Kindle! Kindle! Kindle!

No, that's not some kind of "war cry", nor have I gone crazy (more than usual, anyway). It's just my excitement at finally being able to place an order for the Amazon Kindle2 eBook reader. Been wanting one of these since I first saw the original Kindle when it came out in 2007. Now that the new Kindle2 is available, I couldn't hold off any longer. Well, I did have to wait until I was able to afford it, otherwise I would have gotten one the first day they went on sale back in February 2009. As an avid reader and lover of books, as well a major tech geek, this device combines two of my favorites things.
The Kindle2 can hold up to 1500 books--that's like a small library you can carry with you! You can also get newspapers, magazines and blogs on it, and it even plays mp3 files (should you want to listen to music while you read). And one of the coolest features is that you can order and download a book on the Kindle in about 60 seconds! From almost anywhere, since it uses the Sprint's Whispernet service and it has a simple web browser as well.
Lots of other great features too, but I'll probably post about it again when it arrives. Got an email from Amazon yesterday saying it has shipped, so it shouldn't be too long before I have it!
Woo-Hoo!!

In Geek Paradise

Here I am, blogging at 5 AM in the morning, and why? Because I have been up all night playing with the new tech toy I just bought yesterday afternoon. Yes, the geek in me finally overruled the more sensible part of my brain and went out and got an Apple iPod Touch (16 GB). I just couldn't resist the lure of all that cool gadgetry any longer. Even though I've been telling myself that it was too expensive, some extra holiday pay from my otherwise crappy job was enough to convince me to go for it. So out to the Apple store at a local mall I went, cash in hand, before the more frugal part of my brain had a chance to complain.

Up to now, I've been using my little Creative Zen Nano 1GB MP3 player and it works fine. But it doesn't automatically sync to iTunes , nor can it do video, or any of the other things the iPod Touch is capable of doing. Ever since the iPhone and then the iPod Touch came out, I've been reading and hearing how remarkable they are, and I can now see what people were raving about. I don't listen to a lot of music, but I love podcasts and have been downloading them with iTunes and dragging and dropping the files onto my Zen. Of course, when I plugged in the iPod, it began to sync immediately and transfer them without me doing a thing. Very nice!

There are video podcasts, such as "DiggNation", that I download as well and now I can watch them right on the iPod Touch. And since I spend quite a bit of time waiting for, and riding buses to and from work, this is an especially cool feature. Not to mention the games you can add to it!
Can you tell I'm impressed by this piece of technology? I may have been a bit late in "hopping on the iPod bandwagon", but no doubt will make up for that lost time! I spent most of last evening browsing through the iTunes store looking for some of the free aps that are available and got a few games and other useful or fun little aps. There are many more available for a price, but I figured I'd spent enough for today.

And I have not even used the built-in WiFi on the Touch yet ! I have a wireless router, but don't have it connected at the moment because I only had a single desktop computer, so connected it directly to the cable modem. But now, with the iPod, and my little Acer netbook computer I got a few months ago, I'll have to get that router working. Then when the weather gets warmer, I can go outside to a tiny little park outside my house and still be able to log onto my internet connection. Now I need to start ripping songs off all those CD's I have and never listen to, 'cause I'm too lazy to get them out and put them into a CD player.

Well, its now 6 AM, so no sense in going to bed now. Luckily, I don't have to work today as the university I work at is closed for a 'winter break' this week. YAY....more time to play with my new toy !

Geek Tech Spending Spree !

Being the patriotic American that I am, I did my part to stimulate the sluggish economy by going out and spending some hard-earned cash to buy a mini-notebook computer and wireless keyboard/mouse, and a small wireless mouse to go with the mini-notebook. No need to thank me...I was just fulfilling my duty as a citizen, playing my part in the economy.

Plus, I get some cool, new geek tech toys to play with--yay!

