One Lone Mans Thoughts on Everything

LG420G Moble Phone

2011-08-01T20:09:00.000-04:00

Recently I purchased an LG420G TracFone. Little did I know that this phone has been out-of-production by LG Electronics for at least 5 years! Now I know why TracFone sells phones so cheap! Now the only "manual" that TracFone gives a buyer is a "Start-Up" manual. Big deal! Garbage! The phone has so many features that a users manual is needed to navigate through them! But alas and anon, I discovered that no one, not even LG has a copy of the users manual that once must have existed for this phone.

There exists at least 2 different models of this phone, an earlier model that was nor Bluetooth enabled and used a data cable to connect to a computer, and a Bluetooth enabled medel. Mine is the latter. I desperately need a manual for this phone! If you have a Bluetooth enabled LG420g cell phone and you have a Users Manual for the phone, or if you just have the manual, then PLEASE contact me at hartzog2000@hotmail.com! I'm sure that we can work out some kind of arrangement as to how I can get a copy of the Users Manual even if I have to pay for reproduction costs!

Thank you,

John

Star Quality

2009-02-04T17:42:00.003-05:00

This is the 12th computer generated star that I've done. Hope that you like it. (Click to enlarge).

Another Revision

2009-01-28T22:07:00.003-05:00

This is a wild revision of my second computer drawing. I cleaned up the small spikes near the center and I added a few long spikes. I especially like the light blue 45 degree corner spikes. (Click on the image to enlarge it).

A Sign Of Four

2009-01-28T21:34:00.015-05:00

There are 4 different, yet similar revisions of my first computer drawings. The drawings became more and more complex as I went along The technique of painting all 4 alike (as far as they went) was a matter of doing a lot of cut and pasting within MS Paint. I colored the first one, them began overlaying the completed colored drawing onto the blank of the next. That way I only to color the additions not the entire drawing over again. I think that they turned out nicely. They give you a glimpse inside my mind. The further I go the more complex I become. (Click on any image to enlarge it).

Alien Spawn

2009-01-24T19:38:00.004-05:00

As Barbwire formed a circle Alien Spawn forms a square. I nearly filled the entire space with shapes. Every major shape is filled with another shape. I don't know where this trend is heading and I won't know until the next drawing. (Click on the spawn to make it bigger).

Alien Life Form

2009-01-24T18:45:00.005-05:00

This one was sort of out there. I wanted a different way of filling in the space that the 22.5 angle took up. I ended up filling it with rounded shapes. The long outer legs of the trident shape at the 45 degree angle was a happy accident. Here I didn't like the way some of the long ends of the shapes protruded into the shape ahead of it so I rounded things off. Fewer spikes this time as well. (Click on the life form in order to enlarge it).

A Spider's Domain

2009-01-24T18:34:00.004-05:00

I originally entitled this one "The Web" but I've changed my mind. I started to use more curved shapes in place of more linear ones. I think that they look better against the spikes. Again, here, Ive used the central design and placed it st the 4 corners of the 45 degree angle spikes. I also tried but failed to not use so much blue this time. (Click in the image in order to see it bigger).

A Baker's Dozen.

2009-01-24T18:20:00.004-05:00

I had, with Barbwire, figured out a way around the 22.5 degree problem but it was a little time consuming. With this drawing I left it out and opted for a long spike at the 45 degree angle. But in order to keep it "clean" I had to leave some empty space around it or it would have gotten lost in the clutter. I replicated the central design at the four ends of the spikes. (Click on the image in order to see it bigger).

Barbwire On Steroids.

2009-01-24T18:12:00.004-05:00

My lovely wife named this one. It sort of does look like barbwire. All those spikes! I tried to fill every void with something. It seems that I just don't like to see an empty space. I know that empty spaces have value but I just can't seem to bring myself to leave big empty spaces. Notice the black and gray shapes above the pink and yellow ones. The look like alien faces. (Click on the alien in order to see a bigger image).

The Eleventh Hour.

