Merry Christmas

Hello and Merry Christmas to everyone. I stayed home this year but did communicate with everyone in the family on Christmas day. I even did a web video with Kaitlin and Anna on their new Netbook computer. It was a lot of fun.

I wasn’t much for decorations this year. Here are a couple of pictures of my Christmas wreath and lights. Yes, I never put the wreath on the door and only 25 lights on the deck. It’s not that I don’t like Christmas but I guess I have become lazy!

Anyway, I do love Christmas and I believe Christmas is all about children. What a joyful time for them believing in the “Magic” of Christmas and anticipating all those wonderful gifts.

But I also believe Christmas has a much deeper meaning for us adults. Whether you are a Christian, Jew, Agnostic, Atheist or other belief, Christmas is about redemption and forgiveness. I never thought about Christmas this way before but recently I heard someone talk about it in these terms.

For the believers, Christ was put on earth to redeem and offer forgiveness for people. For the non-believers, you could still look at it in the same non-religious terms. To release, let go and forgive.

I thought about my life with all of the setbacks, knock-downs, hurts and challenges I had to face. How did I overcome them and move forward? After thinking about this for a while I realized a large part of it had to do with forgiveness. The other major part was removing negative thoughts and feelings from my thought processes.

No matter where a person is in life, each day offers a new beginning to move forward towards their dreams. But to take advantage of that new beginning, a person needs to do a few simple things.

First, you have to forgive others who did something to you that caused hurt or bad feelings. Do not give them the "PRIVILEGE" to continue the hurt, by you thinking about it on and on. It is like a sore that never heals. You have to release it so you can move on.

Next, forgive yourself of any hurt you have caused other people. Again you have to release it so you can move on.

Whether you think about these things consciously or not the thoughts and feelings are “burned” into your brain at a subconscious level. The human brain is a powerful “machine”, especially the subconscious part. It runs 24/7 and gives you instructions constantly. These instructions should always be positive and never negative. Negative thoughts hold you back. Negative thoughts can actually cause illness over time.

When my Florida children were young I would not let them use the word “Can’t”. Saying or thinking that you can’t do something programs the subconscious mind and prevents you from doing it. It’s that simple. So, always think positive. When you say or think of something negative such as “I can’t do that or I can’t change my life situation”, imagine yourself as a little person sitting on your shoulder and say “Is that what you want”? Then answer “No”. Then the little person will say, “Then don’t say it”! Remember, if you say or think something often enough whether it is positive or negative, your subconscious mind will program itself for that belief and keep providing those “instructions” to you. If the thoughts are negative, you will be kept in a place in life you don’t deserve to be at.

So, no matter what, if you don’t like your situation or where you are in life, you and only you have the power to change it. Start thinking differently tomorrow as it is a new day and new beginning for you.

Merry Christmas

Time to Catch Up

It's been quite a while since I updated the blog. I'm sure everyone has been waiting to see what's happening in my exciting life. NOT MUCH.

I did attend a Coast Guard Auxiliary Christmas social last Saturday and created a YouTube video of it with my new HD Camcorder. I think a few family members watched it but others have not responded about it.

Speaking of YouTube videos, my HD Camcorder review has had 438 views with 2 comments. I also received a 4 out of 5 Star rating. Not sure what that means.

Two other videos have received a 4 Star rating. Two Brothers Reunited with 178 views and Destroyed in Seconds with 168 views and one comment.

Interesting, is the Two Brothers Reunited has a YouTube warning that I am using copyrighted music (Yani). I guess I need to remove the video or redo it. Not sure what to do.

The next popular one is Deer Swimming in Lake Guntersville with 146 views. No star rating though.

Yesterday (Saturday) I was supposed to be in a Guntersville Parade representing the Coast Guard auxiliary with Buddy and Max but the Parade was cancelled due to weather.

I have finished all Christmas shopping and cards and everything will go out tomorrow (Monday).

Finally, my Micron Computer I bought in 2003 is on its last leg so I am replacing it with a new Dell Studio XPS 9000 with a 24 inch monitor. That ought to help with my eye site. I'm supposed to receive it the first week in January 2010.

Gosh, this year has gone by too fast.

Later Gator!

One of Those Days

I'm sure everyone has had a day that they wished they just stayed in bed. Well, today was it for me.

