Month: May 2011

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Setting Up a New Site

Looking for web hosting is really easy when you have already set up one. Like this blog that I set up a couple of years ago. I was determined to find a way to do this and I asked my tech friends, read articles on the internet, and did a lot of research before I decided to go with the hosting company for my blog. Then I decided to set up a web site for my hobby, and I taught myself everything about that, too. Not that is was a breeze, but the way I learn is to get my hands dirty, if you know what I mean.

I still read up on all the hosting information I can find – after technology changes and advances all the time. Today I read Web Hosting 101 and learned about cloud computing and cloud hosting. I think that is the most cutting edge technology in today’s market. When I read the Web Hosting News blog, most of the recent articles were about cloud hosting, such as HPs new cloud hosting contract for NASA . Isn’t it amazing that the technology used for the highest levels of Government and private industry are also available to the regular Joes like you and me?

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Old Band Aids

Looking around the house for a band aid is so annoying. I almost never need a band aid, but when I do need one it seems there are never any in the house. I have looked in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, in the hall closet and in the kitchen.

Finally I found a first aid kit in the trunk of my car and it had some really old band aids in it. So the interesting thing about an old band aid is that adhesive must get stronger as it ages, because this band aid is stuck on there and its not letting go without a fight.

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Boots

Summer is not exactly the time of year that most people think about buying boots. But if you work construction, you have got to wear boots for safety. On some job sites, steel toed boots are required. On other job sites when you have to walk on pavement or concrete all day, a different kind of sole makes a huge difference in comfort. People not used to walking or standing on concrete end up with not only sore feet, but often have trouble with their lower back and their neck or shoulders.

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Summer Concerts

With summer almost here, I decided to start planning the summer concerts that I want to see based on my vacation request from work and visits by family. Some of my family and friends like country music, so I will buy four Keith Urban Tickets and have no problem getting people to go with me. The same way with Kenny Chesney Tickets and I know my niece will be begging to go see Kenny. She has been a fan for 4 or 5 years – since she was just 10 years old.

My younger brother can’t stand country but I know he would really like to go hear rock and roll, so I have to decide between Bon Jovi Tickets or maybe Dave Matthews Band Tickets for him and his girlfriend to go with me and a date.

I just found out about Rush concert Tickets going on sale, so that would be a good show for my best bud from high school who is coming for a weekend visit. As soon as I know if he is bringing a girlfriend with him or coming solo, I’ll get enough tickets for all of us to ge hear Rush.

This looks like a great year for concerts and some major headliners going on tour. I can’t wait to start hearing live music again – that is summer is all about for me!

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More News

The local channel that carries Oprah is our NBC channel. I don’t know if that is true in other cities, but I believe it is the same across the country. So now that Oprah has quit and this is her last week of shows, I was wondering what they would find to put in the empty time slot. Not that I watch Oprah. I’m just telling you like it is. And besides, I am almost never home at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Anyway, it turns out the our local NBC station is going to expand their news coverage and add an extra hour to their newscasts. So now we have the news at 4:00, and at 5:00 ad at 6:00, then again we have the late night news at 11:00. I think that is crazy to have so much news every day. There is only so much going on that needs to be reported!

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The Boob Tube

When I was a kid, I remember my folks calling our TV set, “The Boob Tube.” And I didn’t really know why. I thought the word boob meant a woman’s breasts, and I don’t remember seeing much of that on TV. So I finally spoke up and asked my dad why did they do that?

He said that the word boob also means someone who is dumb, and that they meant that people who watch TV are boobs for wasting their brain cells and time on stupid shows. I know there were several years when my mom did not watch TV at all. She said there was nothing interesting on the TV and that she would rather spend her little bit of free time doing something she enjoyed.

I don’t know – maybe it is a generational thing. I seem to always be able to find some kind of show that is interesting. I like a lot of the programs on the History Channel and the Biography channel. And sometimes there is a pretty good series running on HBO. Mae as I get older I will lose interest in what I’m watching now, but maybe the variety of shows and quality of the the programming has improved a lot since when my mom would have watched.

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Hands Free Carrying

Forgot to say that my buddy, John, was asking me if I would be interested in going to work for him. While he was here in school last year he got a decent job riding a bike and being a courier/messenger in the mornings and afternoons, in between classes. He made some good money from that and all he needed was a bike and a messenger bag

The cool thing about messenger bags is that you can ride the bike with both hands on the handlebars so you can shift and use the hand brakes without any hesitation or chance of slipping.His bike cost a little over $300 but he made that back the first week he worked for those guys.

So after he got out of school and needed to start making serious money, he decided to start up his own courier service. He uses a fleet of guys to ride bikes around downtown, but he also got a contract with a chain of auto repair stores to deliver tires from the distribution center to their stores all over town. All you need is a small pickup truck or a van to drive for him and there is steady work – as much as you want to do.

So, I’m thinking about that – I’ll be out of here next week and need to make some cash over the summer. So maybe driving a truck and delivering tires is the way to go.

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Shorts and Tees

It hit 90 degrees today. So I am officially putting the winter coat into the dry cleaners and getting out all my shorts and teeshirts from the back of the closet. As far as I’m concerned, summer is here. I have a decent pair of sandals left over from last summer. I think I’ll pick up a new pair this weekend and couple pairs of cheap flip flops for walking across the sand at the beach.

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Camera – Battery – Action

One of the very cool features of my digital camera is the short videos I can take. I don’t need a separate video camcorder – I can just change the setting on my digital camera to video and I can take video with sound for about 3 minutes. The only drawback to this feature is that it drains the  digital camera battery pretty quick. So I decided this morning to order a second battery and always have a charged spare ready to use.

The very first digital camera that I bought was big old clunky Kodak camera that recorded every picture to  3.5″ floppy disk. I had to carry a box of spare disks with me, plus extra batteries, as each battery only lasted for about 40 photos. Then I bought a nice Sony a few years ago that recorded to a memory card. Each memory card holds about 200 hi-res photos, so I never needed an extra memory card. But again, the batteries were a problem – this camera took two AA batteries and the set would only last for about an hour of use. I had to carry extra batteries with me all the time.

I tried rechargeable AA batteries, but they don’t fully recharge each time. After about 40 recharges, the life of each charge drops down to just 10 minutes – that’s about useless for a digital camera. I’m looking for a new camera now, and I can promise you that battery life will be a major consideration of what digital camera model I choose to buy.

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That’s Racing

A lot of my friends are discovering NASCAR and becoming race fans. In fact, the most influential athlete in America was announced the other day – and it turns out to be a NASCAR driver. Wow – when I was a kid no one I knew ever watched NASCAR races – ow it seems that everyone is watching.

My idea of racing is drag racing – not going around and around in circles for 4 hours. I like a good drag race – it’s fast and dangerous and exciting to watch dozens of pairs of racers each hour take off and have a winner within a minute or two. Race a half mile and hit 100 mph? Now, that’s racing.