Packard Sonic's Blog

New blogging home

2009-02-12T23:18:00.001-06:00

I forgot and really should have posted a link here if your looking for my current blogs. You can now find them at http://packardsonic.wordpress.com

You can leave comments there now without having to sign in or have an account. See you all there!

I Love today's cartoons! Would you like another lead paint chip too kid?

2009-02-07T09:34:00.005-06:00

On a totally different tangent from what I normally write about.... No.... Wait......

I write about EVERYTHING!

Nothing is off limits, so why should this be any different.. Well you won't be disappointed in this one either then!

As well as being the news junkie, And yes I dare say that over the many years of watching TV, and as many adults secretly enjoy still.....

CARTOONS!

Yes, the colorful animations made but people from all over where anything is possible!

As I still enjoy a well made animation with a good story line behind it (Yes folks there IS a story there) I have been a little to busy with my life to see what they have come up with for today's kids. And I must say I am so very thoroughly ...

Disappointed!

Disappointed, disappointed, disappointed.. Oh, did I say I was disappointed?

What has happened to cartoons today? I happened to catch the title of a few of them today, and these shows are so mind numbing is beyond belief!

Sushi Pac? I saw a few minutes of this and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They have dulled and watered down a cartoon so badly that the ink was barely holding on to the cells they were painted on!

Horse world? Wow! you know there are boys watching TV too, are you trying to turn them in to girls? If you are, start dressing them that way because they will be after watching that!

This one sounded almost worth watching until I saw parts of it. Dino Hero's? Interesting concept except the whole save the planet aspect part of it, I thought this kind of brain washing went away with Captain Planet!

Then the little 3 -5 yr old mini cartoons with the commercials that look like Lego® blocks. just enough to sap the intelligence and creativity out of you!

Strawberry Shortcake? Ok.. Ladies that grew up with this, and I know that there are a lot of you out there that did, my nieces included in that, But THIS, THIS is NOT the same kind of stuff, it was dumb then, and it's even dumber now!

Care Bars? Someone please, please, please! Put them back in the toy chest of forgotten toys! These "feel good" things are just pain stupid! I know some one is making money on this, and it's not ME! and quite honestly, There is a "special place" for people that come up with the dialog for these things! No it's not a story of any kind it's more like "lets eat the sugar bowl!" type thing!

Ugh! People please, if you want your kid to grow up in the realm of being normal.. Don't, Don't let them watch this crap!

Some might argue that "oh violent cartoons create bad kids makes them violent too" Baloney!

A while back I happened to catch an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, and all the best parts of it they cut out and tossed on to the scrap heap! Why? You might ask? Because someone with more money than brains thinks that kids will see that and think that's how things work out!

People it's a cartoon! Watching Silvester get hit with a frying pan never wanted to make me go around and hit an actual cat to see if the same thing would happen! And you know why I didn't?? Because I had a BRAIN! And my parents were smart enough to know that I would know the difference between cartoon world and real world!

Frankly if you see your kid trying to do the things he saw in a cartoon like that, he or she isn't sane to begin with! Send them to the "special" group with the lead paint eaters!

The world around kids is hard enough without filling their heads with mindless stuff that will do nothing but make them in to cottage cheese for brains! Where is the spirit there? Is that what these are really trying to say that your kids are to stupid to handle or understand the difference between cartoons and real life?

Show them a classic cartoon, unedited and see the joy in their face as well as your own come alive. Not this drivel they pass off as entertainment today. Sit down and watch this stuff with them, and if you can't stand to sit though it, why make them do it.

The Young, The Helpless, and The Vista

2009-01-29T19:41:00.003-06:00

Well today will make day seven of using Vista and after covering most of it's short comings of the UI and it's basic operations I have to I was thinking I was going to be hard pressed for last and final topic using this operating system. Then later in the day I was trying to help someone that I know that was having problems with their computer. I thought, I can do this type of thing in the Mac OS all the time over iChat and its relatively simple. Start iChat, request to see their screen and your all set. So how much harder could Microsoft's remote connect over internet be? Boy was I in for a SHOCK! I had to not only look online for the directions and the person at the other end was a very novice user that she said she likes her Vista, but the set up was not only confusing to myself on this but to them as well! I had had spent over half an hour with them over chat telling them what they needed to look for to help getting it set up and after going into the control panels and making sure her end was ready for a connect, they became lost and frustrated. I like to help people when I can and help friends when I can and made me feel even more helpless that here was something that I couldn't get across to them on what to do as they were unable to pull up a web page with the instructions on it so they could follow along.

Rachel may say I'm a Mac bigot, but with all the posts that I've outlined, it's not to hard to be a little bit in the face of such overwhelming problems this system has.

