Connected Isolation

People Who Open Doors Too Hard

2026-11-01T15:04:28.040-06:00

I live in a large building and there is a common door to a stairwell near my unit. Recently, I noticed someone has been going in and out but instead of opening the door normally, they swing it open hard to it hits against the wall. It's not that loud, but I can notice it, and it is bothersome.

I have put some small bumpers on the wall to dampen it a bit, but I can still hear it. I have been looking into other options such as getting a larger bumper for the wall.

I have thought about confronting the person about it, but I have a feeling that might not be the best option. Someone who constantly swings a door open too hard to where it hits the wall does not seem like the kind of person who is considerate of other people.

It's not just this door. I see evidence of people opening door too hard in other places as well. Where I work, the stairwell doors are next to drywall and often we see dents in the drywall from the handles where people opened the doors too hard.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent about this annoyance that should be easily preventable if people would be a little more considerate and open a door properly.

I Entered Sweepstakes Everyday For 2 Years. Here’s What Happened.

2026-10-21T20:02:04.763-05:00

A couple years back I decided to try an experiment. I decided I would try to enter a bunch of sweepstakes every day to see if I could win something. For most sweepstakes you have to at least give them your email address, so I made a new email account just for this.

I started by searching around for sweepstakes to enter and found that the easiest way is to visit websites that curate them in a list. My favorite was sweepstakestoday.com because it was very simple and comprehensive and overall pretty good quality. A couple other good ones are sweepstakesfanatics.com and sweepstake.com.

So for my routine, each day I would visit these sites among others and look for sweepstakes contests to enter. Now there are a lot, and there are a wide range of things you can win, so you may want to pick and choose what you enter. You could win anything from a pair of socks to millions of dollars depending on the sweeps.

Also some are easier to enter than others. Personally I don’t like giving out my information so I tried to stick to sweepstakes where there only ask for basic information such as name and email. If I trusted the company hosting the sweepstakes, I would give my address and phone number. Also it depends on how good the prize was. I’m not giving out all my info to win a free pizza.

You might think that by giving out your information to so many different sources, you will get a lot of spam. In my experience, your email will get a lot, but it is usually just newsletters from the companies you signed up with. I found you can unsubscribe from them very easily. So overall, it was not bad at all. Also I did not notice much difference in calls or paper mail received.

Also for sweepstakes, there are some where you can only enter once, while others you can enter daily or even as many times as you want. At first, I was entering all of them, but after a while I decided that the daily ones are just not worth the time to enter over and over. I would recommend sticking to the ones where you can only enter once.

I would say I spent about half hour each day entering new sweepstakes.

So was it worth it? Did I actually win anything?

The answer is yes! A few months into the process I actually won a trip to a national park in California. It was all expenses paid and we got to do lots of fun activities. Overall the value was probably about $5,000 - $6,000 so that was pretty amazing.

A short while later, I won another contest. This one was a pair of concert tickets to a big music festival. They were pretty expensive tickets so that was a nice prize to win as well.

Other than those 2 things, I won a handful of small items such as free food. I kept entering sweeps, hoping to get another big prize like a trip or some money, but unfortunately I did not win any other big ones.

After some time, I got tired of entering so I slowed down and eventually stopped entering them. Overall I would say, if you have a lot of free time and you want to try your luck, go for it. If you are consistent and enter a lot of sweeps, there is a chance you will win some things. But for most people, I would say it is probably not worth it since the chances of winning something big are pretty slim. It’s like the lottery. You can play it for fun, but don’t expect to become a millionaire.

Kate Farms Renal Support 1.8 Nutrition Drink Review

2026-07-20T20:06:48.979-05:00

I have struggled with being underweight for many years and one way I try to get more calories in my diet is by drinking high calorie nutrition drinks. My go-to has always been Ensure Plus because they taste good and have a lot of calories in a small bottle, but the problem is they have gotten way too expensive. Even with a coupon at the cheapest store, they are still too expensive.

Recently I started looking for alternative nutrition drinks and found a brand called Kate Farms. They make a full line of nutrition drinks like Ensure but one of the main differences is they use plant based pea protein instead of milk based protein. I looked into them and found they are even more expensive than Ensure drinks so I figured I would not be able to try them.

Just for the heck of it, I searched for them on Facebook Marketplace and found a listing for the Kate Farms Renal Support 1.8 shakes at a great price. I was not sure about them because this specific variety is marketed for people on dialysis, but I compared the nutritional profile to the other high calorie drinks in their lineup and found them to be pretty similar to the other high calorie varieties. This one actually appears to have the highest calorie concentration at 1.8 calories per mL which gives you 450 calories in just 8.45oz.

The reviews were pretty good so I decided to try them out. Upon first taste I thought they were ok. Compared to Ensure they taste a bit more "healthy" like you can taste the vitamins and nutrients mixed in there. Ensure tastes more sugary and thick while Kate Farms tastes a bit more chalky and slightly bitter. But given the nutritional profile being very healthy and not too high on sugar, it is pretty good and fairly easy to drink.

I was surprised that with the high calories packed in there, it is not overly thick as you might expect. I have been starting slow with them by just drinking half a bottle in the morning and half a bottle in the evening. After a week or so of this, I have not had any issues. They seem to be easy to digest and they make it easy to get extra calories. I think I may have already made some weight gain progress even in just 1 week. I have a lot more bottles left so I will plan to continue with them to see if they help with the weight gain.

If you would like to try them out, Kate Farms Renal Support 1.8 nutrition shakes are available here on Amazon. (Affiliate link. Purchases through this link may earn commission.)

Update 10-3-26: I got through 5 boxes that had 12 drinks each. I also added Ensure drinks to my routine. Overall I was able to get up about 5 or 6 pounds which is pretty good considering I have not been able to gain any weight in at least 10 years of trying.

Overall I like the drinks and would like to buy more but the retail price is too expensive so I will have to keep looking for better deals.

Also I was able to sample the Kate Farms Peptide 1.5. These ones are a few ounces larger and they have hydrolyzed protein which is supposed to be easier to digest. Compared to the Renal Support 1.8, they actually taste very similar. I don't know if I could tell the difference. The Peptide 1.5 is a lot more expensive. The Renal Support seems to be more calorie dense.