First it was raining and cold and the dogs don't like to go out in the rain so it is always a challenge for me.

Next, I had turned off my old PC for cleaning and when I turned it back on it would not boot up. I tried everything. there was a message screen that only showed for 1/2 a second and I could not read it. I finally took a video of the attempt to boot up in hopes that I would be able to stop the video and read the message. I put that aside and decided to have breakfast.

I haven't had "Sunny Side Up Eggs" for almost a year so I thought I would treat myself for having a bad start of the day.

Cooked em' and had a side of toast and sausage. I already had my OJ earlier so I decided to just drink some green tea with the breakfast. Well, for some reason unknown to me, I dropped the tea glass on my breakfast plate. The eggs, sausage and toast got soaked with tea. I thought I could still eat it but it was awful and in the garbage it went.

Next, I wanted to finish a video I was making to put on YouTube for all of you to watch. I kept having problems (My work Computer) and realized my 165 GB hard drive was almost full. I have a lot of "Stuff" on this computer that is work related and also personal things like photos, videos, and other software.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I was thinking about getting a HD camcorder. I did and took lots of test videos. The HD format creates huge video files and that has brought my hard drive down. So, I thought I would off load a 2007 and 2008 photos to a CD and remove some other things to get more storage capacity.

When I started my data CD copy program it kept crashing. Dang!, another problem. I had to reinstall it. Then I moved about 20 GBs off the computer. Things are looking better now.

Now to finish the HD video for YouTube. I kept trying to render the video into a final file and kept having issues with the output format. Finally, I finished it and uploaded it to YouTube (1.9 GB). The upload took a long time and when it was finished YouTube gave me an error indicating it did not recognize the format. #!&@%.

I tried other formats and back and forth. Finally I got it done, whew, there goes this day.

Anyway, here are a couple of links to view it in HD rather than the mini-player in the blog:

My review

I didn't have time for a nighttime test but here is a good demo of that:

Nighttime Test

I'm going to bed now, GOOD NIGHT!

Exciting News

I have some exciting news but first let me update you on the boring stuff.

This weekend I washed my Durango which needed it bad as well as Lights Out.

My Sony 50-inch wide screen TV has been getting dimmer and dimmer over the last year and I have been debating on whether to replace the projection bulb or just get a new TV. I was interested in a Vizio 55-inch for around $1500 at Wal-Mart but decided to just get a new bulb for the Sony at $150. This should give me a few more years of viewing before I replace it.

Now for the exciting news.

Brynne is being transferred temporarily to a World Market store in Birmingham which is only a few hours from me. It appears she will be there through December as the company wants her to turn the store around (It's in bad shape). I'm very proud of Brynne that she is such a good manager and her company has confidence in her to do a good but difficult job. Anyway, it looks like we will get to see each other a little more often. Also, I can provide the laundromat facility for her!

The next exciting thing is I started a new business. Actually, it started with my increasing concern about germs, especially H1N1 (Swine flu). I wash my hands a lot but the major body entry points for H1N1 is the nose and mouth. These areas are hard to wash with soap and water.

I did some research on the Internet and found Dr. Fresh Daily tooth brush packs. I ordered my first month supply as shown below.

The idea is you use one toothbrush for one day, then you throw it away (and all those nasty germs) and start with a new one the next day. Each toothbrush has a tongue scrubber on the other side of the bristles but I find it also works good for the nose to keep that entry point clean from germs. Each toothbrush pack includes a child brush that plays music when brushing. It also helps the child learn to keep the planet green. Turn up the volume as it has a cool beat.

Click here to listen to the Music. Music courtesy of Dr. Fresh

The retail cost runs $88 per month. I found out they also have a business opportunity. The way that works is you recruit people to join the opportunity and my cost for the brushes is reduce to $78 per month. Plus, for everyone I recruit to join the opportunity, the company sends me a free 6-pack of brushes. So, I decided to join and I will be setting up a website soon to help stamp out H1Ni and other germs we humans have to deal with.

If any of you want to join let me know so you can receive your toothbrushes quickly before the Flu season is over with.

That's about it for now.

Goodbye October

I can't believe it's November. October seemed to come and go in a "blink" of an eye. However the fall colors are great to see again.

