Up The 'Creek Without A Paddle

Hello all!

If it doesn't stop raining soon,  I will need to get a paddle!  Only in Ohio... drought one week, monsoon the next.  Have you ever heard the saying "madder than an ol' wet hen?"  Well, I faced 10 of them yesterday when I got home from work.  They marched single file back to their pen, then into their house and sulked.

As I mentioned in another post, I want to be sure I maintain the quality you would expect for my blog posts (ok, maybe quality isn't the right word...)  So, I don't always have one I feel ready to publish.  Anyway, I promise to post a new topic within a week.  That said, I would like to ask your opinion on a few things if you would be so kind...

I'd greatly appreciate it if you took a moment to help me by typing in your answers in the comment section at the bottom of this post.   If you have a problem with the comment thingy letting you do it, please let me know by email.  All responders will be entered in a drawing for a Starbuck's gift card if they comment by October 10th, 2012.

1)  I know several of you have tried to follow me, but the Google button hasn't worked since the get-go.  Are you one of these folks?  What happens when you try?  If you haven't tried, could you let me know why?  (There is now another way to follow if you scroll clear down to bottom of the page.)

2)  I need an idea of what you've come to expect in my blog.  Are you disappointed when the posts aren't always humor ones?

3) Have you checked out the "Index By Topic" page?  Is it helpful and working?

4) Are you a crafter?  If so, is there a craft you would like to know more about?

Looking forward to hearing from you and see ya next week!

Gale

There Should Be A 'Be Kind To Sales Clerk's Week!'

Hello!

Probably the most stringent self-imposed boundary for this blog is vowing to never talk about my work either with the school district or now selling appliances.  I intend to stick to that although, trust me, some of the characters that walk through the door are certainly worth writing about!

But since the stock room is filling up with Christmas lights (which we are placing across the aisle from Grim Reaper) I am reminded that "Black Friday" isn't far off (though far enough we shouldn't be putting out Christmas lights--I like to have Halloween and Thanksgiving first.)

That said...

I just want to make a blanket apology to any clerk to whom I may have been less than patient and kind during my entire life.  I am sure there are at least one or two.  (Sometimes my voice inflections sound angrier than I am, but that's no excuse.)

Nobody goes to work (I hope) and intends to purposely "!@#$ up" your day.  However, many things beyond one's control can and do happen.  That's life.  Sometimes you have just cause to be annoyed, but really, in the scheme of life it's minor.  As they say, "we aren't curing cancer."  If I make a mistake,  I need to own it and take care of the problem.  I can deal with that as I have had plenty of practice.

But when someone comes walking in and is rude/obnoxious right off the bat, they might think clerks are at a disadvantage because we have to be helpful and friendly.  Don't view that as a weakness.  Folks that have chips on their shoulders or poor manners will be treated honestly and fairly (possibly out of fear), but let me assure you that if you are friendly and patient, we will go through hoops to try to help (even in out-of-the-box circumstances.)

Believe it or not all of us don't know everything there is to know about everything in the store.  For instance, I am a sales specialist in appliances, not plumbing.  I will do my best to help or get you someone who can if at all possible.  However, that doesn't make me a moron (though I do other things that do) so comments to that effect aren't necessary.   Specialists specialize...  It's no different then thinking a brain surgeon can fix your car!

Shopping costs money.  Expensive items cost more money.  That is life.  Yelling at the clerk about prices is a dumb as yelling at a gas station attendant (basically a sales clerk) about the cost of gas.  Like they can do anything about it??  The store has to keep the lights on, pay their employees and show a little profit to their shareholders in order to be able to provide you with the goods, services and conveniences you want.  I get tired of customers who want something for nothing.  If that's the case, I want that too!!!

So please be kind to us and we will return the favor.  Do your homework, have concrete ideas of what you want, have a budget and focused questions.  (and for Pete's sake if you are buying an item that needs to fit certain measurements, HAVE THE MEASUREMENTS!)  Think about the clerk when you hold up the line because you want to pay with 20 gift cards.  (That just happened to me!)  There were some mad people behind her as all those pin numbers take time to scratch and type in.  Did that person get the dirty looks???  Nope, just me.  That's what I get for jumping on a register to try and help...

