Just catching up a little

Well, just decided to catch up a little bit.  It has been way too long since I last posted to this site.  So far I’ve been keeping my diabetes, blood pressure, etc. all in check.  Am still trying to lose a little weight though.  Have been going to the YMCA three times a week lately and have started a different work-out regimen.  I was doing a bunch of crunches, (up to 1,000) and discovered that I have an epigastric hernia and doing all of those crunches is only exacerbating it, so have decided to change the routine.  Now I walk 1/2 mile on the inside track, then do maybe 1/2 hour on the stationery bicycle, then to another 1/2 hour on the treadmill, then a few sets for the biceps/triceps.  Needless to say, that does work up quite a sweat but I feel really good afterwards.

Went to a Mexican Independence party yesterday in Whiting, IN with Jerónimo and family.  I was in charge of making my famous “palomas” which is a drink with Tequila, Squirt and lime juice.  Everyone loves them and I made 4 one gallon containers and they were still asking for more but I didn’t have any more tequila or limes or Squirt, so they just had to go thirsty.  The food they has was so-so.  Someone made a “tinga” of beef, which was ok I guess.  Then there was rice, refried beans and fried chicken.

I often ponder about some strange things and one that always befuddles me is when I wash clothes, why everything comes out of the dryer turned inside out.  It goes into the dryer the right way, but always comes out wrong.  And the craziest thing is that if I actually turn it inside out when I put it into the dryer, it stays that way, it doesn’t turn itself right side out, as I would expect it to do.  It’s crazy and it drives me crazy.  LOL

Well, here it is the middle of September already.  Gosh how the time flies.  And I think that as we get older it goes by even faster.  Seems like only yesterday the year was just beginning and here it is Autumn already.  And what have I done with all that time?  Good question.  Haven’t really done anything productive, except the workout routine I guess so I guess that is something productive.

Well, that’s about it for today.  Hopefully I’ll be able to update a little more often.

Hope everyone is doing well.

 

 

Playing with Windows 8

Have been playing with Windows 8 Developer Preview and loved it and have now downloaded and installed the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and love it even more.  I have been reading all the haters out there posting about how much they dislike the Metro UI but it’s only because they haven’t even tried it.  It took me all of 10 minutes to figure everything out and get Windows 8 set up the way I want it.  And I use my keyboard and mouse exactly the same way I did in any previous version of Windows.  I don’t understand what they are all on about, but I think it’s stupid to just troll the forums bashing the new Windows 8.  They are probably all iFools that if it were something from Crapple, they would jump all over it proclaiming it the next best thing since sliced bread.   They need to get a life and stop posting their garbage.  Anyway, I like it and can’t wait for the final.

Also have been thinking of getting a different Windows Phone when either the Titan II or the Nokia Lumia 900 become available.  Everyone is raving about the Lumia 900 so will take a serious look at it.  Of course I really like the 4.7” screen on the Titan so not sure what I’m going to do.  I really need to do a hard look because I’m going to be paying full retail.  Now, if I could only win one or the other, that would be fantastic.  LOL

 

Just catching up a little.

Been a while since I last updated my blog so it’s about time I take care of that.

As I posted in my blog of Sept. 18, I’ve been playing with the Windows 8 Developer Preview and just love it and it has turned me on to the new series of Windows Phones.  I went to the #WPCHI Night Market on Friday and got a look at all the new phones and fell in love with the HTC Titan, which has a 4.7” screen.  It’s not really much bigger than the Samsung Infuse I have, which has a 4.5” screen, but the Titan is a Windows Phone and the Infuse is Android.  Big difference in the OS and that’s why I want to try the Windows Phone, now that it has the Mango update.  Can’t wait to try the Panoramic imaging that is build in to the HTC Titan.  I saw it in action the other night and it is just so super simple to use.  It has an 8 megapixel rear facing camera and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for video chatting.  Also has a 1.5Ghz processor which will make it pretty darned speedy.  I’ll have this baby in my hands on the 20th of Nov.  Can’t wait.  LOL

The party on Friday was fantastic.  I was just amazed at the logistics of putting together an event like that for the 400 invited guests.  The setting up of all the different phone stations and the food and drink stations was just so well done that even with all those guests, it never seemed crowded at all.  There were all kinds of opportunities for us to win things like new phones, 3 month subscriptions to X-Box live, etc. which I thought was nice and the band that played was called Drums.  Super band.  Really had my feet a stomping.

