Blog Day Afternoon

Why We Don't Get Very Far on Our Walks

Blogette — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:43:00 GMT

WinX DVD Ripper

Blogette — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:18:00 GMT

I have a huge library of DVDs that I'd like to back up and so I jumped at the chance to review the WinX DVD Ripper Platinum software when it was offered to me. After installing WinX DVD Ripper, I grabbed a DVD off my shelf and put it in my computer.

A message popped up saying this DVD had the new encryption protection. I had grabbed the new Star Trek movie. The www.WinXDVD.com website had easy to follow instructions on how to back up a DVD with this new encryption protection. I had not been aware of any new encryption so I tried to back up the DVD with an older back up program that I had used before. Like WinX DVD had predicted, the older software didn't know how to handle backing up the Star Trek DVD.

The WinX DVD Ripper Platinum program offers many choices of back up formats. I was very pleased to see that I only had to make one selection to back up a DVD. I don't understand all those settings that are available. Luckily, WinX DVD defaults the settings depending on your destination, but lets those at the expert level tweak the settings to suit their needs. I started going through all of my DVDs and backing them up to an external hard drive that is easily portable. For my favorite movies, I also used WinX DVD Ripper to back them up into a format suitable for the iPod. Again I only had to select the “to iPod” tab and let the program do the rest.

Troops maintain their sense of humor

Blogette — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:53:00 GMT

I received these in an email. I thought they were entertaining enough to post here.

Patrick Stewart to be Knighted

Blogette — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:31:00 GMT

I first saw Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation and I was instantly captivated. The Queen of England must think he is pretty neat also because she is bestowing knighthood on him. He will now be known as "Sir Patrick".

He was amazing as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I was sorry to see the TV series and movies end. But he came back as Charles Xavier in X-Men. I've even watched bad movies like Dune and Lifeforce just because he was in them. Most of the time he plays very commanding roles; he has that kind of aura about him. Even dressed in sack-cloth, he could lead armies with that voice. I think he is all-around yummy. I named one of my cats "Jean-Luc" after him.

Always Visible DIV Tags

Blogette — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:51:00 GMT

It is very easy to make a DIV tag which stays visible on a web page even if the page is scrolled up or down or left or right. There is an ASP.Net AJAX Toolkit control called "AlwaysVisible", but anyone can do it with simple HTML. All that is required is a position:fixed attribute in the div tag's style. To place the div tag in a particular position on the page, you can add attributes of top, left, right, and bottom. If you don't want to display your div tag in a corner, it is still easy to place it more towards the middle; it just takes a little extra coding. You would still use the top or bottom placement, but on your left field you would use a value of 50% instead of a number of pixels. If you don't want it displayed smack dab in the middle of the page which would likely hide text, you can use a negative number of pixels in the margin-left field to move it off to the left, or a positive number of pixels to move it off to the right.

position:fixed
top:10px
left:10px

position:fixed
top:10px
right:10px

position:fixed
bottom:10px
left:10px

position:fixed
bottom:10px
right:10px

position:fixed
top:300px
left:50%
margin-left:-614px

position:fixed
top:300px
left:50%
margin-left:478px

Another Good Reason to Not Use Drugs

Blogette — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:47:00 GMT

Federal agents found that 69% of cocaine shipments they seized entering the U.S. were laced with levamisole, a drug used to deworm opossums. In humans, this drug can lead to a seriously weakened immune system called agranulocytosis. Twenty-one cases of agranulocytosis have been linked to the use of cocaine laced with levamisole, including one death. Many more cases go unreported. Canada is also finding levamisole in its seized cocaine shipments.

HP's Webcam Doesn't Follow Black People

Blogette — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:58:00 GMT

The HP Webcam uses facial recognition and motion tracking sensors and is supposed to stay centered on the person's face as they move in front of the camera. In this video, two co-workers, one white, one black, demonstrate how badly the HP webcam works. I'm sure HP will get a lot of bad press for their inability to do proper testing before releasing a product.

Visit the site to see the media.

Christmas Gifts in a Lousy Economy

Blogette — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:39:00 GMT

At Christmas time everyone normally goes shopping for all his or her close friends and acquaintances. It is a given that shopping will be done for everyone on his or her Christmas list. This year, because of the strange economy, more people are shopping more cautiously and the old Christmas list is taking a hit.

Instead of buying gifts for everyone, some people are concentrating only on the children and not so much on the parents and other adults. The holidays really ought to be just for the kids anyway; adults need nothing. They usually have everything that they want or need and it is very difficult to come up with something new and exciting. Kids, on the other hand, always need staple items like clothes, shoes, and things for school.

