Small Post Office

Yesterday, I got to work at a different post office. This post office has been loaning my post office one of its regular carriers so we could have an evening watch supervisor. They asked for payback last week. They needed a body to carry mail yesterday, this Friday and this coming Monday. I was the only sub not working yesterday so I got asked if I'd work there. I was told the route I'd be assigned to was equal to an auxiliary route. If that was the case, I figured I could do it so I agreed to work there. I was assigned to the auxiliary route all of 5 minutes before they moved me to a regular route. I was not happy. Thankfully, they gave me help. I needed it as I didn't know the case or the area. I used my post office problem solving skills and managed to find out where the different parts of the route were. Between that and the help I got from the carrier who did do the auxiliary route, I managed to get it done. From what I can tell, the postmaster there was pleased with me. I don't know if I'll be going back or not. We have a carrier who left for her wedding and honeymoon and from what I understand, I'll be doing her route the next 2 weeks. We'll see what happens. If nothing else, it was interesting working at a different post office. Cheers all!

National Wildlife Visitors Center

I wanted to take my scooter for another good test ride to see if I would have any more problems with it. I decided to ride to the National Wildlife Visitors Center. That is a center on the Patuxent Research Refuge that tells of various endangered species and what scientists are doing to save them. Also, they have a video that tells of the history of the Refuge. For over a year, the center was closed for renovation. I found out most of the work had to do with the center's roof and drains. The exhibits inside haven't changed any. It's still a nice center and is free to the public. The area around the center has 3 or 4 trails offering visitors very nice walks in the woods. For anglers, the Refuge offers fishing on Cash Lake. Anglers have to get a free permit to fish there and, they release any fish they catch. For those who don't feel like walking along the trails, the center is offering tram rides on week days and weekends that show various parts of the Refuge. I hope to do one of those tram rides myself. It would be neat to learn more about the Refuge while seeing more of the animals that call it home. The center is easy to get to as it isn't far from Maryland 295 Baltimore Washington Parkway. Signs direct would be visitors to the center.

For me, it was a nice visit. My scooter ran fine and, I had a nice ride out and back. The volunteer manning the welcome desk gave me a good idea for my scooter. He recommended I buy some fuel additive that helps clear out moisture i.e. water in the gas tank and fuel lines. I think it's a good idea and plan to do it. I look forward to going back to the center and riding one of its tram rides so I can learn more about it. Cheers all!

Weird

I planned to take my Yamaha scooter back to the dealership today to get the idling problem fixed. I was pissed. The last 2 times I rode my new scooter, it repeatedly died on me whenever I came to a stop. So, I started it this morning and the minute the engine kicked over, I gunned it. I managed to get the Post Office where I work all right. I'm my section's safety representative and, it was the monthly safety meeting. Once I got to the Post Office, I let off the gas expecting my scooter to putter out and die. To my disbelief, it didn't. It actually idled. I kept waiting for it to konk out. It didn't. Once the meeting was over, I drove it around town and brought it repeatedly to a stop. It never died once. Finally, I rode it out to Arundel Mills Mall and back. It still didn't die. It's weird. I have no idea what has caused my scooter to unexpectedly run right. The only thing I can GUESS is that somehow some water got in the gas tank and, I burned it out the last time I rode it. To be on the safe side gas wise, I filled it up with premium unleaded this time. The fill up still only cost me $2.45. I think I can afford premium in that case. I know I got over 80 miles to the gallon AGAIN. That was neat too. I plan to ride the thing again tomorrow and see how it does. Barring the idling problem, I have been enjoying riding it. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. More and more, I suspect I'll see about trading up to a more powerful scooter. I just to get really proficient with riding the thing first. I think that'll make the motorcycle safety course I'll have to take a lot easier. We'll see. Cheers all.

Frustration

I took my scooter for a ride yesterday. I wanted to see if I would have the same problem I had when I rode it Sunday. I did. The problem is the scooter won't idle. When I start the scooter, I have to hit the gas immediately otherwise it'll choke and die. I did manage to ride the scooter but, every time I had to come to a stop, the scooter who die. It was very frustrating. So, I'll have to take the scooter back to the dealership AGAIN and have them try to fix the idle problem AGAIN. I shouldn't have these kinds of problems with a new scooter. Thank God it's under warranty so the dealership has to fix the problem. If they don't get it fixed soon, I'll be asking for my money back or another new scooter. Stay tuned.

