Tiring of TreadWright

 

I gave TreadWright tires a try. I have to admit, they are nice looking tires. The price is right. I could only find a handful of cases where people had a problem with their tires from them. The ones who did have trouble, all seemed to have gotten replacement tires sent to them from TreadWright without any hassle. Well, that’s not been my experience. Here is my story.

I ordered a set of four 245/75/R16/E Guard Dog tires. I asked for matching Goodyear casings. I asked for raised white letter. I was contacted promptly and politely and told that they did not have raised white letter in this size. I agreed to have black sidewalls and was promptly sent 4 Goodyear Silent Armor tires. They say Wrangler on the sides, but from everything that I can tell, they are what Goodyear called Silent Armor tires. They have the Kevlar cords in them. Once we got them, we mounted them. They did not take a single ounce of weight. We ran the tires at 80#. We haul firewood, pull trailer, and drive some empty miles. The door post calls for 80# in the rears, and 55# up front. (The one that failed was on the rear passenger side) I just run 80# all around. I wrote the mileage down when they were installed. I wanted to see how many miles these tires would last. I got 1141 miles on them when I had a tire failure. A bulge formed in the tread of the tire. We checked the air pressure that morning before the trip. Since these are retreads, I made it a point to make sure the air pressure was checked meticulously. This was on Sunday, August 19th, 2012. I contacted TreadWright  that night and got a call the next day from a lady who said that they would send a new tire out. All they wanted was a photo of the code that they imprint in the tread. I sent that to them with photos of the tire. My wife had taken a white tire marker and painted in the Goodyear and Wrangler. It didn’t look that great up close, but wasn’t too bad from a distance. Anyhow, that has nothing to do with this, but you’ll notice it when you look at photos of the tire. The photos below are after the tire was removed and aired down to about 30 pounds. Otherwise it looked like it was ready to explode.

Some time passed. I heard nothing. I thought I’d be a good customer and be patient. After a week I finally broke down and e-mailed TreadWright and asked them how long I should expect to wait for a replacement tire. I was really decent about it. I’ll post the message below. They responded by giving me the phone number to production & shipping and told me to contact them. Listen, I shouldn’t have to call the production floor to inquire about a tire. That’s what customer service reps are for. Mind you, this was now August 30th, about 10 days since they were aware of the problem.

Just curious – it has been a little over a week since I’ve heard any word about a replacement tire for the one that failed for me. What sort of timeframe should I be looking at for a replacement? I have another trip to Waterloo that I need to make with a trailer, and I don’t want to make it on the spare with no backup in case that or another tire fails. Thanks for any info you can provide. –Eric E. Durnan

Eric,

I am not really sure. Since you requested a Good Year silent armor to match I have no good time frame to tell you. I do not want to tell you something that is not correct. The number for production and shipping is 605-745-5045. It would probably be best to contact one of the ladies there. I am sorry for not being able to give you more information.

Susanne

I got back a hold of the lady. Below is the e-mail exchange between us. This was on the 31st of August (the next day). Again, the same phone number to call. By God, I shouldn’t have to call anybody to hound them about a replacement tire. I mean, come on, my money was good. They didn’t have to hound anybody to get paid. Hey TreadWright, do you want me to do business with you again? It’s starting to look like it was a mistake for me to go this route. I understand that manufacturing defects happen in all tires. What a company does to make it right says a lot about that company. Everyone else has said that TreadWright has made it right for them right away. I wonder why that hasn’t happened here. I’m starting to get upset.

Susanne,

I’m attaching a photo of the tire that I got from you. I assume it’s a Goodyear Silent Armor. My wife painted the Goodyear and Wrangler in on the tire herself. I sent you a photo that is large enough that you guys can blow it up and see for sure if I’m telling you the correct tire. If you have another Goodyear, in the correct size, tread, and ply (10 Load Range E), that is similar, I’ll take that. I think they used Kevlar belting in some of their other tires as well. Thank you for your help. –Eric E. Durnan

Dear Eric,

I changed it to a Good year wrangler as the pic shows. Everything else will be the same. It should go out soon. If you have any more questions about the shipment you can call 605-745-5045 and press the shipping key. Sorry I was not of more help.