Update: 10-21-26:

I was able to try a couple more varieties of the Kate Farms:

Standard 1.4 Vanilla - These were pretty similar to the Peptide 1.5 Vanilla. Taste is maybe slightly different, but not very noticeable. Consistency is a little less thick compare to the 1.8 which is more calorie dense.

Nutrition Shake Chocolate - I also got to try the regular nutrition shake variety, this one in chocolate. This has the least calories compared to the others and is more watery in comparison. Overall taste is good and easy to drink. It has a cocoa flavor that is pretty good and a nice alternative to the vanilla.

Overall I am pleased with all 4 varieties that I have tried.

Can you freeze and eat rice pudding cups?

2026-07-01T15:24:58.987-05:00

I’m a big fan of rice pudding cups from the store and recently I was wondering if you can put them in the freezer to make them like an ice cream pop. I couldn’t find a good answer to this online so I decided to just try it out.

After putting a rice pudding cup in the freezer for a few hours I tried it out. Unfortunately it was pretty frozen solid so it was too hard to eat with a spoon. I decided to put it back in the refrigerator to thaw.

After a few hours of thawing I tried it again. It was now able to be eaten with a spoon but it was still icy and the texture was not as good compared to the normal refrigerated texture. Also the flavor seems to have diminished and it just tastes more icy.

Based on this experiment in freezing a rice pudding cup to eat, I would not recommend it. The rice pudding is better in its original refrigerated state both in texture and in flavor.

Favorite Products List - 2026

2026-06-28T12:35:20.246-05:00

I don't buy a lot of things but I decided to take some time to review all the things I have and come up with a list of some of my favorite items. These are everyday items that have proven to be very useful and worth the cost. Here are my recommendations for my favorite products right now:

1. Motion Sensor Closet Light

For years I had been fiddling with this little switch on the light in my walk in closet. It was always annoying and hard to turn on. Finally I looked into some options and found this rechargeable motion sensor light. It charges with a usb cable and then you can easily attach it wherever you want.

The light has options to change the brightness and color temperature. The motion feature works great! As soon as you walk into the closet, it turns on. After you leave, it turns off by itself. It is like living in the future!

2. Uniball 207 Signo Pens

As someone who writes a lot of notes, having a good pen is important. Having tried many different kinds of pens, my favorite is the gel ink kind, specifically the Uniballl 207 Signo. It is comfortable in hand and writes smooth and reliably. I have used them for as long as I can remember and they are still my favorite to this day!

3. Blue Diamond Flat Toothpicks

Flat toothpicks like these are surprisingly hard to find. Round ones are pretty easy to find, but these flat kind seem to be hard to find in store. They are still available online thankfully. I like these because they are good for oral hygiene when you want a toothpick that is not sharp like the round kind.

4. Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo

With the high cost of consumer goods these days, it nice when you find something that is still a good quality product at a reasonable price. Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo is one of the most affordable options today and it works great! I use it for shampoo and bodywash. It leaves you feeling clean and a nice mild scent.

5. Pittsburgh 6 in 1 Screw Driver

This 6 in 1 screwdriver from Harbor Freight is my favorite tool. I actually got it for free as a promotion and I tend to use it very often at work. They are not necessarily the most durable as I have broken it before but it has a warranty on it so if that happens, you can get a free replacement. Keep an eye out for these as you may be able to get one for free too on the next promotion!

Don’t lie. Honesty is the Best Policy. Honesty in the Work Place and in Life.

2026-06-17T14:12:16.363-05:00

A few months ago I found a set of table and chairs that was being discarded from an apartment move out. They were in good condition so I decided to save them by putting them in one of the storage rooms on site.

I posted them for sale online and found a buyer. The buyer was far away but they were willing to drive out to come pick up the set. We arranged for pickup the next day. In the morning, they confirmed they were on their way. I went to the storage room to get the items ready, but to my surprise, they were not there!

This was a locked storage room that was not easily accessible but apparently someone went in and took the items out. There were only a few of my co-workers who had a key to that room. I quickly asked them if anyone took the items out or know where they went, but everyone said no.

So I messaged the buyer and told them not to come because I no longer had the table and chairs. Unfortunately they were already on the road and did not check their messages. I wrote a few more messages, but they did not see them until they got all the way here. As you can imagine, they were very upset when they realized they drove all that way for nothing. I ended up getting a bad rating as a result.

After this happened I asked our manager to check the cameras to see who went in the storage room. After checking the cameras, the manager was kind of vague about it and basically said it does not matter who took it at this point. Even though the manager did not confirm who took it, it was clear one of our employees did but she didn’t want to cause any conflict within the team.

Cut to a few months later, we are doing apartment inspections and I happen to be assigned to inspect one of the units where one of our co-workers lives on site. As soon as I go in, what do I see? The exact table and chairs that were taken from the storage room.

The next day I decide to confront him about it. I knew it would not go well, but I felt like I should mention it because if I did not, it would be like letting him get away with it.

So first thing in the morning I mentioned how I saw the table and chairs that was taken from the storage room and reminded him that he told me he did not take them. Immediately he got upset with me for accusing him and claimed he bought them.

The thing is, this is a very distinctive set that is not made anymore and the exact number of pieces that were in the storage room were now in his dining room. About 3 people had the key to that room where they went missing, and coincidentally it just so happened to appear in the apartment of one of those 3 people. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.

Despite this, he still did not admit to it. I didn’t want to keep pressing it because I knew the truth and there was no point in making matters worse, so I just let it go.

I was pretty disappointed with him, not because he took the table and chairs, but more so because he was dishonest with me, not only initially, but because he continued to be dishonest even when being caught with indisputable evidence.

We went on with our work day without any issue, but something like this stays with you and now I know I cannot trust him. Trust is very important, not just in the work place but in life in general.

I can see how people lie frequently to try to save themselves in the short term, but examples like this show how lying just makes things worse in the long run.

He had the option to admit his mistake and apologize for lying to me which would have been the mature thing to do. Instead he continued to lie even more and as a result he damaged his character even more.

The moral of the story is don’t lie. Honesty is the best policy. Yes it might be tempting to lie especially if you think you can get away with it, but over time that dishonesty builds up and people see it. It will have a negative affect on you in the long run if you are seen as a person who is dishonest and cannot be trusted.

Next time you are confronted with a situation where you might consider lying, do the right thing and just tell the truth. People will respect you more for doing this rather than lying to them.