In the past, it would be unthinkable to remove someone from the Christmas list because it would be seen as an insult or a lack of caring. This season, however, the economy is so shaky, so many people are unemployed, and there is so much uncertainty, that it seems to be tacitly understood that trimming the Christmas list has nothing to do with a lack of caring, but more of surviving in this changing economic time. So, buy the kids something because they need things, and for the adults, a nice card with warm, personal sentiments, and maybe a celebratory drink, will let everyone on your list know that they are cared for and appreciated. Merry Christmas!

Things I Would Change in the Design of the Human Body

Blogette — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:27:00 GMT

My first change would be to have our bodies covered in fur. It works so well for dogs and cats. They don't have to shop for summer clothes or winter clothes, casual clothes or dressy clothes; they are perfectly dressed for any place or occasion. They don't even need a special outfit to go swimming. We would save so much money by not having to buy clothes and it would save time in the morning by not having to decide what to wear or fix our hair. Plus you would still have the option to wear something if you wanted.

My second change would be to require an additional action to start a pregnancy. Right now it is too easy for just about anyone to get pregnant. I think pregnancy should be a well-thought-out and prepared-for event. I'm not quite sure what the deliberate action should be. Maybe to add a certain chemical to the diet to make it possible, or press on a place on the body to trigger the release of a hormone, or perhaps a different hole. In the movie and subsequent TV series Alien Nation, the aliens had three types of people in their species. The third type of person/alien was the necessary catalyst to cause a pregnancy to take place. I don't think I'd want to go to that extent though.

My third change would be to breathe less frequently. We have to take quite a few breaths every minute. If we go without air for just a brief time, we wind up brain damaged or dead. That seems a bit too fragile for my taste. There are mammals such as whales and dolphins that can last for 20 minutes or longer underwater on one breath of air, why not us? We could do more marine exploration if our oxygen needs were met more efficiently. My other choice would be to have both lungs and gills. Our planet is about 78% water. Wouldn't it make more sense if we could breathe in the water?

Why I Hate The Song Little Drummer Boy

Blogette — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:36:00 GMT

I went through six years of elementary school as the smallest kid in the class. To make matters worse, my mother, for some diabolical reason known only to her, always cut my hair very short so that I was constantly being mistaken for a boy. I was the natural choice to play the "Little Drummer Boy" for the school Christmas play when I was in 4th grade. One kid brought in an old tunic-looking thing that smelled funny, and another brought in a little toy drum. The whole school assembled in the gym to watch the play. The play opened with the song "Little Drummer Boy" playing over the sound system while I walked from the back of the gym to the front and up on stage, tapping on that stupid drum. Since I was the only thing happening at the time, all eyes were on me. I could feel them staring. My cheeks were burning and the blood was roaring in my ears. Step-tap, step-tap, step-tap. I was SO humiliated. Even now, over thirty years later, hearing that song makes my teeth clench and my stomach churn.

It's That Time of Year Again

Blogette — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:12:00 GMT

Here is it 10 days before Thanksgiving and one of the radio stations in town has begun playing Christmas music. And not just an occasional song here and there, but full-time Christmas music. I think they should wait until after Thanksgiving before they start with the Christmas music. "Black Friday" would be the perfect day to start. Once Thanksgiving is over, people are ready and eager to start thinking about Christmas. Many of us have the Friday after Thanksgiving off from work and, after sleeping off the turkey and the candied yams, we are ready to grab our credit cards and head to the mall. That's when I want to hear Christmas music. Hearing Christmas music now, before I've even started preparations for Thanksgiving, just makes me feel pressured.

My First Gig

Blogette — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:59:00 GMT

I've been learning how to play the bass guitar the past few months. My husband plays guitar and sings and he has been very "instrumental" in my learning process. Mostly we play at home in our living room. Only one of our dogs will stay in the room with us while we practice. The other two run and hide whenever I get out my bass. I don't know why - I don't play THAT badly. A few weeks ago, we added a drummer and a fiddle player and played a gig at a nearby bar called Ouzts Too. The bandstand is outside, but at least there is a roof to keep the direct sunlight off you. It was still extremely hot and you have to keep bug spray handy.

My parents drove 1.5 hours (one way) to see and hear me play. They clapped after every song which is the kind of encouragement that any musician needs. I didn't even mind when they came up on stage to take pictures.

Poop ‘n’ Walk

Blogette — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:15:00 GMT

Our dogs' favorite activity is to go on a walk with us. This normally occurs when I am home from work; and they never let us forget to take them out. They get so excited that they can hardly contain themselves and it is always a melee when we get them ready for the outing. All of them need to get their harnesses and leashes adjusted so that we all stay together.

