Jeff and Jordana finally had a baby. Well, actually they had twins. A boy and a girl. Jonah Eli and Ariel Lily (at least that's the way I think they're spelled). We went down to see them December 13 and they are adorable. Mom and the babies are doing fine. This picture is when they are less than a week old.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
I'm an uncle
Jeff and Jordana finally had a baby. Well, actually they had twins. A boy and a girl. Jonah Eli and Ariel Lily (at least that's the way I think they're spelled). We went down to see them December 13 and they are adorable. Mom and the babies are doing fine. This picture is when they are less than a week old.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
World's Worst Banker?
Sandy Weill, Chuck Prince, and Vikram Pandit of Citigroup nominated for World's Worst Banker!
In a Newsweek article:
In a Newsweek article:
In an interview Monday, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman nominated the gang that ran Citigroup into the ground. But Citi was so big it took three CEOs—Sandy Weill, Chuck Prince, and Vikram Pandit—to bring it to the brink of disaster.Don't worry, they were in very good company!
ShamWow!
ShamWow!
I decided to order the ShamWow because I use a lot of paper towels and hand towels in the kitchen wiping up water spills around the sink. I ordered from the website after seeing it on a TV infomercial. I read a few reviews online before ordering and most had good things to say. It seems the main "bad" issue is that it doesn't fully dry surfaces.
One issue I have is that shipping and handling is $7.95. I think this is a bit of a rip-off, but at least I don't have to pay sales tax. "Handling" should be built into the price, and shipping shouldn't be more than a couple bucks.
I decided to order the ShamWow because I use a lot of paper towels and hand towels in the kitchen wiping up water spills around the sink. I ordered from the website after seeing it on a TV infomercial. I read a few reviews online before ordering and most had good things to say. It seems the main "bad" issue is that it doesn't fully dry surfaces.
One issue I have is that shipping and handling is $7.95. I think this is a bit of a rip-off, but at least I don't have to pay sales tax. "Handling" should be built into the price, and shipping shouldn't be more than a couple bucks.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Product Review: Air-O-Swiss 7135 Humidifier
I purchased this humidifier today at Bed Bath & Beyond because I was tired of waking up with a sore throat and "crusty things" in my nose. Basically the dry air of winter isn't good. I have a humidifier on the furnace for the downstairs, but nothing on the furnace for upstairs. I figured a small, portable humidifier for the bedroom would be easier and less costly than installing a humidifier on the furnace in the attic.
I selected the Air-O-Swiss 7135 based on some reviews on AllergyBuyersClub.com, Allergy Consumers Review and other sites. I purchased from Bed Bath because of their 20% discount coupons that they always send me.
First impressions:
The demineralization cartridge needs to soak in water for 24 hours before use. If you're using distilled water, or reverse osmosis water, you don't need to use the DMC. I placed it on my night table on my side of the bed, with the nozzle pointing parallel to the side of the bed, into the room. I'll see if that works well.
The first time I turned it on, the red "clean" indicator came on and nothing else happened. I reset it according to the instructions and it's working fine now. I am using the heated mist function but really can't tell that the mist coming out is warm or not.
Since I haven't had a chance to really use it, I will update this review over the next few days and months. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will attempt to answer them. Good luck in your personal quest for better winter air!
Edit 12/2/08: After using the humidifier a few days, it is quiet. I am very happy about that because I was afraid I would have problems falling asleep because it is right next to me. The humidity sensor is not very accurate. I have it set for 40% RH (relative humidity) and it hardly ever gets there to shut off by itself. I think it is low by about 20 based on testing with a temperature/humidity data logger I have. I let it run 24x7 for a couple days and the carpeting near the humidifier was damp, so I decided to only start it when I went to bed, and usually on the low speed. This goes through about half a tank of water (I shut it off in the morning when I wake up). I am using the preheat setting.
I have noticed a big difference in the mornings. My sore throat is gone and I'm feeling better overall.
Monday, November 17, 2008
My Keypad
Since I am using Insteon technology in my house, I have a few KeypadLinc's (Remote-Controllable Keypad Dimmer) throughout. Here is my main keypad by the garage door, which we use as our main entry to the house.
Here is the original switch with the clear buttons. Click each picture to see a high resolution picture.
Here is an updated picture of the keypad with the top four buttons replaced with laser engraved buttons. They look much better, so once I have some extra money to spend on HA (Home Automation), I will upgrade the bottom buttons.
Let me know which one you like best. Other people have used colored buttons, such as red, blue, red, etc. to differentiate some buttons. I don't think I will be doing that.
Here is the original switch with the clear buttons. Click each picture to see a high resolution picture.