Blink.. Blink.. Blink.. Is that your turn signal? No it's Vista

2009-01-28T12:33:00.002-06:00

While I am now in to day six of using Vista, I am really getting ready to get back to the normal operations of my Mac. While I know that programs need attention and will do what they can to get your attention, why does every one of them have to blink like a cop behind you at a traffic stop? I know this is such a small thing to worry about, but after awhile it can get to be a little bit much. If you are chatting with someone or a something has finished working, yes I would like to know about it but if you don't get back to it right away and you are trying to think about what your doing right at the moment sometimes a flashing light on the computer screen can get to be distracting. Some may argue that well yes I want to know when someone replies or the like, that's fine, but for me I don't really need to know every thing the computer is doing at every moment. With our busy lives do you have time to respond or clear out every blinking thing on the computer? And if you switch to it will it be something that really needed your attention in the first place right then and there or possible cause the system to slow down or crash while you wait for the flashing thing to switch to it? In the Mac OS X if an application needs your attention the application may jump a few times or something else to get your attention but it wont blink incessantly to get your attention.

Keep the flashing lights where they belong... Xmas trees, cop cars, tow trucks and disco balls..

But not in the task bar....

Ok, who slipped Vista the snails?

2009-01-27T20:08:00.003-06:00

After running Vista without a restart, the week started out ok speed wise, considering that I am running this on a 1.6 Ghz Mac Mini, but as I get closer to the end of this experiment, which is now going into day five, I have been noticing a significant slowdown in the UI and the system overall. While I am not unfamiliar with system slow downs, but only after running the computer non-stop for a relatively short amount of time compared the amount of time of running the Mac OS continually with far more programs open will it slow down, and if I shut them down the computer recovers fairly quickly. I have not seen this happen with Vista. Currently, I have several applications running, four in all at this moment and with each more than two or more windows going. As the Windows OS treats each window as an application in to its own, the OS will slow down more and more with each new window it opens. When my computer is in Mac mode while the OS does dedicate some of the resources to each application that is open, I can run way more than one application with multiple windows open in the Mac OS without a major slow down. Even Little things like typing up this blog has become harder to do with out me nearly pulling my hair out in frustration!

Bloop.. Beep.. Pling.. Plang. Vista, what are you trying to say boy?

2009-01-25T12:51:00.002-06:00

Since I started running Vista late last week and now into day four of my week long venture of this OS, something I have been noticing.. Well hearing really... While I do have several programs that are running online at the moment, and I'm sure I have quelled the noises that they generate or at least set them to noises i recognize, Vista is every now and again still pinging, dinging and just generally making itself known to me even when I am away from the computer and the screen saver has kicked in. Now I'm not unfamiliar with the sounds a computer makes, but it seems that with the Vista operating system, something beeps and I look around the screen to see what might have caused it. Perhaps an alert box someplace or the like. after searching numerous windows and applications I happen to be running at the time, they all appear to be dormant like a sleeping volcano just waiting for it time to spurt a sound at me when I'm looking at my keys or away from the c0mputer. In comparison on my Mac side of the computer, if something dings there is some sort of notice as to what it was that might have caused it. Usually.... Not saying that's never happened on the Mac side where something makes a noise and have no idea what it was but it is very rare. Its frustrating to have an application to sit there and ding at you and then shows no notification of what it was that apparently wanted your attention in the first place. Some might chalk that up to programing but when you don't have any programs running and it does that, well I chalk that up to a REALLY bad deployment of an OS.

Frustration is just a Vista keystroke away

2009-01-25T11:53:00.003-06:00

Well now into day... What is this so far? Day Three? Can the week zoom by quicker please??

When it comes to using the key commands in Vista or Mac and no matter the keyboard, my typing is sometimes... Well less than stellar... Ok, I'm no keyboardist to the 10th level or anything lol, but I suspect neither are most computers out there. Like most users, my fingers have tendency to slip and press random keys that you may have not intended to hit or didn't know you had even hit in the first place. When I use my Mac and hit something random, it is usually hitting the expose, or the help key which is a pain, and have to wait for the computer to process opening the help so i can get back to what i was doing. Now this is is an inconvenient but not to bothersome. When I started doing this in the Windows Vista world however, I was in for a few very unpleasant surprises. When I have hit the random key element in Vista I get a dialog box to do some other commands and I am looking at my keyboard and not looking up in time to notice what I've done on the screen. Or worse yet I get typing faster as I can hunt and peck pretty well. Ok, not perfect, but pretty well.. and I like to talk online like most people and somehow i managed to hit a key of some sort and I'm not 100% sure if it was this key or not, but i think it was the Scroll Lock key. Have no idea how I even hit this key if it was in fact that key at all. But suddenly I was unable to type at all! When you are in the middle of a conversation this can get quite distressing to say the least! then while your trying to figure out what key to re-click to get this symptom to go away the other person is either getting annoyed or you missed a good place for a joke at a critical moment.

In any event, sometimes having to many commands at your fingertips can be just as bad as having to few and Vista has way more than is really necessary....

You have Vista eMail!

2009-01-23T16:34:00.005-06:00

As I generally have not set Vista up to check my mail, I thought that I would give it a look. Well after being unable to find in the programs listing of ANY hint of a built in mail program I did some may not even think to try to get it to rear its head. I clicked a email address in the web just to see what would happen.

