Sunday, December 12, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Locally acquired case of dengue fever turns up in Miami
Locally acquired case of dengue fever turns up in Miami
Apparently, the mosquito borne illness has made a comeback. There have been a feew other cases of mosquito borne illnesses this year, and there have been larger numbers of people from Haiti dying due to Cholera. Things could get worse, but then again, things aren't particularly bad out now.
We were talking with one of the plant people at the University's Gardens about why they were selling a plant that said it is for zones 10 and 11, when we are in zone 9b. She said we have the heat of zone 10, but occasionally we get the cold of zone 8. She thought that we would eventually get reclassified as zone 10. I am not too sure about our planting zone changing.
Friday, August 13, 2010
The background image was distracting
I changed it to a relatively simple water mark layout.
In other news, I guess my Father has gotten a 2011 Subaru Outback Limited in Ruby Red Pearl. The vehicle looks nice. It appears to be larger than what I remember his previous Outback as being. But that was a while ago. I guess my Father rationalized this as my mother's car. For when they are up in the mountains of North Carolina. Just like he rationalized the previous car, a Mercedes Benz 320, or whatever as her car.
The Ruby Red is fairly dark. It is not Fire Engine Red.
Supposedly, my dad saved some $2500 by buying the car from a dealer over in Clearwater, as opposed to a dealer in Tampa. I was not really aware that the difference would be that significant.
I think Dad does a pretty good job of negotiating with car salesmen.
We are happy that our car is still running pretty good. We've had some rather big expenses lately, but it is still running pretty good, we hope to keep it several more years.
New cars are nice, but I guess we are seriously happy to not have car payments at present, and we like being able to pay off our balances during most months. We'll probably keep looking at getting a new bedroom set.
Listening to the times Cast for Today, part of it was about how various brands were trying to tie in with the movie "eat, pray, love" and make it into a pro-consumerism movie, even though it is more about a spiritual journey and shunning the consumeristic nature of the modern world.
In other news, I guess my Father has gotten a 2011 Subaru Outback Limited in Ruby Red Pearl. The vehicle looks nice. It appears to be larger than what I remember his previous Outback as being. But that was a while ago. I guess my Father rationalized this as my mother's car. For when they are up in the mountains of North Carolina. Just like he rationalized the previous car, a Mercedes Benz 320, or whatever as her car.
The Ruby Red is fairly dark. It is not Fire Engine Red.
Supposedly, my dad saved some $2500 by buying the car from a dealer over in Clearwater, as opposed to a dealer in Tampa. I was not really aware that the difference would be that significant.
I think Dad does a pretty good job of negotiating with car salesmen.
We are happy that our car is still running pretty good. We've had some rather big expenses lately, but it is still running pretty good, we hope to keep it several more years.
New cars are nice, but I guess we are seriously happy to not have car payments at present, and we like being able to pay off our balances during most months. We'll probably keep looking at getting a new bedroom set.
Listening to the times Cast for Today, part of it was about how various brands were trying to tie in with the movie "eat, pray, love" and make it into a pro-consumerism movie, even though it is more about a spiritual journey and shunning the consumeristic nature of the modern world.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Retail Therapy
I saw something on Discovery Channel, or TLC, or somewhere about Hoarding: an obsessive compulsive disorder. I guess there are people who have very crowded houses full of stuff. My grandmother's house was like that when we visited a few years ago.
I suppose that she would buy stuff from QVC, or Home Shopping Network, or one of those TV sales channels.
I'm sure that the number of people who buy stuff in order to feel better, happier is probably significant. I kind of wonder why people get caught up in that cycle. Maybe some of it is just to have interaction with others.
Perhaps some people going out shopping can be pleasing. Making a purchase is a way of rewarding the sales people, but it should be for stuff that actually gets used.
I guess my father's desire for an SUV could be thought of along similar terms. There isn't really a need for an SUV, but maybe living up in the mountains will be more comfortable if he gets an SUV.
I suppose that she would buy stuff from QVC, or Home Shopping Network, or one of those TV sales channels.
I'm sure that the number of people who buy stuff in order to feel better, happier is probably significant. I kind of wonder why people get caught up in that cycle. Maybe some of it is just to have interaction with others.
Perhaps some people going out shopping can be pleasing. Making a purchase is a way of rewarding the sales people, but it should be for stuff that actually gets used.
I guess my father's desire for an SUV could be thought of along similar terms. There isn't really a need for an SUV, but maybe living up in the mountains will be more comfortable if he gets an SUV.
Hmm, I guess background images are cool.
