My day with the girls......and other things

I went to see my girls yesterday, and of course had to deal with my ex, which is a lot of times not a good situation, but this time, it was a very pleasant experience.

I've had a lot of work done on my car, so now I'm able to go see them more often, and I'm hoping things continue to go well, especially with the ex. She is very controlling, likes to dictate to me how things are going to go, without even considering my opinion on whatever subject there is at hand. Yesterday however, she was very sociable.

Things started out with me going to check on her truck, which has a door issue, as in, the driver's door wouldn't close, period. The latch is messed up because the door is sagging, mostly due to age and normal wear and tear. Well 10 minutes after I got there, I had it fixed, or at least to where it will close for now. She was still at work, so all I did was tell her what was up with it, and told her what needed to be done to fix it. Then I went to pick up my 2 older daughters at school.

The car circle is always a "fun" venture, and since I got there a few minutes early, I had to sit and wait to pick them up, but I occupied myself by reading a book on my Nook. Awesome little things, those e-readers lol. Then finally when the line began to move, I made it to the front in a pretty short time and found my middle daughter, Alex, patiently waiting for me, but my oldest, Liz, was nowhere to be found, so I picked up Alex and continued down the rest of the line and found a place to park in the parking lot. As soon as I got parked, I look up to find Liz jumping around like a banshee in the exact spot I had JUST left! So I go over to get her, and she acts like she doesn't want to be see me, or be seen WITH me......typical teen (she'll be 15 in about a month), but she did give me a hug when we got to the car.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I got them home, and shortly thereafter my ex met me there with the youngest, Teagan. We then got into my car and headed to Nashville to take her to her tryout for the Nashville Children's Choir, which is the whole reason I went over there to start with, since the ex's truck was having issues, and she is having difficulty finding money for gas in that behemoth (a 1993 Dodge Ramcharger). Everything went well with that, Teagan will probably get selected to be in the choir, but we won't find out for sure until they send the letter sometime next month. It's not that hard to get in, seems as long as you can carry a tune in a bucket they let you in, but you never know.

After that we went around to the "picturesque" part of the campus (the choir is based out of Belmont University) and took some pics, and let the girls run around for a bit, while the ex and I talked. She is still trying to convince me to come back to her, so she was very nice, and discussed with me some of the things going on with the kids, as well as some things going on over the summer. She asked me if things with her were all that bad, and I told her (again, for like the 50th time) that it wasn't her, it was me, I had not been honest with myself for the whole time I was with her, in that I was not happy. It's just a matter of compatibility, I told her, and we are not compatible. She didn't say much more about it, and we headed home shortly thereafter.

I ate dinner with them, sloppy joes, leftover chicken nuggets and fries, and some kind of leftover hamburger helper......guess it was leftover night. With new sloppy joes. It was good though. Shortly after eating I headed back home, it was late, and I was tired. I had gotten up at 4 in the morning, since on my days off I sleep at night like the rest of the world lol. I don't like leaving them, the girls, they are so sad when I go. They just want me to come back, and they don't understand it's not that easy. I can't live with their mother, and be in a relationship with her, because I know full well what would happen if I did. She'd be fine for a few weeks, maybe even a month, but then she'd go back to what she was doing before, and dictating to me every little thing, telling me even how I should think. It's in her personality, and I don't believe someone can change their personality.

So that was it in a nutshell, my visit with the girls. It was fun and I got the chance to spend time with them, they are growing up so fast. Soon I will have to teach Liz how to drive, I can't believe it. We'll have to find a car that's not a stick shift first though, I think trying to teach her on that will be a little much, too much to think about at one time.

In other news, I've gotten into a sort of routine at work, and it's going well. I enjoy what I do, and hopefully as time passes there will be opportunities to learn other departments, I want to know as many as I can, so I can be more versatile, and besides, I just love filling the shelves lol. It's because I know then that there is merchandise for the customers to buy, and isn't that the name of the game? Don't you hate it when you go to a store and they don't have what you normally buy there? Me too, which is why I am so passionate about what I do.

