Benjamin Burrows

Am I missing something here?

This isn’t technology related but something strange I just saw at a store.  Amy has been wanting to get FrontLine or another comparable product for our dogs for quite some time and since it is that time of the year, I figured I better get it while I had a little extra money and before it gets out of control.

While looking over all the products I noticed that they are all the same price.  They all come in different sizes based on the weight of your dog so you have to pick the right one.  While comparing the sizes I noticed that of course the bigger dog size contains more of their chemical blend.  So I was looking at them all and then started wondering why and the hell are they the same price?!  Usually with any other purchase we make, the price goes up and down depending on what size you get.  I mean look at the thermal paste I used to sell, 1.5grams cost $6 and 4.8grams cost $17.  However when you are shopping for a flea control product you are paying the same $25 price, the small dog size (6-10lbs.) is 0.03 ounces and the XL dog size (89-132lbs.) is 0.135 ounces.  How does that work?  How do you pay the same price when one of the options contains 4.5 times the amount of product?

This makes absolutely no sense to me.  Am I missing something?  I really hope I do not end up killing our dogs since I purchased the XL dog size and plan to use that one application on all 6 of our dogs.  If the product works and our dogs do not get sick, then I think I’ve won and saved A LOT of money!!  I will let you all know how it works out over the next few weeks.  Please let me know if I am missing something here because it doesn’t make any sense to me.  Have a good weekend everyone!

Are radar detectors still relevant?

I do A LOT of driving for the work I’ve been doing.  I love driving so it doesn’t bother me.  The only thing that bothers me about driving so much is all the mileage I’ve put on our van and it can make my back pain worse.  I have a few devices on my windshield already but I’m sure I have the room for more.  I of course have a GPS and last year I picked up an EZ Pass to help make my Ohio Turnpike travel easier and cheaper.  I’ve saved quite a bit with that little device, I really appreciate the discounts they give you with it.

I really do not speed too much and generally have the cruise control on.  However there are times when I have to speed a little, especially when I’m driving in Michigan.  Amy really doesn’t like it when I’m in Michigan, I scare her with my driving up there.  I think
it’s because of the “crazy Michigan driver” talk from my mom when I was young.  There is just something about having to keep up with them speeding and showing others on the road that this Ohio driver knows how to drive!

So I started thinking about this today, wondering if they still work pretty good?  I know that in most cases they will not save you from a ticket but at least I’ll know when a cop is around and is running radar.  Would also help if I just happen to get busted, I’ll know what speed he clocked me at.  Based on past experiences with cops I already know that they lie like hell in their police reports and they like to bump up your speed on the ticket a bit so they get a better fine on you.  What do you think?  Are they worth spending the money on them?  Do you have a recommendation on a particular manufacturer or model?  Please share your thoughts and comments by posting here or even shoot me an email if you would like.

The silence

I’m sorry for not posting anything here in quite some time.  I believe I may still have a few followers for all of my hard work on UBCD4Win years ago.  However, since that project is pretty well dead and I sadly do not have the desire to work on it or update it anymore I think most people are not interested in me anymore.  I’ve honestly not really had much to say over the last few months anyways.  I’ve been pretty busy just trying to find enough work to get by and support my family.  I have had quite a few interesting jobs and good experiences that I probably should have shared with you.

If people are still interested in the thoughts and work notes of Benjamin Burrows, then I will continue on.  Instead of UBCD4Win stuff maybe we can discuss this wonderful electronic world we live in.  If you want tips, insight, and other thoughts on the work we do every day then I will gladly share that with you.

