Thanksgiving 2010
Monday, November 01, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Review of Directv
Here I am a displaced Steelers fan. Up to two years ago, Elaine, Aaron, and I would have to make an occasional Sunday lunch to Damon's Restaurant to watch the Steelers game. The conflicts with the Browns games were not that many times. That all changed two years ago when Time Warner Cable took WTRF Channel 7 in Weirton West Virginia off their line-up as WTRF was in the Pittsburgh market and we were in the Cleveland market. Last year, I probably had to go to Damon's about 10 to 12 times to watch the games as there was all these schedule conflict times with the Browns games.
It started off that way again this year. Now over the years, anytime I had conversation with Time Warner Customer Service, which was some times, I would let them know that I was very unhappy with them taking Channel 7 off and not having the NFL Network, which broadcast some late year games on Thursday and Saturday nights. All they would do was give me their position on why they did this, but that did not help me.
So, I see that Directv is offering free NFL Sunday Ticket, which broadcasts all the games, including the Steeler games and they have the NFL Network as part of their programming. The NFL Ticket normally costs hundreds of dollars, so Elaine and I talked about it, and we made the switch.
You know what? We like it. This past Sunday was the first fruits of the switch as the local channels have the Browns game and, to make things worse, Damon's closed and I would have had to dig around to find another location to watch the game. It was nice sitting at home, in my home theater room with big screen HD TV and surround sound speakers, in my comfy chair, watching the game. Elaine and I agree that the picture quality is better, there is more programming to choose from, and the remote and receiver box are simpler than Time Warner Cable. So far, we are happy with our choice. Do I recommend it for everyone? After two weeks I do, but time will tell.
Here I am a displaced Steelers fan. Up to two years ago, Elaine, Aaron, and I would have to make an occasional Sunday lunch to Damon's Restaurant to watch the Steelers game. The conflicts with the Browns games were not that many times. That all changed two years ago when Time Warner Cable took WTRF Channel 7 in Weirton West Virginia off their line-up as WTRF was in the Pittsburgh market and we were in the Cleveland market. Last year, I probably had to go to Damon's about 10 to 12 times to watch the games as there was all these schedule conflict times with the Browns games.
It started off that way again this year. Now over the years, anytime I had conversation with Time Warner Customer Service, which was some times, I would let them know that I was very unhappy with them taking Channel 7 off and not having the NFL Network, which broadcast some late year games on Thursday and Saturday nights. All they would do was give me their position on why they did this, but that did not help me.
So, I see that Directv is offering free NFL Sunday Ticket, which broadcasts all the games, including the Steeler games and they have the NFL Network as part of their programming. The NFL Ticket normally costs hundreds of dollars, so Elaine and I talked about it, and we made the switch.
You know what? We like it. This past Sunday was the first fruits of the switch as the local channels have the Browns game and, to make things worse, Damon's closed and I would have had to dig around to find another location to watch the game. It was nice sitting at home, in my home theater room with big screen HD TV and surround sound speakers, in my comfy chair, watching the game. Elaine and I agree that the picture quality is better, there is more programming to choose from, and the remote and receiver box are simpler than Time Warner Cable. So far, we are happy with our choice. Do I recommend it for everyone? After two weeks I do, but time will tell.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Geekiest Thing I Ever Did II
Ryan's laptop wasn't working, so I took a look at it. It would start to power on, stop, start to power on, stop, start to power on, etc. Looking around on the Wide World of Web, it seemed like the motherboard was the problem. I could not locate any replacement motherboards for her four year old model, but I did find a possible solution at this website:
It said that there is a chip on the board that works loose and the problem is common to this type of computer. A possible solution is to take the motherboard out and bake it in the oven for eight minutes at 385 degrees. This will re-flow the solder and attach the chip again when it cools. (Note: kids, do not try this at home.) With nothing to loose, I disassembled the computer:
and baked the motherboard.
I put it back together, all the time thinking, this is never going to work. Then, I did something stupid. I was putting the screws in on the bottom and without thinking, I put the battery back in. I flipped it over and connected the laptop screen cable to the innerworkings, but I still had to attach the screen to the laptop, when I accidentally hit the power button.
The laptop started booting up and I thought, well, let's see what happens. Lo and behold, it went right to Windows XP for the first time in who knows how long. Well, I turned it off, finished hooking and connecting everything, and booted it up again. It came on again and looks like it's going to be okay. Wow, never thought I could do something like that. Learn something new everyday.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Email and Photos From Our Friend Pheng
We took a look at your videos on your blog and thought they were awesome! We enjoyed our time in Belize and saw that you also enjoyed yours. We just thought of you guys and decided to send you some snapshots we got from Belize and if you could please forward them to Lois also. We miss everyone and hope all is well!
