I found my old blog and surprised it still works.
A photo of an osprey I took.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Black Swallowtail Caterpillars
I thought October was a little late for these fellows munching on our parsley.
Beautiful fall day outside.
Beautiful fall day outside.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Nice day at sea isle ,nj
Good bye summer. I haven't posted in a while and looking back at my old posts, I wish I posted a bit more.
I took my sons to the beach for a friend's birthday and it was a fantastic time. I love the smell of the ocean, even in NJ.
The kids are back in school and we are looking for a car for my oldest son to start driving. This day comes quicker than you will realize, my imaginary reader(s).
Prepare your heart, your mind and your bank account.
I took my sons to the beach for a friend's birthday and it was a fantastic time. I love the smell of the ocean, even in NJ.
The kids are back in school and we are looking for a car for my oldest son to start driving. This day comes quicker than you will realize, my imaginary reader(s).
Prepare your heart, your mind and your bank account.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
iphone signals
See the Actual Signal Strength on Your iPhone or Android
iPhone: Ever feel tricked by your phone's signal bars into thinking you have a better reception that you actually do? This simple hack will transform those bars to show the actual signal in decibels (dBm). No jailbreaking is required and it's reversible.
Here are the instructions from Redmond Pie:
Step 1: Dial *3001#12345#* on your iPhone then press Call.Step 2: You'll now enter Field Test mode. You'll notice a signal strength indicator on the upper left hand corner of your screen. You can toggle between signal strength bars and a number by simply taping on it. At this point, press the home button to exit the app or if you would like the feature to be permanent, continue on. Don't worry, the process is completely reversible.Step 3: Hold down on the Power button until you see the ‘slide to power off' bar. Do not power off the device.Step 4: Press down on the Home button until the app closes and you return to your home screen.That's it. Even when restarting the iPhone, the signal strength can be toggled between bars and numbers. The closer your number is to zero, the stronger your signal is.
The lower your number, the stronger your signal—but don't include the - sign when evaluating (so, if the signal says -60, that's better than -90).
To return to the default bars permanently, follow these steps:Step 1: Dial *3001#12345#* on your iPhone then press Call.Step 2: Press on your Home Button once.
This trick may come in handy when you're in a dead zone and need to know where to move to for a better signal. (If you're constantly suffering from poor signal woes, try boosting your signal with a drinking glass or a cheap bracelet.)
By the way, Android users can take a look at their dBm number under Settings > About Phone (it may be under Network or Status, depending on your phone).
Monday, October 24, 2011
Cloudy fall in NJ
Cold is coming and it feels great. The boys are ice skating and work is still here. I look forward to going to Disney next month.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
New twin 27" acer led LCD displays
And the new LCDs are in. I don't need to double up displays. I may once my old desktop is regulated to something else. Perhaps keep a 19".
Thursday, May 19, 2011
New Desktop Dell 8300
Finally ordered a new desktop. I decided against a new laptop because it can still handle my remote duties and I wanted something more powerful at home to work on video/photo and development. iMac was too expensive for the same specs. Mac Pro was WAY to expensive.
Intel i7-2600, 8GB memory, 1TB HDD, BLu-Ray burner, ATI 5670 1GB video, wireless card Wnn7 64BIT
I wanted to get the XPS 9100 for exandablitiy, faster CPU but the price was too high. I would have to sacrifice, RAM, Blu-Ray, an extra year of warranty and possibly video card.
Intel i7-2600, 8GB memory, 1TB HDD, BLu-Ray burner, ATI 5670 1GB video, wireless card Wnn7 64BIT
I wanted to get the XPS 9100 for exandablitiy, faster CPU but the price was too high. I would have to sacrifice, RAM, Blu-Ray, an extra year of warranty and possibly video card.
