New phone arrived today…

I thought I was past the frustrations from trying to upgrade my phone last week (balky websites & and agents who didn’t give a damn). I went through Worst Buy to order it, and unfortunately for Sprint, Best Buy was the only party involved who had their shit together….

So the phone arrived today at 1:30 in the afternoon. I put the memory card in, powered the phone on, and nothing happend. I was able to logon to my Wi-Fi, but the phone wouldn’t activate. I went to the Sprint website, and the website was ‘down for maintenence’. All day. Sprint support was really no help. Even the executive team told me to call them, which I couldn’t since I didn’t have access to a phone. And they told me to go chat with an agent, but abain the website redirected to the site maintenence. WIth all the issues I’ve had trying to get the phone, and actviate it, I’m seriously thinking that Sprint is doing this deliberately.

But nevertheless I got my HTC 10 and I got it activated. I had previously downloaded and prepared Marshmallow and Nougat ROMs for my phone. So I went and put some Sunshine on it. And once I was S-off, I flashed TWRP, and then I installed the Nougat ROM (I had previously dabbled with the Marshmallow ROM on the HTC One M8, and that ROM was based on the ROM for this phone, so I went with the new ROM). I’m still in the process of moving in, but I’m impressed with it so far. For the first time I have a working Andriod Pay (something I’ve never had due to issues with my phone being rooted), were it not for my cards not working with it, but that’s life. I will miss the IR blaster, so I guess that means I need to not lose the remote. The camera looks good, too. But we’ll save for another post. Work calls tomorrow….

Well, after last week’s fiasco.

After the fiasco last week, I was not amused. Probably I shouldn’t have asked for the head of the Sprint agent in Puyallup, but in an of itself trying to place the order was an epic fail on the part of Sprint. I would’ve cancelled my account on the spot were it not for the fact that we’re leasing my brother’s iPhone, and I’d be on the hook for remaining payments. So I was stuck with Sprint, and my phone was showing its age. But fortunately, Worst Buy is a Sprint reseller. And I was able to order an HTC 10. They didn’t have one in store, but they were available on line, and I was able to do in 10 minutes on bestbuy.com on my HTC One M8 what I couldn’t do for the life of me on Sprint.com on my computer.

So, fast forward to today. UPS has my phone, and it is out for delivery. I’ve already downloaded the Marshmallow and Nougat ROMs from Team Venom (I’ve been using their ROMs ever since my HTC One M7), and copied them to my memory card. And I also have everything ready to s-off and root my phone….

An open email to Sprint:

I just sent to this to Sprint. I had been attempting to upgrade, and it didn’t end well:

<Quote>

My account number is: xxxxxxxxx. This is in regards to my phone number: (253) xxx-xxxx. I recently paid off the phone, and decided it's time to upgrade to the HTC 10.

Lately, Ive been unable to login throught the Sprint Zone app. I always get an invalid password error. And God help me if I try to login online. If I try to logon through Firefox, it just keeps bouncing back to the logon page. If I logon through Google Chrome, I can get the validation text sent to me, but when I enter it, the page just displays a bunch javascript, and I don't logon.
But Friday I was able to finally log on, and I attempted three times to order the phone upgrade. Two times, when I went to pay for it, it was displayed that my newer debit card would be charged, but it came back with a 'declined', and then I get a text that the charge was made to my other card (an entirely different card number)! You were telling me you were charging one card but actually attempting to charge the other!

But I finally got that straightened out and I placed my online order (#ow-srso-xxxxxxxxx) to be picked up in Puyallup at 4227 S Meridian Ste B Meridian Plaza Shopping Center, Puyallup WA 98373. I got there early, and I was not impressed. One employee at the counter who was more interested in having a personal conversation with the two women (family members?) than he was about helping the three other people in the store, one of whom had an appointment, and the other two I overheard talking about buying three phones. At this time any sales droid capable of rubbing two neurons together would realize that that's the time to start doing your job. Not this person. I finally get up to the person, told him that I had an appointment to pick up my upgrade (I was early, but he wasn't helping anybody else either...). He then told me that he was shorthanded, and it was take at least 20 minutes. One of the ladies he was talking with when I came up then chimed in saying it would take more than 20 and snickered. That's when I walked out. Without my phone. He called after me, but if he isn't going to do his job to begin with, then he's not going to do it at all.

So I then called customer service. I jumped through all the hoops. Only to get an agent whose accent was sufficiently thick enough that I knew that I had reached an offshore call center. I hung up.

So, what needs to happen is:
1. Order #ow-srso-xxxxxxxxx needs to be cancelled forthright. And I need the $61.00 I paid Friday to start it refunded.
2. Your website needs to fixed so that I can login without repeated attempts.
3. Whoever was working at the Puyallup store at 11:15 this morning (4-2-2017) needs to be fired, and you need to publicly acknowledge this. Ignoring customers is never acceptable.

Then, I need an explanation as why this was all allowed to happen. Why am I being treated like garbage at every turn? Why is it so impossible to logon? Why is it so difficult to order an upgrade? And more importantly WHY DID I HAVE TO LEAVE THE SPRINT STORE WITHOUT MY ORDERED UPGRADE? But failing that, just tell me what obligations (ie contract, leases) I have left on my account and what I need to do to fulfill them and move to another carrier. Unlike you, I follow through on my promises.

<\Quote>

I’ve already gotten an acknowledgement back from the VP of customer service, but if it take that kind of escalation to get a human operator who know his/her shit then the battle has already been lost…

So my work schedule was posted today…

And I noticed a change upcoming. Not going into to much details now, as I don’t want to count my chickens until they’ve hatched. But the future is looking bright. Bright enough that I have to look for the sunglasses…

Like I said, I’m not going into details for the sake of discrestion. Unlike my second job at Mrs. Fields, I prefer to keep my primary employer and my position off the blog for now….

For the first time…

For the first time since I bought my computer, I’ve completely ‘moved in’ to it on Windows 8.1. Meaning I’ve installed all of my apps. Including my flight simulators. Previous attempts had ended when I installed Chome, and then decided that I wanted to go a different way. I could’ve gone with Windows 10, but I have problems with Microsoft and their privacy practices. I don’t need any more ads when I’m using my computer (in fact the fist thing I do when I reinstall my OS is to add the HOSTS file from MVPS.org.

About a month and half ago, I replaced my Lexmark printer. I had stopped using it, though it was on the Wi-Fi, so I kept the drivers installed. Eventually the ink dried out, and it was time to replace it. So I decided to get a laser printer. I got myself a Brother from Worst Buy. Yes, I’m replacing a multifunction printer with just a printer, but it’s a color laser printer, and it can print both sides. As for a scanner, I still have my HP multifunction printer, which I got from Mother (may she spend all eternity in The Beer Volcano and The Stripper Factory) when she couldn’t figure out how to replace the ink.

I upgraded my speakers a few week ago. Permanently retired my Boston Acoustics and my Insignia speakers, and got something with a subwoofer. Though I keep the volume turned way down, out of respect to the neighbours downstairs….

Lesson learned...

System Restore can be your best friend. But if you're going from Windows 8.1 to Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center, then prepare to have your system restore points wiped.

But I survived. And when I got back to the desktop, I created another point. I don't know what the issue is. I made sure my network/wifi driver was up to date. I'm not going with the current video driver (I went with a WHQL certified driver rather than a cutting edge one like I'd normally do). But we'll see. Personally, I think it's a recent driver issue...

BTW, I used Windows 10 for precisely 4 hours, and most of that was just downloading Windows 8.1 drivers...

Awe, screw it

I never thought it possible. My computer hates Windows 8.1. I guess it's time to bite the bullet and put Windows 10 back on. Good thing I took Microsoft up on that offer when it was a free upgrade, and I made an installer drive...

Lesson Learned For The Third Time

Ok, installing Win8.1 on my tower again. Pull out my DVD restore set (that I made when I first got my computer), and let it run. Then afterwards, I put my separately purchased Win8.1 Pro key, and make that upgrade. No Problem. Then I go in and remove all the bloatware (basically anything McCafee, WildTangent, or anything else I don't recognize). And I took the wrong thing off, resulting in an unbootable tower. Repeat same procedure again, and get the same result. This third time, I've realize which piece of bloatware is the one that I need to leave alone. I'm not going to concern myself with it calling home, as the first thing I do beofre anything else is to protect my system with the HOSTS file at MVPS.org. But so far no more problems. In fact the new WiFi card I put in last month works natively in Windows 8.1. A definite plus...