Bibibop Review - My New Favorite Restaurant

2026-05-31T14:27:48.022-05:00

When it comes to restaurants, I love the fast casual style. I also like restaurants that are healthy and have a lot of variety to choose from. Because of this, my go-to style is places where you can get a bowl and just add whatever you want to it.

I used to get Chipotle, but over the years I got kind of tired of it. Recently I tried Cava, which is very good and has Mediterranean flavors. I also tried Sweetgreen which I thought was just ok but seemed to be lacking in flavor and seasoning.

Then I found out about Bibibop which is another place where you can build your own bowl. It has Asian inspired flavors, but they have so many ingredients to choose from that it really has a wide range of flavors.

So far I have tried it several times and it is always very good! I usually get the veggie bowl with ingredients such as sweet potato noodles, purple rice, black beans, curry chickpeas, pickled red onions, cucumbers, carrots, kale, and corn.

The sweet potato noodles actually don't taste or look like sweet potatoes. They are clear like rice noodles and have more of an asian flavor. The purple rice tastes pretty similar to regular rice but it just seems better with the purple color. Both are good and you have the option to add both to the bowl.

For proteins, I have tried the tofu which was pretty standard tasting, lightly cooked and not overly seasoned. I also tried the korean crispy chicken which was pretty good but a little spicy.

For sauces, the yum yum sauce is flavorful and seems to go well with the bowls to add some richness. I also tried the sesame oil but didn't care for it. Same with the ginger sauce which I didn't really like much. The teriyaki sauce is tasty but pretty high in sodium. Overall the bowls are so flavorful, they don't really need sauce but if I had to recommend one, I would go with the yum yum sauce.

They have 2 sizes for the bowls, regular and small. I read that the small was supposed to be half the size, but in store it looks almost as big as the regular bowl and the price is almost the same. Between these 2, it is probably best to just get the regular bowl considering the price is not much different.

Pro tip, there is also the Bibicup which is a smaller portion but is actually still a lot of food and plenty for 1 meal. It is hidden under the "Sides" category. They really should put it next to the bowls in that category. With the Bibicup, you get a good portion of food and it is a very reasonable price.

Also I did try the snickerdoodle cookie since I have been into cookies lately. It was just ok but kind of dry. I would pass on it unless you really want a dessert to go with it.

Bibibop also has a rewards program with the app. You get a free bowl after $10 purchase. They also have frequent specials with discounts.

With healthy delicious food and a good price, it has become my new favorite restaurant. I recommend trying it out if you have one near you!

Home Buying Tips and Advice Learned from Going Through the Process

2026-05-25T16:50:32.500-05:00

Recently I went through the home buying process and learned a lot along the way. I figured I would share what I learned to help others out there who are looking to purchase a new home. Here are some tips and advice on buying a house.

When you see a property that looks good, act quickly. Make an appointment to see it soon. If you like it enough to make an offer, don’t wait. Put in the offer soon. The more time you wait, the more time it gives others to see the property and make competing offers.

Don’t expect to get a good deal on a good home. In a competitive market, any good property is going to have a lot of interest which means it is likely to get several offers. If you want to get the property, you have to have the best offer. This means it is usually going to be at asking price or even higher. If you put in a low offer trying to get a good deal, someone else with a higher offer is going to get it.

Seasons have an effect on the housing market. Home prices tend to be lower in winter and higher in the summer. There also tends to be less of a selection in the winter and more of a selection in the summer.

Look at the sale history of the property. If it is being bought and sold frequently such as every few years, it means people don’t like it enough to stay. If it has a history of long ownership such as 10+ years it is a sign that the people like living there.

When you are touring a house, try to visualize living there. Think about what it would be like to live there. Think about your every day life and what it would be like if you were there. It can be hard to get a full understanding of a house with one visit. If possible you may want to visit it again at another time of the day such as at night.

See a lot of different kinds of houses and different locations. The more options you see, the more you can figure out what you like and don’t like. There are so many factors to consider when buying a home and getting out to see them in person is a great way to compare these different factors.

Pay attention to the showing agent’s observations of the property. Often they will see things about it that you might have missed. Also it can help to bring other people with you too see the property also and they may also be able to notice issues that you might have missed otherwise.

Expect to pay more than you thought. There are plenty of cost estimators out there but once you get into the process all of a sudden there are more charges than you thought and things are more expensive than you thought. Make sure you have plenty of buffer room and backup funds to cover it.

Shopping for a house is fun. Buying a house is not fun. It is fun to get to tour houses and see what’s out there in the beginning. Once you get an offer accepted, that is when the fun stops and the work begins. Working with realtors, attorneys, and loan officers can be time consuming and stressful. Negotiations, contracts, qualifications, inspections, you name it. There is a lot to do and you have to get through it all if you want to make it happen.

Buying and selling homes is very expensive with all the fees and commissions involved. Frequent buying and selling is not very cost effective. If you are going to buy, look for something that you will be happy living with for a long time.

Crave Cookies Free Cookie for New Customers. Crave Review and Comparison

2026-05-17T16:50:35.988-05:00

Cookies are one of my favorite deserts so recently I have been trying out some of the specialty cookie places. I started with Crumbl and recently I tried Crave Cookies. It is very similar in terms of the business model where they have gourmet cookies that rotate each week.

One thing I like about Crave is they are more generous with the promotions and discounts. When you download the app, they give you credits for a free cookie right away. With Crumbl, it is hard to even get a discount let alone a free cookie.

So far I have tried a few different flavors such as cookies and cream, caramel biscoff, and churro horchata. Overall they ok. Compared to Crumbl, they seem to be less sweet and more crunchy, so it will depend on your preference which one you like better. One thing I noticed is they seem to have a flavor like they have absorbed from the packaging or something which is not great.

Another thing I noticed when placing an order on the app is they charge a .25 service fee. This even applies on the free cookie. I looked it up and I couldn't really find much information on this or why they charge the fee.

Overall, if you like cookies I would recommend trying it out if there is a location near you. Also keep an eye on their social media pages where they post about other weekly specials and promotions.

The Correlation Between People Who Eat At Raising Canes and People Who Litter

2026-03-06T19:28:00.001-06:00

Over the years one of my hobbies was picking up trash to clean up the neighborhoods. It eventually led me to a job in grounds keeping where I clean up garbage for a large apartment complex. Over the years I have noticed patterns on the types of things that are most littered.