Well low and behold! A mail message window appeared! but it needed set up. However I figured I'd do that set up on it a little later after I could see where the options for that setup was at so I could customize it more later. Well after doing the things that I do at night chatting, twittering and browsing the net, I tried looking for it again in the system. As I had the previous mail message closed and didn't realize that one of email links I had clicked was hidden in the now shrunken menu bar. So I figured I'd click another email to try to get that setup window back again so i clicked another email link and it went right to the body of message. No set up warning this time at all. Hmmmmm.... What to do? Well I clicked the send button, NOW I get a warning saying not set up. But as I was still not really ready to do an actual send just yet, I went back to look for the Vista mail program again first. I was still was unable to locate it. However I had what I THOUGHT was a clue to it's whereabouts. Maybe they did this so that new users think that they don't have a mail program and need to BUY one! Like say Ohh I don't know... Microsoft Office for example? Yet after digging through the programs and control panels again I did finally locate the "Windows Email" program. I must have been more tired than I thought I was to have missed it the first time, or it could be that they wrapped it around with multiple items starting out Windows This, Windows That and Windows Other. Made me to want to jump out the nearest "Window" However, as I'm only about 6 feet off the ground it wouldn't be much of a jump anyway. The funny thing is that Microsoft puts SO many icons on the desktop to start out with, at least they used to or in the task bar, why didn't anyone think to say put this one on the desktop as well for people to easily find it? What bothers me mostly is the fact that it only popped up a message window and not the application with it like the Mac would do show you are in the email program.

Well now I'm off to see the wizard... No, not of OZ, but the mail program wizard. Just have to watch for the flying monkeys. LOL

It's a Yahoo / Spybot install fight you want? Let the bits battle!

2009-01-23T15:37:00.003-06:00

Well I tried to install an update in windows for the latest Yahoo, and I get my Spybot warning of whats going to be changed and I can decide what I want and don't want the registry changed to. Well as I am writing this the two programs are and have been fighting over whats installed in the registry I told it to blacklist updates to the browser as I hate the yahoo toolbar it installs. When I have done this in the past it just accepted it and stopped. Now it seems to be caught in some sort of nonending loop! Rachel usually would say that it's the programmers that do thisd kind of thing from bad programing. Well Yahoo has been doing yahoo messenger for windows for a long time now and would hardly call thme third rate programers. Looks like I may need to reboot to get it to stop. Not a situation I would have with my Mac to be sure!

More as this week continues. And this is only day one! YIKES!

Notices from Vista: A view from the Mac Side

2009-01-23T12:19:00.011-06:00

Well, after hearing the challenge as was mentioned in the previous blog post I started my Mac that morning right after work. Well to back up my statements regarding the multiple times Vista's UAC (User Access Control) window pops up for running programs, etc. Well once I got vista started after a few reboots for file fixing it seemed to believe that needed to be done, I began my work.

Now going back a bit, one of the things that Rachel had mentioned last week about not needing drivers. Now mind you I only connected two items it had not been connected to before. A different monitor and the router I have at my desk. It notified me that it needed to find drivers for these items for them and notified me when this was done. Two windows right there that were already in my way. Once that it did that and got these two new additions set I did not see it again. However, In comparison to when I connect a new item to the Mac it does not generally have to install drivers the moment new devises are plugged in to it. Not saying this is true in all cases, but the only thing I have really ever had to install something for hardware was for printers but that usually came with an install disk which Cal & Rachel will attest to comes with most hardware.

Now with that out of the way, lets start with a software update window on the windows side. First off I have it running as the admin so I don't know if any of what follows will make a difference or not. But one thing that I noticed right off that it asked my permissions to install software updates from a third party for my printer. Not only did I get asked not once, not twice, but three separate times in all. Twice from the UAC and once from the software that was being updated and installed itself. Mind you that this was not I haven't even got in to the Microsoft software update yet.

Next I get two separate windows about the router that I connected to the computer. Now in relationship to how the Mac handles a new connection that if it detects a new connection it just connects. No extra windows to tell me it's found a network and asks how to connect to the network.

Now with this out of the way I had to give permissions to Spybot to allow changes. Ok, now this admittedly is of my own doing to watch over the operating system to make sure bad things don't install them selves on the computer and making serious changes that would harm the computer.

Next moving on to the Microsoft updates. Now admittedly I have not run the MS updates in awhile as I have not run Vista in awhile. It tells me that I had one critical and five optional updates that needed to be installed. While this in itself is not unusual, when I went to view the updates, it gave me a blank window. when I closed this window to try to reload the updates window it now tells me that there are no updates whatsoever, critical or otherwise. Well more on this later on..

Next I moved on to install Twirl so I can at least follow the Twitter from within windows. I proceed to download and install the special installer needed for Twirl. Not really a bother at this point as I need it for the .air format they came up with. When I clicked the download button on firefox, it first prompted me saying that it blocked a file that I just asked to download then asked if I want to run or saver the file. Fine no problem I've seen this before so I choose run from location. I now get second window asking again if I want to run it from the web, then a third time from the UAC if it can be run! OMG! This is only one program and three questions for it at that point. Now the program starts to get installed it now asks if i want to install it then it asks again after I already told it three time previous so all in all to install this one program I get asked five times in all. Now, When I download a program on the Mac, it just downloads it and if its an installer it starts up the installer which i have set in firefox to ask, which I can set to default but i don't mind this one time. now that its downloaded, if its a run as is type program with out having to be installed and you start it up it says this program "xyz" was downloaded from website "xyz" on date and time are you sure you want to run it. I click yes, and it just runs. If it were an installer it would would show a license agreement and where to install it. then it moves from two to three dialog boxes. but never five!