There's more change on the horizon, I can feel it, but isn't that the way it always is? If there is not change, then there is nothing. Nothing moving, nothing progressing, nothing happening. So it's kind of a moot point to say things are changing. They ALWAYS change. It's only in our own opinions whether we see the change as good or bad. The thing is, it's neither. Everything happens just as it should, so any change is just that, just change. The day changes, the year changes, the season's change, the only constant is change. It's in how we perceive the change that is the problem. If we don't look at things as "bad" or "good", but as things that happen as they should, then we don't see the world in the same way at all. Things that before seemed like horrible "bad" things, like war, disease, natural disasters, and death, all become neutral, just as the "good" things like love and peace and birth and weddings and (lol) chocolate ice cream. Something to think about. Hard to put into practice, surely, but something to think about.

The end of another work week, and, I think it's about time......

Well folks, it's the end of yet another work week, stocking the shelves at my neighborhood Walmart. If I haven't mentioned it, I have been working the frozen and dairy departments now for almost 2 months, with a smattering of days working the pet department. I have to say, it's finally getting to be pretty routine, but that doesn't take away from the sense of accomplishment I get every night when I get done with the new freight. It feels good to know I've done all I can to get the shelves full again after a day's worth of customers shopping. That sense of urgency I get every night knowing that there are pallets of stuff that needs to be put on the shelf, sometimes completely empty shelves, has still stayed with me. I really hate to know when I'm done that there are still empty shelves. That's happened a few nights in a row now, I don't know what's wrong with the way things are ordered, but there are "holes" everywhere, and it makes me a little upset. I mean don't you hate it when you go to a store to get something you buy regularly, only to find they are out of it? Me too! Which is why I am so passionate about what I do. To me, there is NO excuse as to why a large volume retailer like Walmart would ever be out of  ANYTHING. That's kinda the point, isn't it? Stock and move as much merchandise as possible? So why are there times when they are COMPLETELY out of some of the most common and the most regularly purchased items?

Personally I think it's because they don't plan ahead well enough. They supposedly have a computer doing their ordering for them, which looks at what's on hand compared to how much has sold, so of course there is about a day or so lag in the freight that arrives. But still. There are humans in control of those computers, and it irks me to no end to find that when the product is needed the most, it's not there. Part of it is the people working in the store, in the back room, most don't care enough about their jobs to properly scan the backstock into the system to keep the counts current, but I don't blame them. They don't get paid well enough, they are constantly stretched for time to get done all their tasks in a given day or night, I mean it's amazing that ANYTHING gets accomplished to keep the store going. But that's just the nature of working for a company I once heard called "The Evil Empire". Even at the other end of the ordering process, the corporate level, there is bound to be an underpaid and overworked employee that is neither aware of what goes on at the store level, nor does he care. So there will continue to be empty shelves.

Sorry folks.

The other thing I wanted to talk about today is my divorce. The one I'm overdue in filing for. We've been separated for over a year now, she and I, and I have no intentions of trying to "work it out" or go back to her. So what has been keeping me from filing?

Money mostly, it takes a lot of money to get a divorce, especially with kids involved. But what am I hanging on for? Why haven't I put the money together and gone ahead and filed?

The reason? I think I'm afraid of how drastically it will change my life. Not that my day to day existence will change much, but I think it has to do with when I see the kids, and how much money I will HAVE to send her with child support and possible alimony. I send her money pretty much every payday, but I'm sure the amount I'll be sending her with the child support payments will be a lot more than I'm sending now. I'm not saying I don't want to pay child support, much to contrary in fact. It's just that I know her, and I know how she thinks, and her idea is that if in fact I file for divorce, she will become very vindictive and try to milk me dry of every dime I make. Of course the courts won't let that happen, not in the way she believes it will happen anyway, but the fact is, I'm the father, and I'm the one that left, and as everyone who's ever been through it knows, the courts rarely rule in favor of the father who leaves his wife and children. It's really set up in such a way to try and keep you married, or you're going to pay through the nose if you don't.

