How To Come Out Ahead When Playing the Lottery

There has been a lot of talk about the Mega Millions lottery with the huge jackpot and media coverage.  It's fun to play every once in  awhile, but chances are you are not going to win.  So how can you play the lottery and come out ahead?  I have come up with a solution.

1. Pick your numbers and write them down.  You can pick as many sets of numbers as you want.  Keep them written down but do not actually buy the tickets.

2. Watch the lottery drawing or check the results after they are drawn.

3. See that your picks did not win.

4. Realize that you just saved that money by not buying the actual tickets.

You can do this each time there is a drawing.  It is still fun to pick the numbers and see if they are winners, but this way, when you don't win, you are actually happy because you didn't waste your money on tickets.

You might say, well what happens if your numbers actually do win and you didn't buy a ticket?  That would be extremely rare and unfortunate.

Overall remember to play responsibly.  They say with more money comes more problems.  The best way to get money is to actually earn it by working hard.

Littering - One of My Pet Peeves

One thing that bothers me is when people litter or throw their trash on the ground instead of putting it in a proper garbage or recycling bin. Sometimes you see people throw a cup or a can out of their car window. I don't see how someone can do this and think it is ok. Obviously they don't care about dirtying the environment in which we all live. Either that, or they think that one piece of garbage is not going to make a difference.

Maybe it seems like one thing won't make much of a difference, but the thing is that if everyone took this mind set and threw their garbage on the ground, there would be tons of litter blowing around the streets, getting caught in trees, and just making the environment look terrible. Because of this, no one should ever throw their garbage on the ground. We all need to take the responsibility to clean up after ourselves and make the effort to put garbage where it is suppose to be.

Originally I wasn't going to post this blog, but I saw someone litter again today and it really bothered me. Some guy was walking down the street and he just chucks some garbage to the side like he's throwing a baseball or something. What can you do in a situation like that? I wanted to get out of my car and confront him, or at least say something, but I'm not the type of person to involve myself in situations like that let alone people like that.

Later, I thought about even calling the police to report it, but I figured, they wouldn't be able to do much about it, and something like that would be low on their priority list. So what can you do? We just have to put up with people littering and rely on taxes to pay for city workers and volunteers to go around and pick up after these irresponsible people? There must be a better way.

Update: I now have taken a proactive approach to solving the problem and have started to pick up litter on a regular basis. Here is an article I wrote up about this process. I try to go around my neighborhood at least once a week cleaning up. Also whenever I go in or out I look for any litter that may be on the ground. Overall it really makes a difference!

Update 9-18-18
There is a new Reddit group called DeTrashed which is a community of people interested in helping to clean up litter. If you are someone who is interested in clean up, be sure to check out this group.

 

The River Finale Review

ABC's The River season finale aired last night and overall it was very disappointing. I had been sticking with this show in hopes that it would have a good ending that would reveal all the mysteries. Unfortunately it didn't. I had an anticlimactic ending where it seems like they were trying to leave a cliffhanger in hopes for a 2nd season. The problem is, the first season was not good and there shouldn't be a second season.

In the second to last episode, they found Emit which was pretty much the goal for the season. So in this last episode, it should have been an explanation of all the supernatural stuff that has been happening. Instead, Lincoln is shot and killed, then brought back to life with the bad spirits, and at the end they find out they can't leave the river.

I know those are spoilers, but I'm not spoiling the show for anyone, I'm saving them from wasting their time on it. The River may be the worst show I have watched an entire season of. The writing, acting, and editing was all sub-par to what would be expected for a show like this on a major network.

There was a lot of potential at the beginning with the story and location, but all of this was dissolved as the season went along and nothing was redeemed at the end.

Did you watch The River? What did you think of the ending and the series as a whole?

Using and Auger to Unclog a Drain

I had been having trouble with my kitchen sink with the water getting backed up because of a clog. I would then pour some liquid drain cleaner in there and it would help a little bit, but a few days later it would be backed up again.

