the Cafe World tips. I figured it would have that effect - Google does a crawl, it goes onto their site, people look for tips - walaah. There I am. On one search, I was on the first page when I was looking. Pretty good considering the internet is filled with Cafe World tips junk all over the place.
I just thought it would be cool to have people from all over the world coming here looking for info - all over the U.S. too - and it happened.
After work today. I'm trying to get something done on the trailer every day. One thing - just one thing. It's all tedious stuff, so one thing is enough. Today - took me an hour and a half to measure all the measurement to cut the paneling for a wall that has a window on it. 10 measurements in all. Then the cuts. Several cuts that I was taking my time on - no need to rush, get it right. Then I had to mark the place where I wanted to cut out a hole for a light switch. On and on. Endless, seemingly. I got it in there, got the switch with it's box in there and the lines hooked back up.
Yet, that isn't near the hardest cut in terms of getting measurments. I have 2 corner cuts now that I will have to make cutouts out of newspaper with. As I said, tedious and slow work. But definitely worth it. So, tomorrow, I get a newspaper to use for the cutout and try to get one corner done. Done as in make and tape the cutout, put it over the paneling, draw the cutout onto the paneling, saw it and try to fit it into place.
I am finding just taking my time and not being in a rush the most useful tool of all.
I don't even remember if I said it yesterday or this morning or not on here, forgive the duplicity if so - but I am totally elated that one full line of plants with the drip system is up and functional. I was even further elated that the guy in the trailer dug a trench and installed the line for the plants next to the house. I had skipped those - figured I would get to it later, just get something done. I "paid him back" by getting more done on the trailer. He has also been working on the trailer in the front portion. It's getting done, but it will be a while before I would ever say it's livable. It's livable for them, okay, but for me? I would have to be in their situation: either homeless or that trailer. Oh, yes, btw, I HAVE lived in a trailer, one about the size of that thing.
Changing the subject. I called Direct TV to confirm whether my 2 year contract was over. Back and forth, no, yes, no. Yes, but no. Mary stole the Direct TV receiver out of her room when she moved out last year. I called Direct TV - they sent me a new on at only the cost of shipping. They did not disclose - in a rather lengthy phone call with them to get this done, that the by the act of them giving me a free reciever, it extends the life of my contract by one full year.
I can buy receivers all day long, cheap, off of Craigslist and already have done so once, it works great, I got it at a fraction of new price. If I had known they were going to pull this BS, I would have told them no thanks. Reason - I can get all new equipment from Dish Network for free, with free installation by starting up with them again. Dish Network has as bad customer service as Direct TV - they are both in the bottom of the barrel, floating in the s***, they don't WANT to rise up to the top. They simply don't care.
As a satellite customer for 10 years now, I can say that with confidence. They couldn't give a damn less about their customers, period. They may say publicly that they do, but if you have an issue, good luck. If you are willing to make phone call after call after call after call - sometimes for days - to get what you want done that you believe is fair and reasonable, great. If not, you are totally screwed.
I have done the former on dozens of occasions. I have gained great results - but I had to literally spend hours - times hours - on the phone to get it. I have always been motivated that way, I HATE poor customer service and am relentless with companies until I get some kind of result. Direct TV? I am just waiting for a "second wind". I don't have the energy right now to get into all of that, I have too much other stuff. One's physical and internal resources are going to be strongly taxed in engaging in such. You will be in a battle, you will have to look it as such and you will have to resolve to win it.
Whatever. I have no high opinion of any of these companies, including the local cable company of which I have had 7 years of dealings - they all suck. I like the programming on DirectTV, but I am NOT a loyal customer of ANY of these companies.
I do believe there is definitely a niche for a start-up company that would be interested in giving SERVICE - IN AMERICA, no INDIA or the PHILIPPINES or wherever else.
I frequently get sidetracked in writing these entries - lots of people, lots of issues.
Point?
I'm done.
ben
I just thought it would be cool to have people from all over the world coming here looking for info - all over the U.S. too - and it happened.
