Making it thrugh another year, '24-'25

[Resonator]

Good to hear the show was successful!

Maybe next year Tom could you do a collaboration promotion with the distillery.

Make some wooden can caddies, and then stock them with limited addition signature cans of: "Tom's Bold and Cold Mushroom Logger Lager".

[Old Greenhorn]

Res, the distillery/brewery does not do cans. I might work on something for the distillery's bottles if I get my band saw going again. I did have one fella at the show who wanted to me to something to display or carry his bourbon bottles, but he wasn't sure quite what he wanted. He was sure he would contact me when he figured it out.
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Howard, it was really that bad, just had to be careful on the ice. There was a side door with a 5'x8' deck on it about 6' above grade. SO I would bring out about 3 hand loads and lay them on the deck, then get something I could securely carry with one arm so I could hold onto the rail going down the steps carefully. I would then grab the stuff up on the deck from grade level and load it. So it wasn't too bad at all, just a lot of trips and I learned that my back rubber coated ramp on the trailer gets slippery when the bottoms of your boots are wet with ice. That was tricky and not something I had considered. Also the floor in the trailer will need mopping now, it's a mess with muddy footprints, another reason for taking it all in the shop for the open house, then clean the trailer before final re-packing for the winter storage period.

 You gotta do what you gotta do. If the show turns a profit, it's worth whatever effort it takes, but if it's a wash, then you really feel like it's all wasted time. This show had what I would call 'extra hassles' but making some money made it worth it and there were plusses on thsi one others don't have, so that factors in.

[Resonator]

I did have one fella at the show who wanted to me to something to display or carry his bourbon bottles, but he wasn't sure quite what he wanted.

One of my best customers that I saw and sell lumber to, builds what he refers to as "whiskey cabinets". From what I gather they are relatively small cabinets, made as presentation pieces. He uses walnut with and other hardwoods, and chooses boards with different colors and figured grain. (If he sends some pics I'll pass them along).

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, I am screwed. Sunday morning I ordered a new laptop, the current one in on its last legs. It was promised for delivery Sunday by 10pm. I didn't ask for that, they offered. Fine. Well late Sunday I get an email that it is delayed and they will try to get it to me within 2 days.

 Well Monday evening my cat knocks a little nose dropper bottle off a shelf that falls 12" and lands on the laptop around where the HD is. Machine goes dead. Try rebooting, goes to the bios screen. This is not good and eventually it won't even bring up the bios screen.

 Now had the new one arrived as promised, I would have spent Monday transferring data and would be fine. So this thought has me more than a little pitched off.

The unit does not come monday. So today I called and found out that the delivery guy had said he picked it up to deliver it but I fact never picked it up. The guys says " the system got so messed up that it would be best to cancel the order and reorder it. He cancels it and tells me when I get the confirmation that it is canceled, to reorder it. I should have that email in 15 minutes. 3 hours later, no email. So I call again. This gal looks into the whole thing and gets her boss involved. They will reinstate the original order and I will get it between 3 -3:30pm.

 5pm I call again and beg them to tell me what is going on, what the order status is, and when I can get this thing. She tries to give me a refund but I don't want a refund, I want the dang computer so I can get on with trying to put my life back together. I am now angry. She asks me to give it a couple more hours to show up and if it doesn't, to let them know. AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!

Now because the other one is dead I am likely looking at month or more of reinstalling software resetting passwords and accounts and dealing with the loss of all my business bookkeeping. It's not going to be a fun time. I hate computers.

 So you won't see much porting from me until I did some part of my digital life squared away. Working from a phone is ridiculous for me.

[SwampDonkey]

I got my Dynabook through Staples, I had it in 2 days. It's all solid state drives. I also ordered a BlueRay CD ROM USB connect drive, it arrived the next day. And when I was at the store I got an extra 1 TB solid state drive. I'm kinda apprehensive about solid state since I have had USB thumb drives fail. I have had hard drives for 30 years, absolutely none have failed, and that was on 4 computers over the years. So I have never understood some people running down hard drives, they must be awfully unlucky people. I've even got 40 year old floppy disk drives that still run like a top. Never had them fail neither.