What really pisses me off is that the law is written and set up according to the Christian religious belief system, whether they claim it is or not. I'm not a Christian, and I would rather not be judged according to beliefs I don't adhere to. Granted, a marriage is really a contract, which is why you have to get a license to get married to start with. You agree to be together in all things, financially, legally, and so forth, and if one party wishes to break that contract, there are bound to be "penalties". But the way the law is written, certain core beliefs are assumed to be part of that contract, or, to put it another way, a marriage is believed to be a uniting of two people under "God", a Christian deity, and the execution of that marriage and even as far as what constitutes a marriage are more or less a carbon copy of what is laid out in the Bible, a Christian religious text. What about those of us that are NOT Christians though? And what happens if one of the people in the marriage adopts another religion after getting married? These are some of the questions that have been in my thoughts ever since I spoke to a lawyer about getting a divorce, which was months ago.

I'm not a lawyer obviously, and I DON'T know the law specifically, but in talking with the lawyer, I got the gist of how things work, and I swear it was like hearing someone quote the Bible to me, rather than the letter of law. I understand of course that the majority of people here in the United States are a part of the Christian religious belief system, as were our forefathers who WROTE the laws on marriage as well as everything else, but my question is, did they take into account when drafting up the law that there might be other belief systems? It sure doesn't seem like it. What about someone like me, a pagan, who doesn't believe in "God", should I be forced to adhere to laws written based on beliefs of a religion that is not mine?

I realize I am opening one heck of a can of worms here, it's the age old church vs state debate. Like I said, I am not well versed in the letter of the law, so this is merely my own personal opinion of the state of things. Yes, I am aware that when laws are drawn up, they are very often written with care taken to omit most references to ANY religion per se, and are meant to be a blanket statement of fact, but are they not also written based on the most widely accepted "beliefs" as to what is "right" and "wrong"?

And where do most people get their beliefs on that?

Yup, from their religion.

I know I'm in the minority, and they aren't going to change the law just to suit ME, but I think in this day and age it would be wise for the courts to address this issue, and maybe draft up some NEW laws, ones that are not based solely on the Christian system of beliefs as to what is right and wrong. There are now many different religious belief systems alive and well in this country, most likely many more than were prevalent even a hundred (or more) years ago, when the laws were drawn up. It seems to me that it would be wise to have a representative of each of the religions present to help make up new laws, and I'm not talking about just a few, but ALL religions, from Agnostics to Zen Buddhists. A marriage means many different things among the many religions, and the way one gets divorced, if that's allowed, is too. So I think the law should be written to take this into account. It's not going to be easy, but there HAS to be a better way than just going by ONE religion's beliefs.

In the meantime, I will have to adhere to the laws as they are written NOW, and go ahead and file for a divorce. I can't sit back and feel like I can't just because the laws don't fit what I believe. So yeah, it's time. Just need to gather up the 257 or so dollars it takes to file, and get the process started.

Stay tuned.

Perth's Pointers #2: Feeling the "vibes"....do you feel them in YOUR car?

My pointer today is about vehicle vibrations, what they are caused by, and what they are not, and what to do about each type should they happen to YOUR car.

First, let's talk about tires. It's good to talk about tires first, because they are the number 1 cause of vehicle vibrations, hands down. Surprised? Let me explain.

The tires on your car or truck are the only part of the vehicle that actually makes contact with the road, and as the tires run over uneven pavement, or those horrible strips of "wake up buzzers" over by the shoulder, there will inevitably be vibrations transferred up through the suspension and steering linkage to the driver. Of course, right? We all know about regular road vibrations, so I won't go any further in explaining those. However, I WILL explain in further detail some of the  OTHER causes of tire and vehicle vibrations, and how you can tell which is which, and what to tell your mechanic when you take the car in for service.

