If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.

Friday, January 18, 2013

No pics...only words!

It's been awhile.  How have you been?
I am having issues with blogger.  Not exactly the biggest of issues, like having a 16 yr old step daughter come home and not being able to find her soccer shirt that she swears she left at your house and not her Dad's house and burst into tears and slams doors type of issues. 
Nothing is quite that big but just little quirks that bug me. 

I like to post pictures with my blog.  Unless I'm just making crap up which I do time to time but regardless.  The image posting feature is not allowing me to upload pics from my computer and so being the calm, good natured peson I am, I threw a fit and stormed out of the room only to return minutes later and see if somehow it gloriously rectified itself.  It didn't. 
This time I swore at it.
That didn't help either but it got the dogs attention, who lay cuddled together at my feet because to a dog there is no safer and happier place in the world.
I get that half cocked head look as if to say ,"chill out man if it's not working either pee on it or chew it up."

 I just haven't felt like writing.  Tired, irritated, amongst other things.  Also this keyboard is dying.  I have to go back and fix almost every word because the keys are not functioning properly.  It skips letters.  I would buy a new one but once we have our taxes back we have to buy a new system.  Right now we are using the daughters laptop and we should probably give it back!
Ok enough excuses. 

Christmas was good.  New Years as well (I was in bed at 10pm).  I began my seasonal wood cutting regimen.  Sort of.  It started out good but  I was having some issues with the saw I rebuilt last winter.
This is a big saw, a highly prized saw in the chainsaw community.  Yes we have a community!LOL
I had also rebuilt my other saw last winter and it just seemed like every time I needed to use them I had to tinker with them, re-tune them and so I decided I was going to sell them both and buy a brand new one.  I would sell one for $300 and the other for $500.  If I could clear $750 then I would have enough to buy the new saw I so desperatley needed.  So the day I decided to sell them the big one started acting up.  I figured it needed a carbuerator rebuild because that was the only thing I did not do when I put a brand new engine into it last year.  So I ordered one and when it came in I put the kit in and the saw ran great again.  That night I put an ad on Craig's List and that night a fellow called me from about 2 hours away and wanted to come look at the small one.

He showed up the next day and liked the saw, I let him cut some wood and he bought it.  $300.  I tried to get him to buy the big saw too but he refused.  I asked him to at least try it (thinking once he did he would have to have it) and he said ok.  It wouldn't start.  I was a bit embarrased.  He took his saw and went on his merry way.  I was left holding a saw that was up for sale that wouldn't start.
I pulled the ad from CL and began work on the saw.  I spent most of the day trying to figure out what was wrong.  I could get it to start but not stay running.  I was now without a working saw.  I had planned on using one or the other until they both sold and now I was up the creek so they say.

I said the heck with it and put it on ebay for parts only, not running and started bidding at $200 or buy it now for $350.  I sold it that same day to a guy in Ohio.  He sent me the money via paypal invoice and I shipped the saw that day.  I tranasfered the money to my checking account and monday when he got the saw he emailed me and said the saw wasn't running, etc, etc.
Wanted his money back.  I told him the saw was listed for parts , not running and I don't know what the heck he thought he was going to get and basically told him I wasn't refunding his money.  He knew it wasn't running when he bought it.  It said that in the listing and I told him over the phone exactly what it was doing. 
So he filed a dispute with paypal which threw my paypal account into a negative balance.
Well it turns out that going around ebay (I pulled my auction at his request and sent him an invoice) and just using paypal is frowned upon.  He gave up his ebay protection but still qualifies for paypal protection.  He filed the claim as item not as described.  From what I can tell paypal protection only covers him if it didn't ship or if I sent him a box of bricks.  I sent paypal, copies of our emails, messages, the original listing which stated for parts/not working, no returns, no exchanges.  I also told them he asked me to pull the ad and he is a ebay seller of 15 years and he should know the rules.  (I didn't)  I hope they shut down both our accounts and he has to keep the saw.

 Regardless I went out and bought my new saw anyways.  Hopefully they don't award him the victory in "Paypal Court" and suck the money back out of my checking account.  If they do I already have another person lined up to buy it but the point is the guy is bascially calling me a cheat and a liar.  That bothers me...alot!

So I have been cutting wood, dreaming of my springtime garden and not much else.  The winter doldrums are setting in I believe.
In Michigan, in the dead of the winter when all else fails to keep you happy, there is beer!
Just kidding I'm sort of busy, don't have time to sit around and get schnackered all the time, although it sounds like fun!
We have a ski trip coming up with the family at the end of the month.  Headed north to Caberfae for two days skiing an a night in the resort hotel.  Should be fun.  The kids have never been before and of course they want to snowboard!
We also have our foster care training coming up.  Within a few months we should have our license and be able to foster some children.

I have a new deal cutting wood with a friend so that will keep me busy as well.  I have put the snowblower back in the shed because it just doesn't snow anymore! 

Have you seen the new how on TV called "Farm Kings"?  Oh man I love that show.  A family of a mom, nine boys and a sister all run the family farm and they grow the nicest looking veggies, have a great family bond and work their butts off.  That is my kind of show!  Check it out.

Other than that, not much going on.  I can't wait to get the garden started this year.  I have big plans.
I'm looking forward to sitting on my new patio and enjoying the summer.  I didn't get a whole lot of time to enjoy it last year.  I plan on finishing the planting beds around the house, putting a new railing on the back deck along with a pergola type top complete with a retractable shade cloth.
Finish cleaning out the wood line and start my shade garden/frog pond area.

I would love to put a brick paver sidewalk going around the garage but not sure I can swing that one past the budget nazi.  She can be tough to persuade but I have my ways!

I would love to show you some pics but......

Until next time!

3 comments:

  1. Yes blogger is doing something strange with the picture uploads. I have no idea why but I found a way around it...
    When you are composing a new post and at the point of wanting to upload a picture switch it from "compose" to "HTML" in the top right corner of your blogger toolbar. In the "HTML" setting when you click on the picture icon it will let you select a picture from your computer. Once your picture is downloaded you can switch your post setting back to "compose" and your picture should be there like normal. From here you can manipulate your photo like normal. Hope this helps.
    And I hope that guy gets shut down. He sounds shady!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i went to the darkside and started blogging at wordpress. so far so good.


    in CL, i always put on my ads

    AS IS
    CASH ONLY
    YOU pick up

    i hate e-bay...for the reason you described...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Which is worse because she doesn't play soccer.

    ReplyDelete

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