[Peter Drouin]

I'm not smart on a PC. Ann had all our LLC stuff on it. After she went to see GOD, I tried to do it. I messed it all up.
Now all my LLC stuff is on a spreadsheet in a draw. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Nothing showed up last night, surprise!
I called again at 7am and got more assurances that this was unacceptable and the guy would do everything in his power to make it right and is sending me another 15$ coupon. I told him to keep it and just get me what I ordered. Now he wants me to wait 24-48 hours to get this thing. I am really getting ready to shoot somebody. I am am in day 4 of a 'same day delivery '.
It is beyond infuriating.

[aigheadish]

I know you are very against it but some times Amazon works wonders... Sorry this isn't working out the way it should for you! 

[beenthere]

Happens to me through Amazon when Amazon supplier is from overseas and they drop the shipment off at the USPS to deliver. 
Either it doesn't get to USPS on the date promised or USPS delays the shipping. 
But not often and is very frustrating when the shipping date promised is not met. 

Hope this gets ironed out. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Another reason I never buy from Amazon

Well end of day 4 and still no PC..they cancelled my order this afternoon saying they have no delivery people.

 My anger has reached new highs and I shared that with them on clear terms.

I had to reorder it, but this time I set it up for a store pickup so I can go there and spread my version of joy to them.
Right now I am disgusted with the world.

[doc henderson]

We still love you, Tom!  We have overall had good luck with amazon.  No questioned asked on returns.  take it to Kohls.  May check to see if it was a 3rd party or amazon fulfillment.  we get on time 99% of the time.  We like to buy local.  we also order from Sams club and buy many things from Walmart.  We love our local Dillons stores as the family and original company started and lives in our town.  now part of Kroger.  

[SwampDonkey]

I don't order big items off Amazon here. Most stuff comes by small start-up delivery services now, names I never heard tell off until this year. I suspect the big guys are losing money on small deliveries. Canada Post is $6 Billion in the hole and now on strike since mid November. I suspect postage will be through the roof in the new year while they continue to push their loosing green energy delivery scheme. I've talked to some other delivery drivers from established services like 'Same Day' that tried hybrid vehicles, they had to scrap it, it was costly and not reliable. Nothing is moving through Canada Post now, except pension cheques. Most pensioners are on direct deposit by now, a few hold outs like like a cheque in hand and like to wait in long bank line ups with one teller.

I order 95% from Canadian businesses which sell Canadian, US or European made items. Everything for clothing, except underwear and T-shirts, are made in this country. All my shoes are Canadian made and one pair made in Maine (Bean boots). I said no the $50 Chinese footwear that local shops charge $300 for. All sneakers I see locally now are Asian garbage by big brands. A bunch of foam and vinyl or synthetic cloth, pure junk. 

[SawyerTed]

It's not usually Amazon we have issues with, more often than not it's FedEx.  I've had rounds with FedEx on halfazzed deliveries, refusals to pickup or ship items.  UPS usually is great.

I was standing at the door watching the FedEx driver with a delivery.  I stepped on the porch just as he threw the package.  You should have seen his face when I started after him.  He RAN back to his truck and slammed the door!     Haven't seen him since.  

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I won't get into all the gory details because it just wore me out and I don't want to relive it, but it was Walmart and they promised 'local delivery from the store, same day' WH I made my calls, they either went to India or the Caribbean or somewhere else. Those folks were very nice and all assured me they would 'fix it right' but nothing came of my 4 hours on the phone. The issue, as I see it, was that Walmart has this delivery scheme that may work pretty good in cities and big areas, but we are rural and it just doesn't make sense here. If the local store can't find somebody to deliver, they just cancel the order. That's NOT a plan.
 Even the store pickup was not without 'issues' because they want you to install an app in your phone to let them know you are there and waiting. I ain't doing that neither. But I finally got it this morning before the roads really got cleared up and not many folks were out.
 Now the long process of making it work. Took me half an hour to get my printer to work. I got my email accounts and client working again and thankfully most of that seems intact. But all my photos and business books are likely lost forever, plus all my business files and the master files of the commercial artwork I had, my videos, and the list goes on and on. I am working on a box adaptor for the HDD from the old machine to see if I can maybe grab something off of it.
 Right now I don't want to talk about it really or think about it at all. It's a mess and I know who to blame. Let's put this to bed for now.
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 I have no clue what filled my day today. I plowed, then drove to town for that pickup and got some gas. Grabbed a breakfast sandwich on the way home and never did have time for lunch. I plowed some more, did a little bit of setup on the new computer, messed around in the shop with this and that and the day was shot. Then I wound up clearing a tree off a driveway after dark, that was fun. I'm not Ray and don't like working in the dark, especially in 20 mph winds. I don't know where the day went, but I am tired tonight.