Going back to the updates from MS, something interesting that I took notice of, that it does ask me after i tell it to install the updates from MS it just asks then installs. No check other than that! In comparison, when an update from Apple comes out you tell you want to install it then the updater qualifies who is doing the update via an admin password.

Could there be more to this long drawn out post? Yes... There was even more times it asked permissions for. removing an item from the desktop to the trash, starting up the add hardware control program each time. I tested this out several times. Each time i was asked if i really wanted to run it.

By this time and only have installed two programs and took over an hour to get through all this I headed to bed after a busy day at work and this was more tasking then my job!

More as the week with Vista continues....

Packard's Challenge from the PC / Mac Smackdown

2009-01-23T12:12:00.003-06:00

Well, tonight one of my favorite podcasts that I listen to regularly and contribute to during the week tonight not only mentioned me several times (which I just love being mentioned in) but as I listened to the episode #76, both Cal & Rachel gave me a challenge to find not only news about the Microsoft Windows Vista, but positive stuff! While I am up for that challenge, I am taking it a step further. Based on one of my comments they said on the show that night, I am not only going to do the for mentioned challenge but run my Mac in the PC world! Well just for a week anyway. LOL. I don't have enough hard drive space allocated to download all the updates that MS puts out and be able for it to actually function. So although I would install the required updates, this time I will hold off on that for now.

Now I am not a novice when it comes to living in the windows world, I have more than once helped my friends that have windows XP and Vista and got their systems cleaned up and taught them what anti-spyware programs they should install and what to avoid.

Well, this will be an interesting week until this next Thursday when I will be switching the computer back to Mac side again.

My what big ears you have! The better to DTV you with!

2009-01-13T15:51:00.005-06:00

No, I'm not talking about the story of little red ridding hood, but the upcoming switch to the new DTV.

While the government does this switch to the new DTV, for now if we are still close enough to a transmitter to get a signal to watch, but if you are just at the edge of the range you wont get the video at all. For awhile now, I have been using the standard analog signal with no antenna and only the use of a cable hanging out of the back of the TV to pick up the local signals. Recently I finally got the DTV converter cards in the mail and picked up not only the converter but a in house TV antenna. These "rabbit ears" while they look ugly do work.... Somewhat. While I was there the I was pricing these antenna, which are in house to something more elaborate. from $8.99 to almost $40.00! The cards that the government give out are only worth $40.00 to begin with and if you get the cheapest antenna you may get marginal signal if any at all. However, if you get the most expensive one you should get a better signal or so you might think. If this is true or not I don't know for sure. While my resources like most people are limited due to whats going on around them, I can't afford to get the high end antenna. While at times the signal is clear and I will admit it is a lot clearer than what I was expecting and the extra information it carries with it is also a welcome addition to what your watching. There are a few drawbacks I'm seeing so far. Before I get in to the drawbacks I should back up just a little bit here, for many, many years I was like most everyone else I had signals right off the air TV, then moved to cable, eventually I had satellite. Which has probability the best signal and control overall than cable. While I haven't had cable recently, I'm sure there has been more control and whatnot's added to the service, I still enjoyed satellite the most. But as I had to cut back on what I could and couldn't afford, I'm back to the off the air signals again. Now for the problems with DTV I have seen so far. One of which is latency. To many that don't watch it hard enough, you may not notice the slight second - half second delay between what the audio from when the person speaks and when their mouth catches up with what the audio is at. I don't know about anyone else, but this is very annoying, it's like having ADD via TV! Maybe that will improve as the technology becomes more common place or gets better. Another thing that really bothers me is the signal drop outs that happen. Again, this could be because of the cheap antenna I bought or possible the weather as my youngest daughter has said as they have had it at their mothers house for awhile now get that when it gets bad. Wait... The weather? The antenna is in the house how can the weather be affecting the signal quality? Now this... This is something that needs to be explained if its true. Someone may say well... Just go out and get a new TV. Ok... IF I can't afford a $40.00 antenna, I can afford a $300 - $500 TV set? Lets do the math here? Maybe when I have the cash to, I will do just that. Until then, I trudge along with the converter box. Another thing that I am finding very annoying is the "box" the video has to put in for the picture to be seen. So, the 32" TV set is now like having a 26" TV set again! I didn't buy a 32" TV all those years ago just to have it reduced to a 26" viewing area. I shudder to think if I were to put it on an even smaller set, would I have to be looking at a picture the size of a postage stamp! I may have to find another way to get the video to the TV that be more worth watching again.

Until then, while technology gets better, the rest of us without the resources to catch up properly The thing to do would be hold off on the switchover. Not forever, but for just awhile longer..

Windows to my, Umm had it here someplace..

2009-01-12T00:37:00.004-06:00

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Or the pizza parlor down the street. In any case, my kids and I had a talk to day and I have NO idea how we got on this subject, but of course in my house, that isn't surprising as thoughts around here fly about as randomly as a drunk, well.... fly! After all these years I always believed that my eyes were hazel in color. Then today I learned that some one could have gray eyes. Here I never thought was really ever a possibility of having, but it turns out that it is in fact possible. It kinda reminded me of a book I once read "The girl with silvery eyes". Ok, it's not gray but sure is close to it. If you had ever read that book, you would understand why I wanted to have eyes like that. LoL But other than that hazel is always what I was told they were. as i cant exactly see them, without the help of a mirror of course, getting close up view is a little more difficult. as the closer you get the more out of focus it is.