2009-01-24T18:04:00.002-05:00

By now I was getting the hang of things. I wanted to fill every shape with some other shape. I was getting bored with the MS Paint standard color pallet. But defining custom colors left me without the original colors and that wasn't good. (Click on the image to see a larger one).

The Tenth Level

2009-01-24T17:08:00.004-05:00

This one is a departure from the others in that I did drop the 22.5 degree angle in favor of some windmill like structures. My art was not only growing but changing as well. It seemed that I was incorporating more spikes and fewer curved elements into the drawings. I was beginning to fill the drawings more and more to the edges of the limits I'd set for the size of the drawings. Things were getting bigger all the time. I also felt that they were getting more sophisticated. By now I had gotten so bored with the standard color pallet that I made my own. I collected colors from various pics on my computer and made up a color pallet that is a bitmap. I paste it to the bottom of each drawing so I'll have some color variation to choose from. (Click on the image in order to get to a larger one).

Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine...

2009-01-24T16:59:00.003-05:00

Any Beatles fan will recognize the title of this post. This the ninth drawing in this series but the fourth computer aided drawing. It's a little smaller that number 8 below but still incorporates both curved and straight elements. I was still struggling with the 22.5 degree angle. Thought a slight problem I didn't want to not use it because it adds more depth to the finished drawings. Somehow though I feel that this drawing lacks something. I just can't put my finger on it. (Click on the image in order to see a larger one).

Eight Is Not Enough.

2009-01-24T16:17:00.004-05:00

With my third computer aided drawing spikes were definitely going to be a major part of each "Stars" design. It was the first time that I had incorporated the 22.5 degree angle into the drawing. This has proven to be problematic. 90 degree angles are the easiest to clone. Just flip a section left or right or up or down. Easy for the computer program MS Paint. 45 degree angles require a little more manipulation in order to clone. However 22.5 degree angles can not be cloned. The limits of the program won't allow for it. I have been able to cut and paste and with the use of another program flip a piece of the drawing then cut and paste it back into the drawing but it is a lot of effort for so little return. I'm learning to live within the limits of MS Paint. (Click on the image in order to see a lager image).

It's Getting Better All the Time.

2009-01-24T16:02:00.004-05:00

My second effort at drawing using the computer was a much more satisfying effort. Not only was it fuller and more sophisticated, it was the first time on the computer that I had used black, white and the 2 grays from the color pallet as more than accent colors. Their inclusion seemed to open up the drawing giving it more depth. It also incorporated some of the shapes from my paper and ink drawings. Mainly the pink and blue shapes near the center of the drawing. Spikes were emerging as one of the main features in my drawings as well. It was also the first time that I had connected shapes by removing the lines that separated them where they came into contact with each other. (Click on the image in order to view a larger image).

An Idea Is Born.

2009-01-24T15:45:00.002-05:00

This was the first of my computer generated images. I got the idea to use the computer from drawing number 2 and the spikes from from drawing number 4. I used the lay out that I had used for drawing number 2 as a guide. Again I did only 1/8th of the drawing before cloning that one part in order to make the whole. A little added detail that couldn't be done until the drawing was assembled and all that was left was the coloring. I used the MS Paint color pallet without alteration. Compared to my later drawings this one is very crude and unsophisticated. At a later time I plan on reworking the original line drawing and recoloring it. (Click on the image in order to view a larger image).

Drawing Number 5.

2009-01-24T15:39:00.003-05:00

This was the last of my ink and paper drawings and in my mind the worst. It was an experiment that I considered a failure though I did learn what not to do from the results. It's too dark, due to the use of markers instead of colored pencils, and some of the detail is obscured because of it. I don't like this one and would have just as soon omitted it from the line up but it was ,after all, part of my learning curve. (click on the image in order to see a larger image, if you must).

And Now For Something Completely Different.

2009-01-24T15:29:00.003-05:00

Effort number four was reminiscent of drawings that I used to do which I called "Squares" for lack of a better term. It really looks nothing like my "Squares" only some of the shapes used here reminded me of them. This was a departure from the earlier attempts and something wholly my own. Very crude compared to my later computer rendered drawings but it was the fertilizer that helped the earlier planted seed grow. It was also my first time using colored markers instead of colored pencils. I wasn't quite pleased with the effect. (Click on the image in order to view a larger image).