We took a look at your videos on your blog and thought they were awesome! We enjoyed our time in Belize and saw that you also enjoyed yours. We just thought of you guys and decided to send you some snapshots we got from Belize and if you could please forward them to Lois also. We miss everyone and hope all is well!
Sunday, August 08, 2010
My Father Passed Away Friday August 6, 2010
My father's 88th birthday was July 23. I went to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania to see him the week before he died as he had fallen down and broke his ankle. In talking to my mother, she said the he did not seem right for the past few weeks. I had never seen my father like this before, he seemed very confused and disoriented, whereas he was always very sharp. My brother Dave called me Friday night to say that he had passed away. The funeral service is in New Kensington, Pa. tomorrow, Monday. Please pray for my mother. They were married for fifty-six years, I believe.
I am not going to eulogize my father here. Let me just say that my father is the greatest man that I have ever known. He took care of his wife, and his children, family, and anyone else that he could help along the way. He owned his jewelry store business in Tarentum for forty-three years. I am in my twenty-sixth year, so he set the bar very high.
I will close this brief account on two notes. First, my father was always there, always there for me, and now he is not. I have lost the main foundation for my life.
Two, my father was a World War II hero. First, the Civil War Veterans are all gone. Next, according to a Google search, there are four surviving World War I Veterans. Lastly, there over two million World War II Veterans still alive, around the world. Fortunately, several years ago, Aaron, Richard, and I recorded his testimony of December 7, 1941. This was pleasing to him that his story would live on beyond him. Again, please pray for my mother as you watch and listen to him describe the incredible day that he lived through in the event that got the United States into World War II. John Chatterton, who was written about in the book Shadow Divers, emailed me after watching the video and said, "Living history like this needs to be preserved."
My father's 88th birthday was July 23. I went to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania to see him the week before he died as he had fallen down and broke his ankle. In talking to my mother, she said the he did not seem right for the past few weeks. I had never seen my father like this before, he seemed very confused and disoriented, whereas he was always very sharp. My brother Dave called me Friday night to say that he had passed away. The funeral service is in New Kensington, Pa. tomorrow, Monday. Please pray for my mother. They were married for fifty-six years, I believe.
I am not going to eulogize my father here. Let me just say that my father is the greatest man that I have ever known. He took care of his wife, and his children, family, and anyone else that he could help along the way. He owned his jewelry store business in Tarentum for forty-three years. I am in my twenty-sixth year, so he set the bar very high.
I will close this brief account on two notes. First, my father was always there, always there for me, and now he is not. I have lost the main foundation for my life.
Two, my father was a World War II hero. First, the Civil War Veterans are all gone. Next, according to a Google search, there are four surviving World War I Veterans. Lastly, there over two million World War II Veterans still alive, around the world. Fortunately, several years ago, Aaron, Richard, and I recorded his testimony of December 7, 1941. This was pleasing to him that his story would live on beyond him. Again, please pray for my mother as you watch and listen to him describe the incredible day that he lived through in the event that got the United States into World War II. John Chatterton, who was written about in the book Shadow Divers, emailed me after watching the video and said, "Living history like this needs to be preserved."
Monday, August 02, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Day of the Dolphin
This was a life changing event. It was on Bruce and my second dive of the second day where this school of five dolphins swam in on our group.
People pay for special dive with the dolphin dives and this was just an extraordinary unforeseen divine occurrence
The dolphins stayed and played with us the entire dive
They clicked and whistled around us and I could feel them sonaring me
They put on a spectacular Sea World style performance with rolling, swimming in formation, and shooting to the surface and breaking off in all directions
Geo, our dive guide acted and mimicked their swimming motions in an attempt to interact more with them
Bruce said this was a dive of a lifetime and in over 130 dives, he never had an experience like this
The universe is huge and ridiculous and sometimes miracles happen. Our God is an awesome God.
This was a life changing event. It was on Bruce and my second dive of the second day where this school of five dolphins swam in on our group.
People pay for special dive with the dolphin dives and this was just an extraordinary unforeseen divine occurrence
The dolphins stayed and played with us the entire dive
They clicked and whistled around us and I could feel them sonaring me
They put on a spectacular Sea World style performance with rolling, swimming in formation, and shooting to the surface and breaking off in all directions
Geo, our dive guide acted and mimicked their swimming motions in an attempt to interact more with them
Bruce said this was a dive of a lifetime and in over 130 dives, he never had an experience like this
The universe is huge and ridiculous and sometimes miracles happen. Our God is an awesome God.
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