| Quantity | Item Number | Description | |
| 1 | 225-0125 | XPS 8300 | |
| 1 | 317-6080 | XPS 8300 Intel Core i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz) | |
| 1 | 317-5786 | 8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4x2GB | |
| 1 | 331-0659 | Dell Consumer Multimedia Keyboard | |
| 1 | 320-7810 | No Monitor | |
| 1 | 320-1786 | ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB GDDR5 | |
| 1 | 342-2007 | 1TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive 7200 RPM | |
| 1 | 421-4337 | Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English | |
| 1 | 420-6576 | DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron | |
| 1 | 330-6097 | You have chosen a Windows 7 System | |
| 1 | 420-6436 | PC-Restore, Dim/Insp | |
| 1 | 318-0455 | Windows Live Wave 4 | |
| 1 | 421-0756 | SKYPE VOIP Software Application | |
| 1 | 421-4652 | Dell Support Center 3 | |
| 1 | 420-9841 | Cozi-Calendar | |
| 1 | 331-1418 | Dell Resource DVD with Application Backup | |
| 1 | 421-3645 | Basic Stage | |
| 1 | 420-9691 | DataSafe Local BackUp | |
| 1 | 330-1158 | Dell USB 6-Button Laser Mouse | |
| 1 | 430-3775 | Standard USB 2.0 + 10/100/1000 Ethernet | |
| 1 | 313-3607 | No Dial Up Modem Requested for Dell Dimension | |
| 1 | 410-1867 | ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE | |
| 1 | 318-0357 | Blu-ray 8X BD-R, DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability | |
| 1 | 421-4542 | Roxio Creator Starter,No Media | |
| 1 | 421-3609 | Power DVD 9.5, BD | |
| 1 | 421-9898 | THX TruStudio PC | |
| 1 | 313-6138 | No Speaker Requested | |
| 1 | 430-3922 | Dell 1501 WLAN PCIe card | |
| 1 | 410-9449 | McAfee Platinum, 15 Month, MUI | |
| 1 | 410-0451 | Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Student, English | |
| 1 | 938-3320 | Dell Hardware Limited Warranty, Extended Year | |
| 1 | 938-3310 | Dell Hardware Limited Warranty, Initial Year | |
| 1 | 938-3400 | Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis, 1 Year Extended | |
| 1 | 938-3390 | Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis, Initial Year | |
| 1 | 950-3338 | 2 Year Limited Warranty | |
| 1 | 902-0931 | Warranty Support, 1 Year Extended | |
| 1 | 960-8700 | Warranty Support, Initial Year | |
| 1 | 420-8878 | Soft Contracts Dell In-Home Hardware Agreement | |
| 1 | 421-4356 | Software, DataSafe Online 2.0 2GB | |
| 1 | 988-0099 | To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online | |
| 1 | 927-2357 | DataSafe Online 2.0 2GB | |
| 1 | 330-0172 | S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Desktops | |
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
two year old apple mac book pro battery expansion
A few months ago my wife's mac book pro wasn't sitting properly on the table because the battery bulged out. Then the battery discharged suddenly. So we bought a new battery and left the old on on her desk. Take a look at it now. I have batteries from many other manufactures and none of them ever did this. Nothing was done to pry this thing apart either. The battery appears to have held a 3/4 charge too. I'm going to loo into finding a way of discharging it safely and disposing of the battery.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
1 2 3 4 Count the digg list articles
Every other day I check Digg to see how things are coming along. Upcoming is back, good. Now take a look at upcoming. Why does Upcoming remind me of a woman's magazine? Oh all the top ## lists posing as articles. These upcoming have between 50 or 60 diggs already. Thankfully I can click the x in the upper right of the listing and they seem to stay out of the list. Here is an example of Upcoming 'Entertainment" articles and their diggs on the first page.
5 weirdest game shot contestants - 49
9 suckiest movies - 43
5 actresses good at playing dumb - 43
Top 10 best dan cook jokes - 36
15 songs celebrating nerd girls - 32
20 child stars who have been arrested - 30
The categories I checked had at least a few of these top number lists. My loyalty is hanging on by a thread. Speaking of which. Threads and discussions are broken still. Here is a poorly written and hastily sent feedback to digg.