If your car is vibrating when you are traveling at highway speeds, around 55 mph and up, then the most likely cause is out of balance tire and wheel assemblies. The effect is similar to what an unbalanced washing machine does, if one side is too heavy, then it shakes violently, causing the vibration you feel. Tires are inherently not "perfect", even brand new, as differences in the density of the rubber makes them "heavy" on one side, and "light" on another. Wheels, whether made of steel, or alloy metals such as aluminum, are also not "perfect" when manufactured, and therefore require the use of compensating weights to make them as close to perfectly balanced as possible. Also, as the tire wears, some of the weight is of course "removed", and the assembly will again be out of balance. This is why it is recommended to have your tires balanced about every 6000 miles, or every other oil change. If you've had your tires balanced recently, and you feel this type of vibration, it's likely one of the compensating weights has fallen off, and the tires simply need to be rebalanced.

If however the vibration/shaking occurs at lower speeds, for instance, less than 45 mph, then the most likely cause is an out of round tire. "Out of round" is exactly what it sounds like, a tire that is not completely round, and therefore is traveling down the road with a sort of "bump" to it, in some cases it literally DOES have a bump in it, making the vehicle buck and bounce like a bull in a rodeo. The best thing to do is to have your tires inspected for signs of abnormal bumps, lumps, or evidence of tread separation, which is a condition in which the radial belt (the metal "wire" inside a tire that is designed to make it hold its shape) has broken, slipped, or otherwise come out of place causing the tire to become out of round. I cannot stress enough how DANGEROUS a condition this can be, a tire with a separated belt is like a ticking time bomb, it could blow at any moment. So if you feel a bump, bump, bump while driving at low speeds, take your car to be inspected for tire trouble as soon as possible.

Another cause of tire vibration is abnormal wear. If a vehicle's alignment has moved out of the manufacturer's specified limits, it will cause the tires to contact the road at other than normal angles, causing them to wear unevenly. This can be caused by loose or worn suspension or steering parts, or from carrying excess amounts of weight in the vehicle for extended periods of time. Typically this will cause the tires to be "noisy", rather than being a vibration, and can be described as a rhythmic humming or "buzzing" sound, but depending on the vehicle, it can be perceived as a noise, or a vibration, or both. Tire noise will tend to continue to increase in pitch and volume as the vehicle's speed increases. Most often, if there is abnormal wear, it is visible to the naked eye. As discussed earlier, with the "loss" of tire rubber, whether through normal or abnormal wear, the weight of the tire changes, so there will most likely BE an accompanying vibration, as well as a noise. What is important to understand here is the difference between "normal" out of balance tires, and ones that cause a vibration due to abnormal wear.

I must stress at this point that although a bad or loose suspension part will cause the vehicle to become misaligned, it is NEVER the direct cause of a vibration or shaking in the steering wheel. When the alignment has gone out of the manufacturer's specifications, it causes the tires to wear abnormally, which THEN cause the vibration or shake. The vibration is the effect, NOT the cause. Your suspension could literally be worn out to the point of losing structural integrity, and it would NOT cause a vibration when driving, but it could make a heck of a lot of noise.

Let me give you an example. You're driving one day and you hear a popping sound when you turn to the right. You drive for a few months this way, I mean it's just a small pop, right? Well, all that time, your outer tie rod has been worn, and has thrust the alignment far enough out of specifications that it's torn up the left front tire. The abnormal wear on that tire then causes it to vibrate, and now you have the original noise, AND a vibration. The bad part caused the tire to wear out abnormally, causing a vibration in that tire. The bad part is not the direct cause of the vibration, it's the effect it had on the tire that caused the vibration. 99.9 percent of all vibrations felt on a car are caused in the same manner. Therefore, if you hear a noise, a pop, a knock, a rattle, a squeak when hitting bumps or when turning, they indicate that you probably have a loose or broken suspension part. Left unchecked, they may eventually cause you to feel a vibration, because of the damage the bad part does to your tire, but under NO circumstances are they the direct cause. Remember, it's the tires that cause vibrations.

