I was discussing cellphones the other day while discussing the new full featured iPhone, Blackberries and Treo lineup and recalled my older Samsung SPH-i500 flip phone. Hmm … it was the one device that I wish would have seen continued development and adoption in the U.S. (the similar SCH-i539 is said to be sold in […]
The final construction project that will complete the original plans for our home is underway as the masonry crew finished the foundation. We are adding a back porch and outdoor fireplace (left elevation) that replaces an existing deck which houses our hot tub. The new stamped concrete is in place of the 12 year old […]
A recent post by moderator Brandon C. on the Sling Community blog has highlighted some information on the much anticipated Slingmedia’s “clip + Sling.” In case you don’t know what a Slingbox is, it is hardware component that is usually located at your home or office and broadcasts your local television signal to authorized computers […]
Filled my VW Jetta TDI with B-20 this week at the Mt Gilead I-71 exit 151 Sunoco and have noted that prices have worked back over $3/gallon again. Fuel economy the past week in mixed driving was 41.8 MPG. Taking a look at tropical weather it looks like a new storm is cranking up in […]
Oh how I do like tech-toys … and I’m not alone. Yesterday a discontented Palm Treo user told me about a new gadget that he was thinking about; he is considering the $800 micro computer in hopes he can replace his aging full size notebook as well as his smartphone. A quick look at the […]
I haven’t posted using the Flickr to blog on my Palm Treo recently and wanted to be sure all was working. I’m including a photo from my (and my son’s) favorite ‘escape from women’ hangout … although this is no surprise to my wife and daughter. Acapulco Mexican Restaurant at 5953 Boymel Drive in Fairfield, […]
A couple weeks ago a train derailed in Hamilton Ohio and dumped some grain near downtown. While driving in that direction the other day I snapped a couple Palm Treo 700p photos (click photos for larger versions) and decided to archive them here. I was surprised to see that there hasn’t been any clean up […]
At the premium end of the new diesel vehicle spectrum is the 2007 Mercedes Benz GL320 CDI (MB Stock photos) … and with MSRP starting at $54,000 or a nicely equipped (as driven) vehicle of $65,000, the new U.S. built Mercedes is not for everybody. My first impression is that the GL320 CDI has Mercedes […]
People must be out of their minds lining up at the AT&T/Cingular stores to be the first to spend $700 for the an Apple iPhone? What mania … it sounds sort of “cabbage patch” crazy to me? 😀 Since I’m attracted to technology gadgets, I understand the want of the latest and greatest, but I’m […]
I’m attaching a test from a “cellphone camera to Scanr.com FREE conversion service.” The services receives an email attachment (ie. document, whiteboard image, etc) from your cellphone and converts it to a scanned image or PDF document. It might be nice for spies wanted to use their cellphone to bring home classified documents — or […]
“Pandora on the Go” is a new service partnering the excellent Pandora Music service with Sprint mobile phones. The outstanding “music genome project” allows users to create personalized music listening criteria for your computer or now your Sprint cellphone. A good set of earbuds or headphones is a ‘must’ — unless you like listening to […]
Wow … I’m totally impressed after only one day of using the Jawbone Bluetooth Headset, so far its great. (audio MP3 link — my ‘real life’ test) After struggling to find a bluetooth headset for use with my Palm Treo 700p, I’ve finally found one that I can finally recommend. As someone who spends part […]
Tried to post this photo from the Palm Treo via Flickr, but it didn’t work this morning … hmm? Anyway, after filling up my Volkswagen TDI with some left over B100 at home ($2.50/gal – leftover from last year), I stopped at the Sunoco renewable fuels station at the I-71 Mt. Gilead exit 151. Price […]
Those of you paying attention several of my past posts will recognize that I’ve enjoyed SlingMedia’s “Slingbox’ and the ability to send a home video signal out over a broadband connection. The home video feed (TV, Tivo, DVR, etc) is then received by a Slingplayer equipped device. Pretty cool technology that works amazingly well. A […]
There have been many moments in the last few days that I’ve wondered why I purchase a computer with Windows Vista installed as the operating system last week; it has not been easy nor will be for sometime I fear. From the simple task of getting programs and files transferred over from and XP machine, […]
Posting from Palm Treo this morning as I looked out the hotel window in Akron Ohio to something white on the ground. Hmm … I walked in last night sweating in a tee-shirt and this morning its snow and cold again. Someone tell mother nature to make up her mind! EDIT: Post from flickr didn’t […]
After 4 years of pretty much rock solid performance from my well (ab)used Gateway computer, my favorite notebook is starting to show signs of wear. Today its USB ports, two weeks ago it was the DC power connector. I was ready to replace it when the connections would no longer work, but being my favorite […]
The fog didn’t really disappear until about noon today during my careful drive up I-71 — no comments Tim. Thankfully by the time I was to exit 151, between Columbus and Cleveland Ohio, the sun was almost out and fog about gone. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the fog while driving since I […]
Here’s a quick look out the window this morning (Palm Treo photo) as residents of Southwestern Ohio received their first real taste of winter. Saturday night brought a surprise blanket of white snow that few were expecting, everyone I talked to was surprised. This was evident by only a handful of plows were spotted on […]
Here’s a little more on fuel, particularly biodiesel being pumped in colder weather. On my way home from Northeastern Ohio I stopped to fill my VW Jetta TDI at my normal stop, the I-71 Sunoco renewable fuels biodiesel pump. (see previous posts) It wasn’t all that cold (40 degrees Fahrenheit) but the B20 ran very […]
To celebrate the Christmas season, Brenda (my wife) suggested (to my moaning) that we go as a family to see the Nutcracker performed by the Cincinnati Ballet. I’m probably the only ‘guy’ in America groaning about spending $50 a ticket to go to the ballet … right???