Here we go again, yet another time

Right now, I'm putting Windows 8.1 back on my tower. For only one reason: Linux... If I can get the bootloaders to play now with each other, then I'll use OpenSuSE as my daily driver.

Yes, I'm just a glutton for punishment...

Edit: It looks like all this trouble is due to a bad video driver. Currently in downloading the previous driver. Will see how this goes.

Lesson Learned….

The Windows configuration that I have now isn’t really compatible with dual-booting with Linux. Maybe when the Creator’s Update of Win10 hits, I’ll give it another shot.

Live and Learn…

Here we go again...

Trying to put Linux on my computer. I'm going with OpenSuSE 42.2. In passing this from my phone, as it's still downloading. So far, I can tell that my network card is compatible (as it connected to my WiFi to access the repository). I don't anticipate any issues, but I have updated my external backup drive just in case.

And yes, I have to work tomorrow....

It’s Friday today…

A couple of years ago, I post on Facebook that I wasn’t Irish. A cousin rebutted me on that. But while I may have some blarney in the branches of my family tree, I do not identify as being Irish. And I’m not Catholic. And I quit drinking over 3 years ago. So, on this St. Patrick’s Day, I bid you a happy Friday…

America is still great….

Right after the election, I took a vow to keep all my postings non-partisan untill 100 days after the innauguration. This includes this blog. So while much is being said about who did what, or what new law is being or what old law is being repealed, I will hold my peace. Not out of agreement or disagreement, but because irregardless of my political views, and/or whatever political differences we may have, I still want to withhold judgement until he’s had a chance to prove himself. To take that first step, so to speak.

Having said that I will say that wanting Donald Trump to fail is like wanting the pilot to crash the airplane while you’re flying in it…

Irregardless of who is the White House, America is still great….

So, what have I been up to these past few weeks…

Sorry I haven’t written anything of late. But something big came up:

I’ve had the Commute From Hell, especially given my preference for the opening shift at work. To be there at 6 to start, I’ve had to be up at 1:00-1:30 in the morning, and walked for 4 1/2+ miles to get to the bus stop. And I did it. And management was duly impressed. But there was another location only a 20 minute walk from my apartment. I first tried to attempt a transfer 3 years ago when I was still only part-time, and went nowhere. But I kept at it, and later that year, I was promoted to full-time (stuff like this happens when you show up on time). The next spring, I inquired again, and this time I was told to step down to part time before they’d even look at me. Needless to say, I stay where I was. Next year, I tried again, and this time the manager of the location came up to my workplace to specifically ask about me, and he stated that it was the right thing to do, but nothing came of it. But finally, this year, after the store manager, and the district HR manager went to bat, I got my transfer approved. And I start there tomorrow.

After 3 years of trying….

From Frustration, a plus…

Wiped my tower. This time, to partition my hard drive to make space for Linux. And I replaced my Wi-Fi card, this time to one with bluetooth, as well (the now-retired usb dongle has now been thrown out).

As aprt of the reinstallation, I went to reinstall and activate my CyberLink PowerDVD and Power2GO. And I got a rude messgae that I had hit the limit for allowed activiations. So I fired up the web browser, and sent a letter to tech support. And then I realized they had a special. I paid $200.00+ for my two programs last year. And CyberLink had a package deal where I could get the current versions for only a quarter of what I originally paid for them. So, I just bought the current versions. And secured the product keys in a safe place….

For some reason...

For some reason, I think today is a good day for cake. Not that I'm going to have any, for the obvious health reasons. It's just today seems kind of cakey....

Probably it's somebody's birthday today. Happy Birthday, if that is the case....

Here we go again, part II...

So, the Super Bowl had kicked off. And I'm watching it. For the commercials. And I've decided to go with another version of Windows. Though I've confirmed that my hardware is compatible with Linux, so this will be a dual boot configuration...

Here's to Tom Brady getting a well deserved beating today. And my laundry getting done today.

Here we go again…

While I’m waiting for the Super Bowl to kick off, I’m going to try my hand at Linux. Again. If all goes well, I’ll be dual-booting Windows 10 and OpenSuSE Linux. I’ve already downloaded and burned the Linux distro to DVD. And my back-up is sufficiently recent so if anything goes wrong, I won’t lose much…

Once more unto the breach, dear friends….

Render Unto Ceaser, 2017 edition

As you may have read in my post Sunday, I did my taxes. Since I got paid for jury duty last year, I had to file the long form (1040) to declare it. Anyway, according to the IRS, my refund has been approved, and I should be getting it next week, and I should be broke again by next weekend.

But enough about that. I’ve done my duty as a citizen, as I have on other occasions.

It’s raining outside….

Nothing to do all day today. Stayed home. Took a sick day from work. And I don’t regret it. There is a very serious bug going around work, and I thought I was starting to get it last night, so I called out. The last thing I need is to get up at 1:30 in the morning and head out to work while ill. SO instead, I slept it off. 12 hours’ worth. And I’m feeling better. I’d rather nip in the bud now than deal with it when it’s much worse….

Having said that, it’s currently raining like a cow relieving itself on a rock. I have yahoo weather installed on my phone, and it’s set to flash a 15 minute warning when rain is passing through. The past month, it has gone off two times. Both of them were today.

But I’m dry inside…

If you don't feel right….

I’m not going to work tomorrow. A co-worker was working sick today, and had to go home early. She did her darndest not to pass it around, but I’m starting to feel the aches and pains and the ooky feeling in my throat. And since I have enough sick time accrued, I call the manager and let him know….

Apologies to my co-workers tomorrow, but my health is paramount…

Productivity Alert!

Today is Sunday. Usually my day off. And the first day of my “weekend”. Since I’m up and at ‘em at the Ass-Crack of dawn, this is my designated ‘sleep in’ day. And the second day of my weekend is for errands and other day-off tasks.

But due to a shift in my schedule, this is my only day off. On the bright side, though, I’ll get Saturday and Sunday off for the time being. Having said that, today was my only day off to do a whole weekend’s worth of errands. But today, in addition to sleeping in, I was able to file my taxes (return accepted, refund should be arriving shortly), do my laundry (currently in the dryer), and adjust the prices at Mrs. Fields Cookies.

And I ordered a new wi-fi/bluetooth card…

All is well, so far.

So apparently last night’s ‘explosion’ was just the power supply going out in spectacular fashion. As I went to bed, I looked at the computer desk, and realized that I still had the old power supply. So, I took out the burnt out corpse, and put the old power supply back in. And I still have a computer. All the components that I feared had fried are apparently functioning. And I’ve ordered a replacement power supply.

As for replacing the computer, I think it’ll wait for now. Though I reserve the right to change my mind…

All is not too bleak

Yes, my computer died tonight. But I still have my phone. And a laptop. And a recent backup. And plans to rebuild a new tower, abs make it better...

This sucks!

So my past weekend, I went with Windows 8.1 on my tower. Today, I get home from, and I reached down to turn it on, and was greeted by sparks and smoke from the power supply. I assuming my entire tower is toast. I’m thinking that I might be able to salvage my hard drive out of it, but the video card, the newtowrk card, and the tv tuer are toast. I’ll have to replace it. And probably my software too, since it’s activated with a hardware signature (hopefully not my Steam and Origin games). Luckily, I had a recent backup, and the ubd drive was turned off so it didn’t get the power surge.

Goodbye tower…

The furthest its lasted….

Got tee’d off at Windows 7 Saturday night. So, I put Windows 8.1 back on my system. All the other issues that I’ve had with it, I’ve made peace with them. And unlike Windows 10, I’m not going to get taskbar to use Edge when I use Chrome. It will take some adaptations but I’m willing to try. Come to think of it, I have no choice. I’ve already installed and activated my CyberLink PowerDVD and Power2Go, and I don’t want any issues with too many activations…

Hello World. This is Windows 8.1.