I called a plumbing company to see how much it would be for them to come out and unclog it. They quoted me a price of several hundred dollars. Of course I didn't want to pay that so I looked into other options.

One tool that is recommended is a snake auger cable which is a long metal coil that you put down the drain and rotate it to try to unclog the obstruction. I went to the hardware store and found a few different kinds to choose from. I went with a 25ft cable that had a handle and a crank to help you turn it. It cost only $15 which was not bad.

So I get home and give it a try. Under the sink, there was a place to open up the pipe using a wrench. Once that was off, I was able to put the cable into the pipe. This can get messy quickly so I recommend wearing gloves, having plenty of rags or paper towels, and also have something to cover the floor.

Getting the auger down the pipes can be difficult. Rotating it when you get stuck helps get the cable around corners and further down the pipe. Keep pushing it in and turning the cable as you go. Eventually it will stop. This most likely means you have hit the clog, or you just can't go any more. Pull the cable out slowly. You will probably have to rotate it the opposite direction to get it out.

Once it is out, see if there is any gunk that has been collected by the coil. If you are lucky, there should be a lot of stuff collected on the end and that means, it is working. Clean off the cable and set it aside. Close up the pipe and run the hot water. This should help clear out the left over debris and let you know if it is still clogged.

After I used the auger on the drain the first time, it was actually still clogged. I was disappointed but I decided to try it one more time just in case. This time, I put lotion on the cable to help it slide down the pipes. I think this helped because I got it further down the pipe. I kept turning it, but eventually the cable kind of twisted on itself because there was too much torque. I actually bent the cable which is not good.

I figured I better get it out before it got stuck, so I reversed it and slowly pulled it out of the pipe. It did pull out more gunk so that was a good sign. I cleaned it off and followed the same procedure of flushing it with water. This time it didn't get backed up! So the persistence and patience paid off.

If you have a clogged drain and the liquid cleaner is not working, I would recommend trying an auger before calling a plumber. It can save you a lot of money. Tips from my personal experience would be to lubricate the cable so it slides easier. Also, don't turn the cable too tight. There can be some tension, but if you do it too much, the cable twist and buckle on itself and this can bend the cable causing it to be ruined or get stuck in the pipe.

If you have tried all this and it still doesn't work, then you might have to call a plumber. Good luck unclogging your drain!

Accepting Criticism - Why you should not be offended

It's always hard to accept criticism, especially if you are the kind of person who always thinks you are right.  This week, I had my yearly review where my supervisor tells me what things I am good at and what I need to improve on.  I think I do a pretty good job overall, and I feel I know what I need to improve on, so when someone starts saying things that I disagree with, instinctively I try to defend myself. 

This happened this time as it usually does.  My supervisor would say things that I need to improve on or change and then I would immediately try to tell her why she was wrong, or try to justify my actions.  While I may have had some good points, in this situation, I realize that the person evaluating, really doesn't want to hear a rebuttal or get into a debate.  They are simply stating what they have seen and experienced and they are trying to give you the feed back on how you can improve.

I realized, that even if their review is wrong and you can clearly defend and support all of your actions proving that you are right, it doesn't really matter.  It's best to just accept the criticism and try to use it to become better.  Even if you think they are wrong, they still have their opinion and that is how they see you.

It's actually a good thing to get criticism, even if it hurts.  When I look back, I wish I would have gotten more feedback on how I could improve.  There were only a few things that were mentioned and I tried to shoot them down.  It's a tense situation when you are being evaluated and everyone is a bit on edge and can't take all the time to think clearly.

For future evaluations I will try not to get upset or take things personally.  I might still try to defend my actions, but I will try to keep that to a minimum and instead thank them for pointing out what I need to improve on.  So overall the message for today is to welcome and accept criticism and use it to improve, even if you don't necessarily agree with it.

Music Recommendations - Adrian Lux, Tinie Tempah

Adrian Lux - Teenage Crime


Adrian Lux - Fire - (R3hab Remix)
  Adrian Lux - Fire (R3hab Remix) by R3HAB 

Tinie Tempah - Til I'm Gone ft. Wiz Khalifa