Trimming the fat…

I’ve been considering this for a while now and tonight I went through and deleted the posts which involve my profession.  However I did copy those posts to a different blog.  The reason I came to this decision was to separate work and play.  Later this month I am moving to a city that is known for being predominantly liberal.  Sadly, because of that, I have a slight fear that my firearm posts could adversely affect my career.  I’m still a Life Member in the NRA and will be shooting regularly.  I will continue posting on here as well.

My upcoming move is for a new job that I accepted a couple of weeks back.  While starting a new job is exciting I will be losing my firearm discounts and that is sad.  However, I am still waiting on my 1911 and that is very exciting.

How sad…

I realized recently that I haven’t posted on this blog in a while.  When I decided to focus this blog on firearms I thought I’d be motivated to post more often on that topic.  That hasn’t been the case, probably because I haven’t been shooting in a while.  I suppose I should remedy that soon.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton of extra money right now, especially with those two handguns getting ready to hit my account any day now.  I have a few boxes of ammo so I can plink some but I will probably spread that out over a few months.  I’ll be going on vacation in a few weeks so maybe that will spur some off-topic posts, we’ll see.

Saying what you mean

Saying what you mean is something that I’ve been thinking a lot about this year, ever since my ex and I got serious. I had a habit of getting angry or upset because she got on my case about something. Then I would say something I didn’t mean. What I said was rarely mean or rude but it was still a lie. I would tell her that I was ok or something but in actuality I would be pissed off. I would try and call her within an hour of when we parted and talk to her about it but I should have just said what I meant to start with. So by writing this post I hope you realize I’m not trying to say that I never do this or that men don’t do this but my post is about women.

When I started dating my ex she told me that when she gets upset she shuts down and I would have to really work to find out what was wrong. What I didn’t realize was that she meant she would say she was alright over-and-over again. Generally it would be a couple of days later when she would tell me what was actaully wrong, far too late for me to do anything about it. This was fine because that’s part of a relationship and I learned to deal with it. While this instance is not ideal it’s not the really crummy version of it.

When a woman breaks up with a guy she likes to give some ‘nice’ touchy-feely reason. “I just don’t have time to devote to you right now and that wouldn’t be fair”, “God is telling me it’s time for us to move on”, “I need to be alone for a while”, blah blah blah. These excuses are fine and dandy but they leave you without a feeling of closure. Most of us are adult enough to deal with being told that the chemistry is not there or is wrong. Maybe that we’re just not the kind of man she wants to spend her life with or she’s met someone else. Yeah these reasons suck but at least there’s something to hold on to for closure. My experience has shown that break-ups are easier to get over if you have closure, and there needs to be no hope of getting back together.

I know guys do this too, but I’ve always been on the receiving end so I can complain about it. Also a friend of mine had a bad experience with this so I figured I’d post about it and see what kind of comments it would generate (if any).

(This is a work in progress so check back occasionally for updates.)

No Ideas

I’ve been looking for an idea to write about for the last few days. Unfortunately nothing has come to me yet. Maybe after just 10 posts I’ve peaked, LOL obviously that’s not the case. When you read about how to write you will see people say “just write!” Apparently this is supposed to train you on developing structured ideas and arguments. So that is what I am trying to do here, I’m just writing, nothing profound or even useful–just words.

Not having a topic is really not any fun but it does seem easier to keep my mind from getting ahead of my fingers. Usually when I’m writing my mind is about two paragraphs ahead of what’s on the screen. This makes it extremely difficult to develop a coherent argument. I end up missing entire points which leaves my writing lacking important and generally fundamental ideas.

I’d much rather be writing about something going on in my life but none of the recent changes have developed to the point where I can write about them.

Some of my friends read this blog, I would really appreciate it if they could email me with post ideas.

Trouble Sleeping and Tranquil Moments Sound Therapy System

So I’ve been having trouble sleeping for the last few months. I can usually fall asleep relatively fast but I don’t get quality sleep. I’m not sure why this problem started but I think it has something to do with stress brought on by my ex, but that’s better left for another post. I’ve been trying different things to try and resolve this problem, like reading (bores the hell out of me), listening to relaxing music (helped but not much), and exercising (helped some but not enough). Last night I decided to buy a sleep machine, it’s a device that plays relaxing sounds (water running, rain, etc.). A friend of mine has one of these machines and loved it, her sound machine was OK but the sound quality was terrible. So I did a little research and found the Tranquil Moments® device from Brookstone for $99. It got good ratings on Amazon so we’ll see how good it actually is.