They came in, and then they left…

Seahawks beat Detroit at home. Then went to Atlanta. And lost. So now that season is over. Maybe next year, if they can get a decent offensive line….

Much has happened at work. I’m currently being considered for a transfer to a store much closer. Personally, I don’t think I’m going to get it, but I also see other opprtunities in the pipeline, so I’m not giving up hope yet….

The Lions are coming!

The Seahawks won today. 3 weeks ago, they won the NFC West division. As division champions, they get to have at least one home game during the playoff. And with Green Bay beating Detroit tonight, the playoff schedule is set. The Lions come to Seattle.

I just hope the Seahawks can get it together. They definitely have the talent. But the talent needs to work together. Each week that I’ve watched, there has been at least one aspect that has had issues. Usually, the rest of the team has been able to pull it through, but there were times when they couldn’t. It’s now do or die. Win or go home…

So 2017 is now here...

2016 is past. An as of the writing of this post, Betty White is still alive.

All is well. For now.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, 2016 version

If you’re in the great Pacific NorthWET (especially since it’s raining right now), 2016 has about 6 hours left (as of when this post is being written). It’s been a strange trip this past year, but aren’t all the years strange trips of late?

In no particular order or signifincance (these are just popping in my head as I write them)…

• Mom went to the Great Beyond. This was probably the most significant event this year, and I’m still adjusting.
• I only bought 2 pairs of shoes this year.
• Rialto Jewelers at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila are really good at resizing watches (yes, I was\still am friends with them previously, but still they know their stuff.
• In all my years as a diabetic, my blood sugar has gotten low on a couple of occaision. Usually, I have some sugar nearby, and it’s taken care of right away. There have been a couple of occaisons where I’ve almost become incoherent. Then there was the time on Christmas eve where I passed out…
• I finally named a beneficiary to the my life insurance policy that I have through work: my brother. I also added an accidental death policy. Along with the admonition to make it look like an accident…
• My TV died, so I got a replacement. And 1 week later, promptly got another replacement (let’s just say that it’s hard to go from a 55” to a 32” set…)
• I got another printer. Parents couldn’t figure out how to put ink in Mom’s printer, so she bought another one, and gave me her printer. Less than an hour later, I had ink ordered. And I spent more on ink than she did on the original printer (and this is a wi-fi capable multi-function printer).
• The power went out. Twice. Not bad.
• Bought a bunch of useless crap, mainly from Amazon.
• I still have the same phone.
• And the same computer, though the video card gave up the ghost.

I’m not setting any resolutions this year. That’s just setting oneself up for failure. If I see an opportunity to improve, I’ll take it. You don’t need a special holiday to turn over a new leaf…

So now, 2016 now has 5 1/2 hours left. I’m home for the night, the shoes are off, and I wish you a Happy New Year. And if you drink, don’t drive…

An end to the vacation

My vacatio ends today. Tomorrow, I return to work. Basically, all I did during my vacation was absolutely nothing. Sure, I did my Christmas shopping on Friday, and celebrated Christmas Saturday and Sunday (as I previously posted about). But the rest of the week, I did nothing. Just vegged out and ate Christmas leftovers. I watched college football. I was going out to visit some friends, but I decided that this week will be recovery time.

Btw, I did work on my computer. Started wiping the drive Friday, and I finished reinstalling everything this morning.

Holiday wishes were sent (and recieved). But the time has come to think about going back to work….

Merry Christmas, blah, blah, blah….

Another Christmas is upon us, and has almost passed. Again, there were two family reunions for me to go to. The first one, I missed for all intents and purposes. I was in my Grandma’s living room, having just watched the Seahawks game. It was probably about 5 o’clock or so. The next thing I remember is like a dream. I was dreaming that my father and my brother were trying to get me to check my blood sugar. What had really happened was that I had a hypoglycemic episode and had passed out on the couch, and they were trying to bring me aroud. The m&m’s my father provided were what brought me around. So, I made it to the first Bryant Family reunion, and after my second cup of apple juice, I was coherent enough to chech my blood sugar, which was still low. I think what happened was the change in venue. Grandma’s house is too small for the family reunion, so they rented a Grange Hall. And that was where all the food was. Basically, I was a combination of too high of an insulin dose at breakfast, too long without eating, and not having a source of candy nearby. Lesson learned: I will always have candy within arms’ reach.

But I made it to the Grange Hall. And I felt fine after the third glass of apple juice. I missed the church service and dinner, but made it for the gift exchange. We drew lots this year, and I was the very last lot. This being done in white elephant style, you could either choose a present, or you could steal another relative’s present, and make them choose another. Since I had the very last lot, I could either steal any other cousin’s gift, or open the last one under the tree. Upon consultation with my brother (who is the cook in the apartment), I stole the crockpot that another cousin got. And having been on the recieving end of one too many ‘gag’ presents in years past, I decided this year to give one: a USB pet rock. I also threw in a gift card to a national retail chain, too.

So, fast forward to today. This was the family Christmas celebration. I made sure that I wasn’t going to pass out at this one. There was food. Lots of it. And it was good. And I brough leftovers home. When it came to the gift exchange, some nephews/nieces got gift cards to Target, some to Worst Buy. And my brother, I got him a talking plush Dalek. And the DVD set of I, Claudius (we had both taken the same humanities class in high school, where Mr. Tarry had shown it). I gave Grandma a couple of gift cards, one to Subway and one to Jack in the Box. My Father got a gift card to The Home Depot. And also there’s the present I gave to the owners of the Mrs. Fields I used to work at: I’m taking February 13th and 14th off to work at Mrs. Fields so they can go enjoy Valentine’s Day as a couple.

Some of the stull I got today:

• Know what, I’m not going to list it this year. It is better to give than to recieve….

Merry, Christmas, Happy Hannukuh, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, Happy Solstice, Hapy New Year, or Happy Whatever Day You Choose to Celebrate…

On a little road trip.

It's Christmas Eve. Which means I'm on the bus, headed out to Grandma's. This year, I have a full week off (I'm actually on day 2). And I'm heading up way too early, so I can service a laptop and hopefully get that up and running as a favor to my father.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanakkuh, Happy Festivus, or Happy Solstice. Or failing that, the 'Hawks are playing at the CLink this afternoon, and reminding everyone why you shouldn't wear a mitre on the football field...

Gosh darn it!

Went to turn on the computer this morning and my usb 3.0 hub had gone on to The Beer Volcano and Stripper Factory last night. No Problem. I just went to Spamazon, and ordered a new one. Yes, there were cheaper ones available, but I’ve also found that on Amazon, you generally get what you pay for, and if you get cheap merchandise now, you’ll end up replacing it. Soon. And to be honest, I’ve never had an issue with the Amazon house brand. And I’ve never really had an issue with house brands in general. The Home Depot has Husky, Worst Buy has Insignia, and Spamazon has Amazon Basics. All really good. And not expensive….

Blown out yesterday….

The Seahawks were blown out yesterday. 38-10. But they’re still atop the NFC West. And in fact they’re the only team with a winning record right now. But the Sounders FC won it all Saturday night (on the road even), so I don’t mind this loss that much…

Anyway, my weekend has come to an end, and so I must retire for the night.

They won it all last night

The Sounders FC won the MLS Cup last night. In every year that they've played in the MLS, they've at least gotten into the post-season. They've won The Supporters' Shield (which in European Leagues is how the Champion is determined) in the past and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on numerous occasions. It's time they won it all...

All this for a spell-checker…

Wiped the tower this past weekend (which is why there no posts Sunday or Monday). I had overcome all my previous issues with Windows 8.1, and in fact I was looking forward to using as my daily driver. Got all my drivers installed. Then it came time to do the in place upgrade to Windows 8.1 Pro. No go. So, I go to Windows Update, and it would download or install updates. After al whole day of this, I wipe the tower again and start over. This time I can upgrade to Pro, and then I start updating. And eventually I end up with it not being able to update. Again. So, Monday night, I said screw this, and I pulled out my Windows 10 thumb drive. I didn’t even have to enter my Windows 8.1 pro key to upgrade this time (the secret, I’ve found out, is to let all the marketplace apps, including the store app to update themselves, then it’ll upgrade you to Pro).