I think I want some downtown-y like pictures. I looked on that istockphoto site, and they appeared to be selling photos. Maybe using a background photo would be too busy and take away from the blog. I can try this for a little while, and maybe if I later decide that it's not working, I can change my mind.
Yesterday, we went looking for bedroom furniture, a bedroom set. We currently have my parent's old bedroom set mostly with a somewhat newer mattress and box springs. Even that is older than 8 years, and as such, probably should be replaced. There are commercials on the radio station about how after eight years, the weight of most mattresses practically double due to dead skin cells, dust mites and sweat, etcetera.
I guess we have good taste. We went to Ethan Allen and we liked a couple of styles of the furniture, the sales lady/interior designer was pretty good while being enthusiastic about how much quality goes into their furniture.
We also went to Scan Design and some of their stuff looked pretty good as well, but both were kind of expensive. Still, on an expected lifespan basis, I guess the furniture isn't that unreasonably expensive.
Yesterday, we went looking for bedroom furniture, a bedroom set. We currently have my parent's old bedroom set mostly with a somewhat newer mattress and box springs. Even that is older than 8 years, and as such, probably should be replaced. There are commercials on the radio station about how after eight years, the weight of most mattresses practically double due to dead skin cells, dust mites and sweat, etcetera.
I guess we have good taste. We went to Ethan Allen and we liked a couple of styles of the furniture, the sales lady/interior designer was pretty good while being enthusiastic about how much quality goes into their furniture.
We also went to Scan Design and some of their stuff looked pretty good as well, but both were kind of expensive. Still, on an expected lifespan basis, I guess the furniture isn't that unreasonably expensive.
Friday, August 6, 2010
My father is looking at different cars
We are still driving the 03 Honda Accord. It recently had the air conditioner go on it, so we paid to have that fixed. In Florida, the A/C is pretty important. We had the oil changed and other fluids and maybe some belts changed (engine mounts fixed) recently as well. It is paid for, so we can afford to spend money on other stuff.
My Father is looking at Accuras and Lexuses. Life is good. Perhaps my father will get a newer vehicle. The economy should start recovering, people may continue buying vehicles.
I guess many of my co-workers have greater debts.
Maybe I tend to be cautious, concerned about what could go wrong. I try not to focus on what could go wrong very much, but peerhaps some might call it a healthy dose of realism.
I like our house.
My Father is looking at Accuras and Lexuses. Life is good. Perhaps my father will get a newer vehicle. The economy should start recovering, people may continue buying vehicles.
I guess many of my co-workers have greater debts.
Maybe I tend to be cautious, concerned about what could go wrong. I try not to focus on what could go wrong very much, but peerhaps some might call it a healthy dose of realism.
I like our house.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tall Ships in Tampa
This was pretty cool. We liked going downtown. We had lunch at the Greenwise Publix. I don't think that what we ended up getting was all that unusual, but we'll need to see if we can get something similar at a nearer grocery store. The Rustic Steel Creations welded artwork was pretty cool. Seeing the ships come in was fun. Paying for parking at Channelside wasn't so great, considering we were down there for 38 minutes, and we got charged $2.00, but I think there might have been a $2.00 minimum or something. They did expand the parking garage on the third level, possibly the fourth as well. It looked pretty cool. At least we didn't get soaked for event parking for $15, or whatever.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
2010-05-10.jpg (1600�1000)
2010-05-10.jpg (1600�1000)
Newport Rhode Island had a Fort Adams, which looked like it would have been cool to walk around inside, but instead, we walked around the outside of the fort, and it was still a pretty cool experience. I guess there is a housing development just on the other side of the fort. We walked around the fort, and kind of into the housing development before we could get back to our car in the parking lot.
Newport Rhode Island had a Fort Adams, which looked like it would have been cool to walk around inside, but instead, we walked around the outside of the fort, and it was still a pretty cool experience. I guess there is a housing development just on the other side of the fort. We walked around the fort, and kind of into the housing development before we could get back to our car in the parking lot.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Newport RI
Part of our trip. These photos were mostly of Newport Rhode Island.
I like the sailboats. I like the process of sailing. The knowledge. I am impressed by the sound and fury of mother nature.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Walmart to focus on connected devices � MartySalo's Blog
Walmart to focus on connected devices � MartySalo's Blog Hmm, I'm not all that sure how the supposed efforts of Walmart to enhance their share of the consumer electronics market will be. But more power to them. We can use all of the competition in the marketplace that we can get. I did recently buy another ipad accessory. Actually, I got two accessories, a Car Charger, for those road trips, and a longer base charger power cord. The three foot charging cord did not work ideally.