When it comes to fast food restaurant trash, the ones I find more than any other are from Raising Canes. Now the reason this is odd is because there are not many of these restaurants near my location. The nearest one is 5 miles away. Pretty much every other chain has several restaurants closer by, yet despite this fact, it is still the most littered.

One might think it is a fluke, but these findings have been consistent and it is not just one one specific area, it is everywhere I go. I will say they Raising Canes does put their logo on pretty much all their containers so that may have a small contributing factor, but it still does not explain why their trash is found so much more than other similar restaurants.

It has really become a joke. Whenever I find a cup or a wrapper from there, I say to myself "The joke continues" because it feels like a joke the universe is playing on me haha.

I am curious if anyone else has noticed this? It is possible there is just some strange correlation between people who eat at Raising Canes and people who litter?

Five Guys is Not Good

2026-03-06T19:08:00.001-06:00

As the title states, Five Guys restaurant is not good in my opinion. Recently my work ordered a group lunch and they picked Five Guys. I pleaded for other choices but that is the one they went with.

As someone who doesn't eat much meat, this place really has limited options. Heck, even if you do eat meat this place has limited options. It's pretty much burgers, hotdogs, and fries and that's it. I went through every item on the menu trying to find at least something to order. I reluctantly settled on a veggie burger with cheese. I requested bbq sauce as well.

I go to the location to pick it up for our group. Now I used to work for Door Dash so I have experience picking up from this restaurant. Let me tell you, it was always one of my least favorite places to pick up from to the point where I pretty much refused to take orders from there.

Right off the bat as soon as you walk in there is a nauseating smell. It gives me a headache almost instantly just being in there inhaling the fumes from the cooking.

Another thing is, they don't start the fries until you get there. The point of pick up is that is is ready to pick up when you get there. No one picking up wants to wait extra time for the food to be cooked after they arrive and are ready to pick it up.

Then of course is the greasy fries that soak through the bag. They used to just give a paper bag which was a disaster of course but now even with a plastic bag it is pretty disgusting with the oil and steam.

So back to picking up this order. It's for 8 people and they all have fountain drinks. After waiting about 10 minutes for it to be ready they give me the order and 8 cups. Just great, now I have to fill up and prepare 8 cups of soda. And the machine is one of those touch screens with all the different choices which seems like a good idea except it just makes everything more difficult. Try getting the right while trying to control the flow with a touch screen.

So after about another 10 minutes of making the drinks I am finally able to load everything into the car. I have to keep the windows down because the smell is overwhelming.

I get back to work and set up the food. I get my veggie sandwich and it has no cheese and no sauce. So I pretty much got raw vegetables on a plain bun. Delicious... not. Glad I brought my lunch as usual just in case for situations like this.

Anyway, just wanted to rant because I am disappointed by this restaurant and my experiences I have had there. Anyone else have a similar opinion? Feel free to leave a comment.

Wrong Number Text Scams, Whatsapp. Be Careful! Almost Got Scammed!

2025-12-16T22:12:00.002-06:00

About a week ago a got a text message from some number I didn’t recognize asking something about if I am coming into work today. I figured they accidentally got the wrong number so I told them they may have the wrong number. They apologized and said they would treat me to coffee if I was in the area. I said I was far away but thanked them for the offer.

I thought this was a friendly exchange but little did I know at the time, it was just a common set up for what is known as a wrong number text scam which the scammer will try to befriend you to gain your trust over time and then eventually try to convince you to invest money into a scheme which you will end up losing money.

Anyway so they continued the conversation and I guess I was intrigued enough or just willing to make a new pen pal so I continued to chat with them. Soon they asked me to transfer our conversation over to Whatsapp. I asked why and they said they were using a work phone that other people use. I didn’t have the app but it looked ok so I downloaded it to the phone to continue the conversation.

As the days went on she shared more about herself including pictures and videos which seemed to be real. I was still a bit skeptical so I started looking up the phone numbers and the images but nothing turned up so it seemed legitimate.

It soon became apparent that she was very wealthy. She said she had her own jewelry business and that she also makes money by investing in the gold market. She spoke about this investing several times and mentioned that she could teach me to do it if I was interested.

I was still considering that this was possibly a scam so I knew I did not want to invest any money, but it was tempting especially since she apparently was very good at it. She said her aunt was her mentor and taught her about investing.

About a week in, the relationship was going well. We chatted several times a day and we seemed to be getting along great. I really thought I got lucky by randomly getting into a conversation with a stranger who just happened to be beautiful, single, and rich. Of course this should have clued me into the fact that it was probably a scam, but I wanted to believe it was true.

Even certain examples along the way that seemed a bit odd and didn’t quite check out, I brushed off and kept believing that this could be the real thing.

I told me sister and she immediately said it sounded like a scam. She sent me examples of common scams and honestly the descriptions matched up with what I was dealing with so I started to get a little more cautious.

I started to dig a little deeper and search for terms like “wrong number text scam” and “gold investing scam". Examples on Reddit started popping up and I was shocked by what I found. There were tons of examples of pretty much exactly the same set up leading to a scam!

It starts with an innocent wrong number text and they keep chatting back and forth to gain your trust. They ask you to move over to Whatsapp to keep chatting. They mention that they are rich from investing and offer to help you get involved with it. Once you agree to invest money with them, it turns out it is a scam and you lose your money.

I was lucky I discovered it was a scam before it got that far so I did not lose anything. I told myself I would not put any money into it in case it was a scam but I will admit, the idea of it was tempting. I was really believing this person and starting to take their advice and direction on big decisions which is pretty scary considering it was all fake.

I believed this relationship was real for about a week until I discovered the similar examples online. I consider myself a pretty tech savvy person who is well educated when it comes to tech scams. I have seen many examples of it online and taken a lot of cyber security courses as well, and even with all of that, I still managed to get pulled into one of these scams.

It is really sad that there are people out there doing this, taking advantage of people with the sole intention of stealing their money. They are preying on innocent people who are often seeking out a relationship and they exploit this for their own personal gain. I was lucky I did not lose anything in this interaction but many people out there get further into it and end up losing a lot of money.