Susanne

Here it is, the 8th of September. It’s been over a week since the above exchange. Granted, it’s a Saturday, but I haven’t heard a peep. When I ordered the tires, they sent me tracking info, so to be honest, I’m waiting to see some tracking info in my e-mail box. Nope. Just crickets. Goodyear casings are not that uncommon. The size I am asking for is not that uncommon. The tread design is one of their most popular. I’m half tempted to call and order another tire and I have a sneaking suspicion that they’ll have a GoodYear tire for me with cash in hand. But, since this is a replacement tire, I guess it’s not a priority to them. My father always told me that you can tell the character of a man by how he treats those he has nothing to gain from. Well, TreadWright isn’t making this right for me. I shouldn’t have to call their production floor or shipping department to make this right. I paid my money. They didn’t have to hunt it down. Their product should represent the good money sent to them, and they should see to it that I have my good product the same as I made sure they had my money. This really pisses me off.

So, when you go to buy your tires from TreadWright, keep this in mind. Most customers don’t have a problem with their tires. Most have seemingly had good luck getting replacements when they do have problems. However, you might get unlucky like me. I’m happy with their tires – at least the ones that hold together. But I’m not happy with how this has been handled. I’ve got a pickup truck that I need to use and I am running the spare. I can’t go very far because if I have another tire failure, I don’t have another spare. I NEED this tire. I’ve got stuff to haul before winter. I’m not being an impatient customer, nor am I being unreasonable. In another week, it’ll be a month. I’m not sure if I’ll buy tires from TreadWright again after this. It might be worth the extra money to buy new and avoid this hassle.  Bad form TreadWright. For a company trying to convince people that buying recaps are as sure of a bet as buying new - very bad form.

 

Husqvarna 346XP E-Tech

     Up until today, we had been running two chainsaws. We use a Poulan Pro 4218 and a Husqvarna 372XP X-Torq. We started cutting our own firewood early last year and started with a cheap saw, the Poulan Pro, which we bought from Walmart for about $130. It was $150, but because I opened an account with them, they knocked $20 off of the price. My friend, John Bollman, lent me his Jonsered 625ii to help with the bigger cutting jobs. His 625ii was an old saw, one that he found in a barn without a muffler. He didn’t know the history on it. All he did was put a muffler, bar, and chain on it. He filled it with gas and oil and pulled the cord. It fired up. He used it quite a bit and it worked well for us for a time. My wife was running the saw and sat it down to refill it. After refilling, it never started again. We tore it apart and it needed a ring. It was black below the ring and had been blowing by for some time. The ring stuck and that was that. We spoke to John who said not to worry about it. I need to get it back together for him sometime, but anyhow….. We needed a saw right then and there. I didn’t want to borrow a saw anymore because I felt terrible that John’s saw died on our watch. I wanted a good saw which would compare to the Jonsered, so we bought the 372XP. It has been a wonderful saw. I should write about that saw sometime. It’s worth every penny of its price. But this is supposed to be about the 346XP……

     We got all of our wood cut that we needed last year. We prepped the saws and put them away for the winter. We stored them in our basement, which is a concrete floor, and because of the wood furnace down there, it’s warm and dry. Spring sprung early this year, and we got the saws out and were preparing them for spring cutting when we noticed that the Poulan is puking bar and chain oil out something fierce. When you go to cut with it, the bar and chain oil just flies off of the bar. It doesn’t matter if you idle between cuts or not. It’s bad enough that you almost have to fill it two extra times between fills of gas, when we also fill the bar and chain oil. Something isn’t right with it. Do I fix this cheap Poulan or do I replace it? To be quite honest, it was the excuse I needed to replace it. The 372XP is such a wonderful saw that I’m sold on these Huskies. I looked for a comparable saw and settled on the 346. I should point out, it’s only comparable in overall size and weight. The comparison ends there. The Husky 346XP E-Tech is a 50cc saw while the Poulan is a 42cc. The Poulan has a plastic crankcase while the Husky is metal. The Husky has an adjustable oil pump, the Poulan does not. The Husky has springs for its anti-vibration and the Poulan has nothing. You run the Poulan and your hands go numb from the vibration. Not with the Husky.

     The Husky has easy access to the air filter. The Poulan requires taking a couple of Torx screws out. The Husky has a cartridge style air filter, the Poulan has a cotton looking pad. The only thing that I can say the Poulan has over the 346XP is an inboard clutch. I prefer an inboard clutch. The 346XP has an outboard clutch.