As usual, I had no trick or treater's again. I buy a bag of Snickers every year since 2005 and no one ever comes. I end up eating all of them myself. Am I BAD!

Prepared the 3 boats and camper for winter this weekend just in case I get an early freeze.

Buddy and Max are doing good. Buddy decided to take over Max's bed for a few weeks and Max slept on Buddy's bed. Now they have switched back to their own beds. Weird.

I'm thinking of switching over my camera to HD wide screen so all future videos I create are in 1080i HD. I have been doing some research and instead of a primary photo camera with the capability to shoot standard video like I have now; I have an inclination toward a HD video Camcorder with 8 megapixle photo capability. I'm leaning towards a Canon as I have been very satisfied with my Canon photo camera.

It has many cool features plus it has an internal memory of 64 GB (Flash Memory). It can record up to 24 hours of HD video at Standard Play (SP) and up to 6 hours at the highest quality. If you want to learn more about it click on the link:

CamCorder

So if you all want an idea for Christmas, here it is. Ha-Ha, just kidding. If I get it it will be my Christmas present to Me.

My photo camera may be up for sale so if anyone needs a good high quality camera, let me know as I have a real deal for you.

Later Gator!

New Jersey Trip

I left last Sunday (18th) at 7am and headed to New Jersey for a business trip. The Huntsville to Atlanta flight was on time and here is an aerial shot of Atlanta.

The flight from Atlanta to Newark, NJ was delayed for hours due to bad weather in the NJ/NY area. I finally got there and by the time I arrived at the hotel it was 8pm. What was supposed to be a 6 hour trip turned into 13 hours. I Hate traveling by plane anymore!

Monday morning I headed to the office in Woodbridge.

RCC is the company I work for.

I spent most of the week in developer meetings as we are working on migrating all of the individual software packages into one software application that provides a common user interface for all software applications. It was a very tedious process and the time was mostly spent consolidating individual databases.

One day I provided software training for the current version of my software to a group of RCC engineers.

I was going to take some videos while there to make a spoof of "The Office" TV show but didn't have enough time to get them all. So I guess I'll have to finish the videos the next time I'm up there which will probably be sometime in December.

I left for home on the Friday the 23rd and picked up the dogs on the way. They were so happy to see me and I to see them. There was one incident while they were in boarding where Max provoked Buddy and Buddy attacked Max. Max has several bites on his ear and neck plus one on his head. The vet said they were superficial punctures and the lesions did not require further attention.

Max is taking an antibiotic to be sure there is no infection. I think it started by Max being stirred up from another strange dog and then took it out on Buddy as he was the only dog Max could get to. Of course Buddy won the battle. I thought that type of fighting was over but maybe the new surroundings made it occur.

Now I'm playing catch up this weekend.

National Radio Day

Today is National Radio Day. I just thought I would let you know (10-4). LOL

It's been a couple of weeks since I updated my blog and there is not much new to report. I did send several emails to my family members but haven't heard back on any of them. I hope I don't have the wrong email addresses.

I installed a burglar/intrusion alarm system on my house this weekend. It's all wireless so pretty easy to install. It has many features such as dialing up to 4 telephone numbers when an alarm sensor is activated. It also has a water proof pendent I can wear for those "Help, I've fallen down and can't get up" situations. You can record a message to send to one of the phone numbers and I will have it dial 911 requesting an ambulance. I checked with the 911 center here and they will respond to prerecorded messages.

The other numbers will be programed to my cell phone and Uncle Don as a backup as he is usually home most of the time. When I travel I can remotely dial into the system and check the status as well as turn on/off certain lights in the house. I can even monitor sounds in the house as well as have a two-way conversation with any one in the house, including the burglar!

The system can be further expanded at a future time with live cameras and I can view them over a secure Internet connection.

All-in-all, it's a pretty versatile system.

Speaking of traveling, I have to go to the home office (NJ) the week of the 19th. So this is another reason I put the security system in as I have some new valuables in the house (if you know what I mean) and I would not like them to get in the wrong hands.

This will be the first time the dogs will be boarded, so to reduce the stress for them, I will board them for one day b4 I go on the trip. This way they can get familiar with the boarding facility and learn that I will come back for them. The place has large kennels so they can stay together with each other.

