Random Knowledge

So me, Danielle, Bobby and Brittani went to Halo-Scream last night First we went to Carrabas… mmm… Wild Berry Cocktails. Then we finally got to Busch Gardens. It was interesting inside the park. The last time I went to one of those (Halloween Horror Nights) was probably over 5 years ago. Things have changed. I am guessing because of the countless lawsuits about people getting hurt or “touched” the wrong way, that they keep changing the way they do things. For example, there were hundreds of Exit signs, with multiple exit doors. The ones I went to before didn’t have any that I remember. I can’t really speak for the level of scariness, as I am usually just shuffling though haunted houses without a single jump. Danielle however… that’s a different story. In the first house, she about broke a finger she was squeezing so hard. In the next few, I got her to hold my hand differently, and instead, she cut off the circulation in my hand. It was a blast though. I loved how she was clinging to me and getting mad when I wasn’t scared and laughed. It was sooo cute. The most interesting part was when we walked though this tunnel. The floor was stationary, but the tunnel spun and was spiral looking. This produced a very dizzying affect, and I could not stand up straight. We ended off the night with me and Bobby going on Montu, and Danielle and Brittani going on Gwazi. Then we switched off, and me and Danielle headed to Sheikra. We got up to the last couple of steps, and then… “Sorry for the inconvenience”. The ride was having problems. We waiting around for about 10 minutes, and it still didn’t open up. So we left. I don’t know why, but every time me and Danielle get to Sheikra, it breaks down. I think it’s a conspiracy.

So I have a dishwasher. Most of the time, it works… okay. I recently ran out of the dry powdered soap. So I got the liquid soap. Apparently, I had forgotten that liquid soap just does not work in my dishwasher (through past experience). It’s meant for dishwashers, but probably not for ones as old as mine. When I am at Danielle’s and wash the dishes, I have to wash them by hand. Well, I’ve taken that back home. My dishes are coming out cleaner, and I have more of them (as long as I am doing it daily). The dishes don’t pile up. So my dishwasher may sit empty for a while. I suppose I can still use it when I need to superheat things and disinfect them.

I was in the shop yesterday measuring a cupola for my father (28×28 base, 18″ to top of base, 36″ to top of windows, 56″ to top of roof, in case you were wondering), and I noticed a bunch of ants coming out of a makeshift shelf made of doors (built by my father, soon to be firewood). So I started to spray them. They kept coming out as I was making them mad. When they stopped, I went and got my drill and put a couple of holes in the side. They were not happy. I kept spraying as they kept coming out. Then I got serious. I went inside and got some foggers. I stuck it in the hole, and let it go. They slowed up pretty quick. I set off the rest of the fogger, and another one in the shop for the night. I went in this morning… looks like a massacre. Lots of dead roaches around too… I guess it worked.

My Bright House Internet service has been down at my house since Wednesday. So I call Brighthouse on Friday morning, and scheduled a tech for between 11 and 2 on Saturday. I normally spend my Saturdays with Danielle. So I asked her if she and her children would come to my house for lunch so I could wait for Brighthouse. We arrived there around 11:30. At around 1:30, I got a call from Bright House. They said the tech was running late and might not make it till 2:30. I said that was fine. We had just started the movie Over the Hedge. So there we are watching the movie. At about 2:30 or so, I get a call from the Brighthouse tech. He is wondering where I am as he says he is knocking on my door. There was no one at my door, so I ask him what address he is at… he is at Danielle’s (where I have placed Bright House Internet also as I spend a lot of time there). They screwed up the ticket and put the wrong address. He says that they’ll get someone out there (she is on the opposite side of town). I call around 3:00 as I never heard back from the guy to see if there is any update. I accidentally dropped the phone while talking to the lady, and waited 30 minutes for her to call back (she had my number). She didn’t. So I call again… chew the guy out for having to wait this long, and he tells me the original ticket was closed. So I get even more ticked off, and he says the only thing he can do is send someone out the same day between that time and 8:00 pm. I say I am leaving at 6:00 and he better get there before then. I waited till 6:00… no one ever showed up. Not even a phone call. It is now Sunday night.