 Tomorrow is another day.

[Nebraska]

Hope tomorrow is better. 

[SwampDonkey]

Since I use laptops, I started using a WIFI keyboard and mouse, I even have a more distant keyboard and mouse I can run from my rocking chair for TV, have them set on a small serving table (Walmart). I watch very little TV, but it's all streamed what I do see. Often it is on when I'm doing some mundane task at a seat, like tying string heddles. And usually old original 'Star Trek' reruns. But I have access to any show or movie out there. I still watch old stuff. I like desktop keyboards better than tiny chiclet keys on a laptop, something with more substance.    The 2 keyboards I got at Walmart store and the mice off Amazon. The keyboards run off some kind of USB dongle, but they are different from one another, same company. Go figure. Maybe they have more range than Bluetooth, I know some USB Bluetooth I've had are no good past 10 feet (IO gear). Others, like on controllers, I can be several feet away and around the corner of another room. I like Staples for laptops, you can get a multitude of configurations and from what I have seen the manufacturer ships them. Staples stores have a few computers, but not the ones I want sitting there. And I don't buy top end models because often your not gaining a lot of performance. I like this Dynabook because it comes up quick, and uses smart charging to save battery life.

I see Jeff added some code to see the 'Draft last saved' time stamp under the post window. Maybe I never saw it there before, pretty sure it's new.

[thecfarm]

I get a lot of work done after supper in the dark. 
But the places I work I am use too. 
The only time I ever got concerned was when I got caught in a snow shower at night. I headed for the house, but at times I had no idea where I was and this is on a woods road that I have been on 1000's of times. 

[Old Greenhorn]

I get it Ray. I did that for years myself. Since retirement though, night work is a distant option. This particular task last night was just not a good environment with the whipping wind and icy driveway, so I chained it up and got it over with. Sure was fun to swing a splitting axe today and whack that ash up in quick order. I haven't split much by hand in the last 5 years and this stuff is very nice and was a pleasure. I didn't get the other log today, no rush. I'll get it when I am 'in the mood'.
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SD I am also a full sized keyboard guy, had a wireless, but didn't like the keys. I have no idea where it even is right now, probably gave it away. On the one that just dies I have been using a lenovo IBM clone keyboard which is pretty good. It was a castaway at the old job. They had a skid box full of monitors and keyboards. I would go through and test them and find stuff that still had some life, bring it home and clean it up. I am down to one keybard and one monitor still working.  I tried the keyboard on the new laptop but just like you, I am not a fan. So I took the old keyboard out to the shop today and gave it a MUCH NEEDED cleaning. Lots of dirt, grime, cat hair, and you name it. Works pretty good now and looks better. My all time favorite were the keyboards on the original IBM AT (286) machines. They just seemed to work very well for me. Too bad that's not an option these days. Also, they were kind of big, which I did not like, but the keys were great. Click clack, click clack.
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 Today was another day where I don't feel like I did much, but worked all day. Ah well, tomorrow is another one and they say we have snow coming in after dark Saturday night. Been staying cold here, high today was 31 or so.

[SwampDonkey]

Mine's a Logitek at the laptop, it's about the same as one you'd get with a desktop computer, except no cords. The remote one is a Logitek [multi-device], but a generic one and more like chicklets, but I don't type more than a URL on there anyway. I think it can be used with phones and tablets to. Battery life seems good on all these gadgets, never replaced a battery since over a year. Not so with an Xbox controller, they take a lot of juice, I have 6 battery packs for it. The stronger ones last 4 days, the other 2 last 2 days. The stronger ones take 6 hrs to charge to, compared to 2 hrs. It's all relative, no free lunches, as the saying goes.  I used full sized keyboard with the old laptop to, the WIFI went in the laptop. It was 10 years old. Kinda glad it went as I got a faster working machine, I don't know that the CPU is much different, but no waiting on startups or loading programs. Photoshop loads in about 3 seconds now.