Personally I’ve never been a planning type. Everything’s “whenever!”

But, some people can’t live without their planners. Even other self-employed people love ‘em. They have desk planners, purse-sized planners, PDAs… everything’s planned down to the minute. Even “Relax” would have an entry.

For those people, the personal time management software from Effexis Software is just what they need to fill that one gap left in their planner equipment: A planner they can run from their computer!

No more losing or forgetting little pocket-sized things–this planner resides on your nearly impossible-to-lose computer. And, since it’s software, it offers many benefits that paper just cannot match, at least not neatly:

You can prioritize your to-do list items by color–without the messy highliter-ink-soaked paper that would otherwise be there.
You can make outline-style summaries of your plans. So, rather than just writing the name of the “big” project, you can list all the subtasks associated with it. And, these sub-items appear under their proper header.
And, of course, there’s a calendar.

Best of all, it’s got an algorithm that can help you determine just what to work on! It does calculations based off of criteria like priorities, deadlines, and focus areas, it will suggest just what to do next. So if you are beset with “Where do I START?” questions when looking at your to-do lists, this will be a definite help. It’d even help me. I’m content to do everything “whenever,” but when “whenever” finally comes (ie, I get a spurt of motivation), I VERY often have such a heck of a time deciding what to do first that I end up just playing video games out of frustration, even when that’s clearly not strategic.

Maybe I’ve got a use for some planning software after all! It’s got a free trial download–I might give it a shot. Just having it show a specific starting point could increase my productivity a lot.

Tomorrow, THEY come. And, both in the m*rning, when I should be asleep!

THEY are:

The new PSU for the computer, which will hopefully fix it.
And
My (fixed) John Deere L130 riding mower!!

It’s the day of reckoning, because either the fixes will have fixed everything…or they won’t have.

Hopefully that mower is really fixed! My fingers are crossed!!!

They said the carbuerator was indeed all gummed up, and that even the fuel line was lined with gunk. And that the fuel filter I put in last year had already clogged.

It wouldn’t amaze me if all that is true. The gas itself wasn’t too ancient, and I’d refilled the tank with brand-new gas–but the gas CAN the gas had been in is an old rusty thing. The outside looks fine enough, but the inside is a layer of rust. So, crud from the can probably wrecked the gas. (I thought the fuel filter would just filter out any particulate matter, but guess not!) It might not be from that, but I think I’ll chuck that can and get a new one, just in case. And, get gas from a different station rather than the small-timish one I usually get mower gas from.

Unfortunately, I’m thinking that this job should be on my “know how to do it myself” list. Thinking about it, I realized that EVERY piece of lawn equipment I’ve ever had, has eventually acted the same way. So it reeks of “this will be a recurring issue!” In my other post about this, I mentioned not having anything to do betas on. Well, there’s a hallway full of dead mowers, so that’s covered.

Just to avoid recurring $200 repair bills, I guess I’ll have to add it to my list of can-dos. Carbeurator repair expertise. Oh, special.

The TV is saying that gas prices have “dipped” now!

Calling the price of gas today a “dip” is like calling a shorter mountain in the Rocky Mountain Chain a “valley!” “Less ridiculously spiked than a couple days ago” would be more accurate.

I just spent over $41 for 3/4 of a tank of gas. It used to be that it cost about $28 to fill the whole tank. It’s not some SUV, either.

Needless to say I do not agree with the TV News’ assessment that prices like this qualify as a “dip.”

I just found out that the Mint credit card, a UK-only card, has recently lowered their introductory APR.

Upon visiting their site, I see that it is full of zeroes. There’s 0% intro APR on not just balance transfers, but it’s also 0% intro APR on purchases and 0% intro APR on balances you transfer at a later time. So that’s not the typical one-zero “offer.” Even if you don’t have a balance to transfer, you can enjoy the 0% intro APR on purchases!

Of course, they have the usual perks of a modern credit card: Online account management, secure online shopping, and 24-hour customer service. On top of that, enjoy a lengthy interest-free period of up to 56 days!

See their site for more info on the the credit card deal offered by the Mint Credit Card.

If I ever move to the UK, I know which credit card I’m going to get–a MINT credit card!

Someone actually did a study to prove this “well, duh” point:

Friendly, warm people may enjoy sharing their warmth with others by sleeping with them, whereas antagonistic people may sleep around to avoid having a monogamous relationship. And having a dominant personality makes it easier to approach potential partners. ~MSNBC Article

Oooh! Such news! Also found, the Earth spins on its axis and has an orbit!
Really, what did they expect to find? That wet blankets are really getting all the fun?

Patrick Markey says it’s particularly interesting that warm people tend to be promiscuous, because in some ways, it conflicts with the moral thinking that promiscuity is bad.

I bet he says that just to justify doing a study on such an obviousity. After all, “warmth” and “sexual morals” are unrelated. They can–and apparently DO–think prudish morals are bunk. And are glad to warmly dispute any assumptions to the contrary

As anyone who’s been reading knows, I had dropped my main computer off at GeekSquad for diagnosis. And, they stalled and stalled.

Well, after I finally got to pick it up, got it home, and tried to turn it on, I found out the reason for the stalling: They didn’t figure out what the fudge is wrong with it!

When I got there, they said all the hardware tested out fine (testing it = $59). But then they said, “there may be some other problem with it”…uh oh…but when they threw in the kicker, I deafed-up real quick and left quick! The kicker? “you may need new Windows. We can install that for you for two-two-two hundred and fo-forty…” (yes, the desk girl actually was choking on that price!)

And I was also thinking, Yah RIGHT, like they could install *anything* if they can’t get it to turn on! I recognized Them gathering over the store at that point…the dark clouds of cluelessness were raining, right over the GeekSquad counter.