I guess Windows 10 is what I’m meant to run now. Not that it’s a bad system. In fact, it’s a really good system. Oh well. At least I still have a computer….

Made an exception to the rule today…

Normally, I call out for weather only when it’s cold. Like in the teens or lower. I tried to make arrangements previously to come in an hour later, and avoid most of the walking, but it was still recorded as a tardy occurrence, so I’m either on time, or not at all. Anyway, I said I had made an occurrence to my rule last night. I saw that the forecast was in the lower 20s last night. So I went ahead and called out. I had been saving my last eight hours of sick time for instances like this, and I felt that this was the time to use it.

Yes, there is a difference between getting up at 8 in the morning vs. getting up at 1:30…

The only drawback is that the next cold snap I’m going to have to tough it out and walk it in…

It happened a couple of weeks ago.

I went to the Sprint store with my brother 2 weeks ago to upgrade his phone, since I’m leasing his iPhone. And it turns out that they were out of his preferred phone. While I was there, I addressed a matter. It was time I address some very poor judgement that I used 2 years ago. I had never used the tablet. Sure every once in a while, I took it out and used the LTE internet. But I was always so concerned about going over the limit that I kept it home. And on the home Wi-Fi. So, I was paying $20+ a month for something that I didn’t use. I’m a man of integrity, so I kept my end of the contract. And this last summer, I paid the contract off. And while we were are the Sprint store, I cancelled the service. I told the clerk that I never used it. And that was the end of it….

It is possible to pay off a cell phone contract and cancel service without drama…

Finished one wipe, now on to another

Yesterday, among other things, I finished reinstalling all the software from the last time I wiped my tower. Everytime I think I want to try another version of Windows, or even the latest and greatest Windows 10, I always end up back with my previous version. I guess I still like the start menu that I can arrange and sort the folders. I know there will come a time when I’ll have to go to Windows 10 and stick with it (which is why I still keep the flash drive with the installer on it updated). But it could be worse. I could go with Windows 8.1…

Anyway, I was on the phone with my Dad, who got Mom’s laptop when she passed away. And the time has come to wipe it. A lot of her memories are on it, I’m sure. But, I’ll make sure to back everything up before I wipe it. The laptop has potential. But mother was not the most computer literate, and there were serious spyware issues. With all of her machines. When she gave me her previous laptop, the first thing I had to do was wipe it. Anyway, the 32gB usb Flash Drive for it has been ordered from Spamazon.

They lost yesterday…

The Seahawks lost yesterday. Bet they’re still atop the NFC West. We can’t win them all. But there is always next week. And unlike the Browns or the 49er’s, they haven’t already been mathmatically eliminated from the playoffs already…

The Sounders FC are now in the MLS cup. This is the first time that they’re in the finals. They have always made it to the post-season in every season. Next week, they’ll play either the Montreal Impact or Toronto FC. If Montreal wins, then they’ll be playing for it all in the CLink. If Toronto wins, they’ll be playing in Toronto. I’m rooting for Montreal.

Polished off the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers yesterday. Since we had a pork tenderloin (btw, my brother is a really good cook), there was no loftover turkey in the house. I had to go buy some turkey from the Deli counter for my sandwich. And it was good.

Payday was Friday. Today and yesterday were my days off. I did my laundry yesterday and finished reinstallling my software after my latest tower wipe yesterday. So I have today off, I got up early, and all my errands were run yesterday. So I was about to go out and about today (off to Wally World, mainly to get ideas about elf-work). As I’m about to leave, I get this nagging feeling to pay bills. So I sit down, log into BECU, and review my account balance. After budgeting for my ORCA card reload, I paid the electric and the cable bill. And I’m broke again (credit cards were paid last Friday).

So that’s my weekend. Tomorrow, it’s off to work. For another 5 days…

The original Thansgiving…

Addams Family Values was one of the funnier movies around...

Happy Stuff Bread Up A Turkey’s Ass Day!

Also know as Thanksgiving. I have many things to be greteful for. Family, friends, job, the roof over my head. The list goes on an on. I think last year, I posted most of the aforementioned items. But whether or not you’re eating Turkey, Ham, or Soylent Green (Or feasting upon the Lambs. And Sloths. ANd Carps. And Anchovies. And Orang-utans. And Breakfast Cereals. And Fruit Bats. And Large Chunks….), go ahead and have a happy Thanksgiving. There is nothing wrong with having Chinese Takeout or pizza for Thanksgiving either.

Although if you’re still looking for the largest turkey in the store, then go to the poutlry counter, and ask the clerk for Colin Kaepernick. Though Tom Brady is bigger, but by the time you get it home, it will have deflated to smaller than a cornish game hen….

Where do I start?

The Seahawks won today. The Philadelphia Eagles brought a rookie quarterback to the CLink. The conclusion was forgone when the schedule was announced…

After getting his Well-Deserved Beating at the hands of the Seahawks last week, Tom Brady took it out on KaeperPICK. In San Francisco.

Did laundry today. I forgot to remove the change from my work jeans before I put them in. Change was very clean, but it made for a very noisy dryer..

Yesterday, I went to MacDonalds. Placed and paid for my order. And waited. And waited. And waited. Ended up leaving without my food. Had a nice little chat with the manager later, and he told me to come back so they could make good on it. If I leave a restaurant without getting my food after I have paid for it, I make it a point never to come back. I can forgive wasting my money, but wasting my time is inexcusable. Especially in a ‘fast’ food environment.

Got live Christmas trees in at work last week, and I was part of the team who stocked them. My roommate and I won’t be setting one up….

Only have a one-day ‘weekend’ today. Since I’m getting Thanksgiving off, and that’s usually a work day for me, I have to work tomorrow. But that means I get my 40 hours this week, plus 8 hours of holiday pay. One of the reasons why I like my job. True, there are issues at work, but for the most part, I hold my peace, and the situations work themselves out….

On a business trip….

The Seahawks just gave Tom Brady a well-deserved beating. On the road. Tonight, we interecetped Tom Brady, and sacked him twice. And for once, the officials didn’t mess up the calls….

Happiness is....

Happiness is a 20 minute phone call with Grandma. I highly recommend it. Just what I needed, especially after this season a partisan rancor. But more on that later...

Next Stop, Colorado….

The Sounders FC just knocked out FC Dallas. Next up are the Colorado Rapids. To be honest, the last time I saw the Sounders and the Rapids play, it was the game where Steve Zakuani had his leg broken. Let’s hope this game comes out better….

Time for the ful 90 again…

So, it’s round 2 of the conference semi-finals. The Sounders FC won the first round at the CLink, defeating FC Dallas 3-0. Since the scoring is aggregate in this round, Dallas needs to beat up by at least 3 points. Possibly more…

Football, football, and more football

Day 2 of three days ina row off. And I’ve spent most, if not all of it watching football. First, there were both the U Dub and Moo U massacring their opponents. Then today, I had the TV on CBS all day, watching the double header. And tomorrow, it’s the Seahawks in the CLink verses Buffalo. I’d watch the Raiders game on Sunday Night Football, but I’m going to switch to the other football: it’s round two of the Sounders FC match with Dallas. But hey, soccer is called football in Europe, so it’s still football….

3 day weekend….

Due to a quirk in my schedule this week, I have a 3-day weekend. 3 days off in a rown. Without having to take a sick day. And I’m so lazy that I had Spamazon deliver my Diet Coke.

• The cubs won the workd series the past week. The first time in 108 years. I saw most of game 7, but I had to go to bed at the end of the 8th inning.
• A schedule change back in the first part of October now has me walking 4.5 mile to my bus stop every morning. Surprisingly, my left foot (the one with the plantar facsitis) is holding up better now that with my pprevious schedule (where I was walking the 4.5 miles only two days a week). It could be the gel insoles. Or just the shoes (though since I’m wearing the Wally World house brand, so I have to be careful as they wear out).
• I got somebody hired at Mrs. Fields. They need someone, but I’m no longer have that kind of availability (something about being full-time already at my current job).