Here are my eyes, tell me what you think. Hazel or Gray?

Post here below, comments are welcome!

Elvis & JFK are on vacation.

2009-01-09T06:14:00.001-06:00

Well tonight at work we happened to have the radio on which is not so unusual and just happened to have on George Noory. He has a rather unusual radio program and talks about a lot of really strange things. Which is the kind of stuff I like anyway. Sometimes it's fun listening to and seeing the strangeness of our world around us. However, the topic they were talking about this morning just made want to tell the guest and callers they were not only way off the mark but just plain STUPID! Apparently there are people out there that are sooooooo diluted that they actually think that Elvis is STILL ALIVE! People, people, people, GET A GRIP ON REALITY HERE! The man is DEAD! LET IT GO ALREADY!!! There are things that the government is hiding from us, but Elvis is NOT, I repeat NOT one of them! Then they went on to say that even James Dean is also still alive as well! Banged up and terribly scarred, but alive. Yes I mentioned JFK also as some believe that he as well is still alive as well. Ok, maybe they are... In some parallel world perhaps or just some peoples over active imagination. However, here in our "reality" or space time dimension if you want to look at it that way, they are all in effect DEAD and GONE!

If someone that thinks that any... ANY of these people are still around, PROVE IT! Not with a photo either as we all know photoshop can make you appear to be or see anything you want them to see. Get them in a news conference or something like that.

Then there are a few out there claiming to be the descendants of these people. Where do you even START with this bunch of nuts?!?!? If you say you are related and I do mean next of kin sort of way, where is your DNA evidence to show that is true?? If you CAN'T prove it, do us all a favor, either shut the hell up or check in to the mental ward! You are a danger to yourself and the rest of us!!

Hair today. Different hair tomorrow?

2009-01-06T17:40:00.004-06:00

There is a commercial that I have seen, where some family that has broken up where the father is coming to pick the kids up for his time with them, and the ex each time has some new kind of hair style. By the last scene, the woman has hair that is really made up and the guy is like just awe struck. This to me is TOTAL TRASH! If you are so shallow that you actually think that your ex is going to trip over himself and want you back or you think you are torturing them just because you got a new hair style, I have something to say... YOU ARE DELUDING YOURSELF! Some might say its not that, its their self esteem. BALONEY! First off, there are REASONS why you are not together any longer and without a doubt it wasn't over your choice of hair over your choice of hair style! Second, if you think that your entire being revolves around your hair, then you are too shallow for society and need to check in to the white wall hotel. This way you wont have to worry about your HAIR! Now I am not saying that we need to look unkempt, or look like you just woke up and went straight out with pillow hair. If you want to fix it up, fine. But spending an hour or more on your hair is not being thorough, its border line NUTS! Wash, dry, and comb or brush it and be done with it.

Overall these commercials with this type of sales pitch needs to STOP! They not only send this stupid message that I just talked about above but it makes you the woman look even more shallow than the guy you broke up with.

So take your hair commercials like this and comb them out of our hair!

A new limo for the king...

2009-01-06T17:10:00.003-06:00

I just came across a recent post on CNET that is telling how Barack Obama will be getting a new limo and giving what details they can about it, which are very few in fact do to security. Now with that being said, why a new limo? We are in a financial crunch right now and while yes getting limos will help "an industry" it only helps but a few people. The ones that make the limo. Am I saying he doesn't deserve it? No. I'm not saying that but what was wrong with the one that Bush had? can't they learn to recycle this stuff? New limos, new desk, new whatever. The government tells us over and over again that we should be saving money, while they spend, spend, spend! If it's broken and can't be fixed then replace it. But with the cash they spend on maintenance on those vehicles, why cant they just give the old one to the next president in line, then if its to far gone to fix then replace it. For anyone out there saying well the president going out has to have a limo. Well that's a given, but with all the money they made while in office on what YOU, and I PAID him with our taxes. you think that maybe, just MAYBE he could afford to BUY one HIMSELF?? The out going president otherwise will not be paying for anything for the rest of his LIFE! From the moment he walks out the door of the White House, everything, EVERYTHING is comped for him! So some one out there explain to me and if you do please leave your comments below as to WHY every president NEEDS a new limo when there was NOTHING wrong with the old one that were already in service? Short of safety and new design for new events that could happen! If there was a SIGNIFICANT changes that were needed to be done, like the A*holes that might try to attack him, now have laser eyes, can become rock creatures, or something, the money is just being wasted!

Come on Washington D.C.! When it comes to recycling, practice what you preach!

That looks good... Pass the ketchup..

2009-01-04T08:18:00.004-06:00

What is it about ketchup that we just love?