I wanted to share this example of what happened with the hope that it will help others not fall victim to the same scam. Be careful out there. If something seems too good to be true it is!

Facebook Marketplace – Why is it so bad? Pet peeves and frustration.

2025-10-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

If you are looking to sell something locally, chances are you have experience with Facebook Marketplace. It is one of the most popular platforms for buying and selling items and it is run by one of the biggest companies in the world, so why is it so bad?

Is it the software itself, the people who are using it, or a combination of both? I would say it is a mix of both.

One of the biggest issues is poor communication. Most people start by sending a generic “Is this still available?” message. I will usually reply immediately with something like, “Yes, can you pick it up today?” Then most of the time they will not even read the reply or if they do read it, they don’t reply.

My theory is that since Facebook has those quick message send options, I think a lot of people are accidentally tapping those messages even when they don’t mean to send a message. For the others, they are clearly not serious about buying the item so they don’t even reply.

It doesn’t help that Facebook’s app is not reliable at all when it comes to functionality and communication. I just had a scheduled meet up with a buyer. I was waiting like 10 minutes and so was he, when we were both there because the messages did not go through. I was there with the app open to the chat and there was nothing. It was not until I force closed the app and then re-opened it that I saw their messages show up.

Another thing is that people do not even read the details of the listing before they start sending messages. There have been so many times where people have said they were interested and we went back and forth discussing the item. Then finally when they agree to buy it they realize the distance is too far. I always have the location listed and still they do not pay attention.

The rating system could be better also. I always rate after a good transaction. If it was not a good transaction I will just not rate them. I don’t like the idea that your identity is shown on the ratings because it could cause conflict or retaliation for giving a bad review.

Overall the app could use a lot of improvement. Considering how popular it is and how big the company is, you would think they would be able to make some of these fixes to improve the product.

What is your experience using Facebook Marketplace? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Making mistakes is not a problem. Being dishonest about it is.

2025-10-12T18:14:00.000-05:00

Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. It is just part of life. When we make a mistake, we have the chance to learn from it so it does not happen again.

Sometimes when people make mistakes they don’t want others to know about it so they try to hide it or lie about it to avoid taking the blame for what happened. It is understandable when people do this because they are trying to save themselves from embarrassment or from consequence. They don’t want others to know they made a mistake because they feel others will think less of them because of it.

I would argue that this is the wrong approach and that being honest about it and telling the truth is a much better way to address a mistake. Sure if you lie about it and no one finds out the truth, you might get away with it. However if you lie about it and the truth is found out, now not only will you be judged on making the mistake but now also on lying about it which is worse.

The reason it is worse is because being dishonest is a personal choice. It is something you have control over and by lying, it also means you can no longer be trusted. Trust is incredibly important in all aspects of life. When you are trustworthy, people can depend on you and that makes you valuable. If you can’t be trusted, people can’t really take you for your word anymore and that means people will always question whether you are telling the truth or not.

When you make a mistake, it is better to just own it and tell the truth rather than try to hide it and end up making things worse for yourself.

This topic was on my mind because I have dealt with this situation frequently at work. I will ask someone about a mistake that was made and they act like they don’t know anything about it. Then later I find out that it was in fact their mistake and they were not truthful about it. In these cases, I would much rather they had just been honest in the first place. It would not have been a big deal at all, but since they lied about it, now I know I can’t trust them, and that has a huge negative effect on how I see them as an employee and as a person in general.

As tempting as it may me to try to hide a mistake, in the long run, it is better to just be honest about it. Mistakes happen. It is part of life and often times it cannot be avoided no matter how careful we are. It is how we choose to react when these mistakes happen that will determine if we are someone who can be trusted or not.

When songs make us cry. Music’s ability to elicit an emotional response.

2025-09-28T16:21:00.001-05:00

Have you ever listened to a song and it brought tears to your eyes? This happens to me sometimes and I find it fascinating that a song can bring about such emotion that it actually makes us cry. I began looking into how and why this happens.

Apparently there are several different reasons on why this occurs. For example the song could be associated with a particular emotional time or event in your life and it reminds you of that time. Another example is when you relate to the lyrics and they stir up a strong emotion within you. It could also be that you find the music to be incredibly beautiful and it just resonates with you.

For me, I tend to get most emotional when an individual overcomes obstacles and achieves a goal that have been striving for. For example when someone has been working hard at something and even when it looks like it won’t work out, they keep trying and eventually succeed in their efforts.

I will share 3 examples of these kinds of songs that bring about this emotion and make me cry.

The first is an audition by Jillian Jensen on the show X Factor. This was many years ago and to this day every time I watch it, I start bawling. The segment gives a little about her background and how she struggled growing up and was bullied about her singing. Then she gives an emotional raw performance, pouring her heart out and it is just so powerful, you can feel it. Here is her performance from that night:

Another example is the song Defying Gravity from the movie Wicked, sung by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. I actually just watched this movie for the first time recently and scene where they sing this song was so emotional. It is another one of those situations where the character was ostracized and made fun of by others because she was different. Then she finally get the power and confidence to defy gravity and the emotions come pouring out. Cynthia’s vocals in the 2nd half of the song blow me away every time.

Last example is a song many people are familiar with and that is Let It Go from the movie Frozen sung by Idina Menzel. It’s a popular song of course but it is also very emotional in the context. In the movie, The character Elsa has left her community because she was different and didn’t fit in. While alone, she embraces who she is and decides to Let It Go and not be worried what others will think of her. The song builds to a very emotional chorus that I think many people can relate to in different ways.

What are some songs that bring you to tears? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Blog Update

2025-08-10T16:57:00.004-05:00

I always use an ad blocker when browsing the web so I usually don't see advertisements but recently I disabled it to see what the site looks like here with ads. To my surprise, there were tons of ads! Way too many. There were more ads than content!

I went to check my Google Adsense account to see how much money if any was actually being made from all these ads. Turns out the amount was very small. Were talking maybe a few pennies a day. My last Adsense payout was almost 2 years ago! And Google does not let you cash out unless you get to at least $100.

I realized that for the amount of ads that were spamming my site, it was not worth it to be making just a few cents per day. I would rather just not have any ads and give the reader a much better experience on the site. So as of today I have removed the ads and closed the Google Adsense account.

I don't post as much on this site as I used to, but it still has a lot of articles going back many years and the old articles still get traffic so at least now these articles can be read without being bombarded with a bunch of ads.