On Friday I bought an Acer Aspire One mini-notebook (or netbook, as they're calling it) computer. Ever since my laptop computer died last summer, I've been wanting another laptop/notebook. When I saw this one was on sale at Staples, I checked it out and read some reviews and decided it was the one to get. It is a cool little mini-notebook that runs Windows XP (I plan to add Ubuntu Linux to it as well). The specs are as follows:
1-Intel Atom processor running @ 1.6 Ghz
2-1 Gb SDRAM
3-120 Gb hard drive
4-Built-in webcam
5-SD card memory expansion slot
6-Multi-card reader slot
7-Built-in Wi-Fi (wireless internet)
8-Three USB ports
9-VGA monitor port
10-8.9-inch CrystalBrite screen

It comes in other configurations as well, with slight variations, but this is the one I bought.
It boots up quickly, and the screen, while smaller than full-size laptops, is very bright and clear.
The keyboard is not that much smaller than other laptops or even a regular desktop keyboard, and I have no trouble typing on it. Even with my poor typing skills! The weight is just over 2 pounds, which makes it much easier to carry around. My old laptop weighed 8.5 pounds, making it a bit of an effort to lug around. Not that I carried my old laptop outside very much, but used it more as a desktop replacement, but I can see myself taking this little computer with me much more often. Which means I can always have access to my addiction, the internet!
It doesn't have a built-in CD/DVD (left out to save on size & weight), but as I have an external DVD drive, this isn't a problem. Of course, you can do anything on this machine as on any computer...surf the 'net, watch videos/movies, play games, etc. This will come in handy on a long bus/train trip (that I occasionally take) as I can load up a few movies, some music & games and be entertained along the way. This Acer Aspire One is not much bigger than a portable DVD player, and can do so much more than just play movies.
Now for the price...actually it was pretty reasonable at $349.99 at Staples. I saw it through an email from Acer, checked out Staples ad online, and hurried out there Friday to snatch one up.
Luckily I had saved up a little money, and decided to make this my birthday present. OK, my birthday isn't for 3 weeks yet, but why wait?
After I purchased it I went across the street to a mall, where I sat down and unboxed it, as I was anxious to play with it. Couldn't wait 'til I got home...hehe! While trying it out and waiting for the computer to load some drivers and do an initial setup, several people stopped to look and ask me about it and where I'd gotten it. They were impressed to see such a small computer.
I didn't take this photo, found it on a review site.


Oh, and it comes in several colors. I have the Sapphire Blue one, as pictured above.
And one final thing--it's just such a cute little 'puter, you have to love it !
Related links:
Acer Aspire One
Staples

Next on my spending spree, on Saturday I headed to a mall just because I was bored hanging around at home. My plan was to maybe see a movie, but there wasn't anything playing that caught my interest. So I wandered into the Best Buy store to kill some time and check out the tech goodies there. I decided to pick up a small wireless mouse to go with my new mini-notebook (see above) which I found rather quickly. On the same aisle were wireless keyboards as well, and I have kind of wanted a wireless keyboard, but never wanted to spend the money to get one, as standard ones are available so cheaply. And I have several at home, from various computers. But then I spotted this one that just looked so cool and techie that I started to drool (well, not literally). After looking at it and a few other ones, I convinced myself that I had to have it and grabbed one before I changed my mind.
It's the Logitech MX5500 Revolution (cool name, huh?).


OK it was a bit pricey, at $140, but it has a wireless mouse, too!


It also has an LCD display that shows time, temperature, media info (such as song title,artist, etc.), favorite key assignments, even a key counter that tells how many keys you've typed (although I really don't know why you'd need that info.).
The function keys are programmable so you can set them to open your web browser, word-processing program, or whatever you would like. The keys along the left side control your media player's (windows media/iTunes) volume, play/pause. They are keys that also work with Windows Vista different screen display features.
Three small keys on the lower right side under the numeric keypad will open Windows Media Center, a photo gallery, or Windows Gadgets (under Vista). One handy feature is that it has keyboard shortcuts, such as copy/paste, printed on the front of the keys, so you don't have to remember them. I rarely have used those keyboard shortcuts, since I usually can't think of where they are located, so this is really nice. A "zoom" key (left edge of the keyboard) allows you to zoom in or out on webpages, which is good on sites that have small print, or you just need a closer look at that hot porn site!
It uses Bluetooth wireless which gives you about a thirty foot range. The wireless laser mouse has some cool features, too. It scrolls very fast, allowing you to scroll through a long document or webpage quickly. Two small side buttons let you move forward/back when browsing web pages, even a tiny button on top that opens up your favorite search engine (Google, Yahoo!, etc.) , and a side scroll wheel that allows you to activate Vista's Flip3D feature to flip through documents.
The mouse is rechargable and has its own recharging base, while the keyboard uses 4 AA batteries which, according to the manual, should last 180 days.