Now that I think about it, "Be Kind To Sales Clerk's Week" should never end!

Until next time,
Gale

I'm A Low Tech Girl In A High Tech World!

Hello,

I give up.  I never thought I would become an old "fuddy duddy" but I have to just admit defeat and move on.  Although I used to think I was half-way intelligent,  the evidence is proving otherwise.  Other folks can keep up with the Jones' for me.  The last straw was my new wi-fi blu-ray dvd player.  (Yes, I am just now getting one...)

It started decades ago.  I was kinda slow hopping onto the computer train at Ohio State (back when one carried a huge stack of punch cards for programming class.)  I hated it and dropped the class. I learned to use a terminal while editing for the "Lantern" newspaper.  The "main frame" took up a whole room back then.  I could never program my VCR or "BetaMax."  One gadget after another has been coming out over the years that is supposed to make life easier, but it either doesn't, or it's so hard it's not worth it.  A popular response to my whining is "Read the manual!"  Really???  Can anyone do that?  My eyes glaze over on page 3.  It is either stupid simple, doesn't apply to my issue or is full of jargon.

My Jeep has lots of bells and whistles, some I still may not know about.  I use the auto windshield wipers and lights simply because it came set that way from the factory.   I absolutely hated my "smart" phone because I thought it was dumb.  They've made cell phones so small I can't even read the screen, forget surfing the 'net!  I just got a new phone that is basic and it does great.  I text and take calls, period.  Have you ever tried using 'voice commands' successfully?  What a joke!  If I could've successfully programmed our weather radio, we might have been warned about the tornado before it hit our house a couple years ago.  Instead, it kept going off in the middle of the night with warnings for Indiana so I yanked the cord a few days before our tornado...

Over the years I had to improve computer skills in order to be employed.  I still know very little, but at one time I did have a website for our dogs that I worked on quite a bit.  I forget all about HTML commands now.  (Good thing my friend Cher is great at that!)  We have wi-fi and bluetooth (whatever that is) printers that we took forever getting around to setting up.  I tried connecting my bluetooth phone to my bluetooth computer and gave up.  The only software I was ever proficient as was Word, Microsoft Publisher and WordPerfect.  I still am not great at playing "Angry Birds!"  I have an iMac that I love, but surely don't use anywhere near it's potential.  Having one also presents loads of problems with stuff only compatible to PCs.  I'd love to drop the house phone line, but Mark still has to fax and I spent too much effort trying to figure out how to do it through the internet.  It's always something!

I love to craft, but it's low tech also.  I have a digital sewing machine with a dozen feet and tons of stitches.  I use forward/reverse straight stitches and one foot.  All of my appliances have gadgetry, but all I need are on and off buttons.  We hated our home security system.  Back in the day it was a pain and it's embarrassing to have the cops come at 5:30 a.m. (along with a hook 'n ladder and medic squad) all because one of the window sensors kept beeping and we tried to disconnect it.  Duh!  We set a special alarm (or tried) when we were going to be gone a few days and as we were pulling out of the driveway the house siren sounded.  A lot has to go wrong before it gets to that point...and it did.

However,  the most exasperating thing ever has got to be home "entertainment."  One Christmas a long time ago, I bought Mark DirectTv with TiVo.  He said we'd never use it, but other than a few glitches, it turned out to be the only thing we do use!  (Of course the DirectTv install guy didn't even bother to hook up the remotes--Mark came unglued and made the guy drive back here.  I paid $70 for them to install it, not drop it off.)  I bought into their "Total Home" mess and never got it figured out (service guy again long gone.)  It's supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread.  I just cancelled it.

Our wireless router of eightish years died and it took three tries for Centurylink to send the right one.  Then we had to hook it up a "non-standard" way.  Took the tech support guy an hour to figure it out.  Now that it's working, I hooked up with moderate success the dvd player and I can indeed play dvds.  But although it says the internet is connected, I don't know how to stream video to my tv (a 4 year old Sony flatscreen) from websites and not just youtube.  If it does for one, surely I can hook up any website?  BUT HOW????????

On another note, when you 'upgrade' gadgets, what do you do with the power cords and cables, etc????  We stick them in a drawer (okay a couple drawers and a basket.)  We will never use them again will we???  I wouldn't even know what they were used with.

