Thought Of The Day – For The Week Of For The Week Of January 7, 2018

Thought Of The Day – For The Week Of For The Week Of January 7, 2018

January 7, 2018

Grab happiness in the passing moments of life. Don’t let life pass you up.

January 8, 2018

Keep a stash of extra batteries – you never know when you need a charge.

January 9, 2018

Love carries great expectations, and, great obligations.

January 10, 2018

Be afraid only of standing still. Remember: A rolling stone gathers no moss.

January 11, 2018

Be yourself. There’s only one you and you don’t want anyone else being you.

January 12, 2018

Love always eases pain…so does novacaine…

January 13, 2018

Never underestimate the power of simple courtesy…please…

Last Week’s Thoughts Can Be Found At:

Thought Of The Day – For The Week Of For The Week Of December 31, 2017

Thought Of The Day – For The Week Of For The Week Of December 31, 2017

Thought Of The Day – For The Week Of For The Week Of December 31, 2017

December 31, 2017

Do not disregard your mistakes. Learn from them.

January 1, 2018

Money is not meant to be served. Make it work for YOU.

January 2, 2018

Appreciate the many things that make your life so valueable. Especially the small things and things close to you.

January 3, 2018

Act the part and you will become the part. If you act like you belong others will think that you do.

January 4, 2018

Don’t criticize others when you are angry with yourself. You will lose the battle because you have lost your proper perspective.

January 5, 2018

Don’t wait for the ideal time to begin something. You’ll wait your whole lifetime.

January 6, 2018

Stay on a clear course. And, plan it.

School shootings – clearly CNN, et al, are to busy attacking Trump to care about a REAL solution!

School shootings – clearly CNN, et al, are to busy attacking Trump to care about a REAL solution!

For all of you who may wonder why I’ve come out against all the pavlovians touting their anti-gun BS in light of the recent unfortunate shootings in Florida, the answer is simple:

I’m looking at the bigger picture in terms of how many people are actually killed and how killing should be prevented in the first place. It’s NOT a knife or gun issue at all…It’s a violent mindset… Hell, our first murder in recorded history was done with a ROCK! It’s not the rocks, it’s the violent mindset…what is causing that (hint: liberal media doesn’t want to find out), how can it be removed, identified, dealt with? (Hint: liberal media won’t sell ads if there’s no major deaths they can create hype and hysteria over and it doesn’t fit into their overt liberal agenda – so again no interest)

Let’s also look at the 41000 people killed on the roads last year from drunk drivers…far more than the 17 in Florida but for their families as well, just as tragic….again, no liberal media coverage…

I’m looking at the bigger picture of preventable deaths and how prevention can be used and problems identified BEFORE they cause deaths…and clearly so are many others….but, again, the media doesn’t care since it doesn’t fit into their liberal agenda nor into their profitability plans…. Go figure…
So, it’s up to us to figure this out on our own…clearly CNN, et al, are to busy attacking Trump to care….

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.

School shootings – more gun laws aren’t the answer and never will be!

School shootings – more gun laws aren’t the answer and never will be!

OK Anti-gun liberals and the rest of your pansy liberal pals… – so, how are new laws going to fix anything???

The NRA has been around LONGER THAN YOU HAVE! and longer than you have been twisting the news to fit your biased liberal views… So have guns… I bought my first one when I was in high school at a K-Mart…18 round semi-auto…fired all of them in under 2 seconds…Gee, NO MASS SHOOTINGS ON CAMPUS! Uh, do you have an answer for that????

You and your pavlovian liberal pals need to wake up and realize IT’S NOT THE GUNS…IT’S NOT THE NRA… IT’S HOW SOCIETY HAS BEEN DESENSITIZED TO KILLING!!! The sources of this are plenty! Start with your local TV, Violent Movies that Hollywood makes $BILLION$ on agrandizing uber violence, then go to uber violent VIDEO GAMES….and work the list from there!

You’re SUPPOSED TO BE a smart guy, the path is OBVIOUS!

You probably studied physics at one time. You should remember that it’s a LAW OF PHYSICS that an object at rest WILL STAY AT REST UNTIL ACTED UPON BY AN EXTERNAL FORCE! Simply put for liberals, GUNS DON’T KILL UNLESS A HUMAN USES THEM TO KILL WITH!