Related Links:
Logitech Cordless Desktop MX5500 Revolution

My other purchase was a small HP wireless laser mouse to use with the Acer mini-notebook. Nice and works very well, but not as cool as the Logitech mouse shown above.

So that is the story of my geek tech spending spree. Now I'm broke again, but at least I have some fun new toys to play with, during the coming long cold winter days and nights.

Waiting For A Bus....Or Boat, Maybe?

Awww...isn't that sweet? Yesterday I went to visit the ocean, and today it followed me home. I guess it must have missed me.

A woman at this bus stop where I was sheltering from the rain got nervous when the water begin to approach us, and had to flee for her life. Or at least to avoid getting wet feet!
Listen for her voice on the video.


On a more serious note:
Heavy rain is coming more of­ten as glob­al warm­ing con­tin­ues—an in­crease that is out­strip­ping sci­en­tists’ pre­dic­tions, ac­cord­ing to a stu­dy.
The find­ings “re­veal a dis­tinct link be­tween rain­fall ex­tremes and tem­per­a­ture, with heavy rain events in­creas­ing dur­ing warm per­i­ods,” wrote the au­thors, Rich­ard P. Al­lan of the Uni­ver­s­ity of Read­ing, U.K. and Bri­an J. So­den of the Uni­ver­s­ity of Mi­ami, Fla.
The re­port is to ap­pear in the Aug. 8 is­sue of the re­search jour­nal Sci­ence.
Read the rest of this article here.

Boston Whale Watch

Yesterday I went on what may have been the best trip I've ever taken! That's not saying much, as I rarely go anywhere, due to lack of a car and/or money. But this trip helped make up for that lack. I'm the type of person that rarely gets all that excited or thrilled by things, as I tend to live inside my own head (hey, the rent there is cheap!).
Standing on the deck of the ship as we sped along, with the wind and spray from the ocean in my face was quite exhilarating, to sat the least. Which surprised me, that I enjoyed it so much, as I will not even get on a roller coaster or other carnival ride.
The weather wasn't as nice as hoped for, as it starting raining right after we got to Massachusetts and continued to rain on and off all day. Thus the ride was a little bumpy at times, as the ship (a high-speed catamaran) bounced along the waves. I stayed out on deck for the entire trip out to the whale-watching area, along with several other hardy souls. Although one girl looked a little woozy as she cling to her boyfriend!
Most people on board stayed inside the cabin on the way out because of the rain and choppy ride and one poor family (parents & 4 kids) all seemed to be less than thrilled, shall I say, with the experience. I felt sorry for them, having come all the way there and then feeling seasick the entire time.
Another thing that surprised me was I decided right there on deck that I want to go do it again! Normally once I experience something once, I'm satisfied and don't feel the need to go again. Who knows, maybe some of my ancestors were sea-faring folk and the sea is in my genes.
We got to the site where the whales feed and saw several whales, both adult mothers and young ones. Spraying water from their blowholes and occasionally breaching the surface, coming up from the water to breathe. I don't have any photos of that ready yet as I had my camera in video mode the whole time and have to go through to find still shots. The whales were hard to photograph as they tend to pop up in different spots randomly, so I left the video run to try to catch what I could.
All I can say is, if you haven't taken a trip like this, you should definitely give it a try! If a geeky, stay-at-home "landlubber" like me got a kick out of it, normal folk will find it really thrilling!
Here are a few shots from the pier area, before we left:

View down the pier. (Side note: that guy on the right was a really cute German boy-pic doesn't due him justice-much hotter in person)

After the cruise, we had a couple hours before the bus home left, and I managed to take a quick walking tour (on my own) around downtown Boston. Saw some cool old houses and a cemetery dating back to Revolutionary War times. I'll have to go back to Boston to see all the other stuff I didn't have time to on this trip.
More pics on my other blog: QE II

Bored Rainy Day Quiz Taking Time

Your result for The What Kind of Friend Are You Test...

Practically Vulcan

You scored high on Logic! 82%

Practically Vulcan friends tend to leave emotions out of their decisions. You are calculating and analytical in your problem-solving abilities and can sometimes come across as cold.

Take The What Kind of Friend Are You Test at HelloQuizzy

This guy is thinking "Now where did I leave my pants?"

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Monk

You live a peaceful, quiet life. Very little danger comes your way and you live a long time. You are wise and modest, but also stagnant. You have little comfort, little food and have taken a vow of silence. But who needs chatter when just sitting in the cloister of your abbey with The Good Book makes you perfectly content.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy

HA ! I knew before I even took this quiz what the answer would be.