We seem to add it to so many things we eat now a days. What did we ever do without it? So your saying, yea so what, everyone knows about it. Sure you know about it but sometimes do you ever really THINK about it? Ok, my day is filled with so many things I don't give much thought about ketchup either, that is until the fries, hot dogs, or something else we all would normally eat with it and it's not there. If we were to go to a restaurant and they said "We are out of ketchup.", wouldn't you be thinking "What kind of place doesn't have or runs out of ketchup?" Or if your really picky and the place you have chosen doesn't carry your "brand" and the stuff that they have is just the NASTIEST thing you have ever tasted in your life, you most likely would never go back. That is unless your one of those people that have no taste and don't care what you eat no matter the price or lack of condiments. But over all what is it about ketchup that says you don't need me until you need me then if I'm not there you don't want it without me. Over the years I've known people (not naming names to protect the crazy I.M.H.O) that put this on not only the stuff that the rest of us would normally out this on but things like..

Ice cream.. Soup.. Coffee.. Cake.. Pizza.. Bananas.. And sometimes each other. No I don't mean like, if your stuck on a desert island and think boy I'm hungry I wonder how Frank would taste with ketchup? Type thing. I won't go in to much more detail here I'll let your mind wander and wonder on that one to your strangeness or delight.

Then If that weren't bad enough, then there is the spelling of it. there are a few different ways and ways to spell it then pronounce it! Catsup , ketchup, or katchup. I'm sure there are others but, I that would take more thought than I am really willing to put in to it at this time. But next time you pound or squeeze the bottle of the red stuff and enjoy the flavor, try that food without it first then... Pass me the ketchup..

To all the gadgets I've loved before.. Filling the trash from head to floor.

2009-01-03T12:42:00.005-06:00

Gadgets, gadgets, gadgets, and more gadgets! Our lives are full of these things, that some one has "invented" to make our lives more productive, make useless crap, or to make us look handsome or beautiful to other people that have access to such things to do the same things as we do. Being awake EARLY in the AM has one advantage.... You get to see a lot of the useless gadgets (or useful if you have more brains than money) on the TV that people are selling. What happens to be on the TV as I write this, an item called a "dermawand" yes, go Google it. I'll wait.... Are you back yet? Well, earlier there was a device called a "Cricket" and I don't mean grass hopper and another that uses water to steam clean the floors.
Why do we buy such stuff? Do you really need yet another item to clutter up your house? Just another thing to take up space and to make someone some cash. Well I can hear a few of you out there already saying well "it's the American way" or "you would do the same given the chance". Well, before I get in to the if I would do the same thing, I will say this about myself, and the people that know me are already saying this, when it comes to clutter, oh yea... I know clutter! I have crap from when I was younger that I can't fit into or is out of date and and most likely wont be used again, unless time suddenly reverses itself then I'll be ahead of the game or is that behind? Well never mind that.. Keeping some of the gadgets I have had from the past and yes it does take up space, is I do occasionally find useful for other things they were most likely never thought about being made for or parts for something newer that it just seems to fit in or Xmas gifts to people that have not had the "fun" of owning it yet. It's not re gifting, its recycling!

Ok, now on to the "you would do it too" people.. Well, I might do that. That is I would sell something that I created, but if I were to do that, I would hope that it would actually be something of REAL value to others not just to someones vanity or just make something to make some "quick cash" to fly to Aruba and sun myself on the beach with all the women... Never mind, got caught up in a dream for a moment there... Where was I? Oh yea, a useful gadget that would solve the problem with having to keep us from buying oil from people that don't even like us for example. Oh I could go on even MORE about that, but I wont in this post, maybe in a future one.

It's seems that for every gadget that comes in to being around we are able to replace several others with that one. Before long, who knows we may not even need houses at all. We will pull out our gadget from our pocket and POOF! Our house will appear in front of us with all the things in it that we need. (sure would solve the housing problems) Ok, someone at NASA get right on that!

Getting back to the dermawand. I know women like to look pretty and all that, and I have no problem with that, except a lot of you out there are already just fine looking without a gadget like this and the rest of you.. Well... NO gadget will solve THAT! Blame your parents! That goes for you pretty boys out there too. Although I don't see (in my mind anyway) many guys using this one gadget anytime soon. And if your buying it for your girlfriend, wife or whatever, what message are you sending them? Hey your ugly! Use this it will make you more attractive to me again. If you think that a gadget that will make you pretty and I know a few of them out there do, what they are intended, but you have to have something to work with first off or a real skilled plastic surgeon.

My point is people that a gadget, is just that. Useful or useless, big or small.

Don't let them clutter your house, that is until the gadget becomes the house and then you can fill it with more useless junk!

Incomplete work. Laziness or boredom with a twist of lime?

2008-12-28T17:05:00.004-06:00

We have all done it, myself included, leaving tasks incomplete. Why do we do this to our selves? Are we just being lazy and bored with the task at hand or just leaving it for later for something to do when we are truly bored with nothing else to do?

Well looking at the first part, some tasks that are set upon us whether by accident, design, or that boss with the Roman Empire fetish, whatever the cause, they JUST have to be done no matter what. Then there is the little tasks. Sub tasks as it were, with no real purpose other than to keep us busy and playing with our toes while we are work. Sometimes the task is just to involved to be tackled all at once and needs to be spread out over time. In which case someone who has come in the middle or near the end of the task with no concept of whats happened may look at it and say your just being lazy and don't want to get it done. While they don't know the extent of what your doing, or how much time you have involved yourself into the task, to them its just incomplete.