Third Time Not Quite The Charm.

2009-01-24T15:09:00.004-05:00

This was my second attempt at such a drawing. It was an experiment. I laid out on plain paper what would later become my working grid, a set of perpendicular lines meeting at the apex. From the apex a 45 degree line was drawn (I didn't add the 22.5 degree line until later). I then drew only 1/8 of the drawing, the lower half of the upper left quadrant. I drew in pencil, as before, and inked in the drawing. I then erased the pencil and scanned the drawing into the computer. Using MS Paint I then manipulated the drawing into a whole. My work on the pencil and ink drawing had not been perfect so the manipulation did not yield a perfect result either (examine the tips of the four blue and yellow shapes). What this drawing did do was plant a seed of an idea that took a couple of more drawings before it began to grow. (Click on the image in order to see a larger one).

Is It Art?

2009-01-24T14:51:00.005-05:00

This was my next attempt at doing something on paper. It was inspired by some drawings that I saw on the JetPens Flickr page. Mine is crude when compared to hers but at least I was trying. Like the first it was colored in with colored pencils. I like colored pencils as they not only give things a translucent look but you can vary the intencity of the color by the amount of pressure you apply. This gives me a bit of leaway in coloring.

(Click on image in order to view larger image)

Good Morning Mr. Sunshine.

2009-01-24T14:36:00.004-05:00

This was the first drawing that I had done in years. Crude, yes, but for me it was a lot of work as while I may have an artistic eye I'm not much of a sketch artist. I used a quad pad as it is one of my favorite writing/drawing papers due to all the lines. Unfortunately the lines scan (but they don't seem to photocopy) so there is no way to get rid of them. The lyrics were added in MS Paint and are from the Bee Gee's song "Lonely Days" which was the inspiration for the drawing. I posted it on the JetPens forum under "Artwork And Photos" and on their Flickr page. So far I am the only one to publish art on the forum. Why? I haven't a clue. One of my earilier entries, a computer generated collage of penscils taken from photos from the JetPens on-line store, won a $5.00 gift certificate from JetPens! So I'm trying to win another one! Thus was the beginning of my current streak of drawings. They get better, I promise. (Click on the image to see a larger image).

Logitech Mouse Wheel

2009-01-12T14:17:00.002-05:00

Whatever you do, never, never and I mean NEVER take the rubber off of a Logitech mouse wheel! Why? Because you will never, never and I mean NEVER get it to go back on correctly. They are never made to come off, they are molded on! How do I know this? Have I been talking to a Logitech technician? No, but I wish that had! No, I, innocently enough, removed the rubber from the wheel of my Logitech optical mouse in order to clean it. And to my utter surprise and astonishment the rubber part was full of tabs and inserts and the plastic part was full of a jigsaw puzzle full of receptacles! Some of these tabs/receptacles were on the sides of the rubber jacket and plastic wheel. Others were along the inner/outer rims! I knew once I had the rubber jacket off the plastic wheel that I was never going to get the two back together, though I tried and tried and TRIED! I even cut the tabs an inserts off the rubber jacket in desperation but it was a lost cause. The rubber had stretched beyond it's capacity to expand and it tore! One dead mouse wheel. Now what was I going to do?

Well, I have a small collection of computer junk so I sifted through it trying to find a spare wheel, but alas, no spare wheel. So I ended up stealing the wheel from a ball type Logitech mouse that I had laying around. The entire wheel mechanism was the same so all the new wheel needed was a bit of cleaning up as the mouse had been sitting ground for a while unused. The color of the rubber is a bit lighter shade of gray but other than that it is the same. A little silicone grease in the right places and the job was complete. The mouse works as well as before.

Bottom line, never, never and I mean NEVER take anything apart that you want to keep unless you know how it comes apart and that you are assured that you can get it back together again. You may not have a spare laying around to fix it with.