It is a good morning.
It is a good morning, people. The sun is shining, and we should be going to spend some time at EPCOT today. I just took a look at my blogger account, and it looks like this could be a new way of doing content.
Yesterday, we saw that one of the eagles had passed away at the Boyd Hill Nature Park. That was sad, but I suppose that death is part of the cycle.
The fact that the birds who were held at the nature park were injured, and would have died otherwise if left to their own is kind of nice I suppose. Perhaps I should be more conservative with my digital camera. I want to take small pictures for including them with blog posts, but my mom wants me to use the biggest resolution, which then takes up a lot of space.
I guess I should just put my foot down and deal with the fallout from my mom and my wife at a later date. My wife will also be disappointed that we don't have the high resolution pictures for making good prints from.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Awesome, but not quite yet there.
There appears to be some issue with blogger or iPad letting me add content in the standard box, but perhaps I will be able to post this in the HTML editing mode.
Hey, that is pretty cool. Perhaps this might work with a different site that I do some publishing of content to.
Well, it is a little bit backward, but as long as I can get the information out there, that is what should be of most immediate concern.
I guess I am happy.
So, I guess I do like the smaller footprint that the iPad takes up, compared to the laptop, and I like the relatively instant on state of the iPad with the easy access to the web. While I wasn't able to get access to the rich text editors, that is okay, I guess.
Hey, that is pretty cool. Perhaps this might work with a different site that I do some publishing of content to.
Well, it is a little bit backward, but as long as I can get the information out there, that is what should be of most immediate concern.
I guess I am happy.
So, I guess I do like the smaller footprint that the iPad takes up, compared to the laptop, and I like the relatively instant on state of the iPad with the easy access to the web. While I wasn't able to get access to the rich text editors, that is okay, I guess.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Giant box close to being over oil-spewing well - Yahoo! News
Giant box close to being over oil-spewing well - Yahoo! News
An interesting read about the oil well trouble caused by the transocean drilling rig exploding and sinking.
BBC NEWS | Election 2010 | Results | United Kingdom - National Results
BBC NEWS | Election 2010 | Results | United Kingdom - National Results
Hmm, my wife said that Brown won the election. If no body will cooperate with the conservatives, then yes, perhaps it could be that way. I am not sure though. The BBC seems to have it as Cameron to try forming government.
Who knows how it's really working over on that side of the pond anyway?
David Griffin on how photography connects us | Video on TED.com
David Griffin on how photography connects us | Video on TED.com
National Geographic's take on photography, and photojournalism. I don't actively think of myself as a photojournalist, but at the same time, perhaps that is part of what this weblog is.
Jonathan Klein: Photos that changed the world | Video on TED.com
Jonathan Klein: Photos that changed the world | Video on TED.com
An interesting take on some of the points in history captured through photography.
A train on the other side of the river
While we were at the park, a train passed by on the other side of the river. It was pretty neat. I've seen the commercials how the cost of transporting something by train is much less expensive than moving goods by most other means available. But there needs to be the tracks laid in order to make use of the trains to transport the goods to other places.
Hudson Highlands State Park
The park was a nice place to get out and stretch our legs for a little while. I liked the train tracks, and the trains. I guess New York City has alot more active train lines than most other cities. I'm pretty sure that Downtown Tampa has deactivated it's tracks. I guess there are still some trains that pass by the city of Tampa, and the fertilizer plants, phosphate mines, power generating plants still need the trains for transport.
New York
We crossed into New York on our trip. It is nice that we live in a country where movement is relatively unimpeded. The day before yesterday, coming from West Virginia into Ohio and then spending much of the day driving from one side of Pennsylvania to the other was tiring. We stayed at a hotel by Mount Pocono. I 77 to I 70 to I 79 to I 80 to I 380 to I 84 to US 9 D to I 287 to I 95 -- it was a long trip. But we made the best of it I suppose. We stopped at a park by the Hudson Highlands. Fran wanted to avoid going into the city.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The iPad Is Step 1 In The Future Of Computing. This Is Step 2 (Or 3).
The iPad Is Step 1 In The Future Of Computing. This Is Step 2 (Or 3).
this looks pretty cool, in a possible future kind of way. I know that my father really likes his ipad. My mother likes to use the ipad when she can get it.
iPad Brings the Growth of Netbooks to a Halt [CHART]
iPad Brings the Growth of Netbooks to a Halt [CHART]
Hmm, this is mildly interesting. But positive growth is probably still growth.