I have a three day weekend. Main agenda: binge-watching football. Right now, I’m watching Moo U beat up on Arizona. Later on, it’ll be U Dub vs. California. And I’m sure there’ll be other games to watch on the Vizio 55” today.

Today is a good day. Never mind the rain. That’s par for the course on my day off…

It is finished…

My ballot is filled out and will soon by on it’s way to the dropbox. And I voted for Hilary. Both Clinton and Trump have their flaws. While nobody is perfect, Donald Trump has neither the qualifications nor the temperment to be President. A Trump White house just plain scares me. He has openly called for the exclusion of refugees just because of their religious beliefs. He has openly glorified sexual assault. I don’t care if those comments were made over 10 years ago, and he has refuted them as locker-room talk. Most sports teams (especially in high school/college) also have emphasis on character, and this kind of talk wouldn’t be tolerated. Grabbing a woman by her (slang word for femal anatomy) is sexual assault, plain and simple. And then there has been the fat-shaming on Twitter. Respect for women (and all people, for that matter) is a very good thing. And then there’s been the multiple instances of adultery (of his three wives, he’s cheated on at least two). Yes, there was Monica Lewinsky. And Paula Jones (possibly). But they’re still married. To each other. Some have claimed that he is qualified to be president based on his success as a businessman. But he’s not that good of a businessman. Too many bankruptcies. Too many investors and employess shortchanged. As a worker who has had paychecks bounce, that really matters to me. In my first presidential election, I voted third party. But this election, the stakes were too high. If it were up to me I would’ve voted for Bernie Sanders. But even he has endorsed Hilary. Mike Pence was a viable alternative, but the risk of voting for Donald Trump is too great.

Irregardless of the outcome of November 8th, America is the only nation where the government and swing from one extreme to another every four years peacefully. Actually, as of the next inaguration, both parties will have had equal time in the White House since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

When I was growing up, and throughout high school, I found my political views to be skewed to the right. Then I start moving to the left. Now, I find my views to be skewed to the left. But I don’t vote along party lines. Trust me. If Trump wasn’t running, I would’ve most likely voted Republican.

But there is something that has got to stop. The polarization. This is America, people. And we need to work together. Just because somebody doesn’t have the exact same views as you doesn’t mean that they’re pure evil incarnate. It is possible to be morally conservative and socailly liberal at the same time….

Yes, I’ve voted. I’ve done my duty. If you don’t agree with my views, then you’re free to vote according to your conscience as well.

So, it was a tie last night….

The game last night was a tie. Ties don’t happen that often in the NFL, but they’re possible. Before you go criticizing the Seahawks for the non-existent offense last night, just remember that the defense was on the field for over 40 minutes last night and didn’t yield a touchdown…

Note to the kickers: try to put the ball between the uprights, not to hit the uprights themselves….

Final debate was last night.

And I didn’t watch it. I know who I’m voting for this year, and I don’t need to to watch the soundbites, smear campaigns, and out and out lies that pass for this year’s election. I’m not revealing who I’m voting for yet. Until I cast my ballot, I will be non-partisan.

Though I will say that respect for women is a very good thing.

Well, this was strange….

For the past year or so, my ‘weekend’ has been Sunday and Monday. This week, I had some items on the agenda that could only be done during the week, so I requested yesterday, and today off. And I got them. As a result of other circumstances, I couldn’t do what I was planning to do today (combination poor weather, lousy traffic, and a lack of fiber…).

But I still did my laundry, backed up most of my files (with the exception of my Steam Games, and that’s running right now). I think the lesson I’ve learned of late is that if I really want to take a day off, I’ll request it. It has happened before where I assumed that I was getting a day off, and then lo and behold I get scheduled for it.

In a related to my schedule story, my vacation request has been approved, and I will be able to make it to the Big Bryant Family Reunion. I’m also take a couple of days off after Christmas to recover from the Holidays (between the merry-making, well-wishing, and all-in-all having a good time, one should also plan for sleep….)

So much happened this week

So let’s get started.

• Hockey season started. In the summer, my TV was usually tuned to either the Science Channel or Root Sports, so I could catch the Mariners game. Now it going to be between, the Science Channel, ESPN (for the Monday Night Football game), or the NBC Sports Network (for whatever hockey game is on).
• I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but the Great Pacific NorthWET was visited by the remnants of Typhoon Songda. It was windy. And rainy. But power was out here for only and hour or so. It was more of a pain in the ass commuting to work, as my commute involves a walk of 4 1/2 miles in the morning, and while I have no problem walking in the wind or the rain, but when they’re combined together, that becomes a pain. However, my ever-tolerant employer allowed me to come in an hour later on Friday, and so avoid the worst of the weather….
• Last Sunday I was off from one employer, but I didn’t watch one game of football. Something about having to work Mrs. Fields…
• The Cubs are in the NLCS. They play tonight. I think I may skip the Sunday Night game tonight to watch that game tonight.

A weekend cut short…

Normally, my weekend is Sunday and Monday. But I did my good deed for the week on Sunday, and worked at Mrs. Fields, so the owner good go celebrate a birthday. So, today was Recovery Day, Laundry Day, and get ready for work tomorrow day….

My latest stragedy in addressin my chronic foot pain is shoe rotation. Basically I don’t wear the same pair of shoes on consecutive days. It does take some planning, to make sure that on the days that I’m walking the longest I’m not wearing the shoes with the greatest wear. Hopefully, this will also help ‘stretch out’ the usable lives of my shoes.

I switched my backpacks last week. I week before I was fired from Mrs. Fields almost 4 years ago, my boss’s wife gave my a backpack for Christmas. I knew I was getting it, as she told me that she had to borrow my laptop to make sure that it fit. And I used it. It had the right pockets. I didn’t use the laptop pocket that much, but the other ones were used. and then last year, I got another one on Spamazon. It has all the compartments (even the padded laptop pocket). In fact, it has even more pockets. But what caused me to finally switch over to it was the two mesh ones. It’s fall, and I need to keep my umbrella handy. And, due to my schedule at work, I’m going to be leaving for work even earlier that the butt-crack of dawn. So, my thermos of coffee needs one, too…

Anyway, off to work tomorrow. And then my regular work week. And then another cut short weekend. Next week, I’ve asked for some time off in the middle of the week, and my employer granted it. But that means the time needs to made up….

Watching the debate

The debate was last night.  I recorded it. And now I'm watching it. This is a circus. The debate should be promoted by Don King. We need the weigh-in, the hype, and possibly Mills Lane.

Donald Trump is doing cocaine. That's how can I only explain the sniffles....

Why not just give them a pair of boxing gloves, abd let them go at it?

Know what? I think I've decided who I'm voting for. But I'm keeping my choice in pectore until I've cast my ballot.

I think I'm going to just watch football instead...

It’s over.

The Mariners wild card hopes ended last night in the 10th inning, losing to the A’s. But there is still a high note. They end the season with a winning record. But there is still a hope for next season…

A tough decision tonight….

So, there is a debate tonight. And there’s a Monday Night Football game tonight. Actually it isn’t a really tough decision. The Donald vs. Hilary or New Orleans vs. Atlanta. I’ve made my choice. Tonight, I will be watching Matt Ryan vs. Drew Brees. As for the other debate, I think I’ll write in Bob in Appliances this year for President….

Thinking the unthinkable….

I went back to Windows 10 today. I figured why not? While I like Windows 7, Win10 is the most current. Eventually Win7 will go the way of Windows XP, and no longer be supported. Besides in a previous install, I paid for the Wolfram Alpha app, and I’m going to use it. Compatibility be damned. That’s why I have a WinXP vm, which still works.

Not only am I running Win10 again, but there is a very real possibility that I may give up Thunderbird. Windows 10 mail already supports my Google contacts and calendar. Out of the box. With Thunderbird, I have to install 2 extensions, and they have to be updated whenever Thunderbird is updated. And then there’s Cortana. With it, I can text over my phone from my computer. And missed calls and incoming texts are shown via desktop notifications. Sometimes it can be a nuisance, but it’s also a PITA to go get my phone from across my room.

Actually the real reason is I want to try dual-booting with Linux. It may be a little bit more complex than my previous attempts, but it’s something I want to try….