I will send Uncle Don my itinerary in case anyone else wants to know my schedule.

That's it for now.

Rain - Rain -Rain

All it has been doing since I got back from Florida is rain and the forecast for this upcoming week is more rain. I'm really looking forward to the first fall cold front so I know summer is over.

As you know I took the camper into the shop last week to get the AC fixed. Well of course it worked fine and they could not find anything wrong!! Since there was no warranty work they charged me $40 to check it out. However, they did add a recall fix to the refrigerator which could have caused a fire. So at least that was fixed.

I've been keeping busy with work and right now I have been pulled off my software development to provide interference analysis for public safety frequencies for the new World Trade Center (if it ever gets built) as well as in various underground tunnels. It is pretty interesting work.

I have started to watch "The Office" reruns and found them to be funny. However, the reruns are not in date order and kind of confusing at times. So I decided to go back to the beginning and I got Season 1 through 5 on DVD. There are 18 DVDs for a total of 34 hours of viewing (100 episodes). That should keep my couch potato mode going for a while!

I don't want to sound like some kind of fanatic but I have been reviewing my "Home Defense" strategy and I felt like there were some weaknesses. Currently I have my Grandpa's old single-shot 12 gauge shotgun and my handgun. This would normally be OK against a single intruder but if there was more than one, I may be in trouble. So I decided to get a "Just In Case" (JIC) shotgun that is designed for Home Defense and personal protection. Here is a picture of it with accessories.

It is very small and holds 6 shells with a pump action that allows you to take many quick shots. Being a shotgun aiming is not so critical.

The manufacture is Mossberg and they state:

Whether it’s survival in the back country or hurricane season on the coast, one can never be too prepared for the unexpected. The heart of the JIC™ package is the venerable 12 gauge Mossberg® 500® Pump-Action. Fitted with a compact 18-1/2” barrel and rugged synthetic pistol grip and forearm. It even includes a Survival Kit in a can.

I hope I never have to use it but anyone who comes into my house without an invite is in serious trouble.

What is your Home Defense Plan? You need to think about it.

End of Florida Visit

It is later in the morning on Wednesday and I met Pamella at Brynne's home. We went to the pool and had fun in the water.

Later we traded pictures and videos on our computers so we would all have a set (201 total between 3 of us). Somehow I ended up with one of Aislynn at ballet which I couldn't take earlier in the week. She is so cute!

Here is Grandpa and his two grandchildren.

I took a closeup of Keiran to show his long eyelashes. Such a pretty baby.

We then went out for lunch. We forgot to have someone take a picture of us so we did a self portrait in the parking lot where we ate.

It was sad to say goodbye but we all parted company. I really had a great time seeing everyone and I will miss them a lot.

My original plan was to depart for home early Thursday AM but I decided I would never sleep that night with the camper AC out (85 - 90 degrees) so I decided to head for home. I got the camper ready and was on the road by 4 PM.

It was a grueling drive and I had a little trouble keeping alert but I made frequent stops to wake me up. The dog's and I had burgers in Montgomery and we finally arrived home at 12:45 AM. I just parked the camper and we all headed in the house and went to bed.

This Morning (Thursday) I unloaded the camper and took it to a local RV repair shop to get the AC fixed. This same thing happened last year went I took a trip to Debbie's. It is still under warranty so there should be no cost.

The rest of the day I played catch up and took a few naps as I was still tired.

That's it for now.

Last Day in Florida

Here it is Wednesday already. I will be heading back to Guntersville tomorrow morning. Time just goes by too fast. Brynne and I took the dogs to the beach yesterday AM and took some pictures and videos. The dogs loved the beach and I took them in the water for the first time. At first they were a little reluctant but once they got comfortable I think they enjoyed it. They swam for the first time in their life.

Brynne and I then returned to the camper and had lunch. The dogs were tired and zonked out right away.

In the afternoon I went to Pamella's and we went to Aislynn's ballet class. We watched her through a tinted window which was too dark for taking pictures. She did real good and it seemed she liked the tap shoe session the best.

That evening I went to watch Brynne and Sean play softball for Sean's work team. It was too dark to take pictures. The other team won (of course [LOL]). After the game we stopped at Olive Garden, Brynne's favorite restaurant, for a late dinner. The food was great and I overate again!