     This is being written in early April, 2012. I use the Husqvarna website to help me choose my saws as I live 40 minutes away from the dealer. As of right now, the website doesn’t mention that ALL 346XPs sold in the United States are now E-Techs. The only E-Tech that they show on the website is the Trio-Brake model. I asked my dealer and they say that every 346XP now has the green gas cap and catalytic converter in the muffler. You can’t get it any other way. Bailey’s still sells a non EPA muffler for the 346XP. It’s not cheap!

     I had a hard time finding good information about this saw. I thought I’d take the opportunity to say a little about it for the folks who are considering purchasing this saw. I bought mine at Edgewood Saw & Supply in Edgewood, Iowa. I bought my 372XP from them and that’s why I returned to them to purchase this saw. They’ve treated me right, so I plan on purchasing my next saw from them as well. 

     Here’s some information that I found hard to ascertain on the web. Again, this is being written in early April 2012. First, all of these saws sold in the U.S. are supposedly E-Techs now. I was told that you can’t buy the non-EPA saws here anymore – at least new. The badge on the side of my 346XP says E-Tech below it, in the same spot my 372XP has the word X-Torq. Speaking of which, this saw is NOT an X-Torq engine. Why it’s not is beyond me. Secondly, this saw comes with a SPUR SPROCKET. I prefer rim sprockets. My dealer wasn’t sure if they made a rim sprocket setup for this saw, so I went to the Oregon website and found the part number. The Oregon part number is 108215X. That leads me to the next factoid. This saw comes factory with a .325 chain as opposed to the 3/8” chain. My Poulan even used a 3/8” chain, although it had the small cutters. I did some looking into this and some say the .325 is better for this saw because it runs faster, due to the shortened length of the links. I’ve never ran a .325 chain before, so I thought I’d give it a fair try. I just bought the saw, so I’ll have to write about our experience with it in the next article about this saw. I ordered this saw with a 20” bar because we don’t like stooping over when we cut. The dealer was kind enough to order and switch the spur sprocket out for the rim sprocket when they set the saw up for us. The 372XP came with a rim sprocket on it from the factory.

     This 346XP is an OUTBOARD CLUTCH. I don’t like outboard clutches just because they are a bear to tear apart and put back together. I lube the needle bearing cage frequently, and it’s a cinch on the 372XP. With the outboard clutch, I’ll have to take the spark plug out, block the piston, and fart around and fart around. Why don’t they just switch it to an inboard like the 372XP?

     A few final tidbits. The air filter isn’t as nice as the 372XP. The 372 has an automotive style filter. This 346 uses a cartridge that is held on “bail style” with a piece of wire. The top cover comes off easy enough with 3 snaps, and unlike the 372, the entire top comes off. I see this saw has a port for opening up in the winter to allow warm air to enter the carburetor chamber. I didn’t see that on the 372. Last but not least, this saw has a decompression valve, and the combined start and choke controls like the Poulan. It also has the primer bulb. 

     Only time will tell if this saw will exceed my expectations like the 372XP. I’m concerned about the cat muffler. I don’t want to spend the money right now to switch it. I’ll give it a fair shake. Once we get into the wood cutting season this spring, I’ll know more about this saw and I’ll post an update to how we’re doing with this 346XP E-Tech.

So far, so good!