So, let’s ask the obvious question you liberals want to avoid: WHY ARE HUMANS KILLING??? Oh, thinking about that means we have to come up with REAL answers to REAL problems…Hmmm…liberals don’t like that….

Add to this the break down of the home, society morals in general, the lack of respect or value for life….and the list grows…

Don’t blame guns for killing anyone any more than you should blame a car for vehicular homicide! …unless of course, you want to wake up and realize that there are THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS MORE
KILLINGS each and every year done by cars driven by drunk drivers…and no liberal seems to care about that! ….I wonder why….

This problem of horror we get faced with on a fairly regular basis isn’t going away and it isn’t going to go away with the outlawing of guns any more than drugs have with the outlawing of drugs. WTFU! This is going to take a MAJOR MINDSET CHANGE in the part of society. Back to respect for each other and for live and human values.

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.

Vacationing Luxuriousely For Less – It CAN be done!

Vacationing Luxuriousely For Less – It CAN be done!

OK so you’re thinking of taking the family or perhaps your special squeeze or maybe just yourself on a much needed get the heck outta Dodge vacation. Good for you! Problem is, like many, you work for some (idiot) that doesn’t pay enough to make the bills, much less a vacation of any sort. So, how can you make this work? Well, here’s a few tips to help stretch those bucks and help you have a good time.

Plan ahead. This has to be the biggest number one tip I can give anyone. If you do your trips last minute you will pay and pay and pay. Hotels and fun places KNOW this and they hike the prices accordingly. So think and plan ahead. if ou’re a member of AAA go get their trip books, maps and talk with one of their trip advisors. This along could be worth the price of your annual membership with them. Plan what you want to do, where you want to go and when the best time to go – based on what you want to do and best prices. Also, once again, Google is your friend.

Watch for venu specials and promotions. Most of the places you want to visit know when the soft spots in their traffic flows are and they push promotions to keep the bodies flowing during those lulling times. Know this and work it to your advantage. The times I like are either just before or after a major holiday season. Between Thanksgiving and Xmas have been great times for me and the first half of January when the kids are all back in school also tends to be nice. Study the university schedules for when their breaks and major exam schedules are. Trust me kids aren’t going to be going on vacation in any large groups when they have final projects due and exams coming up…and neither are their parents. May is also a nice time for me as students are finishing up school work almost accross the board and places can be empty.

Shop your tours carefully. Tour vendors like Grayline can add alot to your trip with their local tours of major sites. Use them and other tour options strategically. Face it, you can get yourself from here to there faster and cheaper than a tour company can. So once you’re there, use them there for what they know and do best. Also you may get better deals if you book your tours for during the week versus the weekend. There’s usually less traffic and demand during the week.

Plan your meals and food wisely. Throw a small cooler in the trunk and use it for drinks, sandwiches, yogurt or whatever you like to eat. Many hotels offer breakfast as part of the deal.

Personally, I really like Hampton Inn’s for this as they are totally family and business friendly. I can a few pieces of fruit, yogurt, put together a trail mix, etc., and take it with me. Finding a small grocery on your travels is usually easy to do. Use that cooler strategically for drinks, sandwich fixings, etc., and you can save a small bundle of chow expenses.

Choose where you stay carefully. You can enjoy your stay and vacation just as easily at a place that is cost effective as you can at one that is woefully over priced and under delivered. There are some chains that are clearly marketing their name and have over priced their product and deliver the same if not less than much better priced options. Personally, this is one of the reasons that I tend to avoid Marriott facilities.

Watch for resorts and venues that offer more family friendly options. Some have special kid friendly events and programs that are specifically designed for kids and the family.

One of my preferred websites after the AAA site is nps.gov. This is the page for the national Park Service. You will find an incredible wealth of information here of places to go, things to do and see that are incredibly affordable and an incredible amount of fun. If you look at the park system, also give serious consideration to the annual pass. I can save you a tidy bundle on the parks with entrance fees. Also check you state web sites and counties for their park systems as well.
Read the travel sections of your local paper with a very discerning eye. Keep in mind that most of those articles you’re reading with all those nice pictures of places to see are probably written by somebody’s public relations group and printed as if they were a feature article. They’re little less than an over written advertisement. They CAN have some really good and useful information, but read them with a big eyes wide open filter.

I hope you do your research and have a great trip.

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.