I have been doing a lot of platform work over the past 8 months.  I’ve been with OnForce for about 1.5 years, now on Work Market for about 3 months, and recently found Field Nation.  They all have their different Pro’s and Con’s but I have to say that OnForce is my favorite.  Lately I’ve mostly been a TV repair man for Samsung TVs and have a few certifications with them.  I do continue to do some computer work, most of it though is for a few local customers I have.  The platform computer work generally doesn’t pay much and can be problematic so I take very few of those jobs.  I will say that I have been very satisfied with networking work.  I’ve done several cable runs, demarc extensions, router setups, and other “fun” networking jobs.  Back in February I took on a very big and nice job where we ran 3500 feet of Cat5e cable, setup the cabinet, and installed wall plates.  It took a few weeks and many hours but the pay was great and I really loved running all that cable.  Luckily I have Amy so she helped out with that job quite a bit.  We make a pretty good team and I like teaching her how to do different things.  I think punching down the keystones was her favorite part of the job and I’m happy to say that she did an excellent job with that.

There are a lot of challenges in the work we do.  Thanks to that big job in February I’m happy to say that my tool boxes grew and I have a lot of great new tools.  I have an 8′ ladder strapped to the top of my fan and roughly 7 tool boxes in the back of it!  My favorite tools though have to be my Paladin butt set, Paladin punch down tool, and my Klein cable tester.  My only regret is not having a tool that tells me how long the cable is.  I’ve recently found that there is a newer model of my Klein tester which tells you cable length.  I really need a big job so I can afford to buy that bad boy, only need to save up $150.  I should probably sell my old one to help pay for the new one but I doubt I’ll get a price for it that I like.  It is a really nice tool, maybe I need to keep it around for the big jobs so Amy has one to use while I use the other?  Could save us some time but we haven’t seen enough big jobs to justify having two of them.  We’ll see.

I again apologize for the long silence.  If you are interested in the variety of jobs I see and complete then continue to visit the site.  I’ll be glad to share my experiences and share tips with you.  If you need some input or advice on something, feel free to email me or post here anytime.

Championship weekend

I’ve gotta post this quick because kick off is in just a few minutes.  The old saying that defense wins championships has been pretty true for the last few years, offense does a lot but you really need a good defense to stop the other team.  I think this will hold true in only one of these games today.  The Patriots have an amazing offense but a sub-par defense, while the Ravens have a good defense and crappy offense.  So I do not think that the Ravens crappy offense will be able to keep up.  The defense should do well early but those old guys will get tired and the Patriots will start to run on them.  Patriots win and end up in the Super Bowl!!  However, they will not win it.

The later game of the day between the 49ers and Giants is gonna be a bit tough.  However if Smith can prove again today and again in two weeks that he can make the plays when they are needed, they will win today and again in two weeks to claim another Super Bowl!!  The Giants are a good team, all around they have a good balance on defense and offense but it will not be enough against the 49ers tough defense.  So there you have it.  I haven’t been great with my pics over the years but I’m pretty confident in these.  Patriots and 49ers win today and end up in the Super Bowl, but the 49ers will crush Brady and Smith will score enough to win the big game!!  Have fun watching the games today!  I think I’m going to miss kick off though because my Penguins are on right now and it appears they may be heading into over time!

RIP- Ron Mielke

I really don’t know what to say.  He was a great guy and my favorite uncle.  I am really glad that we were able to go to a family get together this past summer and see him.  He had a good and long life.  I have a few good memories left in my head and I keep thinking about them.  He will be missed.  Good bye Uncle Ron, we love you.

Pickle Jar

I’m sure most of you have seen this and it may be a bit lame.  However I must post it now to make sure all of you have seen it.  Here we go:

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents’ bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy, I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled.

I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar to admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate’s treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck.

Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. ‘Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You’re going to do better than me. This old mill town’s not going to hold you back.’ Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly. ‘These are for my son’s college fund. He’ll never work at the mill all his life like me.’

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. ‘When we get home, we’ll start filling the jar again.’ He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. ‘You’ll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters,’ he said. ‘But you’ll get there; I’ll see to that. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar.

To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me ‘When you finish college, Son,’ he told me, his eyes glistening, ‘You’ll never have to eat beans again – unless you want to.’