Toting my Palm Treo 700p with its handy cellphone camera feature, I decided to stop over and see Greg Allen at the Southwest Landmark fuel terminal in Lebanon, Ohio. (click photos for larger) I have been bugging Greg about putting the biodiesel in his public pumps for a while … ever since he became my […]
I took a quick cellphone photo (Palm Treo 700p) showing the 12/20/2006 updated pricing at the biodiesel and E85 Ethanol Mt. Gilead Sunoco. The prices seem to be pretty stable, at least for biodiesel. The central Ohio station is located very convenient to exit 151 ramps on Interstate 71 between Mansfield and Columbus Ohio. Its […]
Most cellphone cameras are just a step above a pinhole camera in my opinion and have some improving to do before they are capable taking photos in other than perfect situations. That said, I’ve enjoyed experimenting with my Palm Treo 700p‘s 1.3 megapixel camera on my PDA/Cellphone and have enjoying ‘McGyver-ing‘ ways to take slightly […]
The repair to my daughter’s VW Jetta TDI tallied at about $700, acceptable considering the initial body shop estimate was $1530. (see prior post) We were able to avoid a clear coat repair paint job by picking up a closely matching door at the highly recommended Brim Import Auto. (15363 County Road 140 East, Kenton, […]
Quick phone to blog post as I fill up my daughter’s repaired VW Jetta TDI with B20 at the exit 151 Sunoco. (damage to door) The new pumps at 6027 Route 95 Mount Gilead Ohio (for those with GPS) show E85 (octane 105) at $1.96, B2 at $1.59, B5 at $1.61 and B20 at $1.63. […]
Diesel fuel pumps are now sporting new labels indicating the new Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel that is now mandated by the EPA in the United States. I used the cell phone camera on my Palm Treo 700p to ‘click’ this one while filling up today. Although fuel companies are confident that the new ULSD […]
Laptop computers came up in conversation today as my kids and I were sitting at the kitchen table. My daughter commented that her professor was joking about using technology in one of her classes and pulled out a 1990’s laptop that had some size to it. They started laughing since it was ‘large’ relative to […]
A picture is worth 1000 words if you are driving a diesel car or truck. This spread is the largest I’ve ever seen. Hopefully we’ll see a little down pressure on diesel fuel too, as some friend traveling in Kentucky spotted diesel fuel priced around $2.50/gallon. (I’m posting from my Palm Treo 700p camera while […]
Lately I’ve been looking for excuses to click a photo or two with my handy dandy Palm Treo 700p, so today spotted an unusual Volkswagen for North America: a VW Gol – Pointer “City” 5 door station wagon. The Volkswagen Gol (not to be confused with Golf) derived its name from the Portugese word ‘Golo’ […]
I’ve been planning to write down some thoughts and include some personal photos from our recent family vacation to Hawaii. We enjoyed near perfect weather on our entire trip, both on a cruise ship, NCL(A)’s “Pride of Hawaii,” and the time spent with my nephew David and his wife Gillian who live on Kauai — […]
By the time you read this post, my family and I should be on our way to Hawaii. My daughter completed her undergrad schooling this past month (graduating summa cum laude — proud dad here), so as a graduation gift to all … we’re celebrating together. I’ll not be posting the regular daily ‘desultory posts,’ […]
For those of us fortunate enough to be using cell phones with high speed data from Sprint, there is some good news. Sprint announced it is ahead of plan for the expansion and evolution of the Sprint Power Vision(SM) network that allows users to access audio, video and data applications with handheld and connection card […]
I spend several days week on the road and have been getting a little better at finding internet access (hot spots) in order to upload files, manages sites and retreive email. This week I’m staying at a Radisson hotel that normally has wireless access for my evening connect, but unfortunately the service has been up […]
A couple of days ago I commented that after donating our minivan to a family in need of a car and that we were need to replace it with something? I was not happy with my options since there were no commonsense ‘efficient’ diesels in vehicles with extra room; both my wife and I have […]
I was passing through Akron Canton Airport (CAK) yesterday evening and enjoyed a peaceful and beautiful evening sky panorama. I wish that I would have had my ‘real’ camera, but was at least able to use my new phone. The silhouette of a Wright Brother’s airplane against the serene beauty of a setting sun offered […]
This is really just an excuse to us my Palm Treo 700p smartphone’s camera, but while filling up while out of town this week in Kentucky (no biodiesel pump) I happened to notice that the label is preparing us for ULSD vehicles in 2007 and the possibilty that pumps could still have LSD. I wonder […]
Although slightly lower fuels prices were not what most consumers expected this past the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, many were glad to see the relief. Nationwide the prices of gasoline have drifted down a little bit from their high … none too soon for many energy squeezed citizens. According to the Energy Information Agency, the […]