     I’ve had this homemade computer up and running since the 15th of March – almost two weeks. By God, it’s a pretty good computer. The kids have noticed a real difference. Karen plays ABC Mouse, and it was almost unbearable on the old computer. It would take a month of Sundays and the Seventh Coming of Christ to print out the tickets that are awarded after each exercise. When you went to the fish tank, it took a lifetime just to scrub the tank of algae. Karen, my youngest, said to me, “Dad, the thing really spits the tickets out fast now!” Sean noticed how much faster the fish tank cleaning was. So, for the kids, it’s a good deal. I can now run multiple applications at once. I can listen to my music, adjust large photographs, and run my genealogy program all at once, while the virus scanner is running. It’s just great!
     I had so much fun putting this computer together, that I’d love to do it as a job. The thing is, building a homemade computer from scratch is more expensive up front than buying a Dell, especially the cheaper models that they sell in Walmart. However, in the long run, it equalizes out because upgrading homemade computers is much cheaper. On a Dell, you can upgrade to a larger hard drive, or switch from a DVD burner to a Blu-ray burner. It’s easy to upgrade your RAM. But it ends there. What do you do when your processor no longer fits the bill? Just like the computer I have built, you have to change the motherboard. Dell, and other computer manufacturers, build your system just to the point that it works. They don’t leave much for expansion. The case usually isn’t big enough to run a large heat sink. The power supply is just large enough to power the computer that they shipped to you. If you want to add things like multiple video cards, etc., then you’ll have to purchase a new power supply. You just don’t hear people with Dells tearing their computers apart and rebuilding like you can do with a home built computer. If you had a home built computer, and wanted to upgrade the motherboard, odds are, all you have to do is change out the motherboard and processor. You will also likely have to reinstall the operating system as the OEM operating system is tied to the motherboard. The Dell that you purchase also comes with an OEM version. With the homemade computer, you can reuse your case and power supply. You probably can’t do that with a Dell. Here’s why. Again, the power supply is just enough that it powers the computer that they sent you. Odds are, it won’t be enough to supply power to a faster processor. As far as the case goes, there are two problems. First, the case probably isn’t big enough for a large processor cooling fan. The stock one that comes with the processor will probably work fine, but I like to keep my computer running cool. With my old Dell, when it got a little dusty, it would start to mess up most likely due to overheating. My homemade system has a large radiator looking contraption sitting on the processor with a fan. It runs cool as a cucumber. The cooling system only cost $40, so why not spend that to keep it running better? I know my Dell case would not have accommodated this cooling fan. The second problem is at the back of the case. On my Dell case, you cannot remove the I/O Panel. Click on the link to see what I’m talking about. Each motherboard has a unique configuration, so to accommodate this, they make a universally sized panel that comes with all motherboards. It's the layout of connections within that panel that is different between motherboards. On my homemade computer, the plate pops out and is easily changed. All motherboards come with an I/O panel designed for the unique configuration of that motherboard. For some reason, again probably because of cost, Dell made mine part of the case, so if you want to change the motherboard in my Dell case, you have to own a Dremel and be somewhat of a tinsmith. The computer case that Dell sends you has very few expansion and hard drive slots compared to the case that I bought for my homemade computer. I have a lot more ability to expand this computer because of that. This computer case is a lot more friendly than the Dell case in that it has more cooling fans, and actual filters that help keep the dust out of the computer. You can easily remove these filters (actually fine screens) and go wash or blow them out. It’s night and day difference.
      It all comes down to what works for you. I’m a very heavy computer user. It makes sense for me to have a better computer. For someone who just does some surfing of the internet, writes a few letters, and what not, a Dell or other similar brand would be fine.
      Here’s another way to look at it. My wife and I can our own food. You can go out and buy a $100 canner that is made in China, or you can spend about $250 and up for a canner made here in the U.S.A. The cheap Chinese made canner will work just fine. However, with those, you have to buy a gasket every year or two. They don’t feel as sturdy, and aren’t as convenient as the American made canner. I now own a good American made canner. I don’t regret the purchase one iota. I absolutely love the thing. We got a canner (one of those that takes a gasket) from my mother in law, and upon inspecting it, I’m sure glad that we have the good American made one. We use our canner a lot. I don’t think a week has gone by since late last summer that we haven’t used it. So, it’s worth it to us to have the better canner. That’s how it is with the computer situation that I have just described. Do you want a Cadillac, or are you happy with the Chevy? In this instance though, the Cadillac will be cheaper in the long run (so is the more expensive canner since you don’t have to buy gaskets ever year or two). I don’t know about you, but I feel computers are here to stay. It was worth it to me to spend a little extra money now. I have no regrets and would recommend it to anyone who takes their computer serious. In fact, I would build one for anyone who wanted to go this route.

First Time Building

     So, I’ve only owned two real computers in my life. I’ve owned a couple of others, but they were severely deficient in one way or another. But, since 2000, when I bought my first computer, there have only been 2 computers which I have counted on for all of my day to day stuff. Not bad for 12 years! My first computer was a Compaq Presario, 633Mhz Celeron with a 15 Gig hard drive. I used that computer from 2000 to 2006. Being my first computer buying experience, I wasn’t sure what to look for and I figured that if anyone knew what I needed, it was Radio Shack. I was wrong. All they cared about was making a large profit for themselves by selling me a subpar computer for high dollar. I was miserable with that Compaq for 6 years. It cost me nearly $1400. That was with a monitor and printer – the whole works. It came with Windows 98SE, which wasn’t a bad operating system. I never did upgrade it to XP, so I ran 98SE for 6 years. But for the money I spent on that system, I could have gone to Best Buy and bought a Pentium III, which was the “Big Kahuna” of its day. I regretted that purchase and vowed that my next computer would have a big processor, and that I’d add memory and disk space as time went on. Lesson learned. 