The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words: he never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me.

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad’s arms. ‘She probably needs to be changed,’ she said, carrying the baby into my
parents’ bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room. ‘Look,’ she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak. This truly touched my heart. Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person’s life, for better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way. Look for GOOD in others. The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched – they must be felt with the heart ~ Helen Keller

- Happy moments, praise God.
- Difficult moments, seek God.
- Quiet moments, worship God.
- Painful moments, trust God.
- Every moment, thank God.

This has been forwarded to me a few times over the years.  The first time I received it, it did make me think quite a bit.  I am kinda glad that I received this again today because it helps me think the way I should think.  When things were really tough in the last quarter of 2011, I luckily started to think a little better.  I finally stopped thinking how horrible everything was and started being thankful for what I have and realized how things could be much worse.  I am glad for this email again also because I know that at times, I really need help.  So the last part of that email is going to be printed a few times so I can post it on the dash of my van, on my desk in our home office, and on a monitor at my small workbench.  The email also makes me wish that I was strong enough to be able to do something like that for my kids and that I would have done something like that years ago.  Today it is more difficult because we use so much “digital” money, I have rarely had change in my pockets!  Although one part of all of that could go away if you are too busy or lazy, most banks now have change machines where you just dump it in.  One of my banks has one of those and I’ve used it a few times, that account is now gone though due to the tough times last year.  The email also makes me wonder and think, “Am I a good dad?”  Sometimes I just wonder if I am really teaching my boys the right things, if they notice and really think about why I do some things.  I won’t know for a few years (until they hopefully start college and start their careers) but really think that they will be fine.  Sorry, that is all just stupid.  Most people are getting sick of reading these stupid posts here, all everyone wants is UBCD4Win or UBDVD news……and I don’t blame them to a degree.  It does get a little annoying though because these people don’t understand the deep depression I was under late last year and the craziness of my work schedule.  I am hoping to be able to get everything under control and have a better schedule soon.  Have a great day everyone and thank you so much for continuing to read!!

Ready for some playoff action??

With such a crappy year and the Steelers looking a bit off at the beginning of the year, I honestly was not very excited about football at the start of the year.  Now though we start the win or go home playoffs today.  There are a few different thoughts and story lines with the playoffs this year.  I think the most crazy thing this year is the fact that there are THREE teams from the AFC North in the playoffs!  Under normal circumstances your division is lucky to have two teams, but this year THREE out of four of our division are in the playoffs.  Kinda sucks that my Steelers are down to the 5th seed because I just keep thinking about that 49ers game that we should have won and could have ended up as the number ONE seed!  Last weekend we even had the chance to pop up to number two, but those damn Ravens had to win.  Oh well, we needed that week off but I think they’ll be able to fight through and win at least two games and end up in the AFC championship game again.  At this point I really believe that we may be seeing a Steelers vs Ravens AFC championship game!

So here are my predictions for the games.  Today we see Sissinatti against the Texans.  Although this is the first time the Texans have been in the playoffs, I believe they’ll pull off the win.  I honestly think they have a much better team than the Bengals.  I think they’ll kinda stomp them.  Then tonight after that game we have the crazy offensive powerhouse Saints up against the Lions.  This year was a nice change, the Lions ended up with a winning record, made it into the playoffs, and wasn’t one of the worst teams in the NFL.  While I personally would like to see them win, I don’t think they have enough?  I love Suh, he is a bad ass…..but they can’t stop that offense.  The Lions offense is not good enough to keep up with the high scoring Saints so the Lions are done.  Like I kinda mentioned, I am really proud of the Lions.  They went from one of the worse teams in the NFL and now made it into the playoffs.  If they can keep the team together and build more, they could end up winning a playoff game or two next year!  Tomorrow we have two more games, most notable (of course) is my Steelers game in Denver!  We’ll start with the first game of the day though.  Atlanta and NY Giants battle it out early tomorrow afternoon.  Honestly I’m not sure who will pull of that game?  I don’t know much about either team and I know they weren’t that impressive this year.  I will guess on this one and say that Atlanta will barely pull it off, but will end off winning the game.  Now to my Steelers game.  While Tebow has kinda had God on his side for a few games and he may have helped put them into the playoffs, their season will end tomorrow.  I trust that our defense has watched a lot of film and have a great plan against the Broncos stupid college type offense crap.  Bad thing about that game though is that Denver does seem to have a decent defense and the Steelers game plan lately has been to score just enough to win.  The Steelers have had a few games where the score was just too close for comfort and I hope that doesn’t bite them in the ass in the playoffs.  Hopefully Ben gets healthy quick and we’ll be able to start scoring more and have some great offensive numbers for the playoffs.