Many suspension parts have rubber components to allow them to bend and rotate under normal driving conditions, but when they wear out, and metal grinds against metal, the resulting sound can be very loud, and make one feel as though the front end is "falling out". The reason the noise is so loud is that the sound, traveling along the various metal pieces and parts under the car, causes a sort of "amplification" effect. This effect can also make a noise appear to be coming from a different area on the car than is its actual source. Rest assured however, a mechanic with the proper training and tools will most often be able to find the problem easily, as long as YOU, the driver, provide him or her with all the information you can about the nature of the sound and when you hear it. Seemingly insignificant info can mean the difference between him finding the problem, or searching for literally days to hunt down a "phantom" squeak. Did you hear it only early in the day, when you first started driving? Was it only heard on hard left turns? Tell him that. Does it happen only when you have a passenger with you in the car? Did you hear it only on a particular road? Every situation is different, so be aware that while in general, a noise in the front end may indicate a problem with your suspension or steering components, there are other possible causes, so don't assume anything. It's best to have your car checked by a mechanic when you hear anything out of the ordinary, as many issues if diagnosed early can prevent costly repairs later.

To sum it all up, a vibration (or noise, or both) in your car can be unnerving, but generally speaking, it is easily diagnosed, by giving your mechanic "good" information. For instance, at what speed did you feel it? Where in the vehicle did it seem to originate? What were the driving conditions on the road at the time you felt it? Is there only a vibration, or a noise, or both? Were there different conditions you were driving under than normal? Also, tell them things like when your tires were last balanced, and if any components were replaced, as all of these things will allow him or her to more easily pinpoint the cause, and ultimately the solution to your vibration woes, and get you back on the road quickly, again running smooth and straight.

That's my pointer for today, and I hope to see you next time, when I talk about computer viruses, is your PC infected?

Perth's Pointers #1: Do you have more USB stuff than you have USB ports?....here's what to do

I ran into this problem yesterday.....on my PS3, I have 3 USB devices I wanted to plug into it, and have only the 2 USB ports that the PS3 is equipped with. But it's not the first time I've had this problem. I've also run into it on my PC, several of them in fact. A lot of the older ones only came with 2 USB ports, and inevitably, at one point or another, I'd have 3 or 4 different things that I'd want to plug into them at the same time. And that's to say nothing of the conundrum one faces when they have a laptop, especially if it too is one that is a few years old. I even had one from around '98 that did have 2 USB ports, but they were stacked on top of one another, making it difficult to plug in 2 devices at the same time.

So what DO you do when you have more stuff to plug in than you have plugins to plug into? You do what I did today, and buy a USB hub. A USB hub will add additional USB ports to whatever machine you plug it into, and only use up ONE port by itself. Most USB hubs have at least 4 ports on them, so on a system or machine that has only 2 built into it, using a USB hub will instantly make that machine have 5 available ports. Here is a picture of a typical USB hub.

*photo courtesy of Belkin.com*

As you can see, there is a cord to connect the hub to the PC or laptop or game system, and then 4 USB ports to connect your various devices. Many of these hubs are under $20 dollars, and are available at electronics and computer stores, as well as online. There are many types of hubs available, some with up to 7 ports, and there are powered and unpowered varieties. Most will also be a simple "plug and play", meaning all you do is plug them in, and they will be functional, without any software to download or setup required.

A few things to be aware of when you go shopping for a hub are: 

Buy the right hub for your needs. Some are designed to be used with desktops, and are big and bulky, and some are meant to be used with laptops, and are small, compact, and even fold for easy storage. While they may both function on laptops and desktops alike, it's obvious that a smaller, compact design is ideal for portability, while the larger, more bulky one may be better suited for applications where it will stay in one spot.  

Make sure that the hub you buy will provide adequate clearance between the ports to allow you to plug in all the devices you will be using. Not all devices have adequate clearance to allow for other devices to be plugged into the other available ports. An example of this would be a USB flash drive that has a wide casing, leaving the ports to the left and right of it virtually useless when it is plugged in, if the ports themselves are too close together.  