Bible Doctrine CDs

This past week, I finally finished my first bible doctrine MP3 CD. Each CD has 36 lessons on it. In that way, the CDs are far more convenient vice the old cassette tapes. If I had wanted to take 36 lessons on cassettes, I would've had a good size box to carry with me vice one CD. Also, I suspect it's cheaper for R. B. Thieme Bible Ministries to make copies of the CDs. The blank CD would cost pennies and the recording technology is readily available. Still, I find I miss the cassettes. I liked putting one of those in my portable cassette player vice having to mark what lesson I would do next in my lesson notebook. Also, it is easier to rewind a cassette and re-listen to something you might miss vice on the CD. With the CD, you'd have to listen to the entire lesson again. Because of that, I don't bother to try to go back to points I might've missed. Lastly, I liked being a taper i.e. a person who listened to Paster Thieme's bible doctrine lessons on tape vice getting to listen to them live. It was something of a mark of distinction. Being a CDer doesn't sound the same. Oh well. I continue to the lessons and, I feel they continue to do me good. I suspect they would do more good if I would be more consistent in listening to them. I'm still really bad about getting myself to listen to the lessons. I'll find any number of things to do other than listen to a lesson. The only time I seem to be really good about listening to the lessons is when crap is hitting the fan. I should listen to God when the times are good as well as bad. Too often, I don't. I suspect I also stray from God when the times are good as I don't feel I need him as much nor do I give him the credit he deserves. I need to be more conscienscous about that. Give God thanks in the good times as well as the bad. Cheers all!

Cold Update

My cold continues to progress and, I think I'm getting better. My temperature has come down to where it was nearly normal this morning (99.0F). My sinuses aren't nearly as clogged. I'm not sneezing at all. Also, I don't have a runny nose anymore. The main symptom I'm still suffering from is coughing up mucus from my lungs. The coughs seem to go in spurts. I was very annoyed when one of those spurts erupted while I was talking on the phone to my friend Harvey. I'm sure he thought I was still very ill when I'm not. Harvey and others at the Post Office where I work mentioned the Swine Flu which is going around. Because of them, I looked into it and as far as I can tell, I don't have it. The symptoms sound a lot like the regular flu so I can't be 100% sure but, I'm not going to bother to go the clinic I go to if I continue to improve. Luckily, I won't have to work for the next couple days so that should help things too. We'll see how it goes. Cheers all!

Cold - Stage 2

My cold entered stage 2 today. Yesterday, I didn't have any stuffiness, runny nose or occasional sneezing. Today, I had all those. To make matters worse, the Wal-Mart version of Dayquil didn't seem to do much good. All of the symptoms made my day at the Post Office that much worse. I had to keep a kleenex handy constantly to catch the drops coming out of my nose. Those were really aggravating. Incredibly, our acting boss was considering giving me a bump on another route because the regular couldn't show. I couldn't believe it. I'm sick and, he should be glad I didn't call out and leave in a really big lurch. There aren't many who know the route I was doing today. I was virtually spent by the time I got done. I still have 2 more days to work before I get a day off (Sunday). I'm not looking forward to them. Also, I'm hoping I'll be healthy in time for the tours I was planning on taking. If I'm not, I won't go. I don't think anyone in the tour would want to be around someone with a cold. I know I wouldn't. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Bad Luck

Tuesday, I started experiencing some throat pain. I thought it might be a little acid reflux which happens on occasion with me. It turned out I wasn't going to be so lucky. Tueday night, I started coughing and by Wednesday morning I had a full blown cold. Crap! Normally, I would call out from the Post Office where I work but as I've mentioned previously, we are very short handed. There wasn't any way they could afford to have me call out. Also, I needed the money. To my great annoyance, I failed to see a number of expenses coming up like I should've example: buying another 3 month supply of Propecia cost $186. To make matters worse, summer has arrived in Maryland. Yesterday, it had to have been at least 86 degrees or higher not including the humidity. Still, I carried on and got the job done. 3 more days to go (including today) and, I can rest for a couple days. I hope I can kick this cold quickly. I'm drinking lot of fluids and taking Nyquil at night so I can sleep. I believe lots of sleep will help me kick it. We'll see how it goes. Cheers all!

Medieval Times Special

The Baltimore/Washington D.C. Medieval Times is offering a special where everyone gets in at just $30. This can be a serious savings as a normal adult admission can be something like $50 each. There are some restrictions. First, it can't be combined with any other offers. Second, it has to be booked on-line. From what I remember, any booking you make on-line is nonrefundable so make sure you are going to go before you book it. Third, you must enter promotion code 30EB59 when making the booking. Fourth, the promotion is only good at the Baltimore/Washington castle. Last, the offer end July 5, 2009. Medieval Times is a fun place to take the family. It offers jousting, sword fighting, knights, a beautiful Princess and a nice story. To be in the spirit of things, all food is eaten with your hands or slurped in the case of the soup. Kids tend to really enjoy that part. Parents, they do provide lots of knapkins and a hot towel after the meal. Disclaimer: I don't work at any Medieval Times castle or its headquarters. Readers should take all responsiblity for any problems with the booking and should double check the Medieval Times website to make absolutely certain I have the facts right before committing their money. This blog is provided as possible benefit to any readers I may have. I've got to the shows at Medieval Times, enjoyed them and I did work for them for a year and 3 months. Cheers all!