So that is basically my guess on the playoffs.  Since I already predicted an AFC Championship game compromised of the Steelers and Ravens, that means that Cincy has to lose and the Steelers would be playing the Patriots next week.  It would be awesome if the Steelers could make it to the Super Bowl again this year.  While it would almost be cool for a repeat of last year (Steelers and Packers) but with the Steelers winning, I don’t think I’d like to see that again.

Quick update on the E-cig’s also.  It is hell.  For the first few days I was the strong one, thinking about the money we will save and the slightly better health we’ll get in return also.  Now though, the last few days have just been so tough.  I’ve been wanting to buy a pack of real cig’s so bad but Amy keeps telling me NO.  The really tough part is that in truth, we really aren’t quitting!  Our E-cig’s still contain nicotine so technically we are not quitting the worst part and most addictive thing.  The E-cig’s aren’t too bad but mine seem to irritate my throat pretty bad and they are not very satisfying.  I’m gonna keep pushing on though and hope that we can make it.  Have fun watching football tonight, it’s almost time for kickoff!!

Do I really need those extra years?

Answer to that question is probably a big no, but later in my life when I am on my death bed I will wish for more time.  Over at least the past decade I’ve joked that I continue to smoke on purpose because I don’t want to suffer through old age.  Really, when you see those poor people with walkers or wheelchairs or even the super crazy ones that just mumble all day, not much motivation to grow old!  I don’t want to be miserable and suffer through that crap and have a poor quality of life for 10 years, basically just sitting around waiting to die.

I have ever so slightly touched on the point of this post.  I’m not going all out on the title and content because I hope to have the time to do more on this topic over the weekend.  For the past 5 days, I have been suffering bad.  Amy had the brilliant idea that for the new year, she wanted to have a resolution.  This year was a big one!  I have generally stayed away from the stupid resolutions, everyone does them and no one actually accomplishes the big feat.  With such a shitty year last year, I figured that I needed to continue to make changes and try to have a really good 2012.

This was the big one though, it was our most expensive habit……..the yummy, beautiful, and relaxing habit of SMOKING!  Over the years our federal, state, and local governments have been pounding us all in the ass pretty hard.  A pack of good smokes here in NW Ohio is about $5.60.  Simply unacceptable considering they were maybe $1 a pack just over 20 years ago when I first started smoking as a teen.  Oh well, what can you do?  Well other than grow tobacco in your back yard, which actually was something I had threatened the family with about 2 years ago if the cost went up too much.  Growing your own tobacco can be expensive though and I don’t think Ohio’s climate is good enough to grow tobacco so I held off that.

Welcome to the wonderful “E” world though.  We’ve had “E”-mail for decades, “E”-bill’s, and many other Electronic things.  So one of my arguments to myself was, “We have “E”-mail, so I guess we should have “E”-cigarettes too!!”  We had talked about it for about a week but never really found much time to really check into them.  Luckily we ran into a “crazy” lady at the gas station the night before New Years Eve and she shared a lot of good information with us, not all was correct but it was just enough to help us out.  So on New Years Eve, we ran out to one of our smoke stores and spent about $100 to get us moving in the right direction and to have us ready to smoke our last real cigarette at 11:55pm.

