Sunday, June 15, 2008

PDF Annotator

Just downloaded and installed the newest PDF Annotator (version 2) from Grahl Software. It's got a LOT of new stuff. Highly recommended!! (I don't work for Grahl, I'm just a very satisfied customer.)

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Greatest . . . Purchase . . . Ever!


Well, it's maybe not the greatest purchase ever, but it ranks right up there!

Picture it: We usually put off until Sunday evening (don't we all??) to wash, and there's sometimes a mad scramble to get there first. We bought one of these Whirlpool portable washers and it's really working great for us.

It's quick, too -- even the longest cycle takes less than 45 minutes or so. Plus, we can pause it mid-cycle and let stuff soak for as long as we want. We keep it in the little closet under the stairs that's in the laundry room. When needed, we roll it out and hook it up. When done, we roll it back out of the way.

Highly recommended!

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Where ARE we headed??!!

So here's an entirely scary concept: Kevin Phillips, in his article The Old Titans All Collapsed. Is the U.S. Next? presents startling evidence that we're gonna have a MAJOR headache a few years from now. Interesting reading.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Landscaping Hardscape


Been thinking about redoing the landscaping at home. The little gardens to the left and right of the front door have gotten NASTY over the years. Weeds everywhere, plants dead or dying, geez. I've taken care of the trees in the front and back yards, replacing the mulch. Looks GOOD! So now it's on to the gardens. I just ADORE this look.....

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Trend for Old Folks and Insurance

Mom's trying to figure out which insurance plan to go with for her Medicare/Medicaid/retirement.

She's gotten information from several companies (Humana, BlueCross/BlueShield which she uses now, AARP, and so on). Turns out that all the plans are 95% the same!! She says the presentations and documentation that she's been reading is mostly repetitive, with just a few tweaks here and there between the different companies, and slightly different costs.

I think she's going to stay with the BC/BS plan 'cause none of the others are way different.....

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Showing Google Earth in a Browser

Well, they finally did it! You can now use Google Earth in a browser plug-in instead of loading the software application. Go to code.google.com/apis/earth to download. Sweet!!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Japan Shop

Learning Japanese like I am? Check out The Japan Shop. Very nice folks (Clay and Yumi are their names), very good prices.

They've started doing these little $5 "Instant Downloads" which are quite interesting. It may be a Japanese story (in Japanese, of course!) with flash cards, a PDF of the readings, an audio recording at full speed and a recording where the speaker speaks the words slowly for studying, etc. Or it could be a study guide for Japanese sayings with flash cards, PDF, audio recordings, and so on. I've picked up the ones published so far. They're great, and have helped me learn a lot of Japanese, plus at only $5 per download, it's an economical way to study.

They also sell regular books and dictionaries, electronic dictionary devices, study guides, the JLPT study series, and on and on. They EVEN have free stuff for download!

Check 'em out! (By the way, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, except as a very satisfied customer.)

Monday, May 26, 2008

What's on my playlist now?




Ida Corr's new album, Streetdiva. Be sure to check out the "Let Me Think About It" Club Mix with Fedde Le Grand

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Brother's Wedding Anniversary

Today is Rob and Lindy's 24th anniversary. According to about.com, the 24th anniversary is for musical instruments. Hmmmm.....

Thursday, May 01, 2008

The Republicans Have Ruined Us

The war, now absurd gas prices? What next -- or should I tempt fate by asking??

Yee ha!

Friday, April 25, 2008

From Joke of the Day

M&M's

An old man and a young man work together in an office. The old man always has a jar of peanuts on his desk, and the young man really loves peanuts.

One day, while the old man is away from his desk, the young man yields to temptation and scarfs down over half of the contents of the jar. When the old man returns, the young man feels guilty and confesses to his crime.

"Don't worry, son. I never eat the peanuts anyway," the old man replies. "Since I lost my teeth, all I can do is gum chocolate off the M&M's."