April, another month flys by

I have experimented with a couple of different templates and am taking on the one you see here now. I felt the prior one was dark and just too hard for even myself to read. I'm still not sure what to make of a blog and why I should even bother to keep one up. Money making is the only thing that comes to mind as I don't think people really want to know what I think about anything. They've got too many things on their mind as I do too these days. Of course there will come a time or two that I will happen to post something that might be momentous but why not just post it on Facebook. That's where everyone's at now, right? I keep waiting to see what will overtake Facebook. MySpace was drained by Facebook and as always, something new always comes along. I'm not famous, I'm not rich. I'm just your ordinary person. Ask questions, have fun and by all means, try to be happy. If you can't be happy, just keep it to yourself maybe or hope you can find someone that will just listen without giving you advice. That's my pet peeve by the way. Okay, I'm outa here once again. Have a good day! One last thought on this. At least a blog will keep your posts. I don't think Facebook will.

Just an update on the Sears order for the tractor blade

Just to note that after all the work I put into researching along with the customer reps at Sears to get the correct mulching blade for my new lawn tractor, I got the right blade. Seems they have too many departments and you get handed off from one to the other with each not knowing much about what the other does. I finally got this nice older guy in Tucson, Arizona, where I was born by the way. How uncanny was that. We got off to a really nice talk. He was a good old boy who had been a trucker for I think 40 years and had retired due to his wife becoming disabled and he wanted to be home with her. I wish I could remember his name now. I was able to convince him that it wasn't my fault that my initial order came to me only half the parts I needed and he gave me a free ship on the final second order. I ordered two of the mulching blades as I'm sure I'll need to replace one once it's worn out. This blade will be a son of a gun to sharpen though. It's got ends like a forked tongue snake on each side. I'll take care of it though as I have with the past blade on the now long gone dead tractor, with a plain old file. I'm going to see if I can post some pictures here next in this blog. I want to show some customizing I did to this new lawn tractor. Something Sears should have thought about. They could have even made more money on the accessory item as well. I installed a cigarette lighter adapter to where the throttle lever is located. There was more than enough space. I had been using a small trickle charger on the old tractor, using clamps to keep the battery charged between mowings. I cut off the clamps and soldered on a connector whereby I now have a cigarette lighter plug that I can now keep plugged into the tractor and it's working perfectly. I feel it was a really sweet customization and I'd like to share it with everyone. As soon as I can figure out how to post these pictures. Ahh, I see a link above..here goes.

Ahh, the pic is a little small but I'll go larger on the next one. What you see are the two mounting holes whereby I used a socket wrench and took of the throttle lever plate.

I like the larger picture. Let's see how this goes now. Next pic.

I should have taken pics of drilling the holes and how I measured to where I made those wholes but it's just intuitive I guess. You find the space, size it up by eye, start with a small drill bit and work your way up to make the perfect holes for your bolts. I had worried that the metal would be too hard to drill through but with some patience the drills slowly made their way through without burning up or breaking. I usually start out with an 1/8" size bit or one bigger, then go a couple more sizes up to the final size. This makes a perfectly cut hole with little trouble drilling and no bit getting stuck also. Next pic.

I found the cigarette lighter adapter at Wal-Mart for under ten bucks. I had the wiring connectors in my scrap bins and used the Y-type so the wiring could be easily secured underneath a bolt. I used the throttle lever plate as a grounding source for the black or ground wire naturally.

I like the plastic cover as it will keep out the water from the hose if I happen to splash any water around when I clean up the tractor after a mowing. I next connected the red or hot lead or wire to the positive terminal of the battery. I just knew I was going to do this project as I could not see myself taking on and off that plastic cover that hides the battery just to connect the trickle charger every time after I mow. The plastic connectors for the cover would soon deteriorate and then I'd be looking to figure what to replace them with. Just a hassle any way you looked at it. I believe in making batteries last as long as possible. That means checking the water level at least twice a year here in Florida too.

Here's the finished look with the throttle lever mounting plate bolted back onto the tractor. Pretty slick if you ask me. Now, will Sears get ahold of this and add this to this tractor in the future? My next thought is an umbrella and a cupholder for my beer. I suppose you could think of all sorts of other things but I'm just being practical right about now. Two more pics and I'm done with this. I hope you enjoyed this ingenuity as much as I have.

Here's the trickle charger I bought at Wal-Mart years ago. It still works great and an led lets you know when the battery is fully charged. These units are cheap, just under $20 if I remember right. I should use one on my car too as I don't drive many miles each day and I never get more than three years out of a deluxe battery.

Earning to date, an update.

Still at $7.39 if I remember from the 'Monetize' page just viewed.
Still, nobody gets it here on Blogger. Come on, folks. Is it that hard to understand?
Are we that dumb? I'm beginning to think so. What are we all doing with our time?
I know but, I'm going to go do something with some purpose right now. You just keep doing what you're doing, okay? Have a great day!

Sears Roebucks, another example of screwed up American company.