Miss Priss

2009-01-08T18:38:00.001-05:00

Water, water everywhere,
But nary a drop to drink.
That’s not what my cat says
When she hops upon the sink.

“Meow! Meow!”,
“Please turn the water on!”,
That’s what my cat will howl
Before the morning’s dawn.

So I get up in the darkness
And stumble to the sink.
Just to give Miss Priss
Some water for a drink.

I stand there in the night
As my cat drinks her fill,
I dare not turn on a light
For to wake my wife it will.

Miss Priss is in no hurry,
So on her butt she’ll sit.
It’s really rather furry
And stinky, well just a bit.

“Just one more drink or two”,
Is what she finally said.
Now that she’s finally through
I can get me back to bed.

As I try and get more rest,
Miss Priss gives me a wink.
As she dries her face upon my chest
She purrs, “Thank you for the drink”.

Miss Priss is a lovely cat,
She has a lot of soul.
But she can be quite the brat
When she won’t drink from a bowl.

Every night to the sink,
That’s how our routine goes.
But next time she wants a drink,
I think I’ll use a hose.

Can You Fly?

2009-01-08T17:34:00.001-05:00

Can you fly?
Can your feet leave the ground?
Can you reach the sky?
Are you forever earth bound?

Can you touch a star?
Can you reach outer space?
Can your wings take you far?
Are you bound to this place?

Can you swim an ocean?
Can you cross the sea?
Do you have the notion
That it’s time to flee?

Can you climb a mountain steep?
Can you bridge a valley low?
Have you fallen asleep?
Or is it time to go?

Can you say a prayer?
Can you talk to God?
Did they spoil the heir?
Did they spare the rod?

Can you sleep at night?
Can you take any rest?
Is it time for flight?
Is it time to nest?

Can you hug the world?
Can you embrace the wind?
Has your life unfurled?
Do you need a friend?

Is life too fast?
Is there no time left?
Is it all in the past?
Have you reached the crest?

If you’ve done it once,
Can you do it twice?
Is it just a hunch?
Do you need advice?

Can you turn back time?
Can you stop the clock?
Is there reason to your rhyme?
Is it time to take stock?

Has your life overflowed?
Are you in distress?
Ahead’s a long road.
Can you stand the test?

Can you free the ties
That have you boun’?
Can you resist the lies?
Do they hold you down?

Do you wander alone?
Is He at your side?
Do you have a home?
Are you along for the ride?

Do you long to be free?
Do you want to soar high?
Are you just like me?
Can you fly?

Toothaches, Part 2

2009-01-04T01:53:00.005-05:00

MY TEETH HURT! Now I have 2 teeth that hurt ALL THE TIME and I can't do anything about it. Unfortunately for me they are on opposite sides of my mouth. I am consuming acetaminophen by the bottle full but it sometimes only dulls the pain. And when I do get the pain stopped it is only briefly because as soon as I eat the pain begins all over again and so I spend another night in agony, swallowing copious amounts of acetaminophen and rubbing generic oral gel onto my gums all in an attempt to ease the pain. If I only had about $4,000.00 then I could go and get root channels and crowns for these offensive bicuspids and then be pain free once again. Yes, I WANT to have root channels! I've had many in the past and once the open nerve is shot full of Novocaine I'm pain free from then on!

The bad things about these toothaches is there position in my mouth. They are along the nerve line that feeds to my ears so when they hurt so do my ears! Yes, I get a toothache and I get an earache as well. But now as well as a toothache and an earache on my right side I'm also experiencing pain in my temple! For the love of humanity will the pain never end? I can't go to the dentist because I don't have insurance and I don't have enough money to even pay for an office visit to examine my teeth to pinpoint the offending bicuspids.

My condition should lead to weight loss. My mouth hurts so bad when I eat eating is not the pleasure that it once was. Both teeth are pressure sensitive and the one on the right is sensitive to cold as well. So eating ice cream is especially torturous. But so is drinking anything cold, unless I use a straw. And eating even soft bread and tender deli meats is a new experience in pain. Why this had to happen at this time in my life I'll never know. I can't even afford to have them pulled, a course of last resort, for pulling them without having partials put in their place will just cause my other teeth to wander and that, my friends, will cause all sorts of problems.