Holiday Toy Shopping – Some Ideas To Make Life Easier …

Holiday Toy Shopping – Some Ideas To Make Life Easier …

OK, so we’re being inundated already with everyone out there schlepping their schlock for you to buy as gifts for people that for some reason you think you should be buying stuff for at this time of year. For some reason lemmings come to mind. October is hardly over any already you can’t walk through Walmart because the aisles are just over filled with xmas schlock that someone from Arkansas thinks you should be spending your money on.

So, I’ve picked up a few ideas that may be able to help you endure the rites of the season when it comes to getting what you’re wanting for those that you’re wanting it for…

GET THE HOT STUFF EARLY. Yeah, vendors know what’s hot and they’re sure to make sure the prices are highest earlier in the season but if it’s something you need for your list, your best advised to get it while the getting is good. Beating the rush will also let you get in and out of stores with a minimum of battle fatique.

Consider store services. Many stores, including the ubiquitous Walmarts, Targets, Sears, etc., offer local pickup for online purchases. Some use these services for groceries and perishables, but the same service is also available for most anything they sell. If you don’t want to risk a package being left on your front door or having UPS drop your package off at a house you haven’t lived at for a long time, ask the vendor if they have in store pickup. It can also save you time standing in line especially if you’re dealing with a place like Walmart which never seems to have more than 3 lines open for checkout.

Consider layaway. This can be be a good way to lock in a purchase for later pickup and/or payment, thus assuring you have what you need when you need it, especially if you don’t have the cash or credit line to buy it now…or if you just don’t want the little monsters sniffing around boxes to see what the Easter Bunny is going to put under the tree. Yeah, I said Easter Bunny – he’s as real as Santa is…. No, I’m not against Christmas. I just think it’s an over hyped, over marketed day of the year that tends to last for three months each year. I’m one that thinks the TRUE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT is one that should be practiced 365 days a year, regardless of what day in December it is. Perhaps I’m odd that way.

Watch your sales. Many times stores have “sales” which amount to little more than telling you they’re selling something that you already know they’re selling, but the price really hasn’t changed if at all. Be a smart shopper. Compare shopping to the max! Just because stores blast you with “SALE!” doesn’t mean the price has been lowered, it just means they’re selling stuff and have stuff for “sale”. Caveat emptor!

Use the online services like Amazon, Craigslist, etc. Make sure you’re careful who you buy from and I would suggest you use a credit card as much as possible to give you an additional buffer of security if there’s an issue with the purchase. You may even find something in those ever more frequent and annoying spam “suggested postings” on things like Facebook. Gold is where you find it. These items also generally arrive in a generic brown package so the little monsters have less of a chance of knowing what’s really inside.

So, sit back, relax, pop open a cold one and let your fingers do the walking…or maybe your mouse.

And a Happy Humbug to one and all…may the Good Lord bless us all…every one… 🙂

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.

Fighting Chance of Saving Your Lost Thumb Drive

Fighting Chance of Saving Your Lost Thumb Drive

OK, so if you’re like many of us you have at least one of those ubiquitous small thumb drives(aka Memory Sticks). Also, chances are you’re not backing it up and you have half your life and other critical data on it. And, oops…damn, but you just forgot it in the PC drive at the library and now it’s maybe gone forever!

Well, since so many people are using and losing thumb drives, I’ve suggested that my students insert their thumb drive in the PC, bring up the windows browser and RIGHT CLICK on the thumb drive “drive” identifier and SELECT PROPERTIES.

Once in the properties panel for the drive, they can change the volume label and put their name and cell# in it, and hit APPLY when done. Once they do this, every time that drive is inserted and accessed it will be with their name/cell# as the device volid. This doesn’t guarantee that a lost thumb drive will find it’s way back to an owner, but it’s a fighting chance.

The amount of space they have to play with will vary depending on if it’s formatted FAT32 or NTFS, with NTFS giving them more space.

It’s no guarantee, but it does give you a fighting chance at maybe getting your thumb drive back…here’s hoping luck is in your favor.

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.

Happy Halloween Tips

Happy Halloween Tips

OK, so it’s tricks and treats time… It’s also time to plan for some safety tips for you and your munchkins so that all enjoy a fun and safe evening.

Make sure that people can see you and your little monsters while they’re walking around. If the outfit is dark, consider adding some strategically placed reflector tape on the back or lower hems or legs so that others can see them.