Sure enough, I get it home…and nothing. Same as before. The only change was a $59 ding in my bank account, and they were already setting up to say that that wasn’t their fault, that it must really be a $249-for-labor software problem–that they intended to “fix” by reinstalling Windows and annihilating my data!

1). $249 for stickin’ a disk in a drive and hitting “install”!!! Wa ha ha, they so wish!
2). It’s not a software problem. Software does “things” when it doesn’t work. Even if all those things are, are BSODs and other assorted error messages, or even just showing a screen and then sticking on it (hanging) forever. But “nothing” is not a software problem.

During the time it was rotting behind GoofSquad’s counter, I had been all over the net with this computer looking for the most common cause of the problem. It turns out that it’s usually the PSU–the power supply unit. Seems that they can indeed “test out fine”–IF it’s tested when there is no load on the thing! But then when it’s hooked back up to the 2 hard drives, the hotshot graphics card, the 2 DVD-ROM drives, and of course the mobo…nothing. Well, the fans turn. And a bit pathetically at that, too, the last time I tried to get action.

So now I have to wait for NewEgg to send a new PSU so I can try that.

IF GoofSquad actually tested the mobo, RAM, and CPU, then they ought to be fine–I haven’t seen any sites that say that those parts can test fine on the bench and then not run in the comp. The PSU, on the other hand, yeah. Another thing PSUs do is have their output start fluctuating under load or when they’re about to die utterly.

Bah. The old saying goes, “if you want something done right, you’ve gotta do it yourself!” and it’s sure looking true for the computer. I was trying to avoid the hassle of having to test everything–especially since I don’t have testing instruments, so that would have meant choosing and buying a whole other layer of stuff–and if they’d pinned it down for-sure it would have been worth the $59 just to not have to deal with that aspect of it.

But after that experience, I not only am dissatisfied, I am motivated to give them some “special” SEO (search engine optimization)–for the term GeekSquad Sucks!

Some may have noticed that the last few posts have “The Capitalist” as the author, instead of just “admin.”

That’s because I finally found how to change it from the default! So now I have the screenname I intended to!

Just mentioning it in case anyone wonders.

Due to the fact that it’s mandatory in most (if not all) places in the US, car insurance is generally given little value by consumers. It’s something they have to buy, and is seen with all the same enthusiasm as a tax.

However, in the case of an accident, having active car insurance actually provides a much-needed service. The obvious benefit is that it pays the resulting bills, but on top of that, it eases the immediate aggravation so you don’t have to worry about coming up with money while your nerves are still fragged!

Several years ago, I was riding in my grandmother’s car (we were going out to dinner as a family) when some joker back-ended it. Even though we were all fine, the car was quite mashed in the back. We were also taken to the hospital to be checked out…two of us in an ambulance.

When the $300 ambulance bills showed up, the initial reaction was YIKES! But then I remembered…that’s covered by the insurance! So I just shipped the bills off to them, and after a few weeks of waiting for the bureaucracy to work, those bills just went away “automagically.” Nice! And the car “fixed itself” in a similar way for Grandma. It didn’t even matter that the guy who hit it had taken off, a hit-n-run…the Uninsured Motorist portion of our own insurance took over and paid.

Despite such benefits, many people still want the cheapest car insurance they can get. One of the best ways to find the lowest price is to get a quote from several insurers who are active in your local area. For instance, you can get quotes for Michigan auto insurance (or car insurance for any other state) at SecureInsuranceQuotes.com, and choose the best rate from among them.

Even if you’ve already got car insurance, getting quotes can let you know how your insurer’s charges stack up against others. Some people get new quotes every year or so, just to make sure their provider is staying competitive.

If, like me, you prize convenience, getting quotes from nearby insurers still lets you know just how much that convenience is costing. It’s altogether possible that driving one extra block to pay your bills could save a bundle!

A 7th-grade teacher was such a non-hit with her students that 7 of them got together to give her a surprise “landscaping” with toilet paper, eggs, syrup, adhesive tape, dishwashing fluid, and a custom message written on her driveway.

(I can think of a teacher in the junior high I went to, who desperately deserved that…)

So what’s odd about that, other than the massive array of items used? Seems they had a hard time getting there. So they got one of their mothers to give them a ride!! I guess she didn’t like that teacher either! LOL

The police found out, and gave the woman a ticket for contributing to the “delinquency” of minors. And referred the kids to the county attorney’s office for possible charges! Killjoys.

I wouldn’t consider that delinquent. It was probably justified. And, since school systems don’t typically provide a legitimate, effective, means for 7th graders to protest their treatment from a teacher…then other forms of expressing their protest have to be used!

And actually charging anyone with a real crime over a prank like that…oh, don’t get me started on how much overreaction THAT is. The worst that should happen is them having to clean it up. I hope the county attorney doesn’t make a court case out of this.

GeekSquad is stalling like a bunch of auto mechanics on getting the diagnostic done on my “real” computer. First they said it’d be ready Thursday, then when I called they said probably Friday, and now it’s onto Saturday!! Argh!!

It reminds me of auto mechanics. They love to stall, too. And, I don’t have my lawn tractor back from that other place, either. What is it with the repairing professions?! “We can fix anything! (But we won’t bother…)” That should be the motto of the entire repair industry.

This sucks double, because due to Memorial Day, there won’t be any shipping going on at NewEgg until at least Tues. And, they probably will just process the order then, and actually ship Wed. So it effectively adds another whole week to the time-to-live.

If something like this happens again, I think I’ll just start replacing stuff and sending back the unneeded things, until I find the borked part. I had been TRYING to avoid that grief!