I crashed in bed around 11PM and woke up in the middle of the night sweating. The camper AC quit working and it was 85 degrees in the camper. I could not get it going again so it will be miserable for me and the dogs.

Today we are all meeting at Brynne's to go swimming in her pool and to have lunch.

Tomorrow I go home and I was planning on leaving the camper here in storage so I won't have to drive it back and forth. But now I need to take it home so I can get the AC fixed.

This will be my last post while in FL.

Happy Labor Day & Photos

As you know from my previous post I had forgotten my camera interface cable for downloading photos. I was able to get the $7.00 cable at Radio Shack for only $21.00! Here are some pictures starting from Friday when I left for the trip.

The dogs rode in their crates which filled up the whole back end of the Durango.

Going down the road pulling a 4,000 pound plus camper going 60 MPH. I let Buddy drive while I was taking pictures and videos. Glad no cops saw this!!

Settled in at the campground.

Ate lunch at Moe's with Sean and Brynne.

Stomp them "Gators".

Aislynn's birthday party.

I couldn't find one of the three books I gave Aislynn so I put a $10.00 bill in her birthday card. She looked at the bill and tossed it down with all of the other present wrapping trash. I guess in today's world we use too much plastic money. Pamella will take her to a store and show her the "Power" of CASH!

Grandpa and Kieran.

Aislynn acting silly at a hamburger joint.

Florida or Bust

I thought I would be able to post every day on the visit but it ain't working like that. Number one is I forgot my camera adapter cable so I am unable to download photos at this point. Hopefully I will find a cable today (Sunday).

I left Friday at 7am and arrived in PCB around 4 pm. It was a long trip pulling the camper and frequent stops for me and the dogs to do pottie stuff!!

I met with Brynne and Sean that evening and we went out to eat some Mexican Food. It was very good except one of the items on my plate was too "hot" for me.

Saturday Brynne, I and the dogs went to Santa Rosa Beach to visit Pamella, Shaun, Aislynn and my new grandson, Kieran. He is quite the "man". Aislynn had an early birthday party with some of her friends and she got the "Mother Load" of presents. It was probably better than any Christmas that I ever witnessed.

Brynne and I played "Hungry Hippo" with her and drove Pamella and Shaun crazy with the noise of those hungry hippos chomping for the food (marbles). If anyone remembers that game you know how loud it is. I think the inventor of the game must have been deaf as he would have never built the toy if he could have heard all of the racket!!

After eating sandwiches, salad and cake we all went out for Pizza! It worked out great because Saturday night is my normal pizza night. The only problem is I had to waste the pizza for a dinner rather than just a snack as I usually do! LOL

There is an apartment near Brynne's and Sean's that has a FL Gators mat by the door and we all stepped on it (in a bad way) as we walked back and forth. Sorry all you Gator fans (Andrew).

Hopefully my next blog will have some photos.

End of August

It is hard to believe that August is over. I have been very busy with work and other activities. This weekend I washed the camper in preparation for my Florida visit over Labor Day week. That sure is a lot of vehicle to wash. going up and down a ladder really stressed my knees and the left one is hurting pretty bad. I also learned that I should wash it more than just once a year.

I have also been experimenting with "Green Screen" video production. You know, like the weather person on TV and movie special effects. I downloaded a free 30day demo Video Production software application from Sony. It is the same package that Les Strood uses, who is the creator of "Survivor Man" on TV.

It is a very technical application and the learning curve is long. The demo will expire tomorrow (Sunday) so I had to finish up my project today. Doing "Green Screen" is very difficult as the screen has to be perfect and the lighting more than perfect to prevent shadows and artifacts from showing up in the final rendering of the video.

I probably have over 40-hours in this 8-minute video and I'm still not happy with it. I did the "Gardener" scene with my web cam and I didn't notice it was out of focus, plus the audio was terrible. The rest was done with my cannon photo/video camera.

It is called "The TV Interview". It was all "adlib" except the TV interviewer did have a list of questions to ask.

At some points you will hear the "Producer" talking in the background. Even though the quality is low, it is kind of funny. Please leave your comments about the video on the Blog.