Also be sure that the devices you will be plugging into the hub will not exceed the power capabilities of the onboard port on the PC or laptop. There IS a limit, so consult your system's manual or website to find out how much power is available. In most cases, this is not too much of a problem, especially if the devices you are using are things like a keyboard or a mouse, or even a small set of USB powered speakers, but be sure before plugging them in, or you could cause permanent damage to your system. The typical onboard USB port is capable of 5 volts at about 1/2 an amp, but remember, when you plug in a hub, that 1/2 of an amp must be split between all the ports, unless the hub is a powered hub. A powered hub, which has an external power supply of its own, can usually provide each port with the full 1/2 an amp of power. This is especially important to be aware of if the devices you are plugging in have batteries that are charged from the USB port, such as a cell phone, or mp3 player, or digital camera, so be sure to consult the documentation that comes with the hub, to be sure it can provide adequate power. Also keep in mind that some devices will require the full 1/2 amp of power, and will not function when attached to an unpowered hub, so again, a powered hub will be the solution of choice. 

There are many different devices that have onboard USB ports, and not all of them are capable of supporting the use of a hub, so be sure to get all the information you can about YOUR system before you buy one. In many cases, if the machine does not support the use of a hub, it will say so in the documentation. Typically the reason for this is the lack of available power, or in some cases, the software or hardware is not designed to recognize more than one USB port on that particular machine. In that case, using even a powered hub is not possible.

Many of today's cars have onboard USB ports, to power GPS navigation systems and other travel related paraphernalia. While these ports operate a lot like the ones on your home computer, they are directly wired into your vehicle's electrical system, and therefore may not be equipped to handle multiple devices being plugged into them at one time with the use of a USB hub. Consult your car's owner's manual before attempting to use one, because if it warns against it, and one is used, it could cause some very erratic and seemingly unrelated "bugs" to crop up in other systems in the vehicle itself due to the overload. Also be aware that some devices, when plugged into the car's ports, may cause some "interference" in the electrical system, causing at the least a "shutdown" of the USB port, and at worst, damage to the onboard computer system. Granted, these are rare occurrences, but too many unneeded service calls have been made due to an incompatible device being plugged into a vehicle's electrical system.

All in all the use of a USB hub is a safe and effective way of adding more connections where you need them most, and they provide years of trouble free service. As with any accessory or add-on, it's best to know what function a USB hub will serve, as well as any potential problems that may occur while using it, before you buy one. So do your research, find out what you need, and what will fill that need, and buy with confidence. 

  

Supermoon? Looked like the "regular" moon to me....

There was a lot of hype about the "Supermoon" that happened a few days ago, but I have issues with it.

Now this is just my own opinion, based solely on what I understand about orbital mechanics, and what I learned about the moon itself back in 3rd grade science class, but what was so "super" about last Saturday's moon?

The moon has a nearly circular orbit, which means that yes, there ARE times when it IS closer to the earth, and also times when it is further away, but the way I understand it, the difference in those two points is not enough for the moon to appear "bigger" or "smaller" when viewed by the naked eye, from the earth.

It's out there at a distance of over 200 thousand miles, and actually, looks about the same size in the sky as does the Sun. That's because while the Sun is 400 times bigger than the moon, the Sun is 400 times further away, some 93 MILLION miles. Interesting little tidbit of info there, wouldn't you say?

But, back to the Supermoon. I found a site through "Stumble", that describes the Supermoon in detail, and has a few pics taken from Flickr, and the interesting thing about those pictures is this. All but one was taken when the moon had just risen, and was close to the horizon. The problem with that is, ANY time you look at the moon or the Sun when they are close to the horizon, the atmosphere creates an optical illusion where the object being viewed appears to be much larger than it actually is. Taking a picture of the moon on Saturday night when it was close to the horizon doesn't prove to me that it was in any way a "Super" moon. I was out there that night, later, when the moon was much higher in the sky, and it looked no different than any other full moon I've seen, and I didn't expect it to. I'd love to see a couple of pictures of the moon on a "regular" night, and then from Saturday, side by side, taken from the exact same point, so I could really see that it WAS in fact bigger in the sky, but I bet there would be little difference to be seen.

Anyway, here's the link to the site, if for nothing else, they are some beautiful pictures, regardless if the moon is "Super" or not.

'Supermoon' phenomenon: The Largest Full Moon in 18 years

I haz a skill set...