Americans "bombarded" with cancer causes: report - Yahoo! News
Americans "bombarded" with cancer causes: report - Yahoo! News
When do we decide that the risk of medical scans (x-rays) is too great in adding to our potential cancer risks? I think that the medical x-rays (dental too) are too much of a benefit to doctors in assisting them with diagnosing causes of pains.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Fla. officials say tourists shouldn't... - Google News
Fla. officials say tourists shouldn't... - Google News
Yes, Florida Officials don't want the tourists to cancel their trips.
downtown Pittsburgh
We got on on of the loops, or something around part of the city, and saw I believe the football Stadium, and the baseball field. It was pretty cool, even if very temporary.
a donkey
We stopped by a pottery place in the morning, and they had some donkeys in the yard that was fenced off. I guess it was pretty cool. We didn't stay very long.
breakfast
Marietta Ohio, we stayed that night at a Super 8 hotel. It was okay. We ate breakfast at Bob Evans. I wasn't impressed by the biscuit bowls. I thought I would have been, but it was just a new way of doing things. I think I need to just stay away from heavily breadded things. I can have some biscuits and gravy, from cracker barrel, if I specify that I would like an extra gravy. I had some from Cracker Barrel, but I didn't eat all of it there either. I guess that's good. That was the point behind getting the surgery to begin with. Eating less has made things a bit simpler, but has made eating out a little bit uncertain.
breakfast
Marietta Ohio, we stayed that night at a Super 8 hotel. It was okay. We ate breakfast at Bob Evans. I wasn't impressed by the biscuit bowls. I thought I would have been, but it was just a new way of doing things. I think I need to just stay away from heavily breadded things. I can have some biscuits and gravy, from cracker barrel, if I specify that I would like an extra gravy. I had some from Cracker Barrel, but I didn't eat all of it there either. I guess that's good. That was the point behind getting the surgery to begin with. Eating less has made things a bit simpler, but has made eating out a little bit uncertain.
Another Horse
We walked around campus looking for the niece for quite awhile, before we found her. It was pretty cool. I guess there were many horses at the school.
A horse
We visited with my niece through marriage, and she seems genuinely happy with her decision to persue vocational training at Meredith Manor. She likes working with the horses, cleaning stalls, and whatnot else. Supposedly, receiving training at Meredith Manor opens many doors.
flags over the circle
Flags over the circle at the Vietnam Veterans' war memorial, representing 6 counties in western Virginia/southern West Virginia.
counties vietnam vets
A nifty Vietnam Veterans' Memorial with breakdowns of counties where people were from. This was at a visitor's center as we entered West Virginia.
blasted walls
The blasted walls were impressive. It is impressive how some men have cut through mountains to make transportation easier.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Dry Falls
Highlands North Carolina is known for having some nice waterfalls. This was after a pretty significant rain event went through. The same rain system that caused flooding in Nashville, caused a flash flood warning for this area. The amount of water flowing down the mountain was exceptional according to my mom. It was pretty neat.
This particular area is called dry falls. We walked behind the falls. We had the dog with us. The amount of water was unusual, due to the recently heavy rain.
3 churches
Yesterday, we went to 3 different churches
May 03, 2010 08:17 AM EDT
I guess I was somewhat among the more casually dressed--in my pants and a Florida Blood Services Volunteer Donor T-shirt. Oh well. What would Jesus Wear? Right? The first church we went to was with Mom, the Catholic Church had a typical Catholic service. It was a bit routine.
At 3 pm, we went to the United Methodist Church, and there was a guy with a guitar, who provided some entertainment and some stories. I liked how he related that "Amazing Grace" can be set to many different musical backgrounds. He did the music to "House of the Rising Sun" and sang amazing grace. He did "Mickey Mouse" and sang "A-M-A..Z-I-N-G...G-R-A-C-E"--I thought that was cool. The theme song to "Gilligan's Island," even related how on New Years Eve, "Auld Lang Syne" (which nobody seems to know the exact words to) can be done with "Amazing Grace."
Then later that evening, we saw the Atlanta Boy's Chior at the Episcopal Church. It was quite nice. Though the only audience participation at that one was the "Glory, glory, Hallelujah" at the end of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Most of the music pieces were quite fancy. I guess the Atlanta Boys Chior will be going to the Vatican to perform before an audience of Pope Benedict, and probably some Cardinals.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
low ceiling
I guess this could illustrate the effect of low clouds covering the mountains. I don't think that the particular area was the mountain where my parents live, but the concept should be similar.
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