After work today. I'm trying to get something done on the trailer every day. One thing - just one thing. It's all tedious stuff, so one thing is enough. Today - took me an hour and a half to measure all the measurement to cut the paneling for a wall that has a window on it. 10 measurements in all. Then the cuts. Several cuts that I was taking my time on - no need to rush, get it right. Then I had to mark the place where I wanted to cut out a hole for a light switch. On and on. Endless, seemingly. I got it in there, got the switch with it's box in there and the lines hooked back up.
Yet, that isn't near the hardest cut in terms of getting measurments. I have 2 corner cuts now that I will have to make cutouts out of newspaper with. As I said, tedious and slow work. But definitely worth it. So, tomorrow, I get a newspaper to use for the cutout and try to get one corner done. Done as in make and tape the cutout, put it over the paneling, draw the cutout onto the paneling, saw it and try to fit it into place.
I am finding just taking my time and not being in a rush the most useful tool of all.
I don't even remember if I said it yesterday or this morning or not on here, forgive the duplicity if so - but I am totally elated that one full line of plants with the drip system is up and functional. I was even further elated that the guy in the trailer dug a trench and installed the line for the plants next to the house. I had skipped those - figured I would get to it later, just get something done. I "paid him back" by getting more done on the trailer. He has also been working on the trailer in the front portion. It's getting done, but it will be a while before I would ever say it's livable. It's livable for them, okay, but for me? I would have to be in their situation: either homeless or that trailer. Oh, yes, btw, I HAVE lived in a trailer, one about the size of that thing.
Changing the subject. I called Direct TV to confirm whether my 2 year contract was over. Back and forth, no, yes, no. Yes, but no. Mary stole the Direct TV receiver out of her room when she moved out last year. I called Direct TV - they sent me a new on at only the cost of shipping. They did not disclose - in a rather lengthy phone call with them to get this done, that the by the act of them giving me a free reciever, it extends the life of my contract by one full year.
I can buy receivers all day long, cheap, off of Craigslist and already have done so once, it works great, I got it at a fraction of new price. If I had known they were going to pull this BS, I would have told them no thanks. Reason - I can get all new equipment from Dish Network for free, with free installation by starting up with them again. Dish Network has as bad customer service as Direct TV - they are both in the bottom of the barrel, floating in the s***, they don't WANT to rise up to the top. They simply don't care.
As a satellite customer for 10 years now, I can say that with confidence. They couldn't give a damn less about their customers, period. They may say publicly that they do, but if you have an issue, good luck. If you are willing to make phone call after call after call after call - sometimes for days - to get what you want done that you believe is fair and reasonable, great. If not, you are totally screwed.
I have done the former on dozens of occasions. I have gained great results - but I had to literally spend hours - times hours - on the phone to get it. I have always been motivated that way, I HATE poor customer service and am relentless with companies until I get some kind of result. Direct TV? I am just waiting for a "second wind". I don't have the energy right now to get into all of that, I have too much other stuff. One's physical and internal resources are going to be strongly taxed in engaging in such. You will be in a battle, you will have to look it as such and you will have to resolve to win it.
Whatever. I have no high opinion of any of these companies, including the local cable company of which I have had 7 years of dealings - they all suck. I like the programming on DirectTV, but I am NOT a loyal customer of ANY of these companies.
I do believe there is definitely a niche for a start-up company that would be interested in giving SERVICE - IN AMERICA, no INDIA or the PHILIPPINES or wherever else.
I frequently get sidetracked in writing these entries - lots of people, lots of issues.
Point?
I'm done.
ben
Wednesday
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
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
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.
Cafe World Tips 6 - How To Acquire Cafe Points
This isn't going to be a long entry, and neither is it going to be extremely revelatory.
That's because I don't do "cheats" - where you hack into the game and do something that Zynga will eventually find and patch - and possibly BAN YOU FOR LIFE from the game.
No, I figure out how to do the things I want to get done "legally".
So, you are playing this game against your friends, they are WAY ahead of you in Cafe Points and levels. How to catch up?
Here's my answer.
First, it's going to cost you gold coins - a lot of them. If you don't have many gold coins saved up, come back to this in the future after you have at least 500,000 of them.
Second, it's going to take some time. This isn't a 2 minute power-grab, depending on how many points you want to gain, it could take half an hour or a couple of days.