This isn't ours, but just like it.  Does everyone have this mess?

Well, enough of this, I think I will take a low-tech nap:)

Until next time,
Gale

From Skipping Records To Skipping CDs...Has Music Really Changed Very Much?

(Note:  This was written years ago, but I think you'll like it (if you are of a certain age!) Enjoy!--GW-T) 

If you know a 45 isn’t just a pistol, you are probably as old as I am.    I remember playing 45 rpm records in my bedroom and watching “American Bandstand” like it was yesterday.   When I hear what teens listen to now, I think about how much better the music was when I was their age. The songs had a “great beat” along with lyrics that made perfect sense.  Or did they? 

A popular song,  “MacArthur Park” was more widely known as “the Cake Song.”  You remember those words don’t you?  Someone left the cake out in the rain.  I don’t think that I can take it, ’cuz it took so long to bake it.  And I’ll never have that recipe again!  Sheer poetry!  This one was a little before my time, but how ‘bout the Mafia-based song “Mack The Knife?” Oh the shark has pretty teeth, dear… And he shows them pearly white…Just a jack knife has MacHeath, dear… And he keeps it out of sight. Then there was “Louie, Louie.”  A great party song, but nobody really knows the words to it.  Kids were listening this stuff and we talk about today’s songs?

  

45 rpm (rotations per minute) record and a LP (long play) album.  I had a cool record player with colored lights that flickered!  So rockin'!

As I was dragging out Christmas decorations I came across a stack of record albums (you know, black, flat vinyl disks that play really old music.  Also known as LPs.)  Some of the titles included soundtracks from “Miami Vice” (now THAT was cutting edge), several by BachmanTurner Overdrive (remember “Takin’ Care of Business”?), Foreigner, Boston (an absolute favorite!) and not one, but two copies of “Peter Frampton Comes Alive.”  Of course, I haven’t had a working turntable for more than 20 years.  But, I hung onto these albums for 13 moves! 

An 8-track cartridge.  Everyone I know has had these eaten by their players! 

As useless and silly as keeping the albums was, it pales in comparison to the box of 8-tracks.  I finally gave my whole collection of 45s, LPs and 8-tracks to my older brother Jeff because he still has a working 70’s stereo system.  He recalls when 8-tracks first came out that he “didn’t think it could get any better than this!” 

 Let me fill you youngsters in on the “mechanics” of an 8-track tape.  Basically, there was a continuous loop of tape divided into four sections for the songs, and then each section had two tracks so the song would play in stereo.  Still with me?  The player played one section until the end of the loop then jumped down to the next one.  This wouldn’t be a problem except all songs weren’t the same length, so you would have either dead space or worse, the famous cha-chink would happen right in the middle of a song (often a favorite one.)  Then the music would fade in at the beginning of the next track. 

Another fun problem with these pricey little puppies (I remember paying $12.95 when I only earned $3.00/hr.) was for no apparent reason, they would get “eaten” by the player.  Thin brown tape would spew everywhere.  Even if you could get them out of the “tape deck” (aka player) in one piece, the “surgery” performed to fix them was seldom successful.  Heat melted them, so they couldn’t stay in a car for long in the summer!  They were so darn bulky you didn’t want to carry more than a couple at a time.  They weren’t something easily stuck in a purse. 

Though much more portable, these cassette tapes got eaten also.  I learned to splice them in college, which took some talent, only for them to become dinosaurs to CDs.  Never leave them in a car!

So much for the technical support section… the most recent use of 8-tracks in my house was leveling-up a leaning Christmas tree.  Now I use VHS tapes as they are becoming just as obsolete.  I don’t know if music is any better nowadays, but the equipment sure is.  It was kind of sad to get rid of my old music (even sadder to recently learn some of them go for big bucks on Ebay!)  But, all is not lost.  I’ve seen dozens of commercials offering CD’s of my favorite (and some un-favorite) “oldies” for just $19.95, credit cards accepted—RUSH SHIPPING available (who would need to pay extra to “rush” 30 year old disco songs?)  Well, I guess everyone (even a teenager) has a right to their favorite kind of music…as long as they wear earphones or keep their car windows up.  Get out some of your favorites and start jammin’!

What are your musical memories???  Please comment below:)

Until next time!

Gale