I was talking with a friend just now about my writing, and the subject of skill sets was brought up. While I like to write about my life and my thoughts, I've not written much about the things I know best, which, as she put it, is computers, and "dissecting" stuff. Stuff, like anything that has moving parts, and even some things that don't. If you have a blog, it seems to make sense to write about what you know, and so far, most of what I write about has had nothing to do with what I know best. So here's a little taste of the database of knowledge that is floating around in my head every day.

Did you know that you can hear if your car's alternator is working or not? Not by hooking it up to a machine, no, just with the "naked" ear. They make a sound when they are working, and are silent when they are not. Granted, many are very quiet even when they ARE working, but under a load (such as having the headlights, wipers, and other accessories in operation) they ALL make an audible sound. With a little training as to what to listen for, you can tell when it's operating normally, and when something might be amiss. It's a high pitched whining sound, audible even over the noise of the engine. Some are louder than others, but for the most part, if you listen closely enough, if it's making that whining noise, it's most likely working. Check it out on your own car, listen for the sound, and compare it to other cars like yours, and soon you'll have an ear for it. Then listen to other types of cars, trucks, and SUVs, and you'll soon be able to tell right off the bat whether or not they have a functional alternator. Try it sometime, I promise you can do it. My personal favorite is on Chevy 1500 pickups from the mid 90's, theirs is so loud you can't miss it. Trust me, when you hear it, and recognize it as the alternator, it will then be easy to hear it on other vehicles too, and when it's absent it will be VERY obvious.

How about your computer? Do you think they are high tech gadgets that are impossible to understand, let alone repair or diagnose on your own? Think again. They are actually very simple, once you understand a few basic concepts of their design. Does yours run slowly? Of course it does, everyone's does after it has been in operation for some time. Why? It's due to the way they work, in short, they get "gummed up", with all the files and programs that inevitably get installed and accessed on a daily basis. When it gets REALLY slow, then most of the time it's not a virus, or malware, it's just that the files and programs have gotten so jumbled and working on top of each other that it puts a large strain on the system to keep up with it all at the same time. The solution? Uninstall any unnecessary or no longer used programs, do a hard drive defragmentation to organize them better, and at least once a year, do a complete wipe and reload of the operating system. The reason for this is that even with uninstalling unused programs and files, some parts of them are still left on the hard drive, and cannot be easily removed (it's a matter of finding where every part of each file or program is stored, and deleting them, which even professionals can't do). Be sure to save your personal files often too, somewhere OTHER than the computer's hard drive, such as on a cd or dvd, or a flash drive, or an external hard drive. This prevents losing your data should your hard drive crash, and gives you a second or even a third copy you can take with you when you are not at home.

Here's a few tips on a few machines everyone is familiar with, washers and dryers. They are incredibly simple pieces of engineering, and when something goes wrong, more often than not the solution is just as simple. Everyone at one time or another has had a washer that wouldn't spin, and a dryer that didn't get hot. Most of the time, when a washer doesn't spin, there are two main causes. First and foremost is the switch that tells the washer that the lid is closed. Now I'm talking about the top load kind of washer here, not the front loading high efficiency types, although they have a similar design. But if your washer will fill up, and even agitate, but won't spin, check and make sure there is nothing blocking the switch from being pressed, and that the piece of plastic that sticks down from the lid that actuates the switch is not broken or bent. Some have a spring loaded switch, but the same diagnosis applies, check and see that it is free of debris and can move in it's full travel. The only other problem (at least that I've seen in my experience) is usually something wrong with the timer device, which is something that is in most cases so expensive to replace that it is usually better just to replace the washer.