It's very simple, really. Buy some food to cook, prepare it and then delete it. Find the highest preparing points dish you currently have - while at the best money. I us Shu Mai Dumplings. For each preparation part of getting it ready to cook, you get 20 coins. Multiply that by 16 ovens, do it over and over and you can get thousands and thousands of points in a relatively short amount of time.
One of my neighbors is currently doing that RIGHT NOW as I am writing this. He was 200,000 points behind me, he is now 150,000 points ahead of me. In the last 4 hours he has gained at least 30,000 Cafe World Points. Okay, I can't say for sure he's doing it that way, but I'm guessing that's the case here. There may be a cheat out there to get points instantly - but he isn't getting them instantly and I have been to his cafe several times and noticed new dishes on the oven every time, so I'm probably right.
I just recently remodelled my cafe, so I only have 354,000 gold coins to work with right now. This neighbor will not do this forever, he will eventually quit, when he does, I'm going to go on the offensive and spend however much time it takes to catch up to him and pass him.
BTW, I was reading someone else's journal on this subject of Cafe World, apparently there is an end to it - level 120 and it's over. Don't quote me on that, but the man claims to have gone all the way through it. He also wrote up a Tips and Tricks tutorial - for sale of course.
For now, my tips are free!
That's because I don't do "cheats" - where you hack into the game and do something that Zynga will eventually find and patch - and possibly BAN YOU FOR LIFE from the game.
No, I figure out how to do the things I want to get done "legally".
So, you are playing this game against your friends, they are WAY ahead of you in Cafe Points and levels. How to catch up?
Here's my answer.
First, it's going to cost you gold coins - a lot of them. If you don't have many gold coins saved up, come back to this in the future after you have at least 500,000 of them.
Second, it's going to take some time. This isn't a 2 minute power-grab, depending on how many points you want to gain, it could take half an hour or a couple of days.
It's very simple, really. Buy some food to cook, prepare it and then delete it. Find the highest preparing points dish you currently have - while at the best money. I us Shu Mai Dumplings. For each preparation part of getting it ready to cook, you get 20 coins. Multiply that by 16 ovens, do it over and over and you can get thousands and thousands of points in a relatively short amount of time.
One of my neighbors is currently doing that RIGHT NOW as I am writing this. He was 200,000 points behind me, he is now 150,000 points ahead of me. In the last 4 hours he has gained at least 30,000 Cafe World Points. Okay, I can't say for sure he's doing it that way, but I'm guessing that's the case here. There may be a cheat out there to get points instantly - but he isn't getting them instantly and I have been to his cafe several times and noticed new dishes on the oven every time, so I'm probably right.
I just recently remodelled my cafe, so I only have 354,000 gold coins to work with right now. This neighbor will not do this forever, he will eventually quit, when he does, I'm going to go on the offensive and spend however much time it takes to catch up to him and pass him.
BTW, I was reading someone else's journal on this subject of Cafe World, apparently there is an end to it - level 120 and it's over. Don't quote me on that, but the man claims to have gone all the way through it. He also wrote up a Tips and Tricks tutorial - for sale of course.
For now, my tips are free!
The Stunning Blow
Iran's apparent stunning blow to the west was the announcement of the "fact" that they are now a "Nuclear State". I didn't find this stunning at all - apalling, maybe, if such is true, but hardly stunned. They claim they "don't need to enrich the fuel to 90%", claiming their intent is solely for power generation.
BS. If anyone thinks that Iran does not have a bloodlust hunger to manufacture and be able to use nuclear weapons, please simply look at both their past and the threats coming from no less than the land's own president. I need not go into all of that - if you don't know, then so some research and come back to the table with a valid argument.
They want to destroy Israel and the U.S. I have no idea how many times that rhetoric has been repeated, over and over, from the mouth of that president and others within the regime. I firmly believe Israel is in talks amongst themselves as to what their next move is. I would be thinking about destroying the facilities that are known to be used to enrich uranium. I probably wouldn't be asking the world for it's condonences since most of the world seems totally opposed to such.
Whatever. The scenario will play out as it's destined to be. I always fall back to God being in control - whether it's apparent or not - and His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, period.