Jeronimo is in Mexico for a month so I’m here all by myself and am planning on doing some more updating in the house.  First I have to get the outside stuff done.  I still have to pull out all the flowers and stuff and prepare the beds for next spring and will do that today because it’s supposed to be in the 60’s.  Once I get that out of the way, I can concentrate on the inside.  I think I’m going to paint the upstairs bathroom.  It’s kind of a peach color now and I think I want to go with either a beige or a taupe color, not sure yet.  I’m not going to tell Jeronimo, I’ll just let him see it when he comes home.  LOL

Ok, that’s it for today.  Here are some pictures of the #WPCHI Night Market.

Just a little update.  Got my HTC Titan from the Microsoft store yesterday and boy is it nice.  It’s not really that much bigger than the Samsung Infuse I have.  The Titan is 4.7” and the Infuse is 4.5”  but hey, it’s still bigger.  Got it all set up the way I want it and got some of my music sync’d to it so I’m one happy camper right now.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Take care.

Just to let you all know, I’m still in love with my HTC Titan and Windows 7.5 Mango.

 

What a busy two weeks I’ve had.

Jerónimo has been in California since Oct. 1st and I have been busy working around the house trying to update/clean/modify stuff.  I started by painting my kitchen cabinets, which started out on a bad note because of the advice by the Home Depot paint department associate.  I tool a door from one of the cabinets with me so I could show them what I wanted to paint and asked for his advice.  He said that I would have to prime them first.  So, he gave me a gallon of Killz 2 primer.  Then I picked out the color of paint and he mixed it up.  I then asked him what I should use to apply the primer, a brush or a roller and he said that because of the texture, a brush would be better.  So, that’s what I did.  What a mistake that was.  After removing all the hardware and priming everything, when I started the regular paint, all the brush marks showed right through and I was beside myself.  So, I closed up the can of paint and headed to Home Depot to solve the problem.

Got to Home Depot and the same guy was not there so I talked to the girl and she said that she didn’t know why he told me to use a brush when everyone knows that brush marks on primer will show through, especially on a light paint.  So she said that I would have to sand all of the cabinets and I told her there was no way I was going to do that and asked for another alternative.  She said that I could try a primer/paint combo and see if that worked, but she said she would not guarantee it would.  So I got another gallon, but a little darker than the first one.  I was fortunate that they had pity on me and they agreed to take back the original gallon.  So when I got home and I started to paint and fortunately, it worked and I got all the cabinets painted.  But boy was it a lot of work.  Took me all week, but they look beautiful.  Here’s a couple pictures.

Then I decided to refinish the sink in the basement kitchen.  I bought one of those kits to refinish sinks and bathtubs and have had it for a long time, just never got around to doing it.  So, I taped everything off and worked it according to the directions and gave it two coats as per directions and boy does it look nice.  Already washed dishes in it and it’s just like brand new.

After that was done I started cleaning out closets and drawers and the garage of stuff that has been here for most of the 25 years we’ve been here and we still haven’t used it, so it went in the garbage.  Now all the closets/drawers/garage really look nice and neat.

Jerónimo will be home this Friday and I hope he likes all the work I’ve done.  If not, well, too bad.

 

Playing with Windows 8 Developer Preview

Have been playing with Windows 8 Developer Preview since Thursday and I am liking it more and more every day.  Was a very short learning curve getting used to the new “Metro” UI but now that I’ve figured it out, I think it’s pretty neat and am able to navigate all my programs with ease now.  I know it’s just a preview, but so far I’ve only had one problem.  I was testing PaintShop Pro 4X and it won’t run on Windows 8.  But that is to be expected.  Not everything is going to run on a Dev. Preview.  But, I thought I would give it a try anyway and since I’m going to be doing a review of the PaintShop Pro 4X I figured I’d try it anyway.  Here’s a screen shot of what the new “Metro” UI looks like, in case you haven’t seen it:

Pretty neat isn’t it?  I think so.  Of course most of the games I won’t be playing, but they are only there for show anyway and probably won’t all be there in the Betas or final versions of Windows 8.  Now that I’m getting used to the UI, I’m considering trying the Windows Phone 7 again because the UI is the same on that phone.  I’m just waiting for AT&T to get back to me on when the new HTC Titan phone is going to be available.  It has a 4.7” screen which I think will be nice.  I’ve been using the Samsung Infuse with the Android OS and I kind of like that too, so am not really 100% sure if I’ll switch to the Windows 7 Phone or not.  Will have to really take a hard look at it first.

Other than that, nothing exciting has happened around here.  Went to Shipshewana, IN to the flea market a couple of times and bought lots of stuff I really don’t need.  Well, I did get a few sets of sheets which I really did need, but other than that, the rest was just stuff for the yard.  I could start my own flea market now.  LOL

That’s about it.  So hope everyone is doing well.