Laptop Saga Continues

My laptop saga continues. I received my second U-300 modem. I tried activating it on my new Dell laptop. It wasn't having any of that. I installed the software on my old laptop. It actually picked up a signal on that laptop but, it still wouldn't activate the card. Aargh! I spent over 90 minutes on my cell phone talking with the tech support people at Sprint. Finally, they told me to take to the Sprint store in Laurel which has a repair facility. The folks there will get the thing to activate on one of their computers. Then, I'll go back and make sure I can hook up to the Internet using the card on my new laptop. I hope this will be the end of this saga with a nice happy ending i.e. I get a card that will in time have WiFi connection speeds. That would rock. We'll see. Stay tuned.

eHarmony

Some friends recommended eHarmony to me. They said they knew someone who had met their future mate there. I have had absolutely no luck with dating services. Still, it would be nice to meet an attractive lady with similar interests that I could date. I decided to try them.

I found the questions they ask you interesting. Throught the questions, they try to get an idea of just what you're like. Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know where they came up that I was very emotional. I don't think I am.

I put down that bible doctrine tapes were very important to me. They are. I've been listening to them for years and, they've really helped me. Apparently putting something like that got me tagged and, all the matches I got were very religious women. I do want a woman who believes in Jesus Christ but, I don't want one who wants to do missionary work or wants to talk about how she was "saved." To me, that is holy roller stuff and, I don't care for holy rollers.

Another item that is important to me attractiveness. The reason I quit other dating sites is because of the unattractiveness of their members. To my great annoyance, eHarmony has been the same way. I've seen only 1 lady out of 50 that I thought attractive and, she was already in a relationship. Because of this, I checked into the cancellation policy.

I found out that if you want to get your money back, you must cancel within 3 days. As I didn't, if I cancel now, I'm out $198. Damn!

I decided to take out any references to faith or Jesus Christ. I'm curious to see what kind of matches I'll get now. If they don't get any better, I'm going to cancel though I'll be ticked about wasting $198. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Salvation Army

Sometimes, I'll decide to clear out various stuff I don't want for various reasons. Clothes no longer fit, I've changed movie systems, or books have gotten old. Today was such a day. I had 2 huge trash bags full of clothes and movies on VHS. The clothes no longer fit and, I've replaced most of my VHS movies with DVD. A good charity to donate such stuff to is the Salvation Army. They have a thrift store and donation depot in Laurel, Maryland. So, I took the stuff I decided to get rid of and gave it to them. Hopefully, someone still watches VHS movies. Some of the ones I gave them were still in their original wrapper. The clothes I gave them were in good shape too. Someday, I'll have to go in and check out their thrift shop. I've never been in it though I've donated a good bit of stuff to it. For any who might be interested in it, the shop and depot are located just off the exit for Route 1 from MD-32 on Guildford Road. Cheers all!

Postal Service Issues T-Shirts

Yesterday, I got to work for the first time in 3 days. I was delighted to have 3 whole days off. I needed them after working 7 weeks in a row of overtime. While casing the mail for the route I was assigned to, my boss comes over and asks my shirt size. I told him and wondered why he needed it. It turned out the Postal Service issued everyone t-shirts promoting the flat rate priority boxes they're pushing. All carriers have been ordered to wear the t-shirts on Wednesdays. I have no idea why the Postal Service picked Wednesday. This is the first clothing item the Postal Service has ever issued me. Rural carriers don't have uniforms and so aren't issued any clothing items. I bought myself all the t-shirts I wear at work saying rural carrier as well as my Postal Service hat. The only thing we have that identifies us with the Postal Service is our badge. I find it a trip. So, I'll be wearing my new official Postal Service t-shirt next Wednesday. I'll have to write myself a note on my dry erase board so I don't forget to wear it. Cheers all!