I'll tell you what I want you, yes, YOU to do. I want you to send me an email asking for my name and malling addy so you can do us both a favor. You can write me a big fat check covering all or part of my dental expenses so I can get the much needed dental work done and you can feel good that you helped a fellow human being out, big time! It will also be a nice tax right-off for you. And you would have my undying gratitude, for whatever that's worth to you. So get out that checkbook, send me an email and help me become pain free once again, PLEASE!

Toothaches

2008-12-13T22:52:00.003-05:00

Tooth aches... Why did God give our teeth nerves? Was it so we would pay attention to them when something went wrong? Probably. But then why did He tie the tooth nerves to those that connect to the inner ear? This I may not know until I stand before Him and ask. What I do know is that when I get a tooth ache in a molar in my upper or lower jaw it goes straight to my inner ear and now do I not only have a tooth ache but I have an ear ache as well. And there isn't much that I can do about it. Without dental insurance or with dental insurance that makes you pay up front first and has a whopping deductible there isn't much a person can do about getting a cracked tooth fixed. Yes, I'm pretty sure that it's cracked by the way it responds to cold and pressure. Normally I would go the my dentist and get it checked out. She would then tell me what I already know and send me off the the endodontist for a root canal, $600.00 to $900.00 right there. Then I'd go back to her after a couple of weeks and she would then crown it, another $600.00 to 900.00! I simply don't have that kind of money. The insurance that we have requires that we pay for the dental work up front then get reimbursed later. And the endodontist requires payment in full before they will finish the work. So I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. No money for dental care and nothing to kill the pain but acetaminophen. And that doesn't always work.

So if you know of a national organization that offers either to help pay for dental work or offers it free then please leave a comment telling me who they are and for the love of Mike PLEASE leave their phone number!

Cursors, Part 3

2008-11-12T14:46:00.004-05:00

I've published a lot more cursor sets now. Go to RealWorldGraphics and check out all my cursors. Click on the Graphics Tab then the Download Cursors link to the left and just look for the ones by oneloneman.

Cat Farts

2008-10-13T18:31:00.005-04:00

My late dad was a farter. He would fart all the time. But unlike my farts, which are quite loud, his were the silent but deadly type. I can’t remember the first time it happened but one night as we sat around the living room watching TV, Mom and I smelled the pungent odor of methane. Knowing neither of us had farted we both cast an eye at Dad with a disdaining look. Dad, playing the forever innocent one, looked around the room, grinning slightly, then inquired, “Where’s that cat?” in an effort to blame his flatulence on a poor nonexistent feline. At the time I could only guess that cat farts were silent but deadly. I could never have imagined the truth.

It wasn’t until I grew up and got married that I would learn the truth. My lovely wife had had several cats as pets over the years while my family had only dogs. After we had been married for several years my lovely wife began to pester me about getting a cat as a pet. I resisted simply because I did not want the responsibility of a pet. Finally one night I gave in after a friend told my lovely wife that she had found a stray but couldn’t keep him. We named him Spencer. He’s mostly Maine Coon but he has a birth defect, a stubby tail. Spencer was our only cat for many years. But I never smelled his farts. Either he never farts or they don’t stink.

Then several years ago we acquired Emily, A black and white tabby. We saved her from the local Humane Society. She got along with Spencer just fine mostly because she ignored him. Emily is a darling, and a pain in the butt at the same time. She was queen of the house until a couple of years ago. That’s when Molly, Miley and Maxx showed up at out back door. Molly was a couple of years old but the other 2 were still kittens. We fed them, but had no real intentions of taking them in. After all we had two cats already. We did however banter the idea around. The Maxx showed up with an abscess on his left hip. We had to rescue him or let him die.