     My next computer was an eBay purchase. In 2006, that Compaq started coughing and choking on simple things like browsing the web. I turned to eBay and found it by typing in Pentium 4, which was the best consumer processor (Intel) that was out at the time. I’m not an over clocker or gamer, but I run heavy memory applications that deal with photo files mainly. Doing family research, I’m finding myself running multiple applications at once, so I needed the extra horsepower. I found a Dell Dimension 5150 with a Pentium 4HT processor running at 3 Ghz. I bought it for $600, but it didn’t come with speakers or a monitor. I bought monitor separately and the speakers I had for my Compaq, were JBLs, so they were good. It came loaded with Windows XP, but this was right before Vista came out. It’s probably a good thing because everyone was complaining about Vista. I stuck with XP until a few years back when I finally upgraded to Vista. It ran fine on this computer. Then just last year, I upgraded again to Windows 7 Professional. I’ve also added a second hard drive for storage, and I’ve upgraded the RAM to 4 Gig. That’s the computer that I’m running today. It’s done me very well these past 6 years. The problem is, this computer is starting to choke like the Compaq. Web pages are starting to bog this girl down, no matter which browser I use. I really notice it with Flash and Java. Anything using those services really puts a drag on this old girl. Plus, if I try and run multiple applications at once, I’m finding this thing is hanging a lot and I have to sit here and wait for it to make up its mind. I’m also finding that I need to reboot it a lot as I’m getting more and more errors. I don’t have an install disk for the OS. Every upgrade that I’ve done to the OS has been from a download from the Microsoft website. This too must change. A buddy of mine recently purchased Windows 7 Ultimate for his machine, and that was pretty slick having the disk. 

     So, I’ve been sitting here contemplating on what to do about my situation. Do I live with it? I can still use the computer even though it’s getting to be a big pain in the ass. I use my computer a lot. I am not in good health. I don’t get around much. This is how I do my shopping. This is how I entertain myself. I use the computer for family history. I use it to write. The kids use it. Having a computer here is almost equivalent to having a good cook stove in the pioneer days. You could have survived without one, but it would have been a major pain in the ass. My computer to me is like many are towards their IPads and smart phones.

     I looked at purchasing another Dell. I’ve helped a couple of friends purchase Dells and they’ve seemed to have good luck with them. Dell makes a good computer. The thing is, there aren’t a lot of options within Dell anymore. It’s my understanding that they closed down many of their assembly plants, which might explain the lack of choice in a computer build. The other problem with a Dell is that if you want to upgrade your motherboard, it’s not all that easy to do. The cases aren’t the greatest. The power supplies are cheap. I want a computer that is easy to upgrade. So, I’ve finally decided to take the plunge and build my own. First, it isn’t cheap to do. It’s about 16% more expensive than the Dell, but is that truly comparing apples to apples? I’m getting an i7 2700K processor as opposed to the older i7 2600K. My power supply is better. I’ll have an SSD hard drive. I’ll actually have the disk for the operating system. My case will be far superior to anything Dell offers. I’ll have 16 gigs of memory as opposed to 12. I’ll have a better cooling fan. Plus, it’ll all be built by me, and I’ll be able to upgrade and change in the future with greater ease than I can now. It’ll be cheaper to upgrade in the future. All I may need then is just a motherboard and processor, and maybe some memory. The case will remain the same. The power supply will stay the same. I won’t have to switch hard drives, operating systems, etc. After this initial investment, I think I’ll be money ahead in the long run.