Considering that a mask can hinder your goblin’s sight, make sure they can see out of it well (you may have to strategically take a pair of scsissor to the eye holes) or you may want to consider using stage makeup instead of a mask.

When you’re buying an outfit, check to see if it has flame retardant properties. You don’t want your kid and the evening going down in flames.

If a spear, sword or other weapon is part of their outfit, you may want to make sure that they’re easy to handle and not sharp.

Make sure your kid knows your cell phone number and how to use 911. Face it, it’s dark and sometimes kids can get lost.

Check your castle pathways for obstructions. You don’t want any visiting goblins to get hurt and it also helps to keep those over paid lawyers off your backs.

Keep your pets on a leash or better yet, indoors or caged.

Don’t let your kids go out alone or unescorted by an adult or responsible person. That should be self obvious.

Fresh batteries in the flashlight is a no brainer!

Only go to homes with the porch lights on or that are well lit. This is not only a safety concern but it also helps you and our kids from going to homes that aren’t participating in the evening events.

Where possible, stay in a group. Better yet, form a small group and go together.

Don’t cross over yards…stay on the sidewalk. You never know what people have forgotten in their yards when they were weeding it earlier that day.

Don’t presume that motorists can see you! Cross where you’re supposed to and LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING!

If you have a concern or something seems out of place or a concern, call the cops. It may be nothing, but then too many “nothings” have
ended up being problems later on.

Check all the candies and other goodies your monsters are given BEFORE they eat them. “Trust but verify” is always a good policy when getting goodies from people you don’t know.

Be careful, use your smarts and have a great evening.

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.

Hey Walmart – It’s not even November! REMOVE THE XMAS CRAP!

Hey Walmart – It’s not even November! REMOVE THE XMAS CRAP!

Ok, so I’m wandering into my local Walmart this morning to snag a paper and some items. It’s October 29. Not even Halloween! Thanksgiving (A REAL Holiday) is weeks away!

So, what’s the FIRST THING I see? Rows and rows and rows of xmas crap! It’s OCTOBER! GEEZUZ people!

Can you say OVER MERCHANDISING???? Can you say TOTALLY DISCUSTING!?

Now we all KNOW that there’s NO Biblical or historical basis for the Christ child to have been born on December 25. That’s a matter of record! BUT WTF WALMART??? Why do you have to put all this xmas crap out in OCTOBER!???

Frankly, you and your ilk are removing ANY spirit of xmas that anyone had at this time of year or later. You’re OVER marketing, OVER selling,and in general just showing to the world once again that you really don’t care about the SPIRIT of xmas, you only care about how early you can start selling your schlock and making money off of people stupid enough to be buy your crap in OCTOBER!

How about waiting until we’ve at least finished our Halloween candy and put the damn turkey in the over!

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.

McDonalds Buttermilk Crispy Tenders – JUST SAY NO!

McDonalds Buttermilk Crispy Tenders – JUST SAY NO!

OK so it’s mid afternoon, I’m charging down the interstate on my way to class and hungry after a long 8 hour drive that started too early in the morning.
Popping off the interstate I eye my selections of fast styrofood options and opt for Micky-D’s…I would have gone with Chik Filet, but the one in Dalton Georgia doesn’t have a clue what cole slaw is!

Alas! Something new at Micky-D’s….chicken tenders….OK…I’ll bite… So, I order a box with fries…had a diet coke already with me and needed to save a few bucks after paying a king’s ransom for the tenders. Got to the office and popped open the box… To say that McD’s doesn’t understand standard sizing would be an understatement. This was supposed to be a 10-piece box…the pieces ranged in size from OK to “where the heck is it!?”. Frankly, they should sell them by weight and not by the piece, it would be more accurate for the consumer.

Once you get past the heavy use of pepper in the batter, they really don’t taste that bad… The big downer for me was the honey mustard. This isn’t Marzetti’s by ANY stretch of the imagination.

Frankly, it’s some kind of slime compound that has some mustard and I presume honey mixed in with it. YUCKERS!

The biggest turnoff is the price! $10 for a box of 10 pieces of assorted sizes… Uh, folks I get much better tenders at Publix and their honey mustard is real honey mustard sans the slime!

It was an interesting experiment, but I’m putting this one in the stack of Edison’s first 10,000 lightbulbs that were total failures…not going back for that again. Glad I had a large DC to wash them down with!

I’m Don Rima and that’s the view From Where I Stand.