Travel Update

Slowly (all too slowly) but surely, the tours I signed up for are getting here. I found out last week that the Globus Canada tour I'll be taking is sold out. That means there will likely be 50 people on the tour. WO! That may end up being the largest group I'll have ever done with Globus. Hopefully, it'll be a nice one. We'll see. In a couple weeks, I should get my travel documents. I can't wait to get those. They make the tour seem more real. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Recycling Run

Yesterday, I was able to finally make a recycling run. What that is where I load up all the recyclables I'd been saving for the last 4 or 5 months and drop them off at the recycling depot in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The people who pick up the trash in the apartment complex where I live don't have a separate bin for recyclables. Rather than have them go into a landfill, I separate them and take them to the nearest recycling depot. It's my little bit for the environment.

Scooter

I used my Yamaha scooter for one of the purposes I bought it for. I needed to run to my credit union to deposit my monthly retirement check, my latest paycheck from the Post Office and a small refund check I received in connection with my Individual Retirement Account (IRA). My credit union is located in town so it would be an easy trip for my scooter. I had no problems getting there and depositing the checks. From there, I drove to a Burger King close to where I live. I'd clipped some Burger King coupons from a coupon packet I'd received in the mail. One was for buy 2 Whoppers for $5 (you save 98 cents). Also, I wanted to try their new burger bites (they were good and were the same size as White Castle hamburgers). I suspect the cashier was surprised to have someone pull in a scooter. I used one of my backpacks to carry the burgers home. I didn't notice any great wind resistance with the backpack thankfully. I plan to use it again when I need to make a fast food run or small item (a CD or DVD) shopping trip.

Gas wise, I can confirm I do get over 100 miles to the gallon. I've driven over 60 miles on my scooter and, I just hit the halfway point on the gas gauge. I've also noticed that I do get some respect from drivers. I've ridden bicycles on main roads and gotten honked at. With my scooter, no one has given me a hard time.

Overall, I'm pleased with the scooter barring the idle problem. Its annoying to have to keep revving the scooter when I come to a stop. My gas milage might be even better were it not for that. I plan to call the motorcycle dealership tomorrow and see if they have the new tire in. If so, I'll see if I can drop it off, walk over to Best Buy for a little while then, come back and ride it home. Cheers all!

Laptop Saga Continues

My laptop saga continues. Thursday, I received my new Sprint U300 modem. This is the modem that will enable me to take advantage of Sprint's upgrades to its data network. When finished, a person using this 4th generation card will be able to get WiFi connection speeds anywhere. For now, it's limited to certain areas like Baltimore. I figured since I needed to get a new card, I might as well get this 4th generation card so I could take advantage of the upgrade when it became available. Plus, I travel down to Baltimore occasionally.

The card arrived in fine shape. I read the directions on what I should do. I summarily installed the software and drivers that were needed for the card. Then, I rebooted my computer. After that, I attached the card to the computer. At this point, the program was supposed to activate the card itself. It didn't. I called up the menu on the program options and clicked activate. Nothing happened. I managed to find a phone number you could call for assistance with activating the card. They hung up on me twice. Finally, I called Sprint Customer Service. They kept me waiting for over 20 minutes. When I did get to speak to someone, it was very knowledgeable and took me through the steps to activate the card. They didn't work.

The next day, I took the card and my computer to a Sprint store in town where they could try to get it to work. After over an hour at the store, they told me I had a faulty card. I'd have to call for a replacement and send back the faulty card. Crap! I was able to get them to reactivate my old card so I could connect to the Internet. That's how I'm able to post this. So, I'll have to wait 2 or 3 days for a new card and try again. Hopefully, the new card will work. Until I can get on the Internet, I can't begin to get my new laptop up to speed. So, it sits it its new backpack. I may take it over to Panera so I can try to access their WiFi connection. I've wanted to try that for a while and, that would enable me to start installing various programs off the Internet like Firefox. We'll see.

That concludes my latest chapter of my laptop saga. I still have hope I can start to get things working on my new ultra computer. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Scooter Update

I took my new Yamaha scooter for its first real ride yesterday. I wanted to start getting the hang of riding it. It's been years since I rode any kind of bike so, I wasn't use to leaning into turns. Yesterday, thanks to the ride, I started to get the hang of it. Also, I started exploring the area around where I live. I'd like to figure out a way to reach some of the major malls in the area. One limitation of the scooter is you can't ride on roads that have a speed limit higher than 50 mph. That'll make it tricky trying to reach Columbia Mall or Arundel Mills Mall. Still, if I stay on local roads, I may be able to do it. We'll see on that.

The scooter is still having problems idling. I've gotten really good at starting the thing. I've gotten the hang of using the turn signals on it and, I was able to get the mirrors set up to where I can see if there are cars behind me or to either side. I've found the compartment where I can put my helmet spacious. I haven't tried to put my helmet in it yet to see if it'll fit in there. I'm not to sure how secure the compartment is. I plan to try riding the scooter with a backpack soon. I want to see how much resistance I get then. A backpack would enable me to do some limited shopping. That would be a help as I could do minor shopping trips using the scooter saving wear and tear on my car. We'll how well that works.