     Now, as far as choosing my new computer. That’s where I started to get nervous. It's not built yet so I'm still nervous! The processor is one of the most expensive aspects of the computer build, with exception of a high end video card, which I don’t need because I don’t play games. I want a processor that is overkill today, just right down the road, and won’t be underpowered for some time to come. If I can get 6 years out of it, I’ll be happy. I’ve only known Intel processors, so I went with the best consumer processor I could find. I chose the i7 2700K. It’s a quad core processor that uses hyper threading. From there, I chose my motherboard. I don’t know shit about motherboards, so I did some research and found out that the one I chose is supposed to be a pretty slick one, and it is even designed for the next generation of Intel processors, meaning I can upgrade the processor without having to upgrade the board. Yay! This will be my first 64 bit system. This will be my first SSD hard drive. I plan on using the Solid State hard drive for the operating system and keeping my storage drives from my Dell. There’s still some confusion as to whether I picked the right components to play together. I know the processor, mother board, and cooling fan all work together. I’m hoping the memory that I chose will work. I’m also a little confused about the video card. The motherboard said that it doesn’t have integrated video, yet there are jacks for it. The processor claims it has integrated video. This confuses me. So, I purchased a cheaper video card that is separate. I’m not sure if I needed that or not. I tried to pick the best power supply that I could find. I did some research and found out that I would prefer a modular power supply, meaning that the power cords get put on as needed, and you don’t have this big wad of wires in your box that you don’t need. It’s 750 watt. I’m not sure if this is overkill or not. I’ve heard that if your power supply is too large, that can cause trouble too. I’m not afraid of being undersupplied – I’m worried about having too much. It’s also supposed to be an energy efficient power supply. I went with the Corsair case because it just seems like a very well thought out case with a lot of room for expansion. I like the dock on top of the case where you can slide a hard drive in for a quick read. It has air filters that are removable and can be cleaned easily. You can open both sides and access things much easier than those that only open one way. Since I was at it, I added an illuminated keyboard so I can see what I’m typing at night, and a new mouse because this one has seen its better day. All this stuff will arrive this week and probably into next. Then the fun of putting it all together starts. I’m worried about it. I hope the memory works. I don’t know much about the different speeds and latencies. I guess if I’m going to take care of this computer, I better learn. I’d appreciate any thoughts on this build. It’s my first time! 

1 x Corsair Obsidian Series 650D (CC650DW-1) Black Steel structure with black brushed aluminum faceplate ATX Mid Tower Computer Case  

1 x ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard  

1 x Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623i72700K  

1 x COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 

1 x SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply 

1 x Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)  

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM  

2 x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10S-8GBXL  

1 x MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card  

1 x SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM  

1 x Kensington K72356US Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Mouse  

1 x Saitek Eclipse II Illuminated Keyboard

March 6th, 2012

      What a beautiful day! I actually had the energy to go with KinDee to Oelwein today to get a few groceries. I sure enjoyed having the windows cracked and smelling the fresh air. This is my favorite time of year. My father’s favorite time of year is Fall. I like the fall, but it depresses me. Everything is dying and winter comes after. In the spring, it’s all about renewal and rebirth. I love the smell of the earth on a spring day. It takes me back to my youth. It makes me think of Dad out planting corn. He had this old two row planter and would only plant a small patch, but I would go out and walk behind that planter. I’d feel the cool earth with my feet. I would smell that “earthy” smell and that has always stayed with me.  

      When I went outside this afternoon, after my nap, the kids were playing on the trampoline that KinDee just put up again. I sat on the deck and listened to the geese heading north again. I smelled those lovely spring smells and heard the sounds of people enjoying a spring day. I listened as families were out walking, visiting with each other. I heard more vehicles go by today than I have seen in a long while. With gas prices high, people seemed to have really cut back on how much they drive, but on a beautiful day like today, I think it was a case of “gas prices be damned.” It made me think of being on Dad’s farm in the early 1990’s. Sitting there a mile west of Walker, on a day like today, you could hear the hustle and bustle of Walker. Many times I would walk into town to see Toby. It would take me by the Bowling Alley and the taverns. On nights like tonight, they’d be busier than hell. This sort of weather makes people almost giddy. I know it does that to me.  