Spending too much of my money….

Let’s see, last week, I was on Spamazon. And I noticed that they had a DVD set of Cosmos (1980) and a Blu-Ray set of Cosmos (2014). And so I ordered both. And then I went to Worst Buy. And I ordered The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder, RIP). And recently I’ve also acquired The Last Starfighter.

I don’t know why I got them. I’m more likely to watch Spaceballs instead….

RIP Arnold Palmer….

You were one of the greats in golf. Tonight, I will raise a glass of half unsweetened iced tea and half lemonade in your memory.

The end of Summer

As I retire for the night, I acknowledge the chill in the air that has fallen of late. It's still warm enough during the day that my window still stays open. But I just took down my window fan. And the AC hasn't been used for the past couple of weeks. Soon, the coat will come out of the closet. But not yet.

All this means is that it's Pumpkin Spice latter season, though not from Starbucks...

A new pair of feet….

The pain in my foot has been getting worse of late. Some of it is attributed to plantar fasciitis. But a lot if it is related to the condition of my shoes. Yes, I’m hard on my feet. Some days start with 4.5-7+miles of walking to the bus stop & work, followed by 8 hours on a bare concrete floor. My strategy for the past year has been to use the really expensive pair of shoes (actually two pairs & rotate them). I got them in September of last year. February of this year, they started to wear out. One pair I hade to replace, and the other pair I bought a set of gel insoles for. And I was able to endure them until recently.

But today, I was at Wally World. I decided to go with a different strategy. I went back to getting Brahma (the Wally World house brand) work boots. Plus I got some gel inserts. My reasoning is if the gell inserts held off replacing my wolverines for 6 months when I had to replace my Columbia’s, then I should be able to get more than 3 months out of my Brahma’s (and save a considerable amount of cash, too)…

Sunday

Football season started Thurday of last week. Cam Newton got his bell rung. Seriously. I saw the game, and there several times when he should’ve been pulled from the game for his own safety. The NFLPA and the NFL are reviewing the incedent. As much as I like to make fun of certain quartberbacks, nobody wants to see people get hurt. Except for Tom Brady getting an Atomic Wedgie….

But today, the Seahawks are playing the Miami Dolphins. At the CLink. Something tells me the Dolphins are in trouble….

15 Years Ago….

15 years ago, I woke up early to get ready for work, flipped on the tv right after the first plane hit. I was watching the news when the second plane hit. The towers collapsed while I was on the bus to work.

Basically, it boils down to freedom. We were attacked for being a free country. For standing for free ideals. But that has made us a target. Because quite frankly, a good chunk of the world hates us, just for being Americans. Because we welcome others. Because we can worship whatever god or gods that we choose. Because you can be a washed-up, has-been quarterback and still make a statement by taking a knee during the national anthem. Because we can say the President has Quaker Oats for brains and get in more trouble for maligning Quaker Oats. Because we can go out, work hard, and achieve our dreams. Because we want the rest of the world to be free (though I’m not going to comment on the invasion of Iraq or the conflict in Afghanistan).

Some would say that Religion was the main motivation for these attacks. It wasn’t. Most of Al-Qaeda’s (a supposedly Muslim terrorist group) victims were Muslims themselves. Just like ISIS of today. I’m not a Muslim, so I can not say whether or not they are really Muslims, but from the Muslim friends that I do know, they don’t act like Muslims. There are some here who catagorize all Muslims as terrorists (but Timothy McVeigh wasn’t).

But I digress. 15 years ago, we were attacked because of our freedom. We’re still here. We’ve been attacked since then, and we’re still here. And we’re going to be attacked again. And we’ll still be here. There are those amongst the lawmakers who kepp trying to erode our freedom in the name of security, but if you turn america into a neo-fascist surveillance state, then the terrorists will have ultimately won. And they’ll still attack us anyway. Those who would give up their liberty for security will recieve neither.

Let us not forget those we lost that day. These 2,990+ martyrs of freedom. They paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to be free (as have many, many other people). Freedom isn’t free. So I will remember those who died that day. By being free.

Live free or die.

The end of a yet another weekend….

Ok, got my laundry done. And I can now do it without worrying about my supply of quarters. I learned that Little Ceasar’s is better than Dominos. Today is the 5th. I paid the rent. I think it’s time to retire for the night and go back to work tomorrow…

And Saturday at work, I found out one of my co-workers knows my dad, and had known him for quite a while. A comment was made about me not seeing him, so I made it a point to invite him to lunch. He declined, but that will be on my agenda. To hang out with Dad. And Saturday, I have to go out to Mrs. Fields and troubleshoot somebody’s house Wi-Fi….

For the first time since I moved out of Puyallup…

One of the things I missed about living in Puyallup was the washer and dryer in the apartment. I could come home and do my laundry basically as I pleased. But there were other issues, and it was time to move on. So I moved to Parkland. My apartment didn’t have a washer and dryer, but apartment complex’s laundry rooms had enough machines for the complex, and they were fast. So, every payday since I’ve set aside enough quarter and got my laundry done in 90 minutes.

Then this June and Mom went to her destiny. I’ve said before that I got her portable air conditioner. But also due to her mobility issues she also had a portable washer and dryer so she wouldn’t have to walk to the laundry rooms. But what happened was that my sister and myself ended up doing her laundry. Eventually my sister just took her clothes to her house and washed them in her washing machine. And when Mom passed on, the washer and dryer ended up in my apartment. And finally this week, my brother bought the $7.00 fitting to adapt the washer hose to the kitchen faucet.

So, today, I’m washing my clothes in the apartment. For the first time since I moved out of Puyallup….

How not to handle a pizza order….

So, I wanted pizza today. Normally I’d go to Little Ceasar’s, and grab a hot and ready pizza and some wings. Never had a problem with them. Well there was that one time when they were out, but I digress. Long story short they’re my usually go-to when I want pizza and wings. Today, I wanted pizza, but I didn’t want Little Ceasar’s. I wanted Dominos. I could’ve gone to the website and placed a delivery order, but I didn’t have a menu handy, so walked to the nearest Domino’s. It was a little over a mile from my apartment, but the distance is nothing considering the walk I had to take to the 512 park & ride yesterday to go to work….

So, I’m there, and I place my order. Over $50. Ok, so I want leftovers. Pizza is best when it’s cold. Paid with my credit card. And then waited. And waited. While I was waiting, I saw a pizza box on its side. I didn’t think anything of it, so I took my pizzas and walked home.

As you can see, my pizza was in the box. And it now had a straight edge from it. And my boneless chicken was supposed to have a hot sauce (which the cashier explained to me was included), and an extra ranch sauce which I was charged for. Guess who recieved neither.

So, Dominos mishandled my pizza, and never gave me the sauces that I ordered. Of cource, I get tee’d off, so I lodge a complaint at the website. And their reply was basically this store is a franchise, so it’s not their circus, not their monkey, and not their problem. Company owned or franchisee, it’s one brand. And it’s a brand I will never go to again.

I could’ve gotten the same order at Little Ceasar’s for half of what I paid at Dominos. And it would’ve been ready right there on the spot. This was a mistake on my part. A mistake I will not make again.

So, if you’re a Dominos and you get a carry out order, don’t set the pizza on its side. Especially where the customer can see it. And make sure the customer get the entire order. Because it is far easier for me to never shop at your business again than it is to come back. Especially when you’re as for out of the way as the Dominos is…

So, it's Friday....

Is Friday tonight. Happy Friday. Happy Labor Day weekend. Or even Happy Birthday....

On the way home....

I'm on my way home from work. And a passenger behind us tossed his lunch. Or his beer. Whatever it was, it left his stomach, and cleared at least three rows.

Needless to say, the bus was emptied, the paramedics got called, abd I'm waiting for the next bus...

On Colin Kaepernick….

As you may know, Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the singing of the National Anthem at a recent pre-season game in protest of racial discrimination. I don’t neccasarily agree with his position, nor do I think he’s even that good of a quarterback. But he has a right to protest his issue. And whether or not I agree with his postion, I do agree with his right to protest. In fact, this is a right that we all have. And I will not fault him for excersizing his rights. Sometimes, it’s only a symbolic stand, but you still have to stand…

Or in this case, sit…

It's over....