You can view it in a small window by selecting it in the Video Bar on the right or select it in the My Stories and Links Panel to see it directly from YouTube in a larger format.

The dogs are doing great. I caught Buddy sleeping on his back one day.

And Max has a new spot next to me when I watch TV. He has become very attached to me and is like my shadow.

That's all for now!

Another Hot Weekend

I had planned on doing several outdoor things this weekend but it is just too darn hot.

Max and I finished his advanced obedience course and he did real good and learned a few more things. His dog aggression is easing but I have to watch him carefully and correct him when it happens. When I have time I will teach Buddy some of the new things that Max learned.

I wrote another short story called "The Potato Days". It is listed in the right hand panel under My Stories and Links. Check it out!

The Lights Out inquiries are starting to pick up now and I have showed the boat twice in the last week. They are interested so hope someone buys it soon.

I received an IRS notice yesterday concerning my 2007 taxes. It appears that one of the mortgage companies did not report (Form 1098) the interest I paid so the IRS indicated I owed and additional $2,321 in taxes and interest. Now I have to go through a lot of trouble proving the mortgage company screwed up, or maybe the IRS did. Maybe I can get the same deal as Tim Geithner, the Treasury Secretary got!

Speaking of our government, I am so glad I am able to help so many people buy new cars with my tax money ($4500 Cash for Clunkers Program). I wish they would at least buy American Made cars! Too bad I can't take advantage of that program. Oh well, you know how "Spreading the Wealth" works.

I am just sharing some of my thoughts about our government here. Hmmm, maybe that is why I am being audited? Maybe my political emails have caught up with me! LOL

I finally finished Season 4 (the last One) of Battlestar Galactica. Thank you Phillip, for introducing me to the Series. I got hooked on it and enjoyed the entire series.

That's about it for now.

Talk About a Mission

I woke up Saturday with a mission. I washed "Lights Out" and then took her out for a run on the river to clean the bottom and make sure everything still worked. Then I went to the pet store, auto parts store, two grocery stores and stopped for gas. This was all done by NOON!

I watched a very good movie Saturday night called "Flash of Genius". It was a true story about an inventor who went up against the giants of the auto industry (Detroit) for patent infringement. A very inspiring moving and another reason to keep "Never Give Up" fresh in your mind. You need to see it.

As some of you know, I had "Lights Out" sold but the buyer backed out at the last moment. Anticipating the sale, I was not ready to give up cruising on the water so I found a 25 foot pontoon boat that was a great deal and I thought it would be good for taking little jaunts on the water. Plus it is all one level and very easy on my knees compared to the steps on Lights Out.

Also, it can hold up to 12 people so it would be good for when I have family visiting to take a little cruise on the water or go to the bat cave and watch the bats come out.

It even has a wireless remote controlled trolling motor so I can even use it for fishing and as a replacement for the bass boat if it ever wears out.

I decided to purchase it and then pay off the small loan when I received the proceeds from "Lights Out". When the buyer back out I was very disappointed and now I have 3 boats. Good Lord, what have I done? Since I decided to work until I am 66 (another year) I will be financially OK but I really want to sell Lights Out. Hopefully, there is another buyer out there somewhere.

Here are a few photos of the pontoon boat:

It even has a pop-up changing room that can also have a porta-pottie. When completely open there is a drop-down curtain for privacy. Not as convient as the head on Lights Out but when you gota go you gota go and convenience is not a concern. LOL

It's Been a While

It has been a while since I have posted on the blog. I have been pretty busy with "stuff" lately. My latest project is for work. The company decided they wanted to migrate all of the various software programs into one modularized package.

The programming environment has changed to Visual Studio 8 .NET. Therefore I will have to migrate my 3 applications from VB6 (which has been obsoleted several years ago) to the new .NET VB 2008. I will have to start all over and learn a lot of new things. Here is an 8-inch stack of books I need to read. A total of 3,819 pages.

A Microsoft tool estimates 9-months of time for me to convert and migrate all of the software. Yes, there is that much code that needs to change. This should be a fun and very challenging project. It should keep my brain sharp for a while longer.

The dogs graduated from obedience training a few weeks ago and are doing good.

Otherwise I have been fishing off and on and doing a little boating on the river. Here are a few photos of me and the dogs checking out some sail boats.