Getting a Little Personal

I wonder how many others feel that questions such as this are bordering on being just a little too personal.  Seriously.  This question essentially asks, "How do you like your sex?"

The Development Process

Have always found this interestingly true to reality.

One Drive Simplified (sort of)

OneDrive WHAT? 

OneDrive is where all of your documents are stored. 

You thought they were on your computer, didn’t you? 

Well, they are there too, but are backed up continuously, so that you never lose them.  

It also enables you to do a lot of cool things, such as ... 

• Share your documents with others, without attaching a new copy every time 
• Collaborate with others on your documents without sending them back and forth a hundred times 
• Collaborate in REAL TIME!  You can actually see when others add things or check back and see what they added. 
• Restore your own documents 
• Roll your documents back to another version. 
• Access your documents from anywhere, any time, on any device. 

To do these things, you must have OneDrive turned on though. 

Check and see if it is on and working. 

Go to the lower right corner of your screen and see if you have a little blue cloud.  

Click on it, and it will show you a list of the most recent things that it backed up.   

Here is a screenshot of what mine looks like right now. 

• If you do not see the little blue cloud, click that little up arrow to the left to see if it is in there. 
• If you do not have a little blue cloud, contact Technology and get one for yourself. 

If your backup window is empty, you may not have changed anything recently, or it may not be configured correctly.  You may need to reach out to Technology. 

OR ... if you have a little more confidence than the average bear,  

1. Click the little gear 
2. Click Settings 
3. Click Manage Backup 
4. Flip the switches 

Warning!!!!! Whatever is set to off, will NOT be backed up and you could lose the files in those folders forever. 

Warning!!!!! Files stored in the Downloads folder are never backed up!  Ever. Never.  Unless you move them to the Documents folder. 

If you are already backing up everything, good for you!   

There are some icons that appear over that little blue cloud every so often that tell you what is going on in there, otherwise known as your “Synch Status.” 

What do those little cloud icons mean? 

Chasing Arrows = Currently Synching 

Yellow Triangle = We have a problem, Houston!  Click to find out what it is. 

Blue with Pause = Synching is paused 

Gray Cloud = You are not logged in or setup is incomplete (you may not be backing everything up that you should). 

Gray with red minus sign = Account Blocked 

Blue with red X = Some files or folders cannot be synched.  Click to find out which ones and fix them.  PS ... certain folder names cannot be used (like “Forms). 

How does this look on my computer? 

Start by accessing File Explorer or your documents folder.   

You should have a folder with a little blue cloud with your name on it.This is where all of your backed up documents are.  Your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures are all here. 

If you do not see a little blue cloud with your name, you need to get in touch with Technology. 

If you expand any of those, you will see a “Status” for each file or folder. 

What do those little status icons mean? 

Blue Cloud = File is currently only online, but you can still open it, if you are “connected” 

Green Check Mark Circled = You opened the file and it is on your computer, but also backed up 

File Name with little blue marks next to it = This is a new file 

Blue cloud with a head next to it = The file or folder is shared 

LOCK = The file or folder has setting that do not permit it to be backed up 

Green circle with white check mark = You have chosen to always keep this file on your computer, but it is backed up 

So ... how do you get to your all of your files, anywhere, any time? 

That part is easy. 

Go to Microsoft 365 and login. 

Look for the OneDrive icon on the left 

I think you can figure it out from there.   

The column on the left will get you everything you need. 

The waffle icon on the left will also get you to ALL your favorite applications to hate like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Power BI.   

Happy OneDriving! 

Crosstrek Airflow Frost Bomb

The first few times I drove the Subaru Crosstrek in extremely cold weather, I noticed a peculiar side effect, though I had no idea what was causing it.

Rounding a corner, after having driven about a kilometer, I was immediately assaulted by a bomb of cold air inside the car.

Wondering about this for a few days, I started paying attention to the details surrounding this intrusion, discovering that it occurred under the same conditions nearly every time.

I had been working my way through the Quick Start Guide, one piece at a time, when I ran across the statement below.  It explains the cause perfectly and is easily reproduced.

7 - All Airflow On/Off Button: If only a driver is detected, airflow will come out of the driver vents only. Press this button to override this feature and direct airflow through all vents.

While I appreciate the effort, this feature makes very little sense in a car as small as this.  Indeed, it can cause things to be occasionally uncomfortable for the driver.  I wish there were a way to just turn it on "All" permanently.

It is a little amusing though, that it could be that identifiable.

Buy a Car 3 Hours Away

The road to discovering a solid replacement vehicle for my 2015 Ford Focus has been long, arduous, and included a few lessons. 

It started by considering simply replacing it with one of the same, to considering a newer used vehicle, to finally deciding to purchase new.  The plan was to wait until the first of year though, and purchase what was left over from the previous model year.

It was time to have a vehicle that could offroad a little though.  For those that know me, I subjected that Focus to conditions I probably should not have.   I was proud of that little car.  It made it through some sketchy dirt and gravel roads, straddling deep ruts without getting stuck, without a scratch, and with only front wheel drive and just under 6 inches of ground clearance.  Refer to Gunner Pool Road to Steele Falls Trailhead in Arkansas or North of Cotopaxi in Colorado or Evans Mountain Road back in Arkansas just to name a few.