After his recovery we took in Miley, his sister, then Molly. Unfortunately the three ‘intruders’ don’t get along well with Emily. Why? I don’t know. It’s a cat thing. Maxx and Miley chase Emily all the time, especially Maxx. The 2 ‘kittens’ will actively stalk Emily! Many a time we have had to sprits the two offenders in order to keep them from chasing down Emily. Maxx has actually caused Emily physical harm. So in order to have some peace in the house we began to allow Emily to sleep in the bedroom with us at night and spend a lot of her time in the bedroom alone. We even put a litter box in our bedroom for her along with a food and water bowl.
It’s not a perfect solution. Emily is a high maintenance cat. She all but refuses to drink from a cat bowl and insists on drinking from the faucet at the bathroom sink or from a measuring cup! And she constantly wants either out or in the bedroom at all hours of the day and night.

For the longest time Spencer was the only cat we allowed into the bedroom and onto the bed even after we got Emily. But as I mentioned we had to let her into the bedroom in order to keep the peace. It was after we began letting Emily sleep on the bed with Spencer and the 2 of us that I discovered just what Dad had meant so many years ago. My lovely wife was the first to experience Emily’s nightly gift. Emily likes to curl up at the head of the bed, generally between us or on my lovely wife’s pillow on the other side of the bed. She does so with her tail section aimed at my lovely wife’s face. Emily is a tail wager. She will wag and thump he tail constantly for a while before settling down. This means a face full of tail fur. Since my lovely wife uses lip balm just before retiring she gets a mouth full of fur. But this is livable when compared to Emily’s farts. I on the other hand had yet to experience the wonders of cat gas.

I don’t work but my lovely wife does. She is constantly changing shifts so there are times when I’m left to sleep alone, well almost. It was during one of these times that I got the full force of a cat fart. When it’s only me in the bed Emily will most often sleep at the foot of my side of the bed. But sometime during the night she will wander up to the head of the bed and park herself in front of my face, her tail to my nose. The most disturbance this causes generally is that I will have to put my hand on her tail in order to keep it from constantly slapping me in the face as I try to fall asleep. Then one night it happened. Emily was in her tail-to-my-nose position and I was drifting off to sleep when the overwhelming order of rotten eggs greeted my flaring nostrils.

The nauseous gas was worse than my Dad’s farts had ever been. It took me a moment to realize Emily had farted right into my face. I fought down the urge to heave, not to throw up but to heave Emily right out of the room! I rolled onto my back in order to gasp some fresh air as I made silent comments about the lethality of cat farts. I wondered just what she had eaten in order to produce such a deadly potion and whether it had been especially concocted for me and me alone. I was still trying to clear my sinuses when Emily, having delivered her gift of gas, arose and walked nonchalantly to the end of the bed, as if smug in the fact that she had, in her own little way, enriched my life to some small degree. I suppressed the urge to kick her off the bed. As I drifted off to sleep the true implication of my late dad’s words, spoken so long ago, came to light. “Where’s that cat?” She’s here, Dad, she’s right here.

A Poem

2008-09-29T18:38:00.001-04:00

I found this at Associated Content. It's a poem entitled Lava Words. I thought it interesting. I hope you do.

Cursors, Part 2

2008-09-27T18:54:00.003-04:00

I published my first set of cursors the other day! You can check them out at Real World Garphics. Just click on the Real World Graphics logo th the left on my blog page and click on cursor downloads and search for a set called Blue Wedgie. I hope you like them.

Cursors

2008-09-19T22:48:00.004-04:00

Do you make your own cursors? I do. I find it quit enjoyable. I use an older version of Microangelo. It may not have all the features of the newest version but it's paid for! I've made hundrerds of cursors with it, most on my computer, which is down at the moment so I'm using my wife's computer. I enjoy the challange of thinking up different ways of doing the same thing all the time. Some of my cursors are quite good, even if I do say so myself. Some are real stinkers, too. I created a line based on the original Windows arrow which I called "Wedgies" because they looked a bit like a wedge. The first ones were little more than black and white 2D imagies but as time went on I refined my technique and made them 3D and in various shaded colors. The current "Busy" cursor for the series is a little anti-gravity animated robot. I'm quite proud of him.