Work on the trailer continues. The rotten corner has almost totally been replaced with fresh, clean wood. It seems like he doesn't get much done until I come around and start looking at what to do next. I actually have done most of the work - he tries to cut corners and I don't want that s*** done. If I'm going to go to this much trouble, it's going to be done right. The leaks are going to be stopped and I will make sure that event occurs - every time it rains. The entire trailer is going to have fresh caulking put on EVERY single seam, I don't care how much of a pain in the @$$ it is. In a couple of more places where water has obviously gotten through, the screws on those seams will be removed, the seam will be pulled apart and fresh caulking will be put inside of those seams, virtually guaranteeing a leak-free environment.
We're working on the bedroom - and will have to completely finish it before moving anywhere else in the trailer since they are living in it already. This is one reason I was objecting to them moving in before I got it done - now there are bodies and "stuff" in the way. Not a huge ordeal - they can move that stuff when we get there and that will be that.
I'm still as sick as a dog. I felt like crap at work today. Breathing is a chore at best. Lungs are congested and it's probably bronchitis. Don't know, I'm resisting going to the doc cause' I hate spending the money. If/when it gets to the point I can't function - then I go to the doc, get whatever drugs. Came home today and slept. Got off early - as soon as I got back from all the running around, including another trip to Miami, I asked to go home and that was that.
Enough. The day grows long and I am going to bed early tonight. Friday tomorrow - hopefully not too long a day and I can come home and get some more rest. I have PLENTY of sick hours available - I could take 2 straight weeks off if needed. Not that I want to do that, just saying I could maybe get off a little early tomorrow as well.
ben
BS. If anyone thinks that Iran does not have a bloodlust hunger to manufacture and be able to use nuclear weapons, please simply look at both their past and the threats coming from no less than the land's own president. I need not go into all of that - if you don't know, then so some research and come back to the table with a valid argument.
They want to destroy Israel and the U.S. I have no idea how many times that rhetoric has been repeated, over and over, from the mouth of that president and others within the regime. I firmly believe Israel is in talks amongst themselves as to what their next move is. I would be thinking about destroying the facilities that are known to be used to enrich uranium. I probably wouldn't be asking the world for it's condonences since most of the world seems totally opposed to such.
Whatever. The scenario will play out as it's destined to be. I always fall back to God being in control - whether it's apparent or not - and His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, period.
Work on the trailer continues. The rotten corner has almost totally been replaced with fresh, clean wood. It seems like he doesn't get much done until I come around and start looking at what to do next. I actually have done most of the work - he tries to cut corners and I don't want that s*** done. If I'm going to go to this much trouble, it's going to be done right. The leaks are going to be stopped and I will make sure that event occurs - every time it rains. The entire trailer is going to have fresh caulking put on EVERY single seam, I don't care how much of a pain in the @$$ it is. In a couple of more places where water has obviously gotten through, the screws on those seams will be removed, the seam will be pulled apart and fresh caulking will be put inside of those seams, virtually guaranteeing a leak-free environment.
We're working on the bedroom - and will have to completely finish it before moving anywhere else in the trailer since they are living in it already. This is one reason I was objecting to them moving in before I got it done - now there are bodies and "stuff" in the way. Not a huge ordeal - they can move that stuff when we get there and that will be that.
I'm still as sick as a dog. I felt like crap at work today. Breathing is a chore at best. Lungs are congested and it's probably bronchitis. Don't know, I'm resisting going to the doc cause' I hate spending the money. If/when it gets to the point I can't function - then I go to the doc, get whatever drugs. Came home today and slept. Got off early - as soon as I got back from all the running around, including another trip to Miami, I asked to go home and that was that.
Enough. The day grows long and I am going to bed early tonight. Friday tomorrow - hopefully not too long a day and I can come home and get some more rest. I have PLENTY of sick hours available - I could take 2 straight weeks off if needed. Not that I want to do that, just saying I could maybe get off a little early tomorrow as well.
ben
Thursday
Splinter in my finger nail? Still there. As much as I tried yesterday to dig that thing out of there, it wasn't budging. I have no desire to spend $50 to have a doc remove the thing, I'm going to leave it and see if it will eventually start to move out on it's own. Well, unless the pain gets too much, then I'll pay to have the thing removed. Cheaper to take a hammer and smash the fingernail so it comes off and the splinter comes out with it - but that probably wouldn't feel to good.