      I’ve been feeling like shit lately. We found out last year that my thyroid is all messed up. It has been a very large contributing factor to my failing health. They’ve been monkeying around with medication ever since. I thought we had it down pretty good by November, then I went downhill like a lead balloon. I had several infections, and then by late December, I got a bad case of cellulitis in my leg. I really thought it was going to be my swan song. Heavy antibiotics and some more rest cleared that up, but I still haven’t been the same since. I get tired every day between Noon and 2 P.M. I can hardly function. I need to lay down and generally I take a nap, or just lay there for a few hours, then I’m fine until bedtime. Even though this past winter has been mild, it’s been one of the worst for me. I’ve felt worse than I ever have. What was it, last week or so when we had a mild day sort of like this one? Whenever it was, I remember I got outside then and I felt a lot better. Today has done the same thing for me. I’m hoping that spring comes early and stays. Hopefully it will improve my health. Back in the old days, they would call it your “constitution.” Well, this nice weather is certainly improving my constitution. This afternoon, I have felt better than I have in a long time.

Energy Efficiency

I wrote this essay (blog) back in 2009. It still rings true today.

Have you ever wondered why the light company seems so interested in getting you to cut your power consumption? Wouldn’t it make sense that the light company would want you to use more energy so that they make more money? There’s a reason that the light company wants you to use less. It’s so they can make more money. That’s right, the less energy you use, the more money they make. Here’s how it works. Every year, your light bill goes up. It’s not because you are using more energy, per se, it’s because the light company keeps jacking their rates up. Just around here, Alliant has asked for several rate increases and in fact, they got a rate increase last year which still isn’t fully implemented, and they’re back already this year asking for a 20% increase on top of that! If your energy usage remained the same, you would see your light bill skyrocket. You would feel the hurt and would try and stop your company from jacking their rates up. If you used more energy, not only would you feel the hurt, the light company would have to invest in more infrastructure and that hurts their bottom line. Also, if they had to generate more electricity, their cost per unit of energy would decrease because as we all know, when you produce in bulk, the cost per unit goes down. The light company is doing what is in their best interest; getting you to use less of their product and pay more for it. This reduces their cost because they are producing less without having to invest in infrastructure and you are paying more per unit for that electricity. Your bill isn’t going down because they are charging more per unit, year after year. Here’s the kicker; you’re a captive audience. It’s not like you can say that Company X’s rates are too high so you’ll just have your house wired to Company Z’s lines. No, you’re going to pay whatever the light company says or it’s lights out for you!

Next time you see your light company offering rebates for energy efficiency items, think about it and then realize that it’s not for your benefit really. You’ll eventually be paying the same amount each month for electricity. You’ll just be fattening the wallet of your light company all the more. It’s not like you’re going to have a choice either. You better take the incentive and at least reduce your consumption or you’ll be one of those really feeling the pain. It’s the same idea behind the gas companies wanting better fuel efficiency. It allows them to drill less and charge more per unit, which again fattens their wallet. That’s why these companies seem so interested in getting you to use less of their product.

Lunch, Dinner, Supper

I was talking to someone the other day and told them that I was about to eat dinner. They asked why I was eating dinner so soon. I sighed. I get so sick of this old argument. So, I took the time to look up the definitions of these words and here's the low down on it all.
Lunch - a light meal eaten during the middle of the day. You do not eat "lunch" as your first or last meal of the day. Lunch is only eaten as the second meal of the day - generally eaten around noon.

Dinner - the wrench in the cogs - is a meal that can be eaten either in the middle of the day or at the end of the day. It implies the largest meal of the day, whether eaten in the middle of the day, or in the evening. It also implies a formal meal. You go out for dinner - not supper (although there are "supper clubs"). You have a dinner date - not a supper date. You can however, have a lunch date - just to add confusion to it all. Dinner can be used to substitute for either "lunch" or "supper", depending on whether it's a formal meal or the largest meal of the day.

Supper - the term I use - is the meal eaten at the end of the day. You never eat supper in place of "lunch". It is considered to be a lighter meal than a dinner would be. It is almost always an informal meal. If you have a formal, large meal in the evening, then you are considered to be having dinner. If you're just having leftovers, or something quick and easy like most of us have, you are said to be having supper.

Of course, breakfast is always breakfast, and is called breakfast no matter what time of day you eat it. Breakfast is more about the type of food that you're eating, rather than the time of day, although most people eat breakfast in the morning or as the first meal of the day. Being an ex trucker, I can attest to the fact that many people, especially those who eat in truckstops, have breakfast any time of day.

Hopefully this little piece that I've just written sheds a little light on the usage of these words. When I tell you that I'm getting ready to eat dinner around noon, don't give me any more shit. I know what I'm talking about.