However, a few other interesting things that day… I grilled for the second time. I am getting better at it, however, I still have to practically burn the burgers to get them to cook all the way through. My spraying in the shop area only seemed to stop everything but the wasps. They made a new home, but larger. Added a few extra bedrooms and stuff. So me and Danielle were looking through the shop for some wood for a project she’d like to do, and Noah comes into the shop. He immediately starts climbing on things. He climbs onto the weight bench and starts “working out”. Only one problem… it was currently occupied by the wasps. They were not happy. So they stung him. Right below his right eye. He screams bloody murder while stuck behind the equipment. Danielle is afraid of wasps, so I walk in, grab Noah and pull him out without getting stung by the swarm of 12 or so wasps. We take him inside, ice it down as he is still screaming, and I go out to my truck. My old boss had given me some sting relief things that work really well, and I knew I had one left somewhere. I find it, and come inside, and ask Noah if he wants to use it. He says no, but I say yes and that he needs to trust me, so I ask Danielle to hold him down. I put it on him, and he starts to feel better and he calms down. I also noticed that the stuff I put on him is 20% benzocaine and 1% methonal. The Orajel-type stuff I just bought the other day is also 20% benzocaine, so now we have a supply of anesthetic. By the time we leave, he’s practically forgotten he even got bit. I later went out and killed the wasps, and showed Noah one of them to prove to him that they were dead.

I’ve also discovered that the fake Christmas tree (all boxed up) that my mother left for me to have is possibly inhabited by a dead rotting animal. Joy. The cleaning out of the shop has moved up on my priority list. I am now going to start giving away furniture and toys that my parents no longer want, or start burning it.

So when my parents moved away, I sorta inherited my father’s shop. Technically, I owned it since it was on my property. However, now it is mine to do with as I wish. I’ve already started cleaning up inside. Sure, if you look at it now, it might look like the same mess he left me with, but there have been improvements. For instance, I have moved the light switch to the door, instead of having to walk 10 feet into the building to switch on the lights… in the dark… while tripping. I also added a receptacle and installed a shelf. This shelf will be where I drop off my tools from my truck when I need to empty it, and where I charge my batteries (hence, the receptacle). I installed a few L-brackets to hang various length of wood on and get it off the floor. It has also become a temporary storage area for a couple of dryers and a washing machine. My plan is to move every thing from the one half to the other and make that the “shop” and the other half will become storage. It will be mostly shelving like a warehouse where I can store personal and business stuff out of the rain, but stuff I may not necessarily need [any time soon], and that is a current state of disassembly (for trash or recycling or parts). I’ve also been spraying for all sorts of insects around the shop as it has gotten pretty crazy. I should also note that everything I have done so far has not cost me any money, as I am using stuff laying around. But don’t tell my father that I might be using some of his stuff ;-)

I understand fuel cost a lot these days. I do not understand why gas stations feel like they should charge a separate price for people paying by a credit or debit card. I pulled into the Chevron at 98 and Crystal Lake today. The sign said $3.63/gallon. I take off my gas cap and swipe my card. I pull the hose out, and get ready to “choose” my type. That is when I look at the price and it says $3.68. And it says “Credit” next to it. So I promptly put the hose back, press Cancel and close my tank back up. I go down the street to another gas station that also says $3.63. There is not mention of the Credit/Cash price, and the price doesn’t change on me. I fill up my tank and leave a happy customer. On the way to NC, I found this same thing at several different gas stations, and did the same thing… drove to a different gas station for the same price while still using my credit card.

So as some of you know, I’ve been very interested lately in “current events”. I’ve been watching politics a lot more. I’m very interested in what both sides say. At first, I was intrigued by the idea/possibility of a black or woman president. It’d be an interesting thing to see to break those barriers. Now that it is down to one on the left side, I’ve been listening a lot more. I am not so sure I like what I hear. I’ve never been a Liberal or Democrat, but I do like some of the things they do. On my voters card, I am listed as non-partisan. I am neither Democrat or Republican. But I do lean to one side more than the other. I hear the things that the Democrats are promising, and don’t really like what I am hearing. On the other side, which I am listening to the convention right now, I hear different things. It sounds better to me. When I first heard about McCain, I was intrigued by how he wasn’t all on one side, but a little of both. I am also surprised (but in a good way) that he has chosen a woman to be VP. (Personally, I feel like he went up to Obama and, off-guard, “bitch-slapped” him.) I like the idea of a “marriage” of two people. I’m excited to see what will happen the rest of the year.

Also, since Sheena’s email bounced back on me, she can download here.