How to get food out from in between your teeth?

2025-06-22T12:33:00.004-05:00

It can be very annoying when you get some food stuck in between your teeth so I thought I would share a method that I use that usually works for me. This is for when you get something hard wedged in between back teeth and dental floss by itself is not working.

This happens to me if I am eating something like tortilla chips and a hard part of the chip gets wedged in between my teeth.

First step is to try dental floss to get it out. Most of the time this works, but sometimes the food is too hard and stuck in there that you can't even get the floss in there to clear it.

When floss on its own does not work, I get some water and use to to swish around inside my mouth. Take a gulp of water and swish it around vigorously in between your teeth. Try to focus on the area that has the food stuck. Repeat this process a few times with a few gulps of water.

Then get the floss and try again to floss it out. Hold the floss firmly and try to move it back a forth a bit if it still does not get through. But be careful not to push to hard because you don't want to hurt your gums with the floss.

If it still does not work, go back to the water and swish more water around. For stubborn pieces of food, you may have to do this several times. The water helps break down the food. Sometimes I have had to do this as much as 10 times, but eventually it always works and the food comes out with the floss after swishing the water around to help break it down.

Good luck and feel free to share any tips you have on getting food out of your teeth.

Beelink SER5 Pro Mini PC Review - Initial thoughts

2025-04-04T13:29:00.006-05:00

I recently decided to purchase a new PC to replace my Lenovo desktop tower that was about 9 years old. I still liked the Lenovo but it was starting to get sluggish and freeze up under normal use. The current mini PC's are much faster and they are very affordable so I figured it was about time for a replacement.

After doing research I decided to go with a Beelink SER5 Pro mini PC. It has a Ryzen 7 processor, 500GB storage, and 32GB of RAM. Overall cost about $300.

When it arrived, I was surprised how small the box was. It is amazing that a computer replacing a big desktop tower can be so small and it still has plenty of ports for connections.

Setup and updates did not go as smooth as I would have liked. It had trouble updating to the newest version of Windows 11 so I had to go directly to the Microsoft site and download an installer to help and that worked. Then it said the Radeon drivers did not match so I had to update those.

Upon using it for a while, I noticed that even though the PC was pretty quiet at idle, the fan would rev high whenever I would open a program or perform a simple action. It felt like the computer was stressing more than it should be for simple applications.

I did a bunch of research on adjusting the fan settings as many other people had mentioned the same issue. Finally I found the solution which was to go into the processor power management settings and move the "Maximum processor state" down from 100% to 99%. This made a huge difference and now the PC is much quieter and the fan does not rev up and down like before.

Overall the performance seems to be pretty good. It starts up and shuts down pretty fast and runs programs pretty well.

One thing I don't really like is Windows 11. It is new to me, but so far I have found it not very easy to use or at least, it has quirks or limitations that make it not user friendly. For example the scroll wheels on everything are too thin and seem to want to hide all the time. I have adjusted settings and looked for ways to fix this but so far, none have helped without going deep into modifying registry settings which I don't want to do.

Simple actions such as viewing programs installed seem to require more clicks that necessary and it is not intuitive to get to them. Reaching simple buttons such as a power button requires several clicks and mouse pans to get to it.

There seem to be several different ways to get to similar settings such as power settings, and when adjusting one, it will modify and limit the other and since they are in different places, this makes it confusing.

Some security settings are turned off by default and it is not clear as to why or what effect they have on the system. I found myself having to do tons of research online just to figure out what all these setting are for.

Despite the initial struggle of getting started and the learning curve of Windows 11, overall I am pleased with the system. I will update this review later with more details over time to see how it performs in the long run.

Update 8-29-25:

I have been using the computer for about 4 months and so far it has been pretty good but I have noticed 1 issue. Every so often when I press the power button to turn it on, the light goes on but it does not start up. I then have to hold the power button down to force shut down and then press it again to start it up. Not sure what the issue is, but it is a little worrisome that it does not always boot up reliably. Other than that, it seems to be ok.

Update 6-2-26:

Still experiencing the same issue as before where the computer does not boot up reliably. When pressing the power button it will light up like it is loading but then it does not show up anything on the screen and the monitor is showing it is not getting any signal from the computer. Usually a force shut down and restart fixes it, but I'm worried one of these times it is not going to start up. I make sure to back it up often just in case.

Amazon is Pretty Amazing

2025-03-26T15:50:00.005-05:00

I don't order stuff online that often, but recently I placed a couple orders on Amazon and was extremely impressed. First I was searching for a new computer. After doing a bunch of research I decided to place an order. It was about 8pm. I didn't have a Prime membership, but they offered a 30 day trial for free so I decided to go with that to get the free shipping.

Literally the next day, mid day the computer arrives at my door! It's amazing that you can pick out a specific product, place and order and in less than 24 hours it arrives. And that is with free shipping!

A few days later I decided to order a few accessories for the computer. I ordered 3 separate things. Again placed the order late in the evening. Before noon the next day they all arrived! That is pretty incredible.

It's like they have a warehouse with every product near by and have people working overnight to pick out the orders and then more people ready to deliver next day. Maybe that is actually what they have, I don't know, but whatever they are doing it is working very well.

Where I work we get a lot of deliveries from Amazon and in my experience they are not always the most reliable. For example they often don't put the packages where they are supposed to go, and often they don't speak English so that may pose additional challenges for them. But maybe it is what is necessary to fulfill these orders so fast. Yes some orders may get lost, but if most of them arrive next day instead of having to wait a week, maybe it is worth it.

In terms of shopping on their website, I have mixed feelings. On one side, it is very easy to navigate and research products. On the other side, it seems like the website can be a little fishy when it comes to pricing.

For example, I noticed for a lot of the items, it had a lower price listed that was only available if you have an Amazon Prime account.

Another example, I found a mouse pad that was about $7. I decided to do a quick Google search to see if anywhere else had it cheaper. Low and behold I found a 6 pack of the same mouse pads on sale for $5, but not at another store, on Amazon itself.

I did an exact title search on Amazon to find that listing, and nothing showed up even though it was sold by Amazon. I looked through all the results and it was not there. So somehow Google was able to find the lower price on Amazon, but Amazon could not find it on their own site.