1/26/2006 UPDATE EDIT: Blackberry decision could come on February 24th. Are you a ‘CrackBerry‘ addict? Thankfully I’m not but do used a computer and cell phone pretty regularly? I suspect we all know someone with a Blackberry device, I for one have a close friend who looks down at his every 5 minutes. 🙂 Its […]
While finding links for a blog post last week, I stumbled across a couple photos of my iPhone5 while upgrading to my current, but aging, iPhone7plus. Although the bulky protective case on the iPhone7+ did not last long, it was interesting to remember it. I quickly switched to the thinnest case I could find and […]
When it comes to a headset/headphones, I wear them all the time and am pretty much an Aftershokz guy. I find that I rarely take them off during the day, ever since getting my first “bone conduction” Bluetooth headset. I love nearly everything about the current Aeropex model even as the company updates with newer […]
Previously I mentioned that Katelyn and Drew brought me kicking and screaming (not really) into the Fitbit “wrist device” wearing age and world. I had given up wearing a watch decades ago when I started carrying a pager. Eventually I adopted the Nextel belt holstered cellphone, then pocket folding Samsung i500 PDA phone. The new […]
Ok … so you’ve done your part and registered your phone numbers with the National Do Not Call List and you’ve done your best to keep phone numbers from undesirables … BUT you’re still getting annoying calls (and text messages!) Below is the new (1) iPhone (Settings>Phone>Blocking) method to block phone numbers from your smartphone […]
It has been a few years since the automatic update from WordPress.org failed on my server … and only after the fact did I regret not doing a full backup prior to attempting the update (really, I’m posting just to see that all is working after the upgrade). After downloading the new install files and […]
Had an interesting conversation with one of my clients who handed me his new Sprint based iPhone 4s today … and he doesn’t like it. That’s a rarity for those who love all things Apple. To be fair, his gripe has more to do with the Sprint 3G service problems being reported than the iPhone […]
If you were a Sprint users and were tempted to upgrader to a new Apple iPhone4s, but demanded a physical keyboard, would adding on a bluetooth slider be worth it? It would sure makes the slick iPhone a less attractive device to slip into a pocket, but if it worked well might be a nice […]
For those interested in all things TDI (that’s Volkswagen TDI diesel automobiles), the TDIFest is this weekend in the host city of Lexington KY. Our local CinciTDI club is hosting the TDIClub “fest” and it looks to be a good one. Hopefully the weather and activities will be enjoyable … I know that I’m looking […]
After a couple of weeks with the Palm Pre I’m learning to be more productive with the hot little smartphone device. The earlier cut, copy and paste complaints for supported apps complaint has become less of an issue and I’m enjoying the improved camera, yet still miss added camera features and video. There are also […]
While I’m not a fan of the iPhone or the iPod Touch, I am impressed with the shear number of devices and software “app” downloads in less than 2 years. Apple has a counter running on their site as the Online App Store nears 1 Billion downloads. Very impressive. Although as readers may have surmised […]
Palm better get their act together with a new high end Treo because Research In Motion introduced their new Blackberry Bold today. They seem to be catching up with Apple’s iPhone although some say Apple is prepping for the gen-2 iPhone … still they suffer from not having a dedicated tactual keyboard. There might still […]
About a week ago, Sharpcast introduced SugarSync, their new automated Internet backup and synchronization service which allows computer users to backup directories online and also sync multiple devices. (ie. laptop, office computer, home computer) The convenience of keeping 10 plus gigabytes of data safely backed to a server and available on multiple computers ‘might’ be […]
If you’ve ever been around Cincinnati, Ohio on Labor Day weekend you most likely have seen (or at least heard of) the annual fireworks display. This year was the 30th year and the display was better than ever. It was 45 minutes of mind-boggling color, smoke and noise. In Cincinnati, you know what fireworks are […]
While our country and its citizens have enjoyed “Independence” for 230 years now, let’s be sure to stop and thank those who earned it, maintained it and fight to keep it. Thank you America, and those who have fought and continue to fight, to keep it free and secure. On a personal note, I’ve made […]
UPDATE as of 2/24/2006 -15:30 EST: Judge James R. Spencer of Federal District Court in Richmond, declined to rule on an injunction that would shut down Research in Motion’s Blackberry service. The judge indicated that he was disappointed that the companies had not been able to reach a settlement. ================================================ As the Blackberry (RIM) situation […]