I just read this story about a hit-and-run. As I read over the story, I feel as if I am missing something. It claims that this man hit the child on the left side of his vehicle. I would think of this as the drivers side, and others agree with me. If that be the case, there are only two ways the child would have gotten hit… either they were in the median, or that one particular child was in the road itself. I suppose the man could have gone off the side of the road and hit the one child while the other’s dove out of the way. I certainly would not want them to be my friends if they couldn’t pull me out of the way with them or warn me. Now, I am not claiming that this man did not hit the child. Just that the stupidity of the children should be taken into account. Walking in the road or median at night on a major highway is not the smartest thing to do. I really feel as if this story is trying to say “this horrible thoughtless man killed this child” instead of just reporting on the facts.

I don’t understand why business want to be like every other business. I was reading a recent Ledger article about rent increases in a building in downtown to meet “market rates”. “Dye said all of this is standard business practice.” That statement ticks me off. I don’t want my business to be “like everyone else” and I strive to be different. If I was like everyone else, then why would my customers bother to use me? Why can’t they just go somewhere else if we are all using the same “business practice” or the same rate. Needless to say, this Dye character will soon be trying to find new tenants and not receiving ANY rent, as they just can’t afford to stay there, or more likely, in business.

Ok, so I have a lot of customers with AOL. Some of them want to get rid of it. So they ask if there is a way to get their favorites out, and their contacts. Nope. AOL does not have an export function so to speak. So I am making one. I discovered you can take your AOL Favorites, and back them up into a “PFC” file. Well, I’ve been looking at this file. The contents is some soft of plain text flatfile database. I’ve found the pattern in the file in the hex code. I should be able to easily write a PHP file that uploads the file, then decodes it, and then can generate either an HTML file to import into Firefox, or a ZIP file containing a bunch of .url files for IE. Then I can develop it into a website so that there is an actual FREE tool for people to do this. Then I will find out more about the AOL Address Book. I don’t see how I could be breaking any law, unless it is the DMCA. I am certainly not breaking any terms with AOL, as I am not an AOL user. The only thing that makes me question it is… why hasn’t someone done this sooner?

So I was at a customers today and went back to my truck to total up her bill. I had to park in her driveway, which appears to be on a 45 degree angle. Normally, when I open my door, I know just how far back to stand based on where my hand is. I did the same thing this time. However, I did not account for the difference in angles. I slammed the corner of my truck door into the left side of my head. It almost knocked me on the ground. I said a few bad words. I sat down for a second, and took a look at my head. I now have a 1/4″ long gash in my head. Luckily, I keep band-aids and Neosporin in my truck, so I slapped some on, and I was good to go. I am however on my third band-aid. I’m not sure if it needs stitches or not, but… eh. Funny thing is, it is right above my old scar on my eyebrow.

On my way to yet another customers (I had seven appointments today I think), I was following behind a truck that said “Hickman’s Small Engines” or something to that affect. This reminded me of the generator that I have acquired (a hand-me-down). This particular generator has powered many-a-house. It does however need a tune-up. I have neither the time, the parts, nor the patience to work on it myself, so I called him up to schedule a time. I asked what he had available, and he said “How about August?” I know how he feels. He had to fiddle with his calendar just like me when I am driving (not really, I would never do that *cough*). Of course, if he is this busy, it either means he is really good, or really bad and keeps going back. So I have an appointment in two weeks (his first available), and we shall see how it goes.

And lastly, I got home today, only to find out that my fan wasn’t working again on my air conditioner. It’s been flaky lately, and doesn’t want to start up. So I ripped apart my air conditioner as Danielle and her children were coming over for dinner, and I don’t think any of us wanted to sit in 85 degrees. I discovered that the fan never even gets power. So it appears to be the relay. Probably a $30 part. Of course, it’s still freakin’ 85 degrees in my house, and I needed something now. So I checked the fan, and it appears that it would get 110V as opposed to 220V. So I grabbed an extension cord, cut up an old power cord for a computer, put some ends on it, snapped it to the fan, and plugged it in. The fan started up. Woot woot! I covered it up, and we proceeded to eat dinner in much cooler air. I did of course unplug it when I left, as the cable is pretty thin. I will consider hooking it inside the A/C unit itself so that the fan just runs all the time (as it has been for several weeks), until I have time and money to have someone actually come out and check the relays. When Danielle had seen what I had done, she commented, “You really are like MacGyver.”