As I wrote about earlier this year, my old phone had developed some kind of malignant growth on its display, and it was only a matter of time before it rendered the phone useless. But what do you want for $10? Virgin Mobile phones aren’t the greatest out there, but […]
Year: 2008
Garmin Nuvi 260w
Santa was good to me this year. At the top of my wish list was this model from Garmin’s very popular Nuvi series of GPS devices. The most notable feature on the 260w is its ability to say street names, which allows you to drive without taking your eyes off […]
Solatube Solar Attic Vents
Back in July, I wrote about having a solar water heater installed. About the same time, I also had solar-powered attic vents installed by an outfit called The Energy Savings Store, and I wanted to document my experience with them for the benefit of anyone else that might be considering […]
Some Like It Hot
As I mentioned last month, we planned to install a solar water heater in our home this year. That plan has come to fruition. Installation was finalized last week, and we are now enjoying the warmth of the sun every time we take a bath or a shower. The work […]
The End of the Road
Well, here we are at the end of 30 Days of Blog. It was fun, but I must admit that this turned out to be more difficult than I initially thought. Just finding the time to write was enough of a challenge, but finding interesting topics to write about was […]
I’m Cheating
Fridays are the hardest. Whew. When I accepted this challenge, I wouldn’t have guessed that one day would be harder than the rest, but Fridays have turned out to be more difficult to find something to write about than the remaining days of the week. So yeah, I’m cheating. It’s […]
It Ain’t Over Yet
Looks like I might have spoken a bit prematurely last month when I said that the end was in sight. Since the contractor has been negligent in watering the new sod that they laid down in our backyard, most of it has turned brown, and I’m not sure it will […]
Adventures in Linux-Land
Look, I’m a software guy, okay? I’ve been banging around on computers since my first TRS-80 that my dad bought in 1982. I’m a software engineer for the world’s largest aerospace company. And I’m here to tell you that as far as computer operating systems go, we as a civilization […]
Going Solar
As I mentioned previously, I was considering installing a photovoltaic system this year to offset some of our home energy costs. But the PV systems are still quite expensive. Even with net metering, it could take decades for a system to pay for itself, and as the fine folks at […]
Lost Without LOST
It’s only been a week since the season finale of my favorite show LOST, but I’m already having withdrawals. Season 4 was the best one so far, in my opinion, and I’m hooked all over again. It was touch and go there for a while. The show’s producers made some […]
There’s A Bathroom On The Right
If you’ve ever been to AmIRight.com, you may have seen one of my favorite misheard song lyrics — Creedence’s “bad moon on the rise” in some people’s ears turns into a “bathroom on the right.” Speaking of bathrooms, it’s only taken six months, but our bathroom remodel is finally coming […]
Time in a Bottle
When I graduated college and started working full time, it was a bit of a shock initially. You never realize how much free time you have until it is gone. I thought I was busy in college. I was double-majoring, carrying a full load of classes, running a radio station, […]
I Accept the Challenge
One of my friends from college (who blogs at the curiously named site Numb Trolley Bus) has issued a challenge to his readers. Sure I’ll give it a shot. I’ll put my new toy to the test, and let’s see if I can manage to blog every day in June, […]
Indiana Jones 4
A while back, I wrote about how movie franchises rarely make it to the fourth installment, and that there’s a reason for that. The latest offering in the Indiana Jones series is a painful reminder of why this is usually true. It would be easy to blame George Lucas, and, […]
The End Is Nigh
It has only taken seven months, but end of the sewer project in our backyard is in sight. We finally had three or four days in a row without rain so they could come out and lay our new sod. Our backyard is almost back to normal now. We are […]
Asus Eee PC
My new netbook arrived a couple of days ago, and I must say that I am not disappointed. I have the 4GB Linux version. Configuring it to connect to my wireless network was a breeze (in fact, I’m typing this review on it), and it comes with Firefox (of course, […]
Nintendo Wii
With our little girl in the hospital for two weeks, we are trying to make the best of our time there. So we went out and bought a Nintendo Wii console and hooked it up to the TV in Josie’s room. We also got a game we knew Noah would […]
Cloverfield
There certainly was a lot of hype surrounding this film, and J.J. Abrams has a lot riding on it since it is the first foray into the big-screen world for his Bad Robot production company. If this movie doesn’t do well, it could be bad news for his much-anticipated Star […]