Multiply 365 Day 198 - Sloth

I would like to come by the blog and say I was all productive this weekend, but really I haven't been.  Save for catching up on some online stuff I have done relatively nothing.  Well technically I did work for a few hours Saturday, probably around 4 and half but I only took credit for three.  But really that was about the extent of my grand achievements this weekend.

The biggest thing I had to do on Saturday was to once again do some tweakage on the register system at work.  One of the minor glitches from when we upgraded the software to its current version involved deleted barcodes.  In the old system, while you could delete an item it technically never went away, so what would happen is that when you went to scan the item at checkout the item wouldn't appear, but if you tried to re enter the product information to the system it would say the bar code was already in use.  That isn't a problem with the version that we are currently running, but there were a few items leftover from the upgrade that still functioned under the old rules, since they were deleted before the upgrade took place.  So Friday I placed a call to Shawn at Ultimate Retailer, telling him my problem, and as Shawn is wont to do from time to time, pretty much had my concerns addressed within about thirty minutes, writing a new script for our system that would delete all of the old bar code information that didn't disappear during the upgrade.  He then placed a copy on all of the registers and the back office computer and ran it on the back office, just to show me what needed done.  Then it was up to me to run the same program on all of the upstairs registers, which I did on Saturday since business on the weekends tends to be much slower than during the week.  

Also on my docket, I was supposed to take a look at the new EBT (food stamp) machine the state sent us and see if I could get it hooked up and running.  We are looking to add an EBT and credit card machine to our deli register.  So we called out and had a machine installed that is supposed to take both types of cards, but that is pending approval from the state of PA on whether or not our machine can take an EBT card.  That being said, they did send us two new EBT machines as well and since they were issued by the state as opposed to the credit card/EBT combo machine, those should already work if installed.  So a task Dee left me before she took off for vacation was to see if I couldn't install one of the EBT machines and get it up and running.  I pretty much knew what the problem would be before I started, but I went and took a look anyway.  The thing is, both types of machines require a phone line to be used.  Mind you, they could be tied into the same phone line, given they are at the same checkout only one machine would be in use at any given time, but for that to work you would still need two inputs into the phone line and of course our phone jack only has one.  I think I can get that problem fixed with a quick trip to Radio Shack on Monday, the piece needed to add a second input isn't that hard to find and probably not that expensive.  Heck most homes running a DSL connection have one, but I am not giving up my internet access at home just so the store can take food stamps.  There are some things I will not do for the company, sorry.

Anyway, beyond that I have spent most of the weekend with my foot propped up and playing around on my desktop or laptop.  I snagged another $5 giftcard from Swagbucks, I think I have around $75 in Amazon cash laying around now in my account.  Also I ran into a really neat feature that Amazon is now using, a Cloud Player.  Basically it is a 5 GB storage space for your stuff (you can pay for more storage space, the first 5 GB are free) which I wish Rhapsody would have done years ago.  What it means is if you buy MP3s from Amazon now, you can save them to your cloud and then access them again from any other computer.  So before, unless you had backed up your info from your computer or bought one of those storage type services, once your computer died (and who really plans on a computer dying, even if they almost all do) you lost the work that was on it.  The death of my old desktop probably cost me about $100 in music from Rhapsody, now that isn't an issue with Amazon, I just save the stuff I buy there and can access it from any computer.  Which is good for me, because my burner on my desktop sucks ass, yet there are times when I am on it and listening to music and I think, I could really use that song.  Now I can just go buy it, save it to my cloud and burn it when I crack open the laptop at a later time.  Just another reason for me to like Amazon.

I may be getting some more Amazon cash.  I highly doubt it, but I guess there is a chance, however slight.  I was tinkering with the Scratchix app today on Facebook and I got the last two tokens I needed to win a $30 Amazon gift card.  While that sounds good, it probably isn't, the Scratchix app is notorious for not paying out to winners, so much so that I may tinker with it once or twice a week now.  The only reason I was even using it today was I was running an auto scratcher while doing other things and got the last two of the 25 tokens needed for the prize (I also won $1 in cash).  That being said, they still owe me for my last Amazon gift card, from last September or October, so I am not planning on actually seeing this prize (or the previous one for that matter) though an extra $30 in Amazon cash would be nice, I might even buy another book or two in hardback if I am actually awarded my prize..  

I was actually more excited with my progress on the Madden Facebook app, where I managed to clear out four team collections (Lions, Cardinals, Bears, Giants) and for the first time in a long time I actually feel like I am again making progress on that game.  I got two new starters for my roster out of the deal and am closer to collecting all of the cards, I probably need about 100 or so to have every card in the game, save for the new legends cards they just issued.  Just not as excited about getting them, because right now they cost real cash as opposed to game cash.  Eventually I think they are going to be accessible to game cash, but you have to complete an achievement first,.one that I am nowhere close to completing.  

I even knocked out adding some points to mycokerewards.  I am seriously looking at getting myself the 8 GB Ipod, but that is at 1500 points, so it is a ways off.  Not that I can't get there, I have been beyond that point in the past (back during the great Pogo giveaway on the blog) but right now I think I have about 340 points and even if I were to max out my allotment of points per week (120) it would still take a while and I haven't maxed out points in a week in quite some time, since the great Powerade debacle that Ed signed us up for at work, where he bought a bunch of Powerade that was about to go out of date from a vendor other than Coke, so we couldn't get credit for it once it expired, meaning we were dumping cases of it down the drain, and of course I was keeping the caps all for myself.  

I even managed to bang out a few surveys on mysurvey, I didn't qualify for any of them, but I did add another .15 to my account.  Eventually that too will add up t something, probably another Amazon gift card, though it is still about 9.50 off in the future.  

Well I should probably put a wrap on this.  While I am not tired yet, with Ed and Dee both on vacation this week and Brian making at best token appearances at work, I imagine that just adds to the workload of John and myself.  Or as Dr. Suess might say, "No Ed, No Dee means more work for me."