Say Thanks to our Troops this holiday...or anytime!

With the holiday seaso upon us and the new year coming, take a moment to say THANKS to our troops, It's a free service from Xerox and it takes just one minute to do. You can send a free postcard anytime and as often as you like. Either way, our troops fight for our freedom and whether you agree with the war or not it is still important to support our men and women who are called upon to do their job and put their lives onn the line.

We hope they all come back safely and with President Obama taking office next month, tey will hopefully be home soon. 

Happy Holidays and God bless all of our troops and their families!

iSync, You Sync, we all Sync but didn't think

OK, I have my mac mini, my Sony CLIE, and my Nokia 6126 phone. I use my phone a lot for calendar notes and contacts and sync it to my MacMini iCal and AddressBook. I updated my PalmOS or CLIE, transferred my old CLIE data into my new CLIE and syned tem both to my MacMni. Then back to my phone. Total time taken was 15 minutes. Seems all nice, neat and easy right?

WRONG! What I did not factor in was the different ways my data was stored on each of the different programs and how merging them put THREE entries of each into each device. Now I have to go back through one of them and delete the two duplicate I wish to discard. We are talking about a couple hundred entries. At least I am smart enough to figure out that if I went through each of the devices again, I would end up with the same problem all over again. Total time taken to undo the confusion? We are going on our 4th hour of sorting through my data.

So to those of you who want to sync their life from several devices into a few should consider the following. 1. Decide which records you need to keep on each device first. 2. Compare records and fill in missing data on ONE device (PC, PDA, Phone, Laptop, etc) 3. After manually updating the records, delete the duplicates form the other devices, keeping only the ones not on your primary device. Once you have done all that, sync your devices one at a time. This way you can check for errors & duplicates before adding a new set of data. Do this for each device you are planning to sync, even if only sporadically. You will spend less time preparing a little ahead of sync that you will repairing after sync so make it easy on yourself.

Oh, as for my devices:

• My MacMini I LOVE! Bluetooth and WiFi are wonderful things and they work great.
• My Sony CLIE UX50 is an upgrade from my other CLIE SJ22 and I am learning all its nuances, plus how to read micro-text since the screen is a higher resolution but the same size as my SJ22 so everything is smaller. But again, I love its bluetooth and WiFi capabilities.
• My Nokia 6126 phone is what I carry with me everywhere so it is my main calendar and contact data device. Why not use an iPhone? You cant use the other features when ou get a call, and it is too costly to have on a pay-as-you-go plan. I don't use my phone a lot, unless I talk with my wife so we have the best phone plan for our calling needs. Otherwise I use it for emergencies and important calls when i am out.
• My Sony CLIE SJ22 deserves its props for its usefulness and longevity. I bought ours new in 2002 and 2003 (wife's). We have used them regularly over the past six (5 for wife) years and only recently my wife's touch screen stopped working. This was the catalyst for getting our CLIE UX50s. That and more capabilities like music player, camera/video for basic use, and updated games for waiting rooms and passing time.

There's a few things I must say about batteries and their life. Our SJ22 batteries still last about five days on a charge and we have NEVER replaced them! (I have a Panasonic home Phone from 2003 that has its original battery that only now needs replacing.) My secret? ONLY charge the battery when it gives you the "low battery" alert. This trains the battery to fully discharge, then fully charge again. Over a few hundred cycles this keeps your battery conditioned properly. My phone battery is also pretty good since it is going on 2 years now. There is NO battery out there that is "no memory." They ALL have a memory and over time you will teach it how to behave. So remember to always wait for the "low battery" signal before recharging them. If you worry about a cordless phone and you use it during the day, keep it off the hook for 3 to 7 days and recharge it overnight.

Speaking of powering down, it's time for me to recharge. Good Night!

Lighthouse Road Trip 2008

What is your favorite CHEEBURGER ?

CHEEBURGER CHEEBURGER is a casual 50s era restaurant that serves cheese burgers, fires, rings, salads, and shakes. They are located mostly in the eastern United States. What draws people in are the Cheeburgers which come in 5 sizes. You can find them online at www.CheeburgerCheeburger.com (note the spelling is correct. there is no letter "S" in their name.)

If you haven't tried a CHEEBURGER yet, you are missing out on a really great burger and restaurant. The atmosphere is casual and retro. Think 50s era decor. The Cheeburger is cooked to order and served to order in five various sizes. The smallest is 1/4 pound, 1/3 pound, 1/2 pound, 2/3 pound and the 1-pound Cheeburger. The best part is you can put an almost limitless combination of toppings on your Cheeburger.

So, for those of you who have eaten a Cheeburger, we want to know... What is YOUR favorite Cheeburger topping combination?

My favorite is currently a semi-serious 1/3 pound medium well topped with provolone cheese, peanut butter, bacon lettuce and tomato. It tastes quite good and is one of the more unusual combinations. (In fact, I was the first to order peanut butter on a Cheeburger at my local restaurant in Rochester New York. They came out to watch me eat it and ask questions.)

I sometimes like American BLT with onion rings, relish or pickles, and honey mustard. Others I have tried are Provolone Cole Slaw, Tomato Mayonaisse, and Honey Mustard.