Overall, I've been pretty pleased with the scooter. It runs well and seems sturdy enough. Also, it looks nice. With rising gas prices, it should save me some money during Spring, Summer and Fall. Once I get the rear tire replaced and the idling problem fixed, the scooter should be good to go. If it continues to be fun to ride, I'll see about getting a faster one next year. Cheers all!

Dell M1730 Laptop Review

As I may have mentioned previously, I have a couple issues with my new Dell laptop. First, I can't use my Sprint PCS Connection card on it. My card has a 54 pin connector and, the laptop uses a 38 pin connector. I visited Sprint's store in Laurel, Maryland and their website store in search of an adapter so I could convert the card to a 38 pin connector. I struck out. So, I ordered a new PCS Connection card. Since, I had to order a new card, I decided to go with their new 4th generation card. This card will be able to take advantage of improvements Sprint is making on their data network. The network will be able to offer Wifi like connection speeds. A minimum of 2 megabytes per second with a maximum of a whopping 16 megabytes! The system upgrade is already available in Baltimore (lucky them). Once I get this new card, I'll be able to continue setting up my new laptop.

Also, I ordered a backpack that will be big enough to hold my new laptop. My order isn't big enough. The M1730 laptop is approximately 3 inches long and a 1/2 inch wider that my old laptop. My old Dell backpack wouldn't be able to hold the new laptop. Thankfully, Dell does offer a really good backpack that will hold up and do a good job of protecting the laptop. The reviews others wrote on it were very good. The downside is the backpack costs approximately $80. As I do want to take the laptop on travels within the U.S., I had to get the backpack. It should arrive within a week or so.

So that's what's happening with my new kick butt Dell laptop. Slowly but surely, it is getting there. It is a very nice machine and, I'm sure I will enjoy it in time. I have learned some lessons I won't forget it i.e. you can't transfer programs from one computer to another. You must install them on the new machine just as you did on the old computer.

Casey's Crab Co.

I said in an earlier post that I would blog about this store. Here goes. Casey's Crab Co. is located on Maryland 198 (heading toward Laurel) just up from the Maryland 198 & Maryland 32 overpass. As the store's name implies, they sell crabs live or steamed. They also sell shrimp, fish & chips, devilled eggs and some other seafood items and as well as shaved ice cups. They have something 20 different flavors of shaved ice. I tried their root beer and found it all right. I thought it reasonably priced. I think the large one I had cost around $2.50.

Seafood wise, I tried their fish & chips, their shrimp salad and their steamed shrimp. Casey's advertise that they have the best fish & chips in Laurel. I wonder if that's because no else claims that title. I wasn't wiped out with the fish though I thought it decent. It looked like a flat fish slab that had been breaded. It was decent but, it wasn't anything to get excited about. The fries on the other hand were tasty. I presume they season them with crab seasoning. They're not your standard crisp McDonald like fries but, I still think they are good. The portion you get with the fish is decent. Casey's offers daily specials and one of them is their fish & chips so you can save some money on this by going there on the day it's on special.

Their shrimp salad was good. The shrimp in it were of very good size and, it was tasty. The only drawback to their shrimp salad is it is pricey. I believe it was something like $17 a pound. Still, it is better than other shrimp salads out there like the one you can buy at Sam's Club which isn't nearly as good. The shrimp in that salad are almost microscopic.

I was able to find a couple coupons for Casey's in the Clipper Magazine which is a flier that comes out in various places including Laurel. There was a coupon offering extra large shrimp for $5.99 a pound no limit. I decided to take advantage of the offer and bought 6 pounds. I was eating their shrimp for days. Casey's will steam and season your shrimp order for free. As the shell is still on the shrimp, in my opinion, it is questionable how much seasoning flavor you'll get. Also, you will have to peel the shells off the shrimp which is messy and tedious. Still, I found the shrimp tasty, of good size and I thought the price was good with the coupon. I believe they were on par with what Sam's Club sells as jumbo shrimp though I believe Sam's were peeled.

Overall, I thought Casey's a decent place. It isn't anything to go out of your way for unless you're really hungry for crabs you want to eat at home. They do have a convenient location in that they are close to the Maryland 198 and Maryland 32 intersection. The service was excellent and the prices reasonable. If you're looking for a good seafood store in Laurel, Maryland, you might want to give them a look. Cheers all!