And finally, just one more:

Your result for The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test...

Guy Smiley

You scored 65% Organization, 55% abstract, and 25% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are mostly organized, both concrete and abstract, and more introverted.

Here is why are you Guy Smiley.

You are both mostly organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Guy Smiley is your average Joe. He'll dress up and look nice for his game show, but he's not a neat freak.


You are both a concrete and abstract thinker. Guy Smiley uses his imagination to come up with ridiculous game shows. However he's concrete enough to stick by his rules and perform his role as host. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course.



You are both introverted. At first glance Guy Smiley may appear to be an extrovert given he hosts a popular show. But in reality he struggles to relate with other people. His prizes tend to just be Guy Smiley merchandise. For whatever reason you are a bit uncomfortable in social settings. You may have one or two people that you are close with. You'd rather do things by yourself and you dislike working in groups where things are always so inefficient.

I'd never heard of this Sesame Street character, but he does sound like me !
(even looks a bit like me...haha)

So according to these tests, I would be a Vulcan monk who hosts a game show. Where do I sign up?

My New Photo Blog !

That's right ! I've started a new, second blog. But why, you may ask?
Especially since I don't even keep this poor, neglected blog up-to-date like I should.

Well, the new blog is going to be just for photos and videos I take as I wander aimlessly around town, wasting time or sometimes attending some local event. Or if I happen to take a relatively rare trip out-of-town for the day. Don't expect too much--I'm not the greatest photographer--but I sometimes catch an interesting shot or two. I have a bunch of photos I've taken and since my free (and I'm too cheap to pay for a premium one) Flickr account has reached its limit (200 pics), I started a new blog to hold some of them.
Anyway, please check it out; its called QE II ( click here). Can you guess why?
If you want the answer, click the link above and read the blog title.

I have been doing a little clean-up on this blog as well today, trying to unclutter the sidebar and hope to get back to a regular posting schedule. Since I now have a new computer, I have no excuse for not doing so--the old machine I'd been using really did make it difficult to do much.
The pic above is just one example of my amazing photographic skills (hahaha).

When Animals Attack !

According to this survey on surviving animal attacks, I could kick the crap out of those vicious house cats or raccoons ! And could probably hold my own against most dogs.

Brought To You By Adult Toy Parties

But it would seem that I have to stay away from animals that live in water (sharks, alligators) or jungles/forests (lions, bears, gorillas, etc.) or cities (Humans).

Christmas In June !

It's coming, it's coming! Yay! Checked a few minutes ago, and saw that it's on the truck to be delivered today.

What am I so excited about? My new computer I ordered last week! Finally I can give this old machine a little vacation and give myself a little less frustration. This old computer I rescued from the curb a couple years ago (where it was waiting to be picked up by the trash collectors) has served me well, but it just is showing its age. Pretty slow, prone to odd little glitches, and with a small hard drive. Sorta like me, in a way.

I had a nice laptop that died an early death when the internal fan quit and the motherboard got fried. So since last August I have been struggling along with "old faithful" here. Haven't been able to do many things I enjoyed doing on the internet--even watching videos is annoying as the video lags behind the audio, 'cause this computer has a slow (by today's standards) CPU.
I've been running Ubuntu Linux; Windows XP ran way too slow and froze up. The new machine has Windows Vista, but being the geek that I am, I plan to put Ubuntu on it, too, and have a dual-boot system. I've come to really like Linux since I've been using it, and the Ubuntu distribution is much easier to use than some older versions of Linux. And it looks much like Windows, so it's not hard to get accustomed to.

Features of my new computer:
# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium pre-installed w/COA
# AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 2.3 GHz processor
# 2 GB system memory
# 320 GB SATA hard drive
# DVD±RW Drive

The AMD Athlon 64 X2 is a dual-core processor.
I also added an NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS 256MB DDR2 video card.

My old computer:
# Ubuntu Linux 6.10 LTS (Dapper Drake)
# Pentium 900Mhz CPU
# 512 MB system memory (I added 256MB to the original 256MB)
# 40 GB IDE hard drive
# DVD-ROM/CD-RW Drive

Plus I have a 250GB external hard drive, an external LG DVD±RW Super-Multi Drive, a 17-inch widescreen LCD monitor, a scanner, & a cheap LexMark printer. Haven't even used the scanner since I bought it because I couldn't figure out how to get it running under Linux (trouble finding the right driver).
I'm not trying to brag here--just the geek in me, excited to have a new toy to play with. I'll keep the old machine, just as backup, at least for awhile. I'm working on another old computer to give to a friend who has never owned one so he can become more "computer literate".