The biggest thing to me was COST.  We had been smoking too much and the cost of all of that was killing us.  While the brand and kits we bought were a bit expensive, I think we made the right choice.  The company we ended up going with is based here in Ohio and they seem to make some quality stuff.  Some of the other kits out there are much cheaper but with a quick try of another brand earlier today, quality wise I think we have the right one.  So far it looks like I have went from 2 packs a day (about $9.30) down to using only one cartridge (roughly $2.85) a day of the e-cigs.  Those are some pretty good savings!  Some how Amy, which didn’t quite smoke as much as I did, is going through her cartridges more quickly.  Then again they only had Menthol lights last week and now today we finally purchased her full flavor Menthol cartridges.

The taste and cravings.  For this section, I am really glad we have each other to support ourselves.  The first few days I was pretty positive about it and helped to support Amy.  The last few days though have been tough on me and I really want to buy a pack of real smokes, but Amy is there to help me.  For my upbeat days, I was thinking of the money being saved and that helped me.  Now though I am not completely satisfied with the e-cig’s and think that we could afford the extra cost.  Amy is keeping me in check though so I guess we are doing ok.  The taste really isn’t that great, you don’t walk away with the satisfying taste of real tobacco but I guess the nicotine you get is almost good enough.  I personally have been having slight problems with them agitating my throat.  When I hit the e-cig or take a few hits it really bothers my throat.  I don’t understand that at all?  With these e-cig’s I have eliminated at least 200 other bad chemicals and should only be breathing water vapor, nicotine, and maybe a handful of other flavoring chemicals?  So why are they bothering more than a chemical filled real cig?  I don’t know and it honestly bothers me a little but I figure it has to be better for me, health wise and wallet wise.  They are not very satisfying though, like I said above.  I just do not have the taste of cig’s after taking a few hits.  I still have the cravings for a real cig.  But, at least I am still getting the big addictive chemical, nicotine.  It doesn’t seem like enough most of the time though.

This isn’t a complete review of the wonderful new world of e-cigarettes.  I do want to and hope to have the time to do a little more on the subject though.  I’d like to try to provide all of you with more information so that maybe some of you can take the plunge and maybe make your health a little better.  A video may also be needed just to show you all some of what you will see with an e-cig?  We are now just completing day 5 of this wonderful new journey of being tobacco free.  I really hope we make it, not only for the money savings but also the health benefits.  I’ve tried to quit on many occasions, trying with medication, patches, and other stuff but could never do it.  I really thought this time would be easier since we have the false sense of smoking and the help with a bit of nicotine in each hit, but it appears to be a painful attempt at bettering our health.  That comment made me remember though, all of these devices do clearly state that they are not a method for quitting.  I understand that and it is fine.  We are in an “E” world so why not have “E”-cigarettes?  Especially when they will help your health a little since you are eliminating a few hundred chemicals, but you are still hooked to the nicotine so the horrible habit is not completely broken.

I really hope we can pull this off.  Please feel free to comment with your thoughts or questions.  I really hope that I can find the time to do a quick video to show all of you more on this and hopefully help to have more of you give this a try.  As always, thank you for reading!!

O Canada!

Yes, I checked WikiPedia first to make sure it wasn’t Oh Canada.  Also it really wasn’t Canada but we were only a few tenths of a mile away!!