Here is an updated picture of the keypad with the top four buttons replaced with laser engraved buttons. They look much better, so once I have some extra money to spend on HA (Home Automation), I will upgrade the bottom buttons.
Let me know which one you like best. Other people have used colored buttons, such as red, blue, red, etc. to differentiate some buttons. I don't think I will be doing that.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Restaurant Review: 28 BBQ
The wife and I went to 28 BBQ tonight. You don't want to go there for the ambiance.
The restaurant seems new, but we saw other reviews going back to 2007. It looks like there is a take-out part and a sit-down restaurant part, which is where we went. The walls are a light green and all the tables are square wood tables for two. Larger tables are created by putting multiple tables together. The light is bright fluorescent and the floor is tile, so the place overall is very bright. Since the place wasn't busy, the waitress told us to pick a table where we wanted to sit. There was a TV hanging from the ceiling in a corner of the room playing a repeat of Law & Order.
On the table were mustard and ketchup squeeze bottles (the yellow and red one's), a napkin dispenser and salt & pepper shakers. The tables had paper place mats and settings with a fork and knife. Remember, you're not there for the ambiance.
I ordered the beef short ribs and the wife ordered the paella. I got a salad included with mine and my wife ordered a separate one. When they came, they were just lettuce, tomato and onion. We weren't offered a choice of dressing and oil & vinegar was brought with the salads. A bread basket with basic bread and butter was also brought to the table. The place is BYOB so we brought a bottle of Mark West pinot noir wine, which I'm "testing" for Thanksgiving. (Any errors in this post are attributable to the wine, since I ended up drinking almost the whole bottle.) Julia was bummed because she was looking forward to sangria.
While we were eating the salads, which were fine, the waitress brought each of us a plate, which she put on the side of us. This really could have been done once the salad plates were cleared, but then, you're not here for the ambiance. When we were done with the salads, the plates were cleared promptly. Then it was time for another glass of wine, at least for me.
The main courses were served and they were large portions. The paella was a large silver bowl of yellow rice with half a lobster on top. There were clams and mussels mixed in. There was also supposed to be shrimp in there, but there was none to be found. The mussels weren't open, so they were not edible. We pointed this out to the waitress and she brought the manager over. He apologized and offered to re-make the dish, but Julia declined. Ultimately the dish was removed from the bill. The short ribs were good. They were a little fatty near the bone, but that is to be expected. They were cooked as ordered (medium) and were tasty. There were a lot of "meat" items on the menu, so I think that is what you should be ordering if you go there. The prices were reasonable.
As far as beverages go, there were Coca Cola products in a cooler on display. It looked like there were pieces of cake and other desserts in a cooler next to that one. We did not order dessert, so I don't know how those tasted.
Overall it was just "Ok." My dinner was good but Julia's was not. The ambiance was nothing to speak of. I think the place does a good take-out business because the parking lot was full, but there weren't many people in the restaurant part.
The restaurant seems new, but we saw other reviews going back to 2007. It looks like there is a take-out part and a sit-down restaurant part, which is where we went. The walls are a light green and all the tables are square wood tables for two. Larger tables are created by putting multiple tables together. The light is bright fluorescent and the floor is tile, so the place overall is very bright. Since the place wasn't busy, the waitress told us to pick a table where we wanted to sit. There was a TV hanging from the ceiling in a corner of the room playing a repeat of Law & Order.
On the table were mustard and ketchup squeeze bottles (the yellow and red one's), a napkin dispenser and salt & pepper shakers. The tables had paper place mats and settings with a fork and knife. Remember, you're not there for the ambiance.
I ordered the beef short ribs and the wife ordered the paella. I got a salad included with mine and my wife ordered a separate one. When they came, they were just lettuce, tomato and onion. We weren't offered a choice of dressing and oil & vinegar was brought with the salads. A bread basket with basic bread and butter was also brought to the table. The place is BYOB so we brought a bottle of Mark West pinot noir wine, which I'm "testing" for Thanksgiving. (Any errors in this post are attributable to the wine, since I ended up drinking almost the whole bottle.) Julia was bummed because she was looking forward to sangria.
While we were eating the salads, which were fine, the waitress brought each of us a plate, which she put on the side of us. This really could have been done once the salad plates were cleared, but then, you're not here for the ambiance. When we were done with the salads, the plates were cleared promptly. Then it was time for another glass of wine, at least for me.