"Are you planning on fixing the commenting issues? IE I am unable to follow a threaded discussion easily from either my own list of comments or contacts. Followers messages are not linked to so I have to hunt them down in the thread itself. Not as bad as it could be since not many posts are occurring any longer. Catch 22 maybe? Still I have to wonder if it was a conscience decision to make it more difficult to continue discussions on digg as it does not ad to page views. Even when I click on my comment 9 times out of 10 it links to the story with NO comments listed, not even mine so I have to go through all comments to find it. I keep coming back to see if things are fixed. The color of the feedback form is blue while you did fix the threaded comments, we will call that one even. The upcoming is back but not working like it used to because the recommended is missing as well as All submitted. Crashes are at a minimum the article quality seems to be continuing the downward trend. I see crap in Science section that isn't science nor any way to bury or report it. Please tell me these things will be fixed, not considered or addressed then I will see if it is worth it to be here."
Update: Looks like they fixed your own comments partially. I can see them easily, with diggs but not if they have a reply (unless none of mine do, which is a good possibility). Still can not see contacts diggs summary or comments.
5 weirdest game shot contestants - 49
9 suckiest movies - 43
5 actresses good at playing dumb - 43
Top 10 best dan cook jokes - 36
15 songs celebrating nerd girls - 32
20 child stars who have been arrested - 30
The categories I checked had at least a few of these top number lists. My loyalty is hanging on by a thread. Speaking of which. Threads and discussions are broken still. Here is a poorly written and hastily sent feedback to digg.
"Are you planning on fixing the commenting issues? IE I am unable to follow a threaded discussion easily from either my own list of comments or contacts. Followers messages are not linked to so I have to hunt them down in the thread itself. Not as bad as it could be since not many posts are occurring any longer. Catch 22 maybe? Still I have to wonder if it was a conscience decision to make it more difficult to continue discussions on digg as it does not ad to page views. Even when I click on my comment 9 times out of 10 it links to the story with NO comments listed, not even mine so I have to go through all comments to find it. I keep coming back to see if things are fixed. The color of the feedback form is blue while you did fix the threaded comments, we will call that one even. The upcoming is back but not working like it used to because the recommended is missing as well as All submitted. Crashes are at a minimum the article quality seems to be continuing the downward trend. I see crap in Science section that isn't science nor any way to bury or report it. Please tell me these things will be fixed, not considered or addressed then I will see if it is worth it to be here."
Update: Looks like they fixed your own comments partially. I can see them easily, with diggs but not if they have a reply (unless none of mine do, which is a good possibility). Still can not see contacts diggs summary or comments.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
View from Joe's Deck
I am back from visiting Joe in Oregon/Washington. I had a wonderful time visiting a couple of breweries and the food they serve. I am jealous of what is there versus what is near me. The mountains, river, trees, beer, food and houses. I wish I could move my family out there.
The plane rides were memorable. I am kicking myself figuratively though. On the way there I flew over a lightning storm for 15 minutes. I was amazed at the sheer beauty of it and the number of time lightning was strobing within the clouds. I counted 5-10 per second. I didn't see the lightning most times, just the clouds illuminated from within. The plane was a good distance from the majority of it. I did see a plane fly by in the opposite direction very close if not right above the storm. That must have been a sight.