So all-in-all, once everything is installed and set up, I should have a great system and can spend even more time surfing the web and "geeking out", instead of having to go out into the icky {ewww} "real world".

Tech Troubles

I've been posting mainly political stuff lately, so I thought I'd give it a rest today and discuss my other main interest-computers and technology. And much like politics, it can be both an exhilarating and frustrating experience. Lately, mostly frustrating.

About 3 weeks ago, I took my beloved laptop computer in to be repaired, as it had lapsed into a coma back at the end of August. I waited until now to take it in because I just didn't have the money to pay for any repairs that might be required. This week I got the bad news that my poor laptop was truly dead. It seems that the internal fan had quit working and the insides got "fried", as the repairman called it. The entire motherboard would have to be replaced, which would cost more than a new computer. (A moment of silence, please, for the dear departed)

The hard drive was OK and I had it put into an external USB enclosure so I can use it on another computer, at least. No data on it, as I knew there wouldn't be, as I had tried to re-format the drive to re-install Windows back when it first crashed. Since August I have been using an old desktop on which I am now running Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows. Windows ran way too slow, and kept giving me error messages that I could not figure out the cause of. So I ditched Windows in favor of Linux. Yes, I'm a bit of a computer geek, in case you're wondering--what the hell is Ubuntu Linux?

Anyway, the day I picked up my now- deceased laptop, I stopped at a mall nearby the computer repair shop. While there I wandered into Best Buy, just to take a look around. Ended up buying a new 17" widescreen LCD monitor to replace the old 14" CRT monitor I'd been straining my eyes looking at for the past few months. Kind of an impulse buy, but I needed to cheer myself up after the loss of my laptop. It is such a huge improvement over the old monitor! So much brighter and crisper picture--definitely worth the money.

My tech troubles didn't end there, though. Earlier today, after installing a wireless ethernet card and making a few tweaks to the system, I had problems getting back online. Finally got things going again after a frustrating hour or two. The wireless card still isn't working, so I need to do some research to see exactly how to get it working under Linux. I'm not that much of a Linux geek yet, I guess.

Finally after getting the computer working again, I went to unplug my cell phone from the charger, only to find it had gotten a small amount of water on it. Apparently I'd spilled some water while filling my coffee maker and hadn't noticed it due to the problems I was having with the computer. So now the phone is not working! And it wasn't a lot of water--just seemed to be a few drops, which I dried off soon as I saw it. But enough must have leaked inside to cause a problem. Maybe in a day or two it will dry out and start working--who knows? It's not an expensive phone-I can replace it for about $20, but it's still annoying.

So there you have it....my tale of "Trouble in Tech Land". I just hope this story doesn't have a sequel !

Today is SuperBowl Sunday--Tuesday is Super Tuesday, so if you live in a state holding a primary, get out and VOTE ! (Sorry, couldn't resist a little politics)
Ron Paul 2008 !!!

Happy Holidays !

OK, I've got the Jack-O-Lantern carved, the eggs are colored ready to be hidden, and my fireworks all set
to go! Now, let me see....is there anything I've forgotten to do to get ready for the holiday?

Let me think...I know I'm forgetting something...

Oh NO!! Now I remember -- it's time for me to wish everyone a

M E R R Y
C H R I S T M A S ! ! !

Thanks, NYC !

I celebrated Thanksgiving not in eating turkey, but running around like a wild turkey in New York City. And it turned out to be a great day for it. The weather felt more like an early Spring day than late November. Temperature climbed up into the lows 60's, with some occasional sunshine breaking through the clouds. I'm very glad I decided to go, because otherwise I just would have been sitting home alone, being bored most of the day. Watched the Macy's parade, visited the World Trade Center site, spent a brief time in Central Park, went down by the waterfront (where I took the picture below), saw a movie ("The Mist"), hung around Times Square, and just enjoyed the sights and sounds of New York.

