Today, I moved all the postings from my old blog to this blog. Postings from January 1 to January 16 are from the old blog.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
moved postings from old blog
Friday, February 24, 2006
Surfin': Some Short Bits
Read this week’s installment of Surfin': Some Short Bits, then leave your comments here.
1 gig flash drive
I take work home and bring it back to work on a daily basis. For years, I used 100-kbyte Zip disks. Sometimes, the quantity of work is such that I had to use more than one Zip disk to make the work-to-home-to-work transfer.
Ever since IT gave me a new computer with Windows XP, access to the Zip drive/disks has been unreliable. If I don't access the Zips on a regular basis during the day, the system forgets that the drive is there and I have to pop the disk out of the drive and reinsert it so that the syetm will know it is there again. This is a real pain when I save a file and the system can't find the drive, hangs up whatever program I am using with that file, eventually causing the program to lock up, which results in my losing whatever work I did on that file since its last successful save.
My solution was to buy a USB 1-Gbyte flash drive. I paid $58 for it at the local Wal*Mart during my lunch hour yesterday. It is amazing that 1-Gbytes is packed into a 2.75 x 0.7 x 0.35 inch package! I plugged my purchase into my computer at work and it worked flawlessly all afternoon. I took it home after work, plugged it into my Mac Powerbook, and it worked fine with that computer, too. No more Zip disks for me!
Ever since IT gave me a new computer with Windows XP, access to the Zip drive/disks has been unreliable. If I don't access the Zips on a regular basis during the day, the system forgets that the drive is there and I have to pop the disk out of the drive and reinsert it so that the syetm will know it is there again. This is a real pain when I save a file and the system can't find the drive, hangs up whatever program I am using with that file, eventually causing the program to lock up, which results in my losing whatever work I did on that file since its last successful save.
My solution was to buy a USB 1-Gbyte flash drive. I paid $58 for it at the local Wal*Mart during my lunch hour yesterday. It is amazing that 1-Gbytes is packed into a 2.75 x 0.7 x 0.35 inch package! I plugged my purchase into my computer at work and it worked flawlessly all afternoon. I took it home after work, plugged it into my Mac Powerbook, and it worked fine with that computer, too. No more Zip disks for me!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Surfin': LEGO Electronics
Read this week's installment of Surfin': LEGO Electronics, then leave your comments here.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
land barge ii
I purchased a new land barge and have dubbed it "Land Barge II." Like the original Land Barge, it is a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra 4-door sedan. Main difference is that Land Barge II has 90,000 fewer miles on it than the old Land Barge, no body rust, rot, or damage, has a slightly different array of options, and is a different color.
I plan to outfit Land Barge II with a mobile APRS station in the near future and WA1LOU-8 will be back on the map.
I plan to outfit Land Barge II with a mobile APRS station in the near future and WA1LOU-8 will be back on the map.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
snow
I measured 21 inches of snow on the driveway late this afternoon and it is still snowing! And to think that one week ago, croscuses were breaking through the ground.
Here is a PhotoStitched panoramic shot of the QTH at 2 PM today.
Here is a PhotoStitched panoramic shot of the QTH at 2 PM today.
new photos online
I added some new photos I shot this past week to the Photos page.
The moon photo was the best of nine I shot Wednesday evening and it took some heavy duty Photoshopping to make the ring appear in the photo.
The other photos are from my weekly Saturday morning run with the dogs (QT Pie and Pumpkin Pie) at the Farmingbury Golf Course in Wolcott. Last year, most of our runs were on snow; this year, on grass. The dogs love running unleashed out in the open; I wish they could do it all year long.
The photo of the right of way (ROW) of the long gone Waterbury and Milldale Tramway down Southington Mountain is actually five photos stitched together using PhotoStitch, a program that Canon bundled with my camera.
The moon photo was the best of nine I shot Wednesday evening and it took some heavy duty Photoshopping to make the ring appear in the photo.
The other photos are from my weekly Saturday morning run with the dogs (QT Pie and Pumpkin Pie) at the Farmingbury Golf Course in Wolcott. Last year, most of our runs were on snow; this year, on grass. The dogs love running unleashed out in the open; I wish they could do it all year long.
The photo of the right of way (ROW) of the long gone Waterbury and Milldale Tramway down Southington Mountain is actually five photos stitched together using PhotoStitch, a program that Canon bundled with my camera.
snowstorm of the century
Looks like the snowstorm of the century is upon us. I measured 14 inches of snow* at 9 AM and there is more to come!
* With a weather station online here at WA1LOU, I try to measure the snow as accurately as possible, so I always measure it in approximately the same spot in the middle of the driveway, which is out in the open and very unlikely to experience drifting. Actually, being out in the open like that, it is likely to be a very conservative measurement because if there is drifting, the snow is likely to be blown away from the point where I measure it.
* With a weather station online here at WA1LOU, I try to measure the snow as accurately as possible, so I always measure it in approximately the same spot in the middle of the driveway, which is out in the open and very unlikely to experience drifting. Actually, being out in the open like that, it is likely to be a very conservative measurement because if there is drifting, the snow is likely to be blown away from the point where I measure it.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Surfin': Long Live the Vacuum Tube
Read this week's installment of Surfin': Long Live the Vacuum Tube, then add your comments here.
Monday, February 6, 2006
Saturday, February 4, 2006
weird weather continues redux
The weird weather in these parts continues with daytime high temperatures in the 40s and 50s this past week. Got up to 55 yesterday.
I checked this morning and some crocuses are poking up out of the ground here.
I checked this morning and some crocuses are poking up out of the ground here.
bull and locked box
This is one weird postage stamp!
It comes from my ancestor's homeland, Poland. In fact, the stamp was used on a letter that my daughter received from one of our relatives in Poland.
It comes from my ancestor's homeland, Poland. In fact, the stamp was used on a letter that my daughter received from one of our relatives in Poland.
zapping zits
I came across this gizmo in one of the many catalogs that arrive in the mail before the holidays. I can't imagine giving this item to anyone as a gift. It makes me hurt just looking at it!
Friday, February 3, 2006
Surfin': Transistor Radio Number One, the TR-1
Read this week's installment of Surfin': Transistor Radio Number One, the TR-1, then add your comments here.
Update: Surfin': Sounds Like Packet Radio
Some folks wrote that they are having trouble hitting the Sound Card Packet web site featured in last week's Surfin'. If you are having trouble, try this page instead.
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