Lately the excitement leads to the dogs pooping almost as soon as we leave our yard. They know that we will be going on their favorite path and that there are many fantastic smells to be sniffed and many blades of grass to be marked with their urine (it is a big job, you know, and someone's got to do it). More recently our little one has taken to pooping on our neighbor's lawn. It appears that he is so excited that he cannot contain himself until he gets to the designated pooping areas. The first time he did it my husband tried to get him to stop his pooping and to hold it until we got further along. He was unsuccessful; the turds shot out and made a perfect pile on the neighbor's lawn. Fortunately, no one saw the dirty deed and we didn't have to feel embarrassed. The perpetrator just trotted down the path contented that he had less to carry.

To avoid possible problems in the future, my husband started running with the dogs as we leave our house and continuing passed our neighbor's lawn until the path enters the woods. Since the dogs love to run, their attention is diverted to running from pooping. We stop the run when it is safe for them to poop; then we walk at a normal pace. This method works well to keep the neighbor's lawn poop-free. Now all we have to wonder about is what the neighbor's think about why we are running our dogs just a short way before slowing down to walk. Oh well, let them wonder. They will never know that our strange behavior is keeping their shoes clean and their lawns beautiful.

Another Birthday Feed

Blogette — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:36:00 GMT

Well, I could probably live for two or three weeks on all the food I ate for my birthday this year. It was so nice that so many people thought to honor my birthday by joining me in a meal. My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year and so I took the day off from work to spend leisurely with my family at home. It was very relaxing and, of course, we ate at a restaurant to commemorate the day. I didn’t really do much except to relax (and eat) the whole day. It was a nice respite from my normal days.

The next day (Thursday) my parents visited to celebrate my birthday. Of course, we went out to eat. Our plan was to go to the restaurant where my husband had been working steadily. We thought we would combine a nice meal with listening to him play music. Our plan was disrupted however, when we arrived to find out that the restaurant had not done any business for the week and they said that they didn’t want music that evening. The problem was that they didn’t think to call my husband earlier in the day to cancel; that would have been the courteous thing to do so that we would not have had to bring all the music equipment with us. We decided to go to another restaurant that was close by. When we entered we saw that the place was packed with people playing Bingo. There was no way that I wanted my birthday dinner with my parents to be combined with Bingo. We left to finally arrive at another restaurant that is only three or four blocks from our house. We have eaten there a few times before and we knew that it was a nice place with good food and good service.

On Friday I had a wonderful time with my co-workers at a birthday lunch. It is really great to have such a wonderful place to work; and I very much appreciate all the people who work at Rocket Daddy. Thank you!

On Saturday there was yet another birthday dinner, this time with my husband and friends from Georgia. They get together with us each year to celebrate both my birthday and our friend’s; his birthday is only two days after mine. It will take quite a few days to recover from all the festivities and all the great food that I consumed, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Wow, Thirty-Nine Miles To The Gallon!

Blogette — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:14:00 GMT

When I purchased my new car a few weeks ago I knew that I was going to get better miles to the gallon than I did with my previous car, but my expectations have been surpassed. The sticker on the new car indicated that I could expect about thirty-three miles to the gallon and you know that the car manufacturers will always make claims that are usually inflated so that the unwary customer will be encouraged to buy. I am really excited that the sticker information was very conservative.

When I think back to my previous car (a Dodge Caravan) I remember that it got almost twenty miles to the gallon. I thought that that was pretty cool, but now it seems like a gas-guzzler compared to my new Honda Fit. Just imagine; I am getting twice the miles per gallon just by changing to a new car. With the gas prices being so high, I am really starting to save some money. Or, said another way, I can go twice the distance on a tank of gas.

There are other great features on my new car. For example, there is an indicator light on the dash that tells me if my tire pressure is too low. This light went on the other day and I got out to check the tires to see which tire was affected. I could not tell by looking; all the tires seemed to be okay. To be safe, I stopped at a gas station to inflate all the tires and to check the pressure; I was curious to see if the onboard indicator light was working the way it should. While checking the tires with the pressure gauge I did see that one of the tires was indeed showing a lower pressure than it should. I brought that one tire up to the recommended amount of pressure and again checked the dashboard light. It was off, indicating that all the tire pressures were at the recommended levels. How fantastic to have a car that almost takes care of itself. I have found out that the tire pressure is one of the factors that contribute to good gas mileage, and I have a feature built into the car that will hopefully keep that “good miles to the gallon”.