This photo of the Statue of Liberty looks a bit misty; I guess because it was somewhat cloudy and also I used the zoom on the camera to get a larger image.
Watch out ! It's a giant Pikachu ! Run for your lives !
Ohhh...wait--it's just a huge balloon...anyone got a Pokeball I can catch him in?
And if a giant yellow Pikachu doesn't scare you, what about a big, green ogre?!
Don't worry--it's just Shrek, floating down the street.
Hmmm...looks like he's looking for loose coins on the ground. Although I would think he'd prefer Greenbacks !
I took a bunch more photos, which I'll put up on my Flickr page over the next day or so.
And speaking of misty and/or scary things, I highly recommend the movie "The Mist". It has some truly frightening scenes and is one of the scarier films I've seen in a long time. Many of the so-called horror movies nowadays are mainly just "slasher" films, with some maniac running around killing people. "The Mist" has suspenseful moments as well as scary scenes. And don't worry, there's violence and gore for those who like that, too.
The only other scary thing yesterday was the bus ride home--it was scary long! It took 5 hours for what is usually a 2.5 hour trip. Left NYC at 11:30 PM, arrived here in Albany at 4:30 AM. Much of the way the bus wasn't going more than 5-10 miles per hour due to all the holiday traffic. I would have stayed over for another day, but just can't afford those hotel prices. Toyed with the idea of going to another late night movie, then hanging around at the bus terminal until morning, but I'd been up since 1:30 AM that morning and didn't think I'd be able to stay awake much longer. Although when I finally got home, I really didn't feel all that tired, except for sore feet from all the walking I'd done .
So, Thanks, NYC, for providing me with a fun day !

It's My Birthday !

Today's my 52nd birthday, and since no one baked me a birthday cake, I'll just have to settle for this picture of one! :-(
That--and the one I plan to buy later today!! And eat the whole thing myself! HAHAHA...

I usually buy myself a birthday gift, but this year I decided to spend the money instead to take a trip to New York City tomorrow, see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which I've never seen in person), and just hang out in the city. And who knows, maybe I'll decide to stay there, and not come home at all!
I probably should use the money for the trip to put towards having my laptop computer repaired, but I've managed on this older machine for the past few months, so I guess another month or two won't kill me. Although right now each letter I type is slowly appearing on the screen 'cause the computer is sooo slow. Needs more memory--only has 256 gigs of ram. Poor old computer--it's getting old like me!

So, in conclusion, I'll just say:

Happy Birthday To Me !!!

OMG! All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash!!!

Oh no! How will people read about my incredibly boring life?!?

Boom ! Boom! Whoosh ! Ooohhh!

It rained here on the 4th of July so I didn't go out to see the local fireworks, but today there were some at a nearby city so I went to see them and take a little video. It gave me a chance to try out the new digital camera I recently got. The fireworks display was put on in Freedom Park in the town of Scotia, which is just across the Mohawk river from the city of Schenectady. I stood on the bridge over the river to take this video. The sound near the end is a bit muffled because I unknowingly had my finger over the microphone on top of the camera. I was using both hands to steady the camera and didn't realize the opening for the mic was on top.
Hey--give me a break ! I've only had the camera for a week; I'm still learning what features it has.
Anyway....here's the link to that video: FIREWORKS !

Friday The 13th !

HaHa ! Fooled you-this post has nothing to do with Friday the 13th ! Except for the fact that it happens to be today's date.
I recently bought a new digital camera to replace the cheap one I got a couple of years ago and took some random photos and video to test it out. Since I never travel anywhere interesting, I
shot these pics while wandering through a local park and from my apartment window.
I even came up with titles for them just to make it look as though I actually know what I'm doing (don't really have much experience with photography).

Two Paths Diverged In A Wood (apologies to Robert Frost)
~click on the title to read Frost's poem~


Wood Nymph
~click title for more info. on nymphs~
Caught a photo of a little wood nymph hiding in this log. Look closely and you'll see his face peeking out from the opening.

Don't be scared, little fellow--I won't hurt you!

And finally, just some video of a thunderstorm taken from my window--click here.

Back From The Dead !

Yes, I've risen from the blogging graveyard after these many weeks away. Just haven't been able to motivate myself enough to post anything. I was planning on doing more of a redesign than what little I've done, but a combination of procrastination, laziness, a bit of depression, and lack of HTML coding skills has resulted in nothing more than a new title graphic and some re-arranging of items in the sidebar.

But first, thanks to Musa, from Relight My Fire whose comment on my last entry, " hey.. how long this renovation takes? ;p" is what made me realize just how lazy I'd become and gave me that little spark I needed to get my fire re-lit. Thanks, fellow blogger!