 

Just catching up

Well, just trying to catch up since the last time I wrote.    Have been with AT&T now for a while and there seem to be no glitches, thank heavens.  But there weren’t before, just my stubbornness made me change.  I can’t believe how much money it cost me to switch all those times.  I’ll never learn.  I think I’ve finally settled on AT&T.  They seem to have the best coverage and so far, no dropped calls.  I may have to make a slight adjustment on my data plan though as I really don’t use it very much and I can’t see paying extra for data I don’t need.  Since Jeronimo won that Galaxy Tab, I’ll use even less.  I’m really set now for technology.  Have the desktop, the laptop, my Android phone (the Samsung Infuse) and now the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which by the way, if you are going to look for a tablet, get the Galaxy Tab 10.1.  It’s super and now with the latest update, it has Swype, which I love.  Makes typing so much easier on those smaller screens.  Of course nothing will ever really replace the regular keyboard, especially for a touch-typist like myself.

Not really too much new around here.  Finally getting some tomatoes ripening, can’t wait to bite into one.  There are times I wish I lived in the country so I could have a big garden like my Dad used to have.  He planted tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus, peppers, cucumbers, etc. and everything grew will.  Mom used to plant green beans along the driveway by the garage and they did well too.  Maybe one of these days.  Dreaming don’t cost anything, does it?

That’s about it for this session.  Hope everyone is doing well.

 

Our guests are leaving

Well, we had guests for 2 weeks and they are leaving today.  It’s nice to have people visit once in a while, but as you get older it gets harder and harder to tolerate them.    It’s sad to say, but it’s the truth.  I find that little things they do are just so annoying and they shouldn’t be.  I try my best to just let it go, but am finding it more and more difficult.  For example, I’m a clean freak.  I like to keep my house the way my mother taught me and when I walk into the bathroom, I don’t want to see my mirrors all full of spots from people who don’t know how to brush their teeth with their mouths closed.  What is so difficult about that?  Then there’s the 40 minute showers.  What in the hell is that all about?  My goodness, when you take a shower every day you shouldn’t need 40 minutes to do it.  The same with shaving.  30 minutes minimum with an electric razor.  Is that obsessive or what?  Then it’s the eating.  I bought more fruit in these past two weeks than I’ve bought in two months.  You would think they had never had fruit before.  I think 6 two pound bags of grapes in two weeks, along with over 40 plums, 20 pears and I can’t even remember how many peaches and nectarines they went through is a little excessive.  Plus 4 Sara Lee Cherry cheesecakes, 3 loaves of raisin bread, a pecan coffee cake, a nut roll and another nut coffee cake, plus 3 of those small Jell-O parfaits and a Jell-O ring.  All that, plus regular meals.  Oh, and I almost forgot the ice cream and the canned peaches and apricots.  I find it difficult to believe that someone who eats that much fruit has stomach problems.  Maybe they do because of all the fruit they eat.  That’s a lot of acid they are consuming.  They say they don’t eat pork because of their stomach problems, but we went to the Cracker Barrel and they ate 2 pork sausage patties and didn’t seem to affect them in any way.  Then they would eat ham and it wouldn’t affect them, so I’m thinking it’s just a way to get some attention.  Maybe I’m wrong.  Then they don’t eat beans, don’t eat salad, don’t eat too much red meat.  And let me tell you, I’m not going to be cooking two different meals.  I’ll try to accommodate them, but will only go so far to do that.  I know, I know, I don’t sound like a very gracious host, do I?  I am, really I am.  Then they can’t eat if they don’t have bread or tortillas.  Geez am I just a grouchy old fart?  If I am, don’t get old.  Stay young and tolerant. 

Well, happy 4th of July everyone.  Have a safe holiday.

 

Another rant!

Well, I finally decided to switch from Verizon to AT&T – AGAIN!.  I went for the Windows Phone 7 and was disappointed.  The phone was not at all user friendly and they no longer put any user manuals in the phones, so you’re basically on your own as to how to set the phone up.  So if you don’t download the user manual from the internet, you’re screwed.  So, I took it back the next day and got another Android phone, the Samsung Infuse.  Nice phone and a nice big 4.5” Super Amoled Display.  The camera and video are fantastic.  We went down to the planetarium the other evening and shot some pretty decent videos and took a couple of passable pictures.  Even though it was dark, they turned out fairly decent.  So, as I said, I’m back with AT&T and not going to change ever again.  The call quality is much superior to Verizon and Sprint and I don’t know why I was so stubborn and switched.  Live and learn I guess.