So, post your comment with your flavorful Cheeburgers. Tell us what location (city & state)

And the photo:
I FINALLY ate The Cheeburger, a one-pound* mega-burger to get put on the wall. I had to do it before i started my diet so I picked the day before and ate nothing that day until we went to the restaurant. I ordered mine with peanut butter, bacon, American cheese, cole slaw, tomato, and onion rings. It comes topped with 2 olives. I took my time and finished it. The uncooked weight was 20 ounces but it cooked down to one pound of burger. That is the only time I plan to eat one. ;-)

Going Green in our apartment

Over the past few months my wife and i have made small changes to make our apartment and home life greener, as in better for the environment, our expenses and our life, We watched many shows on HGTV, Discovery, TLC, History and others to get ideas on what we could change and do for ourselves. Since we do not have a lot of money, we had to make these changes over time but we are now seeing the results of our efforts. Our electric bill is down 20%, our trash is down to one third of what it was a year ago, and we have not suffered in our comfort level or undue work to make these changes.

Here is what we did, the cost, and the effects it has:


• Changed to compact fluorescent bulbs - total of 15 bulbs = $52. electric savings $10 a month = $120 for the year. $120 * 7 years = $840 - 52 (price of bulbs) = 788 net savings.


• I bought a KVM switch for 4 computers. (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) to allow one monitor, keyboard and mouse to be shared with 4 computers. Cost of KVM $60. Now I use 3 less CRT monitors and save on electricity and desk space. Electric savings = $8.00 a month = $96 for a year. $96-60=$36 net savings forst year and $96 each year after. When I buy an LCD monitor, the savings will increase as LCD monitors use LESS energy than CRT monitors.


• Using recycle bins. Waste Management company in our area (Rochester NY) collects more than just the "#2 or #5" plastics. They will pick up all hard plastic (no bags or wraps), glass, metal, cardboard, paper, and newspaper. No styrofoam products. We used to throw much of this away since we were told by the community office that they only took #2 and #5 plastics. When i asked the recycling collector, he told me the list I gave above. They are glad to see people recycle and are quite friendly. Maybe it is job security but the bigger picture is a sustainable planet environment. Anyway, we use our in-sink disposal to grind food scraps that the dogs don't get to eat, so only true "garbage" goes into the trash bin. We also bought a second trash can to put bags in and toss our cans & bottles into for deposit returns. fast and easy to do.


• Installed a programmable thermostat to manage indoor climate. Our community maintenance was willing to install this for free but it is easy to do yourself. This saves money on energy bills by maintaining a constant temperature range. We went with a 7-day model for $60 but there are cheaper models with fewer features as low as $30 at many hardware/home improvement stores. The basics of saving energy use here is that you set up a schedule for the week, weekend and vacation days. Once the schedule is set, the thermostat automatically keeps the home at the set range. So when you are home, you set it to "living" temps and when you are not home (work period, vacation) you can set it higher or lower (wider range) since humans are not home to feel the temperature. Pets do not seem to mind an extra 5-10 degree range increase and you will save a little more on your energy use. Since we just installed ours today, I have yet to see the actual savings for us, but I have heard other people report they saved 5-10%. As long as i see the $60 I spent for the thermostat in energy savings, I will be happy.


• Along with the new thermostat, we use fans to move air around the room for cooling. This doesn't use much energy and allows you to set the cool side about 5 degrees warmer while maintaining the same comfort level.
  
  
• Running our dishwasher and laundry washer with only full loads saves us on water (yes, our apartments charge for water use and sewer.) and on electricity. We give our meal plates to the "pre-washers" when we are done with a meal and then rinse the plate/bowl. When we have enough to fill the dishwasher, we run it overnight. We also use the air-dry setting (no heat) to save on energy. Doing laundry in the evening to late-night also reduced the price of the energy we use because it is off-peak use.
  


• We tried filling a half-gallon milk jug with water and out it in the toilet tank to save a half-gallon per flush, but since some things took 3 or 4 extra flushes to get the waste down, we took it out. It was using more water and less power per flush. This is a good method to try for a month and see if it makes a difference in your water and sewer use. Try a smaller bottle, like a 1-liter or 20oz bottle. Every little bit helps.
  
  
• Replace your standard shower head with a newer unit. Standard shower heads use more water and they are usually the basic unit in most apartments and homes (and motels). By replacing it with a newer model, you will use less water. Don't worry about loss of water pressure. By restricting water flow, they actually increase the pressure for times you want to use it. We bought and installed a hand-held model with 5 settings, including low-pressure, high-pressure, free-flow, turbo-massage, and rainfall. We use rainfall as a temporary "off" while washing because it lowers water use until you need it to rinse.
  

That is all we have done so far but we encourage our neighbors and friends to try some of these changes and see for themselves how easy and inexpensive it is to live life a little greener. Please feel free to provide comments or suggestions. You can find more ideas at the following TV network sites: HGTV.com, Discovery.com (Disc, TLC, PlanetGreen), DIYnetwork.com, RochesterHomepage.net, and more.

Live a greener life!

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Cousin Ned the Tech Geek

If the world were a family get-together, you’d be Cousin Ned the Tech Geek. You love electronics and attempt to drag your family and friends into the digital era every chance you get. Sure your grandma spends an hour a day polishing that filthy iPhone you gave her with Windex, and your dad uses his MP3 player as a bookmark, but you’re proud of your gifts because they’re new, fun and extremely useful… once they figure out how to plug them in anyway. Of course, if you ever want to make sure you’re giving presents that people truly enjoy, try the MyThings
Giftlist and find out what people REALLY want.

Take your own quiz at MyThings.com