Then there are the tasks that get set aside, not because you don't have enough time to do them, they are just mindless tasks that if given a reasonable amount of thought about, they aren't worth the time that is assigned to them to be done. Something like this I believe would be summed up the way Hollywood sums up things, there are no small parts, just small actors.

Which lastly for now at least, are the tasks that we set up to do we get started, then come back to whenever we really have nothing else to do. I was guilty of this most of the time and still a little bit yet today. I will start something and I do intend to finish it sometime, but not now. Just when I really have nothing else to do and everything else that really had to get done at some point or wasn't important enough to do right away but yet had to be finished sooner rather than later was done and what was left was the things that I left myself to do just for the sake of killing time, which I think in the state of New York is an offense punishable by having to live there.

Well with the twist of lime or time, now you have done it and killed a little time from reading this post today. Now you have to move to New York. It's the law.

(Void in any sane mind. Your millage may vary)

And the loneliness fills my heart.

2008-12-27T16:19:00.005-06:00

Well here it is just a few days from my birthday, and I will be yet another year older.

During this time in a persons life, most would have family and friends around them or at least hope to as its not like it's a national holiday or anything but something more personable to each one of us. Some dread it coming while others look forward to each and every one. Mostly those who are not old enough to do things that someone a few years older or so is already able to do. Vote, drink, drive, or make the bigger decisions that will affect their lives for years to come for the good or the bad. Growing up the youngest kid in a some what large family, you would think that there would be stronger ties between us all, yet there are so few that have held us together. Lately, it seems the only thing that keeps us together is simple gravity. As none of any of us live anywhere near each other its hard to keep in touch. Sure we have the internet today, phones, snail mail... But yet, even with the things that should help bring us closer together it also pushes us further apart at the same time. When I was younger, hadn't yet been married, had kids and divorced, I had spent a lot of my time alone. Usually walking someplace, watching TV, or trying to solve a problem on the computer when I used to program on my old Apple ][e. Being alone then it bothered me a little, sometimes I enjoyed it but being young I was always able to find something to do to keep myself from feeling alone in life, but now.... I can't see the same things in my life to keep me distracted like I could then.

What about your friends? you may be asking.. When I was younger I move round a lot and finding true friends was not easy to find. Sometimes ended up around the wrong type of people that were going to get me nowhere but trouble. Sadly that did happen a time or two, however I was able to be able to keep myself from getting in to deep into all that. But not enough it seems that the history is still there and it effected my growth as an individual.

So, am I going around throwing kittens in to trees, running down people and robbing liquor stores? Well OBVIOUSLY NOT! However the every man for himself attitude seems to rubbed off on me and as such its been hard for me to learn to trust others, as when I had trusted the people around me they turned against me in most ways that its not even worth mentioning here. So here I sit.... Alone... Trying to trust others and being left disappointed every time I try. Do I stop trying? No. I take precautions and keep the people around me at a "safe" distance from me and not letting them in all the way, or at the very least only letting them know what only whats important at the time. Always worried that they will try to do the same thing that the others in my past have done to take advantage of me.

When I was married, I still was unable to fill that void. Not that I didn't try to fill it with what I could do, but I failed it seems. At some point I may give up trying, but not today. Or anytime soon I hope. Sometimes I wonder with the adversities that I had experienced in my life why I never turned to drugs or alcohol to try to fill the gaps in my life. I always attributed it to having a strong will, but at the same time that strong will is crushing my life in to the loneliness that I bare today.

Well until that loneliness that fills me can be replaced with something or someone that I can believe in 100%. As I don't see that happening anytime soon, I will trudge along in life, alone and lonely.

And a Merry Xmas to you as well. Next time use all your fingers please!

2008-12-25T06:35:00.002-06:00

Good morning and a Merry Xmas, Happy holidays, and a happy whatever you celebrate!

With that out of the way it seems that during this time of year we seem to get more stressed out than ever. Even over the littlest of things. Recently I was in one of local stores with my youngest daughter shopping for a gift for her sister and over heard (well it was kinda hard NOT to) two women having an argument over something, and as one of the "ladies" walked away from the other she had said to the other "if you would take your head out of your A$$" and at that point I just happened to get see her and see the look on her face at this reply, I must say it was one of quite surprise. At least in my observation anyway. At this time of the year this is a time to be with friends and family, but this year I'm guessing that won't happen for many due to the weather and they are stressed out for sure. As far as seeing people flying only a few fingers, well you would think that being the season that it is that you would see less of that, but as our stress trying to get things done, and get places around in the nasty weather it seems to be happening with greater frequency. You would think that in this weather that people would show a little more restraint in doing that as someday they may find them selves at the mercy and in the ditch of someone that they just did the one finger salute to moments ago. I'm not saying that I want for anyone flying me the one finger salute to end up in the ditch.... Well maybe just a little... But overall no.... People should learn to relax and enjoy this time of year, even if the people around them are not only stressing you out and just wish that you could give them the Homer Simpson neck massage that he gives Bart.

With that said, I have but one more thing to say on this....