After a thorough review of potential replacement vehicles, I narrowed my list down to what I perceived to be the best candidates; the three models were the Jeep Compass Trailhawk, Subaru Outback, or Subaru Crosstrek.   An afternoon of test driving revealed the best candidate to be the Crosstrek.  I just need to figure out which trim level next.  

I thought I might want a Wilderness edition, because of slightly higher ground clearance (about 7/10 inch) and a heavier frame that enabled a higher towing capacity (3500 lbs. versus 1500). The unfortunate part, gas mileage drops almost 5 mpg, and I am very partial to awesome gas mileage.

Now I was down to Base, Premium, Sport or Limited.  A test drive of the 2.0L versus the 2.5L narrowed my decision down to the Sport or Limited.  To get most of the options available on the Limited brought the Sport up to almost the same price, so I decided just to go with the Limited.  While I liked the yellow highlights on the car, I did not like them in the car, and leather seemed a nice choice.  The only thing left to do was decide on color, map out availability, and wait for day one of the new year.

I worked with Van Subaru in the test drives, in spite of everything I had heard in the past about them.  They were close and they had what I wanted.  I was paying cash. They did not have much room to be a jerk.

The first salesman was super nice and laid back but left their employment to pursue other adventures.  In reality, they probably fired him for being too helpful or he left because they were too rude.  The salesman that took over for him was also really kind and only pushed a little, thankfully.  

There is nothing I hate more than a pushy salesman.  No means no.  No does not mean maybe, and it certainly does not mean hustle, badger, or insult me.  

Further visits and encounters with other salesman in my investigations at Van Subaru began to make me question whether I was working with the right folks.  Snotty little remarks about my interests, choices, and timeline were definitely unwelcome.

Consequently, I spent some time on the Subaru web site and building out my own and finding every vehicle available within a 200-mile radius. I could actually buy this car anywhere.  It did not need to be at Van Subaru, from a group of folks with no manners. Logging all of this into a spreadsheet, I broke each down by cost, options, available discounts, etc.

The first of the year came and I contacted the salesman Van Subaru by phone. He was not available, so his "Sales Director" hijacked the deal.  This probably would not have been so bad except he was a completely different character.

He was a stereotypical car salesman, pushy and annoying.  Making matters worse, he talked all over the top of me, tried to gaslight me over the phone, and abruptly ended our call without so much as a good-bye.  

Throughout the conversation, I discovered that the car I wanted was not "in stock," but was in "inventory." Either way, because it was not in stock, it did not qualify for the $4000 off they were offering on all 2024 Subaru Crosstreks.  That made no sense.  Seems like a little "bait and switch" to me.  Either you have a car in stock, or you do not. Semantics are little more than game really, especially for salesman.

When I called back a few minutes later, the Sales Director said that he thought there was nothing else to discuss.  I explained that I actually had a couple more questions.  There was stunned silence for a few seconds.  He might have known that already had he not decided all by himself that the conversation was over.  

It turns out the car was in a shared inventory with Reliable Subaru in Springfield.  He could make a deal with me, but I would have to pay another $700 to have it delivered.  When I suggested that I would just go pick it up myself, he said they could not allow that.  I said I would just work with Reliable then and he said I was welcome to do exactly that.  

Through the entire conversation, his attitude seemed to be that I am somehow doing this dealership a favor buying a car.  The two salesman I worked with initially were friendly and helpful.  Others the in equation and this Sales Director were not.  

Calling Reliable Subaru, I discovered quickly he got to them before I did. Their price for the same vehicle was miraculously $700 higher.  Imagine that.

These are only a few highlights from the review I left on Google Maps, which received a "Response from the owner," to give them a call to for "the opportunity to turn [my] experience around."   

I called.  The person was to have called me back.  They did not. Instead, the "Sales Director" emailed me with no better response than to try to justify himself and his actions.  

Further convincing me I was dealing with a shady group of folks was the evidence in my spreadsheet.  They were the only dealership continually manipulating their prices up and down throughout the two months of my research.

I was done with Van Subaru.  I had plenty of options still.  I did not need them.  They were not the only game in town. I decided that never would I buy a car from this place, much less take my car for service there.  I should have believed all that I had heard.  I should have read more of the reviews and have now.

After talking with a few others, I finally struck a deal with Baxter Subaru in La Vista, Nebraska.  The salesman I worked with online and over the phone was conscientious, courteous, helpful and already had the car priced at exactly what I wanted to pay for it.  At no point was he pushy, and I did not feel like I was getting hustled.  These guys will never known how much I appreciate that.  

I drove three hours to pick up my new car.  The sales staff were friendly and accommodating, helping me get back on the road quickly for a 530 appointment at birthday party that evening.  This is definitely how car buying should be; collaborative and cooperative.

The only problem I have now is ongoing maintenance.  That seems mostly resolved though, learning that Olathe Subaru is owned by the same folks.  With a little luck, I will be able to depend on them for my needs.