Also, sad news that Mike & Ryan from Boys Are Ugly But So Cute are ending their blog since theirs were the first two blogs (before they merged together) I read which inspired me to start my own. Although my life (or blog) are not nearly as interesting or eventful as theirs certainly has been. But I wish them both the best in whatever they choose to do in the future. All my love to you, guys!

I did go through and put labels on some of my older posts, but still have a lot of them to do--didn't realize I had over 480 ! That right there is proof I have no life other than the computer and internet...that I had time to put up that many. To top it off, the past two weeks my laptop has been acting weird, rebooting or closing programs for no apparent reason. Virus/spyware scans found nothing, but at one point it wouldn't even boot into Windows. I had to reformat the hard drive and re-install Windows. But even that hasn't cleared up the problem because it still shuts down programs or freezes up entirely on occasion. So I'm still searching for the solution. The computer is only about a year old and was working great up until 2 weeks ago. Maybe it decided it needed a break just like I took one from blogging!

It's a beautiful sunny day out so I'm going out to enjoy some of it because the summer always goes by so fast if you blink you might miss it!
And having just risen from the grave, I need some sunlight to revive me.

Back To The GRINDHOUSE !

So yesterday I'm sitting at home...bored out of my mind...but it's too cold and windy to go out for a walk or anything. So I think "why not take a ride up to the mall?" I figured I'd grab a slice of pizza there and just hang around, check out a few of my favorite stores. Just to get out of the house and kill some time.

The bus is pulling into the mall parking lot where I notice there are very few cars. It's then that I remember it's Easter Sunday and all the stores are closed ! D'oh ! Now what do I do? I go into the mall anyway and see that the movie theater at least is open. Not much playing that sounds interesting...but "GRINDHOUSE" is set to start in just about 20 minutes. Got a ticket and headed in--but still haven't eaten and I know that this movie runs for 3 hours ! I hate to pay the ridiculous prices at the movie snack bar, but need something to hold me 'til I get home. I settle for a hot dog and medium Coke, which ends up costing $8.75 ! Ouch! And the so-called "medium" Coke is at least a quart of soda (free refills too, who needs that much to drink?) I hate to think what a large must be. They probably just hook you up directly to the soda machine and pump the soda to you through a tube.

Anyway, it turned out to be worth it ! GRINDHOUSE is a surprisingly entertaining double feature consisting of "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof", along with several fake movie trailers. Planet Terror is a very gory zombie movie so if exploding zombies and flying body parts is not your thing, you would not want to see this movie. Death Proof has it's share of gore too, but to a lesser extent, but has plenty of action and explosions as well.

This type of low-budget horror action films were shown a lot during the 1970's at drive-in theaters. But what I was reminded of was when I bought my first VCR (a Sanyo Betamax format) back in 1985. At that time the major movie studios would not allow their films to be put out on videotape as they thought it would keep people from going to theaters to see them. So about the only movies you could rent (other than porn) were old horror/sci-fi flicks or these type of "grindhouse" movies. A friend and I rented a number of these types of movies at the time--I was the only one with a VCR. Most of them had very little in the way of plots, just lots of action, violence and gory scenes. "Grindhouse" fits that bill perfectly.

While this double feature is not for everyone, I found them to be a mindless, entertaining fun time and the 3 hours went by so quickly I barely noticed. The violence and gore is so over-the-top that it becomes comical--sort of like an "Itchy & Scratchy" cartoon from "The Simpsons". And the audience in the theater responded with plenty of laughter throughout the movie.

By the way, that poster at the top--I designed it at the GRINDHOUSE website. It's a pretty cool site, check it out if this movie sounds good to you.
And speaking of grinds, tomorrow it's back to the grind for me as I have to return to work after Spring Break week.

Talk about HORROR !!!

A Moving Experience

Well, as I reported here almost a week ago, I moved from the basement apartment in my building to the top floor. Finally finished getting everything up here this past Tuesday, the last item to make the move being my laptop computer. That's because my internet connection was changed over on Wednesday. So Tuesday night I sat in my old, now empty apartment with just my computer, eating some McDonald's food, playing games, and surfing the web. The rest of this week was spent organizing things and re-connecting various electronics, such as the VCR, DVD player, Playstation, etc. It's a bit more cramped than the old place, but with a little more organization, everything will have a place.