Newest residents - of the trailer that is - were gone all day yesterday, but resurfaced at night, came in and handed me $25. That's what I want from them - for now - to pay for their use of electricity and water: $25 per week. They were talking about getting a space heater - all well and fine, but that price per week will go up with it. It will also go up if they are here when it starts getting warm and they turn on the AC. Whatever the amount goes up every day for power use, that's what they're going to pay. However, I think I will see if I can locate a downdraft evap cooler - those things work well in certain months of the year when it's not too hot and the air is dry - keeps it as cool as AC without removing all the moisture.
The cleaning, however, did not start as they had promised - but - I'll give them a pass on that since they took their bicycles and rode clear over to Mesa to go to a thrift store they frequent. The store gives them freebies because they are homeless. They scored a couple of blankets and who knows what else. I forgot to tell them but will say something today about the fact that whatever they acquire, it needs to go inside the trailer as I will not tolerate outdoor storage of - junk. Been there, done that, bought the farm with those "other" people, never again. My "threat" will include fact of me simply throwing things in the trash can that I find laying about the yard, if, indeed, such happens. I don't get that these people are like that, but as with everything when dealing with the human element - especially that element being strangers living on your property - I find that I HAVE to spell things out VERY clearly and repeat it over and over until the message gets through.
As for the newest paying tenant, well I don't see him, at all. He leaves after I leave in the morning and returns very late - like 11 or even 12 pm at night. I want to talk to him to discuss whether there is anything that is not to his liking, and if so, what can we do to rectify it - I guess that will have to wait until the weekend.
I do have a few people living on my property at this point. 8 in total. Plus 4 dogs. Lol. I'm still quite amazed at the scripture that spoke directly to this situation that seemingly popped up right in front of my eyes yesterday. God certainly is capable of communicating with us - all of us - if we bother to listen and have the desire to do so. But that's another subject for another day. I was only speaking for myself and to myself about confirmation of whether doing this, or more like, allowing this, is anything headed in the right direction. My ex-wife believes I am a lost, evil, soul headed directly towards hell. I profess, here and now - publicly for the world to see - that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I love Him, I know He loves me, that's really all there is to it. I attempt to try and do things in life that I hope He would find pleasing - though I know I also fall far short many times and no, I am not happy about those aspects of my life.
Oh well. Pick myself up, move on. And moving on I shall be - cause' work day approaches and I best be offa here.
C'yall later.
ben
Newest residents - of the trailer that is - were gone all day yesterday, but resurfaced at night, came in and handed me $25. That's what I want from them - for now - to pay for their use of electricity and water: $25 per week. They were talking about getting a space heater - all well and fine, but that price per week will go up with it. It will also go up if they are here when it starts getting warm and they turn on the AC. Whatever the amount goes up every day for power use, that's what they're going to pay. However, I think I will see if I can locate a downdraft evap cooler - those things work well in certain months of the year when it's not too hot and the air is dry - keeps it as cool as AC without removing all the moisture.
The cleaning, however, did not start as they had promised - but - I'll give them a pass on that since they took their bicycles and rode clear over to Mesa to go to a thrift store they frequent. The store gives them freebies because they are homeless. They scored a couple of blankets and who knows what else. I forgot to tell them but will say something today about the fact that whatever they acquire, it needs to go inside the trailer as I will not tolerate outdoor storage of - junk. Been there, done that, bought the farm with those "other" people, never again. My "threat" will include fact of me simply throwing things in the trash can that I find laying about the yard, if, indeed, such happens. I don't get that these people are like that, but as with everything when dealing with the human element - especially that element being strangers living on your property - I find that I HAVE to spell things out VERY clearly and repeat it over and over until the message gets through.
As for the newest paying tenant, well I don't see him, at all. He leaves after I leave in the morning and returns very late - like 11 or even 12 pm at night. I want to talk to him to discuss whether there is anything that is not to his liking, and if so, what can we do to rectify it - I guess that will have to wait until the weekend.