Nobody can get anything right these days. I can always expect problems now when dealing with ordering anything with anybody now. Here's a great example. I ordered a mulching kit for my new Craftsman lawn tractor this past week. The kit is a mulching blade and a cover for the side of the deck. Here it is Saturday noon and the wife brings me a box that UPS has delivered and as I take it from her I notice it's very light, I know there's no blade in there. Sure enough, only a deck or chute cover. I immediately get my Sears folder with my notes and paperwork and this new order slip. I call Sears 800 parts line number. I wait on hold for about twenty minutes, handed off from one person to a second. The second gets huffy with me because I'm not going to go out to the garage and move stuff around to try and find a serial number of this tractor. I ask her why that is needed. She begins telling me that she has the warehouse on the line and that their system has an error in it and they can't locate a part number for the kit for this tractor, only a description. I argue with her that I am not here to fix their errors, that they need to go to work and get it fixed. She gets stressed with me about then. She won't let me speak so I let her get the wind out of her lungs. She tells me they are sending the kit. I ask how do I know I'm not going to get the same mulch cover again without the blade. She tells me that this time they are sending the kit with the blade and cover. Okay, leave it at that. This is what I thought I ordered a week ago from a very nice Southern lady. More days to follow that the customer, me, has to sit and wait for their screwed up mess of a system. I don't care how many million parts they have, sweetheart, just get me the damn parts I ordered, please? By the way, did you catch CNBC's report late one night this past week about China and their workforce and products? They get it right for the customer from what interviewee spoke about doing business with them. We need to take lessons over here in America.

USPS mis-delivery update!

I happened to be outside working in the front yard when the postal carrier happened at his usual time of noon. He yelled out to me, 'How's it going'? I said, 'Just fine'. He then began to tell me that he was making sure to check the pre-sorted mail in his box to make sure the mail gets to the address printed on the article correctly. He was smiling and I just couldn't believe how he'd changed from his old snobbish self when I first started dealing with him personally about this. Maybe he realizes how important it is to the people that want to get their mail and not someone else's. Maybe he thought about how HE'D like to get HIS mail at home. I don't know but I'm glad that so far it's been good. I just hope it continues but I'll still continue to not use the mail if I can do my business online and paperless.

USPS, continued

Right after posting the previous post I managed to catch the subcontract delivery person at my mail box. I asked him what to do about the misdelivered mail. He explained that it's the sorters that mess it up for the delivery. While he was talking I looked down in his seat where he kept the white plastic box of mail to be delivered. I saw how it was arranged in order to make his delivery faster. One stack of mail standing on it's end, the next was arranged on it's side and so on and so forth. It made it easy for him to just grab the next stack after reading the address on the facing mail and stuff it all into the box. I asked him why he couldn't take a few moments and flick through each piece of mail to make sure it got delivered right and to correct the sorter's mistakes. He didn't answser but kept going on about how he could be blamed and he gets all the blame for everything all the time, etc, etc. I knew this wasn't going anywhere and there was nothing I could say to get him to realize that he needs to take the time to get the right mail in the right box. I went on with him that it's all about the time, so he could get his mail delivery done and get on home for the day. Who wouldn't, right? Still, there must be something I don't know for him not to take the time to check the sorts. Is his route overloaded? Is this how our mail system works? Next time I catch him at my box I will get into another converstion with him about this. Who knows how many people interrupt his day too. He probably wants to get back to the branch before dark and get on home. I probably would feel the same way. No efficiency anymore these days it seems, just get the work done any way you can and even though we like to talk how great we are and how much we think of the customer, we don't walk the talk!

USPS Mail Service Does it Again!

I don't know about you but I'm so sick and tired of getting somebody else's mail in my mailbox here at the house. My dad was a mail carrier in the day. He would be appalled at the lack of consideration given to our mail today I think. I've been fighting this for four to five years now since I've been at this address. Several phone calls and two visits from a manager did nothing. The last response when she came her to investigate was, 'I don't know what else to do'. I tell you what I'd do, fire their dumb ass.
On a visit to the local post office station a complaint was given to the girl behind the counter. I was referred to another girl. She came to the conclusion that I might try making a label to put on the inside of the box to show the street name and address. I did that and it seemed to work. That was about a year ago. Now, it's started again. Every excuse so far has been to put the blame on the sorter in the branch location. I don't know how that can make any sense. Isn't the guy putting the mail into my box the last one to view and maybe take the time to verify he's putting it into the right mailbox at the right address? Fuck if I know what's going on. It just burns me up. Why? Not a big deal you might think? Yeah, but what are you not getting and who is getting your mail and not bringing it over to you or putting it in your box for you? I'm visualizing most people just open your shit and then toss it in the trash afterward, to cause you trouble as they don't give one damn about you. People are just mean today with no care for anyone else but themselves. You know I'm right. Yes, there are exceptions and you hope those are the people that are looking after one another on this fucked up planet.
So, do I take this piece of mail to the branch office and complain again? I don't think it's going to matter. I used to think that if enough complaints were made something would change. I guess not.
I'm all for eliminating the USPS at this day and age. Yes, I'd gladly pay twice what I'm paying now for postage to get my mail and not someone else's. Why not FEDEX or United Parcel Service. Couldn't they expand and handle it? Why has this USPS service been allowed to continue for so long. Was it a bid job or an insider's work? I'm going to research this and get in touch with whoever will agree with me on this and see what can be done to change this. The USPS is always on the brink of folding or bankruptcy so why not let this be the year to let them sink. Oh, and don't forget, today your postage goes up a penny to forty five cents now to mail a letter.