One good thing is that it's definitely warmer up here than down in the basement. And since I hate being cold, that's great! We had one nice warm day this week before winter made a comeback appearance and the temperature dropped back to mid-winter levels. Brrr....

Two more days before Spring Break ends and its back to work. The week after next, I may have jury duty as I got a Jury Summons last week. Have to call in each evening to see if I have to report the following day. I don't mind because frankly, I'd rather sit there all day than run around at work trying to do three things at once. I served as an alternate Juror several years ago, and found it to be rather interesting. That time it just happened to be what they called "Juror Appreciation Week"--an annual event the court held to show it's appreciation (of course) for the work the jurors did. Every day the Jurors were given a free lunch, including one day when they ordered pizza in for everyone. That's not likely to happen again, but it's still not a bad experience. I wonder why so many people go out of their way to avoid jury service.

Gonna go now have some of the Friendly's "Banana Split" ice cream I bought earlier today, with some whipped cream on top. Hey, now that I'm climbing two flights of stairs to get to my apartment the extra exercise I'm getting should offset any extra calories from the ice cream. At least that's my theory and it takes experiments to prove a theory. So in the name of science, I will conduct this tasty experiment !



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Just An April Fool Am I !

Happy 2nd Blogiversary To Me !

That's right--it's been two years since I started this blog. Well, technically, I started it on March 31st 2005 and the second post was April 2nd, but I like the idea that it began on April Fool's Day. So, unofficially that's my start date. I've never had a consistent theme to the blog and tend to go off in whatever crazy direction strikes me at the time I sit down to write a post. Or whatever topic I happen to be interested in at that moment.

Lately I've kind of been neglecting my poor little blog and haven't been posting very consistently. Not sure myself exactly why that is--it's not because I don't enjoy doing it--I do. But if I had to list some reasons why I've been slacking off--well, here's a few:
1- Too tired....by the time I get home from work I just don't have the energy.
1- Bored....by my job, the sameness of every day, and sometimes just by life in general.
3- Maybe a little depressed....see above reasons.
4- Procrastination....keep putting off posting even when I think of something I want to put up.
5- And finally....I've been busy moving this past week.
Not a faraway move --just up two floors in the same building I currently live in. The owners want more money for the 1 bedroom apartment I rent now and I really can't afford the increase. So they offered to let me move upstairs for the same rent I'm paying into the studio apartment on the top floor. Now to be fair, they did give me a discount on the rent for the 1-bedroom, so I can't complain as I've been here for the past 2 1/2 years at that lower rate. But it's been a bit of a hassle lugging everything upstairs. A friend and his nephew came by today to move my TV and it's stand, which I could never do by myself. It's a 32-inch set and very heavy. But other than that, I've been moving the rest of my crap little by little. Most of it is up there now, but I still have quite a bit of stuff to sort through and decide what I want to keep and throw out some of the junk I don't want. Hopefully I can finish most of that tomorrow.

As for the blog, I had hoped to redesign it in time for my 2nd anniversary, but that didn't get done. Right now it's too cluttered looking and I want a cleaner look. Also would like to organize my archives into categories, but that means going back and labeling each one which will take some time. Hopefully I'll work up the energy to do all that soon. But who knows?

As for having a more consistent theme on the blog that probably won't happen because my mind leaps from one thing to another and that is reflected on the blog. I know I don't have a lot of readers and that is most likely due to the fact that I don't visit many other blogs and when I do don't comment very often. So not many people are aware this blog even exists. Which is OK, I guess. I've never been a very sociable person or much of a talker, so therefore have never made many friends. And I guess that applies to the internet as well. But I am very loyal to those friends I do have.

See--I don't post at all for a long while, then I ramble on and on.

OK--one more thing and then I'll shut up. In one of my first few posts, I talked about upgrading my old computer. Last week I went to a computer show and got a 1-Gigabyte upgrade for my laptop, giving me 1.5 GB total. And it has made a great difference. It runs much faster now, even with several programs running together. Also got a nice little webcam that clips to the laptop. Along with my other recent purchase of a 250 GB external hard drive, my computer should be set for some time. Which is good since it will be a long time before I can afford a new one.
Now it's time I went to sleep so I can get up early and finish my moving. At least I don't have to go to work tomorrow or the rest of the week because it's Spring Break !! Yay !!

Happy April Fool's Day, everyone, from this April Fool !