After temperatures reaching the 90s on both Thursday and Friday last week, yesterday was a relief. It only got into the 70s. According to all of the long-range forecasts that I've seen, we may hit 80s on a couple of days, but the heat of the summer is now over. The AC is turned off, and I only have my window fan going in my room.

Welcome fall, my friend. You have been missed.

Did I mention that I don't like the heat?

What a shock!

A couple of days ago, the AC was on in the living room full blast, and the apartment could barely keep cool. And my window can was on all night.

Tonight, I just turned off the window fan in my room, and the AC was turned off this afternoon.

What a difference a couple of days make. Though, I'm going get a rude shock when the electric bill arrives...

An experiment tonight….

So I after finishing my system rebuild last week, I did a full back up today. And after the backup, I turned off my backup drive (to save my data from any of my misadventures on the Internet). So, after all the maintenance, I decided to give Linux another try. I got this computer in November of 2014, and I’ve never run Linux on it. First order of business was to resize my hard drive, which was fairly easy to do. I didn’t even have to reboot my computer (apparently since Win7 the ability to expand/shrink your windows partition has been a part of disk management). Then I downloaded OpenSuSE. But before I burned it to DVD/usb flash drive, I decided to try a live distribution to make sure my system would work under Linux. So I downloaded Knoppix, and burned it to DVD. I was able to boot off the DVD, but that was about it. GUI wouldn’t load. So I booted back into Windows, resized my partition, and learned my lesson.

I may try it again in the future, but for now, it’ll just be with VMWare…

Today’s beat the heat strategy….

Is simply to close the bedroom door. No carefully placed fans. No keeping the windows closed. Just keep it open. The AC is in the living room, and I still have a laptop. So, I’ll just chill in the living room, and use the laptop…

I’m still on vacation. Or, get paid for sitting on my ass time…

Trying to keep cool....

We've been in a heat wave of late. It's been really hot.  But I've had an air conditioner for the past two months. A legacy from my mother's passing.  At first it was in my room, and my room well chilled while I ran it. But I couldn't use it at night. It was just too loud. Saturday, my room was cool, but the living room was an oven. So Sunday, I brought it out to the living room. Ave it immediately cold the living room. With a couple of strategically placed fans, I figured I could keep my room cool.

Basically, it boils down to the only way the AC can cool my room is to keep it in my room. But it's too loud to use. All least if it's in the living room, we can keep one room cool. And I can go back to using my window fan after sunset. At I can keep it running all night, is not that loud.
Did I mention my electric bill is higher this month?

2 weeks later….

About two weeks ago, I downloaded the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. First, I did just a regular install with my Windows 10 usb flash drive, and did an in place upgrade to 10. After about a day and a half, it occurred to me that the media creation tool had been upgraded as well, and so I re-downloaded it and did a clean install of it.

Equipment-wise, all of my hardware still is supported. No surprise there, as my previous upgrades all worked before. After the clean install, I realized that I only had Windows 10 Home (since I upgraded from Windows 8.1 Pro, and in fact I specifically upgraded to Win8.1 Pro to get Win10 Pro). No problem, I just went to buy an upgrade, and had I gone to the Windows Store, I would’ve been able to upgrade for free, due to my digital entitlement. But, I simply entered my Win8.1 license key and all was good.’

This afternoon, I just finished reinstalling my last item of software (you may remember the the adventures I had which started this). Lesson learned. I’ll be more careful about downloading stuff from the internet. And I’ll be backing up more often. If it wasn’t for my 2 tB usb hard drive, I’d be screwed…

And at the same time, I got tee’d off at my phone, and decided to wipe that as well. But that, too is up and running…

And so it begins…

Nothing big. Just my vacation. Unlike my last one, I didn’t start it with a sick day. But I am taking an extra day this time, so I’ll have the same time off. My plans: Absolutely nothing. Just unwind and recover. Maybe a day trip up to Seattle and/or Bremerton, or maybe I’ll just chill at Mrs. Fields.

But whatever. I’m off. I’m not working. That’s the point…

Two days and so disappointed....

This year, the preseason kicks off on Thursday. It was supposed to kick off on Sunday. But they apparently don't know how to prepare a football field in Dayton. Come one, that's the only professional games that's played there every year, and they still couldn't get it right. And they had to cancel it....

All the pre-season games that have been cancelled have involved the Green Bay Packers.

But, it starts Thursday night, and the Seahawks start their preseaon on Saturday. I've always looked forward to pre-season games. Everyone pretty much knows who the starters (and some of the second-stringers) are, but the best football always comes from those fighting for jobs. And in advance, I wish them all full-time employment....

This week's misadventures on the internet...

So, Thursday I was summoned to Mrs. Fields. The owner (and sometime boss, but I try to avoid it now since current day-job has me full-time). And he gave me a non-functioning tablet with marching orders to fix it. Since I had to get up at uber-early in the morning Friday and Saturday, so I told him that I would work on it today, with it being returned Monday....

So last night, I get home from work, and I pull out the tablet. Initial diagnosis was a severely depleted battery, and after a few minutes on the charger, I got into download mode and flashed a recovery. Getting into file manager, and I see why it wouldn't boot up. Somehow he managed to completely wipe the tablet, system and all. Apparently he tried to do a factory reset from recovery. Never a good thing. If you need to do a factory reset in Andriod, there is way to do it. If you do it in recovery, you're more likely to completely wipe everything. I should know. I do that everytime I flash a new ROM to my phone. So needless to say, I found the stock firmware for it, and flashed the tablet back to factory condition. And an overnight sit on my charger, and we're good to go.

And then the Anniversary Update hit. It actually hit on Tuesday. Last night after fixing the tablet, I finally downloaded it. So far, I'm impressed. I am trying to use Windows 10 as my daily driver (there has been a recent sidetrack with the virus I got a month or so ago). But this is why I always have an up to date backup....

It’s not all about the prices…

There was a much ado a while back about Starbucks raising their prices. They also publicly announced that their emplyees were also getting significant raises. Generally, I really don’t care for the former, but since it was for the latter, I’m ok with that. I’ve been on the front line before, and I know how difficult it is to make ends meet. But, that is not why I will never shop at Starbucks again. Here’s what happened:

A week and a half ago, I was at Starbucks and I ordered a venti sugar free cinnamon dulce iced latte. A mouthful to say, but easy to make (just a large iced latte with the requesite puumps of flavor in it). I paid for it (at the new, higher price). And I went to the pick up area for it and waited. And waited. And waited. Between the walk-in and the drive through, there was only one barista making drinks. She was new, and the only help she had was another co-worker who only told her what she was doing wrong, and making her throw away most of the drinks she was making and start over. Needless to say I ended up leaving to go catch my bus. Without my drink! Of course, I was teed off, and when I got home, I looked up the Starbucks web page, and I lodged a complaint.

And I got a canned response with an offer of a gift card which should arrive in 10-14 business days. Loosely translated, instead of doing their fucking jobs in the first place, I’m being told to settle for a low-ball offer that could take upto three weeks to arrive. So I declined it. It is my experience that when companies make this kind of offer, it never arrives. So, as far as I’m concerned Starbucks took my money, and never intended to render the goods and services for which I paid for. No big deal. I’ll just never shop at Starbucks again.

It’s not the high prices that will drive your customers away. It’s your poor customer service. BTW, Starbucks this isn’t the first time I’ve had to leave without my order. Don’t bother with your pretend, hollow non-apologies. Don’t bother with your insulting low-ball offers that will never arrive. Don’t bother with your empy promises. Just fuck off and go back to ingoring your customers.

A send off…

So, Mom’s memorial was yesterday. All the neices and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles. Well, most of them. And if they weren’t there, they still raised a deviled egg in her memory. There was food. And strawberry soda. And laughter. And memories. I saw my uncle Bill (whom I never really saw growing up). And the mysterious other brother Eric (the only difference between Bigfoot and my youngest brother is that there are more credible sightings of Bigfoot than my brother…). It was a potluck, with plenty of deviled eggs. And another cousin forever condemned to bringing a certaind dish to all family gatherings. Just like aunt Mary and her taco dip….