Then today I had to call DirecTV again because they hadn’t refunded me cost of my “free” movie nor the $1.50 they charged because I ordered it over the phone.  The young man I spoke to with the name of “Deshawn” was apologetic and said that the $5.99 for the movie would be on next month’s bill but they weren’t going to refund me the $1.50 for the phone call.  He said it should have been done using the internet but every time I tried to do that, I kept getting errors that the request couldn’t be processed, so how could I have don’t it on the internet?  So after giving him an earful about my being a customer for over 16 years and they couldn’t afford to give me $1.50, he agreed to give me the rebate.  It’s just terrible the hoops you have to jump through to get anything done anymore.

Well, I hope that’s all the aggravation I’m going to have for a very long time now.  I just can’t take it anymore.  Hope everyone else is having a much better time.

 

Continuing tech saga.

Well, I thought my saga with the phones and computers was over, but I guess not.  Verizon still doesn’t seem to care that I can’t get service inside my house.  They send out an engineer and he says that the signal is great “outside”.  When I try to tell them I don’t live “outside” and that I need service “inside”, their attitude gives me the feeling that they think I’m strange because I want service inside my home.  My goodness, there must be something wrong with me.    They convinced me that what I needed was a Network Extender and it would be just like having a cell phone tower inside my home.  Yeah, right.  So I spend $249.00 for that stupid Network Extender, get it home and plug it in according to all the instructions and it don’t work.  So I log on to the internet and check out Verizon Support and Netgear support and follow all suggestions and it still don’t work.  I left it on all night to see if it would finally sync up and nothing, so I returned it and got a credit.  I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I can’t switch because I’ll be hit with over $600.00 in Early Termination Fees.  I just don’t care for Verizon’s attitude but they just don’t seem to care, so I guess I’ll have to wait until 2012 to switch.  Ok, one rant done.

Then there’s the problems I’ve had with my computer.  First, my desktop started to just hang whenever I clicked on anything, be it via the browsers or just in Windows.  So I called HP and the person I spoke to came to the conclusion that it was the motherboard so she made arrangements for me to send it to Texas to have it replaced.  So, off it goes to Texas.  I get it back in 3 days and all they did was reload the operating system.  I got back on the phone and spoke to a different tech person and she is beside herself as to why the first tech person said it was the motherboard.  So we did more diagnosing and of course it was the hard drive, and then it dawned on us that I have in-home service and the computer is still under warranty, so they had a service man come out to replace the hard drive.  Ok, I’m now a happy camper again.  Then the other day, the internet stopped working and after doing some diagnosing and calling Comcast we discern that it’s the Ethernet card that has died.  So I get on the phone again with HP and they make arrangements for another tech person to come and switch out the motherboard because the Ethernet card is integrated into it.  He shows up today and it takes him 2-1/2 hours to get the board installed.  I was about ready to scream.  But he called someone and they walked him through getting it finished and I’m again a happy camper. 

I hope this is the end of it.  Hope everyone else is having a much better time of it.

 

Updating Comcast Saga

Well,  I found out that Comcast was offering certain promotions in other states and questioned why Chicago was not being offered the same special introductory rates for the 105Mbps Extreme Tier.  They said that “not all markets offer the same promotions”.  Well, that sucks, big time.  Chicago is a major market whereas Utah isn’t, so why do they get a huge discount for the 105Mbps Extreme and we don’t?  I know, I sound like a whiner, but I think if they are going to offer promotions to get people to sign up for that tier, they should offer it to everyone and not just a select few.  The income they would generate from it would  be phenomenal.  So, the person I was dealing with said that in Utah, they were being signed up for a 2 year contract and that’s why they were getting the special pricing.  I told them that I would be more than willing to sign a contract to get that special pricing for 12 months, but they don’t even offer that here.  So, what’s wrong with that picture?  In Utah, the person who started this whole thing is also getting a big discount on the installation charge.  Instead of being charged $250.00 like I was, he is only being charged $60.00.  Another kick in the butt for me.  Then he is getting the 105Mbps Extreme tier for $105.00/Mo. for 12 months while I have to pay $199.00/Mo.  I don’t know, but it just seems like living in Chicago just isn’t worth it anymore.  Think I’ll move to Utah.

 

Anyway, the person I was dealing with said that Chicago “may” at some time have a promotion.  Well, that don’t do me any good, because once I have it, they are not going to come back and give me the special.  So, I’m just screwed all around.  Too bad there aren’t other alternatives in this area that can compete with Comcast.  If there were, they would probably change their strategy.  And no, I’m not going to install other Comcast services.  I tried that and they just don’t compare with what I already have for TV and I don’t need a land line phone as I’m strictly cellular, which is another saga which I need to get resolved soon too, but that’s another day.