My latest series really doesn't have a name. They started out as flat 3D shapes but ended up as raised shapes with a shaded side. I've made several different varieties of them, each different yet recognizable as from the same family. The current set that I am using is USA themed, red, white and blue in color. The "Working In Background" features the basic cursor but with a US flag atop it which changes to the basic cursor with the word 'Wait' atop it. The "Busy" cursor is a US flag that changes to the word 'Busy'. The "Help" cursor is a basic cursor with the word 'Help' atop it which changes to the word 'Me!' atop the cursor. All in glorious red, white and blue.

Because I have a program called 'Cursor XP' I'm able to have little US flags follow the cursor around (that's more for my wife that me. I like the program for the other features it has, like shadow control).

I'm sure that I'll be on to other cursors soon. If anyone knows of a place that will host and distribute my cursors for free, speak up!

Shipping Costs

2008-09-17T15:46:00.004-04:00

Up until my lovely wife put the kibosh on my spending I purchased a lot of stuff on-line, especially from eBay. It's fun to shop on-line. It's peaceful, quiet, there's no crowds and I can shop in my underwear. Try that in Wal-Mart! I can most often find things on-line cheaper than I can in retail stores. The trouble is that they slam you with shipping charges! The shipping charges are usually more than the item that I'm wanting to buy! It's ridiculous! And it will vary from vendor to vendor. One place will have the item for X dollars while another place will have the exact same item for the same X dollars yet one place charges $10.00 to ship the item while the other charges only $2.00! Come on, the Post Office charges both vendors the same amount to ship the same item to the same place. So why such steep shipping charges?

I think that a lot of hidden 'handling' charges are tied up in the so-called 'shipping' charges of some vendors. They want a higher price for the item but can't compete with other on-line vendors so they 'sell' the item for the same amount or less then jack up the shipping cost to cover the remainder of the real price of the item. Or perhaps they can't buy in bulk like the other vendor. They are charged more so they have to charge more. But again they couldn't compete with the other vendors if they did. So again they advertise one price but recoup the rest of their profits by charging the customer such outrageous shipping charges. In some cases I think the vendor is just plain greedy. They want more so they jack up the shipping charges.

All other things being equal, who do you think I'm going to buy from? The vendor with the low price and low shipping charges, or the vendor with the low prices and high shipping charges? Duh! It's a no-brainer. Of course I'm going to buy from the guy with the lower shipping charges! Who wouldn't? Doesn't mister 'high shipping charges' know this? And just how does he stay in business? Do they ever sell anything? Of course they do, they are still in business so somebody must be buying from them! But who?

Then there is the vendor who has the corner market on an item. He knows it's a hot item, hard to find, limited edition, etc., and he jacks the price up 25% to 50% knowing that if you want it bad enough you'll pay his price. And when you do they still jack up the overpriced shipping charges on you! They get you coming and going!

Then there's the one who insists that the item has to be shipped whatever the most expensive way is then ships it a different, cheaper way! Or the one who claims that shipping by (insert carrier here) costs $X.XX. But later, when you have to return it you find out that your cost to ship it back the same way by the same carrier is a lot less!

Then there's the guy who charges an honest rate for whatever he's selling. He may charge you a dollar or two more for the item, but still within the average price range for it, but he only charges what it actually costs him to ship the item out. You got to love this kind of vendor. He's not out to gouge anyone, he's out to make a profit, sure, but he really cares about his customers and wants to have them for life. This is the kind of guy I like to buy from. They seem to be few and far between now-a-days, but Ive found a few on eBay and a few other places. These are the people I'll throw my business to, how about you?

My First Blog

2008-09-15T12:57:00.004-04:00

This is my first Blog. I have a lot of thought on everything but at the moment, I'm speechless! Imagine that, a blogger with nothing to say! It sure is nice of Blogger.com to host this blog for FREE! Thanks! If you want to read a few of my thoughts on Pens and Pencils visit my posts on the JetPens forum. Just do a search for all my post under my handle there, onelonegunman. I'm sure that if you are a pen and/or pencil addict you'll find them interesting.