I do have a few people living on my property at this point. 8 in total. Plus 4 dogs. Lol. I'm still quite amazed at the scripture that spoke directly to this situation that seemingly popped up right in front of my eyes yesterday. God certainly is capable of communicating with us - all of us - if we bother to listen and have the desire to do so. But that's another subject for another day. I was only speaking for myself and to myself about confirmation of whether doing this, or more like, allowing this, is anything headed in the right direction. My ex-wife believes I am a lost, evil, soul headed directly towards hell. I profess, here and now - publicly for the world to see - that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I love Him, I know He loves me, that's really all there is to it. I attempt to try and do things in life that I hope He would find pleasing - though I know I also fall far short many times and no, I am not happy about those aspects of my life.
Oh well. Pick myself up, move on. And moving on I shall be - cause' work day approaches and I best be offa here.
C'yall later.
ben
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Am I Doing The Right Thing?
Sometimes - maybe every time - I try to help someone, I am always asking myself - and God - whether I am doing the right thing in the particular case I am involved with. Does God ordain this? Is there something I am not seeing. Really, is this a mistake that I am going to pay for?
God is good and He is faithful. He answers you - in ways you may not even understand that it is Him that is responding to you. In this case, it was clearly evident to me that this is the right thing - for now, anyway, nothing on this earth, really, is ever permanent, it is all temporal.
So, in the case of these 2 individuals that are staying in the trailer, I found myself asking the question: Should I have let them come in here? Is this the right thing to do in this particular situation? Is this what God wants?
I received a letter from the organization that I gave money to to help people in Haiti. BTW, in a disaster situation such as theirs, unless authorities specifically say different, money is ALWAYS the best thing to give. You can give food and clothing and all that - if it is requested. There are many situations where material goods are not going to do any good - because those goods may take a long time to get there or may NEVER get there. Money is always good because organizations can, if nothing else - purchase goods from the nearest source to get material items necessary to any given location much faster. I have known this for a long, long time, but the situation in Haiti is evidence of such, at least to some degree.
The letter I received had a little piece of paper with the following scripture written on it:
Isaiah 58:7
They titled it: You Are Not Forgotten!
"Divide your bread with the hungry,
bring the homeless into the house,
when you see the naked cover him,
and do not divert your eyes from your own flesh."
A different version plus the scripture after it reads:
7"Is it not to (A)divide your bread with the hungry
And (B)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the (C)naked, to cover him;
And not to (D)hide yourself from your own flesh?
8"Then your (E)light will break out like the dawn,
And your (F)recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your (G)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the (H)LORD will be your rear guard.
9"Then you will (I)call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
If you (J)remove the yoke from your midst,
The (K)pointing of the finger and (L)speaking wickedness,
10And if you (M)give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your (N)light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11"And the (O)LORD will continually guide you,
And (P)satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And (Q)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a (R)watered garden,
And like a (S)spring of water whose waters do not fail.
12"Those from among you will (T)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will (U)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the (V)breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
If you want reasons to feed the hungry and in this case, help the homeless, just go to the Word. You will find it over and over and over throughout Scripture. I have given to hungry when I was totally broke - just because of the redundancy of the theme in the Word: God wants those of us that can help the hungry - TO help the hungry. You can choose to believe whatever you wish. I am not your Judge, would never pretend to be. I only speak for myself. I have my own faults and failings, I have my own junk to answer for, I need not look at someone else's dirty laundry.
It never ceases to amaze me how I am always confirmed on such things. That text of scripture was in an envelope asking for more help for Haiti, not for a couple living in a travel trailer in my side yard, yet it spoke volumes to me, simply because it said what it said and came at the EXACT time I was looking for an answer. Contrary to what my ex-wife and many of her friends believe, I am not the godless, soul-less, lost infidel that has been proclaimed many times over. The enemy of my soul is to blame for those accusations - he is the accuser of the brethren as the Scripture states. No, I have the Lord in my thoughts every day - literally every day. I am sometimes feeling very bad about my own state of being, other times rejoicing for the good fortunes of others - always thanking Him for another day of living and breathing air on His creation - the earth and all that that entails.