So you know I’m always desperate for work, a few days ago I saw a job that no one wanted so I said I’d do it for almost twice as much as they were willing to pay.  Shizam, I was now the proud tech of a job way, way up in Michigan!!  It was a lovely 3.5hr (one way) trip through the broken and poor shithole state called Michigan.  I seriously mean shithole too!!  Have any of you driven on their roads?  The shoulders of I-75 (and other roads) is just covered in rubbish (hee hee, I sound British.)  I seriously saw several deer, many tires, a front bumper of a car, and the bed liner for a truck!!  Now this isn’t a bash post on Michigan.  I really love Michigan.  UM is my favorite college football team, which has brought out many great NFL football stars such as Lamar Woodley (love that MF, he is almost as big of a bad ass as Harrison.)  I have an awesome uncle which has lived in Michigan for several decades and I can still remember how excited my mom used to get when we would visit him and she could drive with those “crazy” Michigan drivers!!  That is mentally stuck in my head and I can get a little nuts when I drive in Michigan.  I really hate how the speed limit drops to 55 in Detroit, man it sucks because everyone else is still going at least 70.  If I keep doing these occasional MI jobs, I’m probably gonna end up with a ticket from the Detroit PD on I-75.  Well, I guess that is if they even have the man power to patrol I-75??  Even though I can’t afford it, I would probably happily pay that speeding ticket to just hope it helps their screwed up budget.  I brought Amy along so I wouldn’t be lonely for the long drive.  She is always scared in construction areas or high traffic areas.  I have to mention that because on the way home back through Detroit, I was in a zone for a while.  Whizzing between cars and just flying around like a maniac, it was awesome!

We can’t forget about the real point of this post though, good old Canada!  We were doing just fine, running on time.  Until of course I hit some construction and took the wrong exit.  This however seemed to be a special exit.  There was no escape, no where to turn around, just signs telling you to stop ahead at the toll booth and pay to get into Canada!!  Holy crap, I was honestly really scared and trying to figure out what the hell to do.  All I could do though is stop at the booth and explain what happened.  Luckily there was a spot after that booth to do a U-turn, however you had to still “check back into” the US!!  That doesn’t sound too bad but with Homeland Security and Customs, it is a pain.  That wasn’t the worse part though, there on the other side was at least 100 cars and trucks waiting their turn in line.  I pulled between some trucks and kinda wondered around in the middle wondering where to go and if someone would let us cut.  I didn’t know what to do, so I took my chances and became a dumb ass.  Now for this upcoming section I provide a disclaimer.  I do not suggest, recommend, or condone this type of activity, it could get you into trouble!  So all the lines are backed up for maybe a half of a mile, except in the middle where the building is.  You aren’t supposed to drive there, you are supposed to be in line!  I was looking around while driving, trying to figure out where the first booth guy told me to go.  The only thing I saw was an empty area which had a “bus” sign.  I just kinda thought, well we are in a van so it’s close to a bus so it will be ok, right?  I parked quick and walked into the building.  Walked up to a desk where the Customs agents pretty much asked “What the hell are you doing in here?”  I explained the situation but they seemed quite agitated.  So one agent took my ID and told me to go back to the van.  After at least a 5min. wait, we were told to pull into the line next to us…..hee hee, we cut in line!  The agent at the booth bitched at us for a few minutes about doing what we did to cut in line but it wasn’t too bad.  But since we had cut in line we were “suspicious” so they had us park so they could search the van and we went inside for questioning.  After all of that they finally “released” us and we took off back toward our destination.  Luckily I acted stupid and scared so instead of us waiting in line for hours (seriously hours!) we only wasted about 25min. in the whole ordeal.  We still made it to the call in time and everything after that went well.  Amy was really happy because it snowed the whole way and there were several periods of really heavy snow with huge snow flakes.  The weird weather patterns have kept us pretty well snow free so far this year so she was happy to finally get up far enough north where there was snow on the ground.  I will admit that the snow was very pretty, those huge flakes are just awesome.

This all happened on Thursday, I tried to write this up that night but couldn’t finish it.  That bums me out a bit because I really want to write up something about the new year but I can post that tomorrow.  So anyways, Amy has been running around telling everyone she was in Canada.  While we never crossed the bridge so we were never actually in Canada, she says it was close enough.  I left the whole situation a little happy but a little discouraged too.  With all the security crap thanks to terrorism, there are now hour long waits to get back into the USA and that really stinks.  I do have to say that it seemed like it was a little quicker to get through after being stopped though, only because I’ve been stopped by them before.  That story may be for another day though or maybe never since I’m not too proud of that moment.  I was young and slightly intoxicated so really I lucked out that time.