The main courses were served and they were large portions. The paella was a large silver bowl of yellow rice with half a lobster on top. There were clams and mussels mixed in. There was also supposed to be shrimp in there, but there was none to be found. The mussels weren't open, so they were not edible. We pointed this out to the waitress and she brought the manager over. He apologized and offered to re-make the dish, but Julia declined. Ultimately the dish was removed from the bill. The short ribs were good. They were a little fatty near the bone, but that is to be expected. They were cooked as ordered (medium) and were tasty. There were a lot of "meat" items on the menu, so I think that is what you should be ordering if you go there. The prices were reasonable.
As far as beverages go, there were Coca Cola products in a cooler on display. It looked like there were pieces of cake and other desserts in a cooler next to that one. We did not order dessert, so I don't know how those tasted.
Overall it was just "Ok." My dinner was good but Julia's was not. The ambiance was nothing to speak of. I think the place does a good take-out business because the parking lot was full, but there weren't many people in the restaurant part.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
My Pathetic ISP Speed
I am using Verizon DSL service and I've noticed it's getting progressively worse when it comes to download speeds. I really can't wait until FiOS comes to my neighborhood. I don't want to get Optimum Online from Cablevision because I'm not happy with their cable TV service. Since the concert at the Watchung Arts Center tonight was canceled, we decided to stay in, so we started watching the first season of Heroes on Netflix (watch instantly). However, the speed was awful.
The video was a little "jerky" but Julia didn't really notice that (at least she didn't say anything about it) but the show paused and buffered too many times. It was really annoying and unwatchable. Looks like I will have to call Verizon and see if they can fix it.
The video was a little "jerky" but Julia didn't really notice that (at least she didn't say anything about it) but the show paused and buffered too many times. It was really annoying and unwatchable. Looks like I will have to call Verizon and see if they can fix it.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
CraigsList
I like using Craigslist (will take you to Northern NJ) to sell stuff. I also like reading the "Best Of's." Anyway, here are some things I am trying to sell right now. No reasonable offer refused!
Houdini Corkscrew Set - $20
Polk Audio Center Channel Speaker - $40
Set of four (4) Bridge Chairs - $25
Verbatim 91204 5.25 Magneto Optical 2.6GB ReWritable Disk (4X) - $200
Coffee Table - $84
Hitachi SuperScan Elite 802 21 inch CRT Monitor - $100
BDI Aspect 9760 TV Stand - $250
RCA DirecTV Receivers - $25
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween everyone. We usually get a lot of trick-or-treaters. Last year I wore a mask (sometimes) when I answered the door and I scared a little kid once. Bummer! I got two of the big bags of candy from Costco (a total of 300 pieces of chocolate candies). Hopefully I don't go through them too quick.
Edit (10/31/08): I decided to get a couple more bags (regular size) of candy. I also got some non-chocolate candy so if anyone asks for that, I'm ready.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
CFLs Suck
There, I said it. Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs suck. I'm trying to be energy efficient so I bought a couple CFL reflector bulbs to replace some reflector flood lights in my ceiling cans (ceiling-recessed downlights). Specifically I got one GE 21710 (720 lumens, 6000 hours) and one GE 47478 (750 lumens, 10000 hours). Both are 15W CFLs equivalent to 65W incandescent. The 21710 package specifically indicated it was dimmable. The 47478 package didn't specify either way. Most of the CFLs are non dimmable. Anyway, neither is instant start. The delay was very noticeable. The 47478 did not dim with my Insteon SwitchLinc dimmer switch. The 21710 did not have enough "steps" or levels in dimming, and only went down to about 25% before turning off. I will now go to halogen bulbs
A good paper on Reflector Light Bulbs and Lighting Controls as it pertains to the Energy Act of 2007 (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007)) can be found here. The Compact Fluorescent Dimming: Buyer Beware paper is another good source of information.
A good paper on Reflector Light Bulbs and Lighting Controls as it pertains to the Energy Act of 2007 (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007)) can be found here. The Compact Fluorescent Dimming: Buyer Beware paper is another good source of information.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Let it snow!
Even though it was only 38° F when I looked at the temperature, the snow was coming down in big, fluffy flakes and was covering the grass.I doubt it will last, but it was nice to see snow so early in the season, especially since it's not winter yet.
The Star Ledger newspaper is calling it a "freak fall snowstorm." The last time we had snow in October was in 2002.
Monday, October 27, 2008
SNL Weekend Update
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Magellan Roadmate 1412
Here's a mini review of the GPS. There are plenty of reviews of the features and functionality all over the Web. I guess my review will be about the things I don't like about it. If I decide there are too many problems, I will take it back and get a different model. I previously had a Garmin (250W, I think) but it took too long to lock onto satellites and map the route. (At this point, I should probably say that the GPS is my wife's, but I use it too.)