As far as dryers go, the number one issue with them not drying clothes is LINT. Always make sure to clean the lint filter after every load, and check the area the filter is installed for excess amounts of lint buildup, as this restricts the air flow. Periodically check the outlet hose and the vent outdoors to ensure there is not a buildup of lint, as not only will this cause your clothes to take longer to dry, it can also cause a fire. Because of the many small fibers lumped together as it is the nature of lint, it catches fire easily, and actually makes very good kindling, so you may even want to save it. If you are an avid camper, or if you have an emergency "end of the world" kit, when you need to make a fire, good kindling is often in short supply. But I digress. If the lint filter is clean, and your hoses are clear, then the thermostat inside the dryer can also cause the element to not come on, and of course the element itself can also burn out (Think toaster element, only bigger, and you know what your dryer element looks like). Both of these are usually fairly simple to test and replace, and with the amount of information available on the internet, you can find many dryers' service manuals, parts, and fix them yourself. Most washers and dryers can be taken apart by removing only a few screws, it's really easy, and saves potentially hundreds of dollars as opposed to having a professional come and do it. One other thing I should mention too, on your dryer, is to check the routing of the exhaust hose, too many bends and the air cannot move through it efficiently enough to dry the clothes, the straighter you can make it, the better.

So there you have it folks, just a tidbit of knowledge from my skill set. Stay tuned for more......

Working, cooking, new goals?

The last time I posted I was just learning of my potential job change.

Well I'm happy to report that it did in fact happen, I am now officially a stocker. It still seems a little weird to be going in to work to do that instead of maintenance, but that "weirdness" is wearing off in a hurry, as the pressures to work the freight and get things done keeps me pretty busy. I like working frozen/dairy, it's completely different freight every night, and I like how the shift seems to go by in half the time it felt like it did working maintenance.

I was given my yearly evaluation at work last night, and got a 40 cent raise that will be effective starting the payday after my anniversary date, which is the 8th of April. So, altogether, by then, I will have had my pay raised a total of 60 cents, adding in the 20 cents for the job change to frozen/dairy stocker. It's sure been nice to get 2 raises in less than a month lol.

On other fronts though, as my life at work gets better, things have gotten worse. My ex has gotten mad again, because I told her I was not going to come and move in with her when she moves, so she decided to threaten me again, this time with actually filing for divorce and coming after me for child support. In her words, "so your check will go to me". Right. Like THAT'S going to happen. Not in THIS state missy, they have RULES here, and they are not dictated by YOU.

The other thing that is really getting my goat is that where I am staying right now, with my friend  (and his girlfriend, and now her mom has moved in), I can't cook. Anything. I'm basically not allowed. His girlfriend is a Nazi about "her" kitchen, and she doesn't want anyone to do anything in there, not a thing, only SHE is allowed to move anything, only SHE is allowed to cook anything, or she throws a tantrum. Her mom found this out just the other day when she decided to boil some water to cook something, and her daughter raised holy hell about her having the eye of the stove on, and cooking when she wanted to put her groceries down that she had brought home from the store. Now I get that it is her house, her name is on the mortgage, but really? No one else can cook anything but her? Does she not care that other people might have to eat?

I've been living with this for a year now. Eating only prepackaged dry food, or whatever small cold stuff I can fit on the one shelf in the fridge she will let me use. Yeah, she's anal about that too, nothing but her stuff can be where she wants it in the fridge, oh and don't move anything. Seriously, I don't think I have ever met an adult that is more selfish than this girl. I am not one to normally complain, I am a very easygoing and compromising person, hence my 18 year relationship with my ex. But this is ridiculous. If you let someone come and stay with you, AND they are paying you rent, then they should have the ability to cook just as much as you do. End of story. But that's not her. And talking to her about it does no good. She insists that she wants it to be HER way, it's HER house, so there is no negotiation. Seems I've gone from one dictator to another. And I'm ready to break away. I want out of here, I want my own place.

Sometime soon things are going to change in a big way, already I feel it happening. I'm getting tired of the same old routine of my life, I don't DO anything, I have nothing to write about here that's different, you guys must be getting sick and tired of hearing about the same subjects all the time. I read others' blogs, and they post recipes, book reviews, tips and tricks, all kinds of things, and I don't do anything but talk about me me me. My thoughts, my ex, my job, it's ridiculous. How much can you read about the same old thing before you get bored and stop? Not long, at least in my opinion. I need to do more with my life, learn something new, try something new, and then write about it, and see where it goes. I'm restless, have been for a few weeks now, and I'm sure it's because I want a new challenge, a new goal. So watch for me to find one, or two, or ten, the sky's the limit.