I need not explain myself to others, I don't feel that at all. In fact, I have no problems telling people that I have otherwise homeless people living on my property. I get some interesting looks and responses. No, this is my blog and this is where I vent, release, speak out and describe my daily life. People will judge me behind my back about doing such - they don't deserve it, why help them - they can help themselves; tell them to go get jobs.
Walk a mile in another man's shoes, that's what I think, that's what I say, or something like it or - something much more blunt. I was speaking my mind as a teen. On the mission field it became more entrenched. Now? Lol.
G'day.
ben
God is good and He is faithful. He answers you - in ways you may not even understand that it is Him that is responding to you. In this case, it was clearly evident to me that this is the right thing - for now, anyway, nothing on this earth, really, is ever permanent, it is all temporal.
So, in the case of these 2 individuals that are staying in the trailer, I found myself asking the question: Should I have let them come in here? Is this the right thing to do in this particular situation? Is this what God wants?
I received a letter from the organization that I gave money to to help people in Haiti. BTW, in a disaster situation such as theirs, unless authorities specifically say different, money is ALWAYS the best thing to give. You can give food and clothing and all that - if it is requested. There are many situations where material goods are not going to do any good - because those goods may take a long time to get there or may NEVER get there. Money is always good because organizations can, if nothing else - purchase goods from the nearest source to get material items necessary to any given location much faster. I have known this for a long, long time, but the situation in Haiti is evidence of such, at least to some degree.
The letter I received had a little piece of paper with the following scripture written on it:
Isaiah 58:7
They titled it: You Are Not Forgotten!
"Divide your bread with the hungry,
bring the homeless into the house,
when you see the naked cover him,
and do not divert your eyes from your own flesh."
A different version plus the scripture after it reads:
7"Is it not to (A)divide your bread with the hungry
And (B)bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the (C)naked, to cover him;
And not to (D)hide yourself from your own flesh?
8"Then your (E)light will break out like the dawn,
And your (F)recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your (G)righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the (H)LORD will be your rear guard.
9"Then you will (I)call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am '
If you (J)remove the yoke from your midst,
The (K)pointing of the finger and (L)speaking wickedness,
10And if you (M)give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your (N)light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
11"And the (O)LORD will continually guide you,
And (P)satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And (Q)give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a (R)watered garden,
And like a (S)spring of water whose waters do not fail.
12"Those from among you will (T)rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will (U)raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the (V)breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
If you want reasons to feed the hungry and in this case, help the homeless, just go to the Word. You will find it over and over and over throughout Scripture. I have given to hungry when I was totally broke - just because of the redundancy of the theme in the Word: God wants those of us that can help the hungry - TO help the hungry. You can choose to believe whatever you wish. I am not your Judge, would never pretend to be. I only speak for myself. I have my own faults and failings, I have my own junk to answer for, I need not look at someone else's dirty laundry.
It never ceases to amaze me how I am always confirmed on such things. That text of scripture was in an envelope asking for more help for Haiti, not for a couple living in a travel trailer in my side yard, yet it spoke volumes to me, simply because it said what it said and came at the EXACT time I was looking for an answer. Contrary to what my ex-wife and many of her friends believe, I am not the godless, soul-less, lost infidel that has been proclaimed many times over. The enemy of my soul is to blame for those accusations - he is the accuser of the brethren as the Scripture states. No, I have the Lord in my thoughts every day - literally every day. I am sometimes feeling very bad about my own state of being, other times rejoicing for the good fortunes of others - always thanking Him for another day of living and breathing air on His creation - the earth and all that that entails.
I need not explain myself to others, I don't feel that at all. In fact, I have no problems telling people that I have otherwise homeless people living on my property. I get some interesting looks and responses. No, this is my blog and this is where I vent, release, speak out and describe my daily life. People will judge me behind my back about doing such - they don't deserve it, why help them - they can help themselves; tell them to go get jobs.
Walk a mile in another man's shoes, that's what I think, that's what I say, or something like it or - something much more blunt. I was speaking my mind as a teen. On the mission field it became more entrenched. Now? Lol.
G'day.
ben
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