I was happy with the features, which are more than the Garmin, such as speaking the road names of the turns.
My first gripe is that it couldn't find the nearest Kinko's. The closest one it showed in a search was 6.5 miles away, but I knew of a closer one, and on the way to where I was going anyway. It was 4.8 miles from where I was when I searched. Even when I was in the parking lot when I got to the Kinko's I wanted to be at, the GPS didn't know about it. The people said they have been there for six years, plenty of time to be in Magellan's (or whoever they use) map database.
A good thing is that it gives plenty of notice of an exit on the highway, e.g. 2 miles out, 1.1 miles, .4 miles and finally at the exit. (I think the chime at the exit is Ok but my wife doesn't like it.)
I don't like that once you arrive at your destination, you have to cancel the existing route before entering a new address. Later today I used it to get home and I noticed that it went back to the main menu; I didn't have to cancel the existing route. Perhaps you need to arrive at the exact location???
In general, it takes too many menu clicks to enter things. (Getting Home takes 4 clicks: Main Menu, Home button, Route, and finally the orange Route button. It should be two at the most!) Another issue is that when changing the volume, you have to click Save to move on. After a few seconds, it should just go back to the previous screen. And maybe I just want to raise the volume temporarily due to road noise. It seems that I will always be changing the volume.
I'm sure I will continue to update this as time goes on....
Edit (10/24/08):
I mapped a route to 118 US-202 in Bernardsville and it brought me to a lake!!! Luckily I knew where I was supposed to be. When I got to the destination, the GPS indicated I was on Morristown Road, which could be the name of the small highway as it goes through town. Many small highways have road names also.
The suction cup/mounting bracket is much better than the Garmin.
Getting Home through my housing development takes a roundabout way which is not the shortest or fastest route. Good thing I know how to get home in my development!
I was happy with the features, which are more than the Garmin, such as speaking the road names of the turns.
My first gripe is that it couldn't find the nearest Kinko's. The closest one it showed in a search was 6.5 miles away, but I knew of a closer one, and on the way to where I was going anyway. It was 4.8 miles from where I was when I searched. Even when I was in the parking lot when I got to the Kinko's I wanted to be at, the GPS didn't know about it. The people said they have been there for six years, plenty of time to be in Magellan's (or whoever they use) map database.
A good thing is that it gives plenty of notice of an exit on the highway, e.g. 2 miles out, 1.1 miles, .4 miles and finally at the exit. (I think the chime at the exit is Ok but my wife doesn't like it.)
I don't like that once you arrive at your destination, you have to cancel the existing route before entering a new address. Later today I used it to get home and I noticed that it went back to the main menu; I didn't have to cancel the existing route. Perhaps you need to arrive at the exact location???
In general, it takes too many menu clicks to enter things. (Getting Home takes 4 clicks: Main Menu, Home button, Route, and finally the orange Route button. It should be two at the most!) Another issue is that when changing the volume, you have to click Save to move on. After a few seconds, it should just go back to the previous screen. And maybe I just want to raise the volume temporarily due to road noise. It seems that I will always be changing the volume.
I'm sure I will continue to update this as time goes on....
Edit (10/24/08):
I mapped a route to 118 US-202 in Bernardsville and it brought me to a lake!!! Luckily I knew where I was supposed to be. When I got to the destination, the GPS indicated I was on Morristown Road, which could be the name of the small highway as it goes through town. Many small highways have road names also.
The suction cup/mounting bracket is much better than the Garmin.
Getting Home through my housing development takes a roundabout way which is not the shortest or fastest route. Good thing I know how to get home in my development!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Photosynth
From Microsoft Live Labs, Photosynth is a new and very interesting technology. From the website, "Imagine being able to share the places and things you love using the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the mind-blowing detail of the real world. With nothing more than a bunch of photos, Photosynth creates an amazing new experience." You really need to take a look to understand it. And even though you may not understand it, it does look really cool.
My first attempt at creating a Synth wasn't all that successful, even though I used 51 photos. It was only 33% synthy. Since it was so bad, I won't bother posting a link, but you can search for it if you really want to see it. It was a fire truck.
My first attempt at creating a Synth wasn't all that successful, even though I used 51 photos. It was only 33% synthy. Since it was so bad, I won't bother posting a link, but you can search for it if you really want to see it. It was a fire truck.
Snarfer
I've been using Snarfer for reading RSS feeds. I'm pretty happy with it, except that it saves messages in a format that can't be indexed by Google Desktop Search. Hopefully as Snarfer matures, the author (or perhaps someone else) will create a plug-in for GDS.
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