Enjoy the holiday everyone!

Throw another sushi log on the fire!

2008-12-23T05:31:00.004-06:00

Good morning ALL!

It's just a few days away from Xmas, and another night loading trucks. Well i had said in my mini blog at http://www.twitter.com/packard_sonic that I would get about 4 hours of sleep before they called and I wasn't too far off the mark. Got maybe 4 1/2 hours of sleep in before for they called. Well I know what your asking what does that have to do with sushi? Well that's a good question and here is the answer... Absolutely NOTHING! Well except that after a relatively light night, except that they put everything all over the place from every route, it was a pain to sort before i had to sort all the skids. Nothing was in order which thew me off some what, but managed to get it done within a somewhat reasonable amount of time. Well now for the part of the day that ACTUALLY involves the sushi part.

After we got done with unloading the semi and loading the smaller trucks with stuff, I was sitting there doing my log books and the dispatcher says to me, "Look what i brought." It was sushi! I had never tried sushi before, and he was going on how expensive it was, which for 6 rolls of various wrapped fish was the same amount as a Whopper meal at the BK. Well he offered some to me and i figured, what the hell, give it a try. I'm not to apposed to trying new things. You can't live your entire life in a bubble, no matter how hard you want or don't want to. So I chose the seaweed wrapped crab meat. I figured, it looked better than the other ones. It was odd how it felt in my hand and I generally try things without sauce for the first time so I know what it tastes like without extra stuff on it. Well the first bite was to say an interesting one, and my first thought, and being totally honest here was "HOW DO PEOPLE EAT THIS STUFF?" Now mind you maybe it wasn't fresh, which when it comes to eating raw fish do you want it any fresher? I mean IT'S RAW!
Anyway, I found it to be very gritty, and kinda sweet but yet almost unpalatable at the same time. Not to be rude I did eat the entire wrap that was offered to me, but declined to have another. Now here is the strange part about it. On my way home I could still sort of taste it in my mouth, and I was getting more of that sweetness in my mouth (after taste) and something in my head said, maybe you want another one.. I had to nearly slap myself up for thinking that! I mean I didn't enjoy it when your eating it and I want another?? I can't remember ever having something that was just not very good tasting and saying to myself that I should have more!

In a nutshell, I don't think I will be having it again anytime soon, that is unless some one can prove to me that what I had was not the best made. I mean it could be possible. Well anyway, I have a feeling its going to be an interesting day.

Later...

Good morning headache fans & another dime lost!

2008-12-22T07:00:00.003-06:00

Well another day another dime. Well another dime I wont be making right now as I am NOT at work this morning. I think my manager is trying to punish me for refusing to do that other run, which every time I have done that run, it has messed with my personal and professional life. I mean if something went wrong every time you did it wouldn't YOU not want to do that as well?

Well that aside from that, I have been sleeping the weirdest hours, either too little for a week at a time with very little sleep then doing a mega sleep at the end o the week sleeping 10 hrs or so. Well the last few days, I have had the chance to actually sleep the "correct" number of hours we are supposed be sleeping. What do I get for doing the right thing? A HEADACHE! UGGHH! I can't seem to win for loosing here! This is just insane! I REALLY don't want to start taking meds to try to sleep as that just will make me feel like im walking around like a zombie the rest of the day and for several days later. So what are my options?

At this moment. I really don't know......

Desk cleaning

2008-12-21T19:18:00.003-06:00

Well I finally got around to cleaning my desk off. and just got rid of all the papers that were cluttering my desk. I have set up my video camera for at least a little while. And have set up a new video site at http://ustream.tv/channel/packard-sonic. That is, on the days I decide to stream the video.

Still fixing program that have been moved around on the computer that got messed up from the Mac OS X 10.5.6 update. That was a lot of work and it may take weeks if noth months to get things just where i had it from before.

Well may post again later.

And Xmas 4 days away..

2008-12-21T08:19:00.002-06:00

Good morning all!

With Xmas just 4 days away, and This year I let the kids pick out a gift for them selves. I had said b4 I had kids I wouldn't do that, but here I did it anyway. Seeing how they are 11 and 14 it's getting hard to get gifts for them that I know they would like. Plus lets not leave out the fact that they are girls to boot! Although my oldest daughter is more boyish then her younger sister, she is still a girl none the less.

However, I will be getting them both a gift after tax season, to get them both something nice. It's really becoming that tax day or I should say when taxes are returned that is more of the day before Xmas.

Well with little to do today, I'm sure something will pop up for me to do.

Later all!

First Full Blog Posting

2008-12-20T10:07:00.002-06:00

Hello all!

Well this will be the first FULL posting of my blog. You can follow my micro blog which I publish to daily or semi daily depending on how busy my life is currently at the time at the following address: http://www.twitter.com/Packard_Sonic

Well today Is Saturday Dec 20 2008, and the kids will be here till Dec 25, when their mother will come and pick them up. I am looking forward to having them here for most of the week as this year Xmas falls on a Thursday this year.

Little later today going to take the kids out so they can buy some gifts. Did some of that last night but it got kinda late as i had a busy night at work that morning and was pretty busy trying to get the trucks i load with mail to be delivered.

Will update later on.

Have a good day today!