Despite these little quirks, I still think Amazon is amazing with how well they nailed down this online shopping and delivery experience. What a time we live in where you can order exactly what you want and have it arrive at your door the next day with free shipping!

UPDATE: A new promotion was just announced for young adults age 18-24: 6 months Amazon Prime trial at no cost. I would say it is a pretty good deal considering the fast and free shipping on orders from Amazon!

New Show Recommendation - Building Outside the Lines

2024-04-06T20:50:00.001-05:00

I just finished watching the show "Building Outside the Lines" and it was so good I wanted to share it here as a recommendation. The show features a father/daughter duo who are asked to make a creative build for a client each episode.

The dad Cappie has a great personality and a lot of enthusiasm. Alex the daughter compliments him very well and contributes a lot of ideas and creativity to the builds.

The show takes place in South Dakota which makes for a beautiful setting. The show is shot and edited very nicely which makes it a pleasure to watch.

Each show starts with a local client who has a basic idea of what they want, but they leave it up to Cappie, Alex, and their team to put their own spin on it and come up with a completed design. The building process is featured throughout the episode and at the end the finished project is presented to the client.

Overall it is a wonderful show and I highly recommend it. The first season had 8 episodes, but I really hope they decide to make more! You can watch it now on streaming networks such as Max Discovery Plus.

Music Picks - Best Artists and Songs for 2023 and Previous Years

2023-12-31T19:28:00.003-06:00

From 2010 - 2018 each year I posted a list of my favorite songs of the year. Then I took a break from this series. Now after 5 years, I have a new list of artists and songs to recommend so I figured I would post them here on the blog to share.

This list contains music released in 2023 as well as some from previous years. It is mostly songs that are not super popular, at least not yet at the time of this posting. Here are my picks for the best songs from 2023 and previous years:

1. CARR - Industry Kids

I just randomly discovered CARR after a quick search for new music on Spotify. I would describe her sound as similar to artists like Avril Lavigne, Jax, and Damone. Her music reminds me of the indie rock scene of the early 2000's. She has put out a few albums of the past few years. I listened to all of them and all the songs are good! What's interesting is it seems she has not blown up yet. I could see an artist like this easily having millions of views and followers but so far she seems to be flying under the radar. Other songs to check out also: Sick Bro, Spiral City.

2. Jax - Victoria's Secret

Jax is a singer songwriter that recently caught my attention with her anthem Victoria's Secret. She has distinctive singing voice and a knack for catchy tunes that stand out from the other pop songs. Power chords and a meaningful message make this song a hit. Also check out other songs from Jax including Cinderella Snapped and 90s Kids.

3. Bo Burnham - From God's Perspective

Bo is known for his comedy specials which include a number of original songs which are very good even on their own. My favorite would have to be From God's Perspective which is an equally funny yet deep song about God's thoughts on humanity. Wonderfully composed, written, and performed. Also check out songs: Straight White Man and Can't Handle This.

4. Gary Portnoy - Temporary

Gary Portnoy is most known for making making one of the greatest theme songs of all time, the theme song to Cheers, but he also has released plenty of his own music such as this song called Temporary. It's an autobiographical song about his childhood friend which leads to a revelation about life itself. Also check out the songs Lee and Life on the Outside.

5. Carly Rae Jepsen - Comeback

Carly has a lot of pop hits and one of my recent favorites is the song Comeback. In collaboration with producer Jack Antonoff from The Bleachers, they have made a wonderful song here with haunting synths and soundscapes.

6. Alanis Morissette - Losing the Plot

Alanis is an unmistakable iconic singer songwriter and she continues her path with Losing the Plot. It is a mix of dark yet optimistic composition and melody with original arrangements. An anthem for anyone overwhelmed or lost, it resonates with raw honesty and emotional power.

7. Natalie Imbruglia - On My Way

On My Way is a punchy, defiant anthem of self-discovery and liberation. It's a vibrant mix of pop and rock filled with energy and attitude. Lyrically it is about casting off past burdens and embracing new beginning. The song portrays a feeling of empowerment and possibility.

8. Julia Michaels - Work Too Much

Work Too Much is a melancholic pop ballad about the struggles of someone who is overworked and exhausted. It feautures a gentle piano melody and breathy vocals, setting the tone for a song that is both introspective and relatable. The song's catchy melody and powerful lyrics make it a standout track.

9. M.I.A. - Keep the Peace

Keep the Peace by M.I.A. is a pulsating, genre-bending anthem that blends elements of grime, electronic, and pop music. The song is driven by a frenetic beat and M.I.A.'s signature rap-singing style, which weaves through layers of distorted synths and infectious vocal hooks.

10. Bob Ricci - It Could Happen U2 (Stuck in your zipper and you can't get out of it) (U2 Stuck in a Moment parody)

This is an older song but it's very well done and not well known so I wanted to feature it here. It's a parody of the U2 song Stuck in a Moment, but the lyrics are changed to "Stuck in your Zipper" ultimately leading to a very funny song. The original is a great song and I actually like this version even better!

The cost of everything has gotten too expensive. Price of food and and inflation out of control.

2023-12-05T17:48:00.003-06:00

As we near the end of 2023 the cost of living has skyrocketed. Ever since the pandemic the cost of everything has increased dramatically. Even the price of basic necessities like food and housing have gotten out of control. A little inflation each year is expected, but the increases we have seen over the past few years have been way too much. And the problem is that salaries and income from jobs have not increased to match it.

I don't know how many people are managing it these days. I am getting by but that is because I was in the habit of living a very frugal lifestyle even before all of this started happening. I saved up and continue to live even more frugally so I am ok, but for the average person living paycheck to paycheck without savings, they are pretty much screwed.

I'm not expert in economics but there does not really seem to be a reason for the dramatic increase in cost of living other than everyone just trying to get more money and stay ahead of the curve. The cost one thing will go up and then everything related to that goes up to try to make up the difference. Ultimately the consumer at the end is hit with a higher bill.

I can understand how the pandemic caused big issues with supply and demand and it had a huge effect on the workforce, but it is long over with and things have not changed back to how they were, they have only gotten worse.

I think there is a certain amount of greed involved with companies raising the cost of goods that people need and people keep buying them because they feel like they don't have a choice.