At this point I really don’t know what the point of this post was.  I guess it is just one of those “wacky” Ben stories, yeah that was the whole purpose of this.  I guess that after two months of “hiatus” and feeling ashamed that I don’t have the time to work on much computer related stuff, I have finally gotten back the desire to write and to write about my “wacky adventures.”  I know I don’t have much to talk about and I’ve lost a lot of you over the last year and I don’t like that.  With the stupid stuff that has happened over the last year I just haven’t been able to do what I used to be able to do and I hate it.  I don’t know how I did it before?  I don’t know how I was able to ignore my family and spend all my free time trying to create a wonderful, magical tool for everyone to enjoy.  I just don’t know anymore and wondering about that and beating myself up hasn’t helped.  I really thank all of you that have really helped out over this past horrible year.  We are looking forward to the new year with a lot of hope.  A few good things have happened over the past month and of course a few little bad things have happened.  The good things are big though so I think we are on the right path for most everything to improve.  I must sign off for the night though and complete my thoughts for tomorrows post.  Thanks again and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

Most important thing to say today is Merry Christmas!!  Let’s look forward to a great new year.  I for one really need a new year and hope that things will change and get better.  I’m slightly surprised that I haven’t receive more “blog is slow” emails from all of you but I think the tone of my last few posts have you all understanding that we are really hurting.

I have to thank God for his help over the past few months.  In the last two months I’ve been lucky to find just enough work to keep us going.  I’ve been really miserable the past few months, I think clearing out the store at the end of September really killed me.  It has been a rough battle trying to keep that out of my head and to stop feeling like a complete failure.  The thoughts of “I could have done it if” have popped into my head a few times but I try to kill those ideas because they do not good.  I screwed up a few things and several bad things happened that I couldn’t control.

The past few weeks have been a bit trying with less work coming in but I am hopeful that the new toys people receive today and tomorrow will help keep me busy for the next few weeks.  Don’t misinterpret that though, I don’t wish for their new devices to break but hey man I have to make a living.  While I wander around the house and just wonder what will happen in the new year, I continue to think of all of you.  I am not a good writer here but I have tried and honestly I miss writing here.  I have not though because everything surrounding me just seems to be negative and I don’t want this crappy blog just to be me crying about all my problems all the time.  I wish I had more time to keep up with everything like I used to.  I wish I had the time to talk to all of you through this blog.  Since I haven’t been that active here I have thought about pulling the plug but I just can’t do it.  I just wish I had the money to keep the store stocked and going so it could pay for our hosting costs for these sites but I just can’t.  I think the flooding and screwed up hard drive prices have really killed me and played games with my head too, drives me nuts that those drives are in limited quantity and at 2x to 3x the price they were 4 months ago!  I still have 3 laptop hard drives on hand though, ones that I manage to pick up before pricing became too crazy, I just wish like hell I could have picked up a bunch of desktop drives.  Oh well.  Speaking of the store though, I do need to find time for that.  Luckily we’ve managed to have a few orders here and there for UBCD and UBCD4Win, but not enough to take care of all our costs.  I have several items that I’ve never listed on the site and I really need to get them up there.  I have some great devices at great prices and in this desperation will be able to pass on some great prices to you.  With the holiday and limited work over the next few days, I hope an after Christmas sale will work.

I greatly appreciate all your help and support over the past 7 years and just hope things can stabilize so I can do more for you.  I hope all of you have a safe and Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza!!  I am truly blessed to have such great people that appreciate our efforts in everything we have done over the past 7 years.  Please pray that I will be able to find a “regular” full time job soon.  Thanks again and thank you so much for reading!!