2 Days later: I got the machine today, I’ve checked it out some and listened to the sounds but have yet to really try it out. I will update this post when I have something to add.

2 Weeks later: I really like this little device. I wouldn’t say that it is a cure-all but I am definitely sleeping better and waking up more rested. I’ve only used two of the 12 sounds so far Summer Nights and Rain (I think). I like Summer Nights because it reminds me of when I was little and slept with the windows in my room open. All of the sounds are great background noise and help keep you from mentally focusing on words or music like you would with songs. The sounds quality is surprisingly good too, but you should expect that for $99. The lights on the device are pretty bright but I haven’t messed with the dimming feature yet, I just lay the device face down on my table. So after two weeks is it worth the price? I don’t know yet, I’d like to say yes but it’s still to early. If you are thinking about purchasing one go ahead and do it, as long as the money couldn’t be better used elsewhere.

About 1 Month: I still like it and use it every night. I don’t even think about it anymore, turning it on is just part of my routine now, just like turning on my alarm. I’ve definitely been sleeping better which has drastically improved my productivity at work. Of course, I’m more active now as well which plays a much bigger role. This thing really helps on those nights when you wake up at 4am and you are having trouble getting back to sleep; I’ve had a few of those nights lately. I can comfortably say the cost of this machine was worth it for me, if simply for the sound quality.

This post is quickly becoming the most viewed post on my blog.  I didn’t realize how popular product reviews would be.   I’ll try and include reviews of other products I pick up. 

Also I’d love to hear what you have to say if you’ve tried this device, or if my post helps you to decide whether or not to ourchase the device.

One last thing, I’ll be updating this post as time progresses.

Landlords- How to keep your renters happy

This is intended to be a short guide on keeping the people who are probably paying your mortgage(s) happy. Keep in mind that if you didn’t have renters you’d be up a creek!

I should start by admitting that I’m not unhappy with my current or past landlords but there are huge area’s where they could improve their business. Yes, owning rental property is a business, which means the customer comes first. I also realize that there are tenants who will abuse their landlord. They may not pay their rent on time or wreck the rental unit, among other things. This post does not take those people into account, simply those of us who are professionals and maintain all parts of the lease.

Here we go:

1) Don’t set your rent higher than it should be for the unit – This is very subjective so I won’t go into detail. However, I have seen a few instances of gross over-charging in the college towns I’ve lived in.

2) Call at least one lessee from each unit once every 2-3 months and call when they are home – The lessee doesn’t get anything out of renting a place to live except housing and an empty wallet. The lessor is likely making money and having their mortgage paid for. This means that the lessor should take the initiative to keep their customers happy. I personally work for the money I use to pay my rent and don’t usually have time to call my landlord during work, and he can be pissy when I call him after 5pm. If he would call me after 5pm once in a while that would solve this problem. I could keep a list of problems I am having with the rental unit and he get them on a regular basis.

3) Never make the lessee pay for consumables attached to the rental unit or required for the unit to function as described in the lease. Specifically I am referring to light bulbs and batteries. If you as a lessor don’t want to buy expensive replacement light bulbs for every unit you own then don’t have fixtures installed that require expensive bulbs! Also have batteries on hand for garage door opener remotes, fan/light remotes, etc. I realize that these are small expenses but the lessee is already paying a large part of their earnings to living in your property, do this to help keep them happy! Who knows maybe they will stay more than 1-2 years.

4) Spray for bugs! – Do this as often as needed and at the request of the lessee without complaint. My current apartment, a duplex, had a ton of HUGE spiders around it. I’m not a fan of spiders so that is a problem for me. I called my landlord and he did have someone come and spray but it took them a few days and they did a crummy job of it. I ended up having to go to the store, buy some pesticide, and spray them myself.

One last thought: The lessee is not building equity out of renting a unit from you, you are, so keep them HAPPY!

FYI – I haven’t proof-read this yet so I may be editing this later.