The plane rides were memorable. I am kicking myself figuratively though. On the way there I flew over a lightning storm for 15 minutes. I was amazed at the sheer beauty of it and the number of time lightning was strobing within the clouds. I counted 5-10 per second. I didn't see the lightning most times, just the clouds illuminated from within. The plane was a good distance from the majority of it. I did see a plane fly by in the opposite direction very close if not right above the storm. That must have been a sight.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Swollen apple
My wife's MacBook Pro is almost 3 years old. She noticed that the laptop no longer was level on the table and mentioned it to me. Upon turning it over I found that the battery was not seated right, I removed it and noticed that the damn thing was pregnant. I looked around for some amorous energizers or litium-ion batteries but found none. For the last month we both noticed that the battery would heat up more than normal and not shut down with a warning, it would die so we knew the battery was in need of replacement. The swelling battery is more of a concern so I put it in a corner and waiting for the expectant mother to pass whatever is crammed up in it. Searching online I find it is a common issue and one that Apple refuses to recall or address. We seem to have gotten a lot more life out of the $160 battery than others who see just over a year of use before the immaculate conception takes place which for some magical reason is just past the warranty is over. I was not surprised. I am looking to get some sort of chastity belt for our current virgin battery that may curb any divine dry humping.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
boiling angry at new digg 4.0
Digg.com is a news aggregation site. I go there to get news from a lot of different sources. The social aspect allows you to discuss the events and follow contacts who most often submit news stories from various sites that I don't frequent. I have been an active member for about 4 years. Digg started off mostly posting tech related information. It branched out to many different topics. Religion, politics, science, sports, entertainment , funny stuff etc. I enjoyed finding sites, news and commenting on the articles. Now Digg released a new watered down version catering to publishers. A hand full of sites get front billing. I am going to submit my blog article when I am done writing this as a test. I have submitted 38 articles from news sites the previous 8 years and none have made it past 20 diggs. Supposedly the new site improves submission. The new site looks like facebook removed the ability to bury a story and reduced the number of options and categories. I am a minimalists at heart but this design change takes so much away that it is now nothing like what made it a useful site.
What Digg has done is made finding stories that were not sponsored or submitted by your contacts difficult if not impossible to find. Reaction so far has been hostile and whiny. I try to keep both of those traits out of my comments. It is difficult. Especially since the roll out went so poorly due to broken features. Feedback and reporting bugs never worked for me. When the dust settles if nothing is changed I will head over to reddit as it is another site I get my news from.
Make the right decision Digg and go back to the last version and review the decisions you made.
What Digg has done is made finding stories that were not sponsored or submitted by your contacts difficult if not impossible to find. Reaction so far has been hostile and whiny. I try to keep both of those traits out of my comments. It is difficult. Especially since the roll out went so poorly due to broken features. Feedback and reporting bugs never worked for me. When the dust settles if nothing is changed I will head over to reddit as it is another site I get my news from.
Make the right decision Digg and go back to the last version and review the decisions you made.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
my favorite rock
The kids had a ball at the poconos. I missed cousins/aunts and uncles due to my work schedule.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
inside norwich cathedral
We had a wonderful trip to England. This picture was one of my favorites but their were many many more. I wish I had more time and a tripod to see this cathedral. It was the most beautiful church I have ever been in.
Friday, July 09, 2010
top of the eye
2nd day of tourism in London complete. tomorrow we head to norwich.
London has been warmer than normal without the humidity but it made for a warm trip so far. No rain yet.
London has been warmer than normal without the humidity but it made for a warm trip so far. No rain yet.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Day 4 of my 360 gone quiet
No video. No Modern Warfare 2. I bought a game for my PS3 but I can't bring myself to put it in.
Game Stop is out of the new 360s so I can't even pretend that I was about to buy one.
Game Stop is out of the new 360s so I can't even pretend that I was about to buy one.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
My outing with my eldest son on Father's Day
We went to the bird sanctuary in Stone Harbor which didn't turn up many birds. A hawk was wheeling around when we first pulled up and never reappeared. We ended up back at the Wetlands's Institute which I enjoyed a lot. I got to use my new lens briefly but I need to get out more to find the sweet spot.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Lab settings
Normal: Tail wagging side to side slowly
Happy: Tail whipping side to side enough to dent thin metal and bruise shins
Very Happy: Tail propellers in a circle enough to hover hind quarters off the ground 1/4 of an inch.
Has a new toy/bone: Tail is very unpredictable due to the hind quarters swiveling along with a mixture of Happy and Very Happy.
Happy: Tail whipping side to side enough to dent thin metal and bruise shins
Very Happy: Tail propellers in a circle enough to hover hind quarters off the ground 1/4 of an inch.
Has a new toy/bone: Tail is very unpredictable due to the hind quarters swiveling along with a mixture of Happy and Very Happy.
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Walken on the Moon
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