As far as I am concerned, I am not tolerating these price hikes. Certain grocery stores that I used to shop at on a regular basis, I no longer even step foot into. Certain food that I used to buy every week I no longer buy anymore because the price has nearly doubled in the past year or so. I changed my frugal buying habits into being even more frugal because I will not support these price increases. I think more people have to do the same to send a message that these prices have gotten out of control.

If things don't change, people will need to make more money and they will demand higher pay from their jobs. Then of course this will make companies raise prices on goods and the cycle just continues to get worse.

We just need to get some stability in the economy back. Maybe government needs to step in to put some regulation in place. Maybe more people have to stop putting up with these price increases. If people can no longer afford to pay for basic living expenses while working a full time job, this could lead to even more serious problems.

Gerber Armbar Drive Review - First impressions of the driver multi-tool

2023-10-02T18:11:00.001-05:00

I have been a fan of multi-tools for a while now and up to this point I have mostly used Victorinox Swiss Army knives. Recently I was in the market for a new multi-tool that would have a good phillips head screw driver and a knife. After doing lots of research I decided to try out the Gerber Armbar Drive.

My first impression was that it was a bit smaller than expected but it is similar in size compared to Victorinox knives like the Super Tinker. The problem though is that the tools don't fill the shape well and because of this, it makes it hard to handle. For example when you open up the screw driver, that part leaves a big hollow space in the handle where it use to be so you don't have much to hold on to.

I found the tools themselves to be hard to open. Maybe I got spoiled by Vicotorinox, but these tools on the Gerber are really stuck in there and when you open one, it tends to pull out some of the other tools next to it.

The scissors I don't really like because of the design. When you open it, it is not ready to go, you have to flip one of the sides 180 degrees to get it into place. This extra step might not seem like a lot, but when you just want to get to a tool quick you don't want to have to worry about extra steps just to open it.

The pry tool I found to be hard to open. They say it functions as a hammer too, but this thing is so light, I don't expect it would work too well at hammering.

The knife is ok. I like that it is able to lock. In terms of size it is about as big as the handle itself which seems a little too big for the handle.

Overall I wanted to like this multi-tool and was hoping to use it as my daily carry for screw driver and knife, but after trying it out, I am disappointed and I don't expect to use it much unfortunately.

Cancel culture and the trend of trying to bring down good people - Colleen Ballinger, Jenna Marbles

2023-07-06T17:39:00.004-05:00

Recently I discovered that a Youtuber I like, Colleen Ballinger from Miranda Sings, was in the news for apparently doing bad things. I was surprised to hear this because having followed her channels, watched her Netflix series, and read her book, I never had any reason to think anything bad about her.

I did a little searching to try to figure out what was going on. My search found a lot of news articles saying she may have done some things in the past that some might consider inappropriate. I also searched Reddit and found a lot of people intent on trying to bring her down. I read their reasons and honestly they were not that bad.

I could tell right away that this situation is exactly like what happened to Youtuber Jenna Marbles. It's where there is a good person who has a lot of success and then one day some negative press article comes out saying they did something wrong and then all of a sudden the mob pounces on them and tries to find every little thing they possibly did wrong in their entire life.

This kind of thing gets a lot of media attention so news sites and social media are all over it. Suddenly everyone has an opinion on it. Anyone who ever disliked them or was jealous of them in any way is chiming in on the action.

I'll admit I have not read into all the allegations thoroughly but when you follow someone on Youtube for years and have watched and read a lot of their content you get a pretty good idea of who they are. In my opinion she is a good person plain and simple.

Of course there are probably some things she has done that she would look back on and say “yeah I probably shouldn't have done that, or I would have done that differently”. Of course she probably made some mistakes in the past, but guess what, so has every single person in the world!

But because she is famous she gets attacked by everyone who dislikes her. When you are famous, even if you have millions of people who love you, there are still going to be a small percentage who don't like you. Then as soon as you make one little slip up, they are all over it and try to blow it out of proportion.

It can be contagious to jump on the bandwagon when someone you know has made a mistake. I'll admit there may have been times in the past where I have done the same thing, not to this extent, but something similar.

For example, how many times in your life have you known someone who you thought was ok. Maybe a co-worker who you didn't necessarily get along with but tolerated them just fine. Then maybe one day they leave under bad terms and people start gossiping negative things about them. Have you ever been tempted to join in and give your own take on what you didn't like about them?

This is the kind of thing that happens in these situations to celebrities but on a much larger scale. It is really unfair especially when you have thousands of people trying to dig up your life's history and find every little thing you did that could possibly be interpreted as being even slightly offensive or controversial.

If this was done to everyone, guess what? Pretty much everyone would be “Canceled”. Even the best people in the world make mistakes. I'm not saying we should condone celebrities when they do something that is truly horrible, but I think we really need to give them a break when small mistakes are made, especially when they are from many years ago and the person has since matured or changed.

People like Colleen and Jenna are good people who brought a lot of joy to millions of people. It is a shame when a small group of “haters” band together to try to bring them down and ruin their career.

Keep these points in mind when you see these attempts at canceling celebrities. They may be famous but deep down they are real people just like us who sometimes make mistakes and are not always perfect.

Music artists copying old songs and not giving credit to the original

2023-07-06T16:45:00.004-05:00

How many times has this happened to you? You hear a song that you think is an original song only to find out many years later that it was actually a remake of a song that existed decades earlier. For me this happens quite often.

I always feel like I've been tricked or lied to by the artist of the new version of the song. Here we were presented a song as if it was new and we were not told that it was actually just a copy of a hit song from years ago.

Sure, if you do some digging and really search for the production details of the song, you might find some fine print mentioning that it samples another song or that is was based on other song, but rarely will this information be clearly published with the song title.

I think this is unfair to the original artist because they are not really getting the credit they deserve. Often new artists just take a hit song and remake it. Then of course the song is a hit because it has already been proven to be a hit in the past. They took something that was already likable and just reintroduced it again.

Although I don't really like when this is done especially when it is not clear that the song was based on another song that already exists, it is not all bad. The fact that the song is being remade shows that the artist likes it enough to be inspired to remake it which can be a compliment to the original artist.

Also as mentioned earlier, this process introduces a song to a new generation who probably never heard the original and may never have known about it had it not been redone.

Overall I think it is ok to be inspired by a song and then make your own version of it as long as the original artist is clearly given credit so people know where it came from.