There were memories shared. And all of Mom’s purses. I hate to say this, but she bought them like they were single-use items. And I’m still using the backback that my boss got me a week before he fired me (that’s an even longer story, and I’ve covered it already in several other posts).

May Barabra Bryant spend all of eternity frolicking amongst The Beer Volcano and Stripper Factory.

Today’s moment of panic:

Due my work schedule and the fact that I’m trying to appreciate the thing called sleep, I don’t go to the store on work days.So last night as I was loading my coffee maker, it occurred to me that I will run out of coffee before the next ‘weekend’.That set off a mini-panic until I realized that there was a Wally World right next to work, and I can grab a tin of Folgers on the way home. For about the price of the Venti Sugar Free Cinnamon Dulce Iced Latte that I paid for on Satruday at Starbucks, but I never got (side note for Starbucks: raising your prices won’t drive away customers. But poor customer service will)…

More on the Starbucks fiasco later…

Soon Tuesday will be upon us….

And that will mean a return to work. But I’m ready. Errands have been run. Laundry is done and put away. Thoug hit kinda sucks that I washed my phone headphones too. And dried them. I figured they’re DOA, so I just trhew them out. And I ordered some new ones off of Spamazon. I could’ve gotten them from Worst Buy, but I still have Amazon Prime. And that’s still free 2day shipping….

It’s Tuesdsay tomorrow. And that means back to work. Goodnight.

So I got Marshmallow last night….

So I got around to upgrading my phone to Marshmallow last night. I went with the VenomROM, like I’ve always done with this phone. All the previous ROMs that I’ve had on this phone have been Sense 6.0, and my current ROM has Sense 8.0 (it’s actually a port from the HTC M10), so there are going to be some changes. But I do like the fact that Andriod Pay now works (never worked before because my phone has always been rooted). I do have some concerns about the home screens (bfore I was able to have a 5x6 display on the home screen, but now the best I can do is 4x5), but that’s nothing really to be concerned about. I’m still working my way through setting it up, but I’m sufficiently impressed. At the least the mail app doesn’t crash when I try to write an email…

Candy, anyone?

Nothing special here. I’m just putting Marshmallow on my phone. I don’t know how well it’ll work out, but I also have my KitKat and Lollipop ROMS also stashed away on my phone’s memory card. Hopefully I won’t need them….

He’s in..

It’s finally happened. Ken Griffey jr. is now in the baseball Hall Of Fame. Along with Dave Niehaus. He started his career with the Mariners, and he ended as a Mariner.

Now I just want to see King Felix get in….

Lesson learned today….

Tried getting more than 4 of hours of sleep last night. And I thought it went so well that I skipped the morning cup of coffee. And I was a zombie at work. Needless to say when it came for my morning break, I immediately had a Monster. Lesson learned: caffienne is more powerful than sleep. Though never underestimate the power of sleep…

And in this corner....

According to the news, Donald Trump has been nominated by the Republican party. I'm not saying that as an implied endorsement. As of right now,I have not endorsed any candidate for President. But I am a registered voter. I take my civic responsibility very seriously. I have voted in every presidential election since 1992. My candidates of choice have not always been elected. It's never about vote for who you'll think will when. It's vote for who's the best qualified for the office. For who you think the country needs the most.

Speaking of being a registered voter, I was registered before I was 18. The loophole here is that while I was 17 when I registered, the election took place after I was 18. My senior year in high school, we took a class called government and society (basically civics), and a lot of it dealt with current events (the cold war ended when I was in high school). And I was the only registered voter in class (if I recall correctly).

Many things have changed since those 24 years ago. My civic responsibility has not. Yes, this fall,I will vote. And I will vote my conscience. And you should, too.

It ain’t over till it’s over…

Watching the Mariners game tonight before I went to bed. They were down 3-0 to the Chicago White Sox at The Safe. Bottom of the 9th is when the bats come alive. And Adam Lindh won it with a 3-run shot.

Say what you will about The New World Order (Mind-Control Division). But the game isn’t over until the 9th inning….

What a good day off…

I have sundays and mondays off. Usually Sunday is my recovery day from work. This is the day when I sleep in, and in general try to do as little as possible while I recover from 5 days of 16 hours oout of the house. Mondays are my errands days, and when I get ready for the forthcoming workweek. Today, I didn’t have any errands to run. So, this was an extra day of recovery. I slept in way too late. And then when I got up, I decided I wanted pizza and wings for breakfast. So, I went to Little Ceasers and got pizza and wings. And I made sure to get an extra pizza, so my roommate could partake in the heartburn and indigestion as well…

From an email I was writing...

I was writing an email to a friend tonight, and it just about sums up June for me:

My mother passed away on June 5th. I was the one who found the body. Per her wishes, she was cremated. A memorial is scheduled on the 31st. I've kept a stiff upper lip for the most part, but the past month and a half have been harder than I let on. Losing a parent is hard. At first the thought was not to tell you. This was my cross to bear. And I was going to take it up with dignity and a stiff upper lip.

It's been a month and change, and it still hurts. But as painful as it is, I will not let the pain darken my heart, and will learn wisdom from this. Cherish your loved ones while you still have them. For you don't know when they will be taken from you, and there is no bargaining with death...

I shall overcome....

Not to go to deeply into certain matters, but that's all I can say. It must needs be. And it is very hard to shake my mind off of certain subject of late that are troubling. I keep telling myself that I'm not supposed to have an ego, and yet I still find that which I thought I didn't have getting bruised. I keep waiting for the reply when I've never sent the message. I've tried telling myself to let it go, but it seems like it never was to begin with.

I shall overcome. Yet, I am uneasy...

What was I doing?

Call it poor judgement. Call it another misadventure on the internet. But last night, I was looking for a .apk file for my phone. I thought I found it, but when I went to download it, instead of the file, it was a .exe file. It could be an installer, I thought, so I downloaded it. My first mistake. Then I ran it, and it downloaded another file. And ran it without my consent. Then Windows Defender started going off about detecting malware. And that was when I had the Oh Shit moment. Immediately it downloaded and installed all sorts of crap and set it to automatically run. And then it deleted all of my browser shortcut and replaced them with modified ones that would go through the malware, not the browsers. Of course I immediately tried to clean it up. Windows Defender caught the torjan horse and deleted it. And I found the hidden shortcuts, and replaced the borgus shortcuts with them. But it still had changed my startup home page, and I couldn't get a reset to stick. So I did the only thing I recommend when you have a virus: nuke the system. So now I have to start over from scratch, with a backup that's over a month old.

But there is no virus that can survive the format c: command.....

With all the stuff that's gone on this week...

It's not just Black Lives Matter. Granted that given the history of racism and discrimination, attention should still be paid to that matter. It's not just White Lives Matter. It's not just Hispanic Lives Matter. It's not just Brown Lives Matter.

It's All Lives Matter. All life is precious.  Including yours.

Any questions?

Nothing to say...

I'm not going to comment on the shootings in Minnesota, Baton Rouge, or in Dallas tonight.

Other than to say that the bloodshed needs to stop....

Violence. Is. Evil.

It is Wednesday...

Today is Wednesday. Tell your loved ones today that you love them. Cherish your times with them. Because when they're gone, they're gone. Death cannot be bargained with.

And also Eid Mubarak to those of you who are celebrating today.

The fireworks are over…

I watched the fireworks on KIRO this year. I think this it the first Independence Day that I was able to go without Lee Greenwood’s Proud To Be An American. And that is definitely not a bad thing….

Anyway, enjoy what’s left of your fourth. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.

‘Murica! F*ck Yeah!

Today is the Fourth of July. The day we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. By getting drunk and blowing ourselves up. I’ve long since given up. On both drinking and blowing things up. Fingers are undervalued. Keep them while you still can. So I’m celebrating the Fourth by staying home and watching the trained professionals blow themselves up. Actually this year, my celebration is watching baseball on tv (BTW the Mariners swept the O’s yesterday. First 4 game sweep since 2000).

Have a happy Fourth. Celebrate it as you see fit, but keep it safe. And if you drink, then for the love of all that is sacred and holy, please don’t drive…