Archive for September, 2006
Saturday, September 16th, 2006
Due to my apparent problem with sitting still, we decided to make a visit to Lowes on Wednesday night. The last time we went to Lowes, we got all excited to see the great garden section, only to be tossed out because the store was closing. Not this time…we got there at about 6PM.
I wanted to get some nice shrubs that vary in size to give the steps down to the basement some excitement. Right now, there is grass and a hill. Not too thrilling. I love the way some properties have so much green, you feel like you are hiking. There is always something new at every turn. I really want to have such a variety that there is always something to talk about and look at.
When we got to Lowes, we were pleasantly surprised to see that there were tons of Mums (Chrysanthemums) on sale for only $2.19 each. We bought 5 pots…we are suckers for a nice perennial.
Then, I ran to the back section where all the little shrubs are. I like to buy the really small ones, because they are always so cheap. I am not a landscaper planting for a customer, so I am happy to get the little ones and wait a year for them to grow. Most of them were on sale for $5.98. I wanted to make a row along the rock wall, with the higher growing shrubs at the rear and the smaller ones to the front and the ends.
I decided to purchase 2 Emerald n Gold Euonymus, 3 Blue Princess Holly, 2 French Hybrid Lilac, 3 Wintergreen Boxwood and 2 Dwarf Burning Bush. Now, this was a great looking combination of color and height for the side of the rock wall. The photos of the shrubs are below in the same order as I listed above.
Lastly, on the way out, we noticed some small trees for sale towards the parking lot. We took a look and were shocked to see them on sale for only $24.95. We grabbed a great looking White Dogwood for the partly shaded area of the front yard. This tree blooms in spring to show a nice looking white flower and is good because it only grows 20′-25′.
Here is a great example of how beautiful a blend of White and Pink Dogwood trees can look.
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Posted in Gardening, Home Improvement, Landscaping, Trees & Shrubs | 2 Comments »
Thursday, September 14th, 2006
This post may ruffle some feathers. I will try to keep it short.
I had a conversation with a friend this morning about SEO. I started thinking. Now, you may not know, but one of my favorite pastimes is managing my websites (of which I mentioned in an earlier post). There are many parts to managing these sites…customer service, updates and upgrades, new features and very importantly, SEO.
Basically, SEO is adjusting of website code and content so it consistently appears on the early pages of search results for strong search terms. The key words here are consistently, early and strong search terms. I could go on for hours, but I won’t. Bob has a great post here about the ins and the outs of this topic.
Anyway, much focus has been put on Google PageRank over the years. I read a lot about this on forum after forum and watch as people cheer or sulk every time Google adjusts their algorithm. The minute they see their website’s PageRank bounce around during a Google update, they freak out and start tearing things apart and asking for all sorts of advice. Granted, a lot of people making these posts are brand new to this stuff and haven’t realized yet that Google PageRank is just not that important. That’s right…it’s just not that important. I know this for a fact. My years of experience have taught me a few things. What is important is your rankings in the search results, which are based on…well, read Bob’s post above. If you are into ecommerce, these rankings affect your income.
So, here is a question: With your own website, have you seen a relationship between your website’s rankings and your Google PageRank?
This really has nothing to do with this morning’s conversation. We actually were talking about conversion. That is, getting people to sign up, spend money or do the thing you want them to do after they arrive at your website. We’ll talk about this later.
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Posted in Business, Internet, Websites | No Comments »
Thursday, September 14th, 2006
I have read a few blog entries in the past few days that have solicited comments and advice from readers. I hope they work for their owners. I have a similar entry. Here is my solicitation. I would like a new headset.
It is a David Clark H10-13.4 Airplane Headset. Please leave a comment if you are interested in getting this for me.
Thank you.
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Posted in Flying, Ramblings | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 13th, 2006
Usually, I try to finish up what I am doing at about 10:30PM and hop in bed to read for about a half hour. There have been times when I intended to do that, say to myself, “Oh yeah, one more thing” to then look up at the computer to see the clock read 2AM. Whoops.
Lately, I have been very good. Partly due to my new book, “Wobegon Boy” by Garrison Keillor. Let me tell you why.
A few years ago, Saturday nights were a much more popular “going out” night for me than they are now. Every so often, while driving in my car, I would be flipping through the channels on the radio to hear this very odd radio show. I never quite knew what it was…a guy talking, people singing…kind of like a variety show. I found it very interesting, but never listened long enough to quite get the name of it. I used to refer to the show as the one with the “Story Teller Guy.” I told everyone I knew about it.
After moving to the new house a little more than a year ago, I began listening to NPR (National Public Radio) a lot more. The station I listened to comes in much clearer here. Well, just as luck would have it, at about at 8:30AM, just as I begin driving across the the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, I began to hear the same voice as the Story Teller Guy give a short narration of the day’s importance on poetry, called the Writer’s Almanac. It took a few times listening to be sure it was him, and then I got curious and did some research.
Well, apparently, this man’s name is Garrison Keillor and he hosts “A Prairie Home Companion,” usually on Saturday nights. I began to listen more and more and when 7PM hit on the right night, I made it a point to get in my car for a drive. This past summer was a great one for cruising around with the radio on listening to the program. There was lots of haze and humidity…perfect for a drive at dusk with all the windows open. I tried to keep my hair a little longer than usual just for the sake of it blowing in the wind. Who knows how much longer I will have it.
Listening to this show had become one of my favorite things to do. If I missed it, I would stream it on my computer through their website. Give it a try, you might like it.
The season closer this year was held up the Berkshires at Tanglewood, one of my favorite places under the sun. Laura and I made plans to go to the show. It would be like a dream for me to see it live.
Saturday night came and went, and for some reason, we didn’t go. We didn’t talk about it…we just didn’t go. I don’t know why. Sometimes, things like this just happen. We did talk about it a few days later and decided to go up the next weekend to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform. We did and it was like magic. I really enjoyed laying on the blanket on the lawn listening to the music and looking at the stars. Everything was perfect…the food, the wine, the candles and the music. It couldn’t have been a better night. If I could, I would go to every show Tanglewood offers every night. Next summer, I am sure that Tanglewood will see a lot more of us.
I told my mother how much I enjoyed listening to Garrison Keillor, going to the Berkshires and…well…drinking wine. To my surprise, a few days later, I found a small package in my mailbox. It was the book, Wobegon Boy by Garrison Keillor. Thanks mom.
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Posted in Entertainment, Travels | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, September 13th, 2006
I gave Freedom Air a call yesterday morning to see if they had anything available for that afternoon because it looked like rain today. I have a habit of calling last minute. I found out that they were booked. That was fine, the rain looked like it was towards the afternoon anyway.
I arrived at about 7:50 today to give the plane a preflight inspection. This would save some $$$ if I got this done early when the clock wasn’t running. Unfortunately, the plane was in the hangar and I didn’t have the key. Oh well, I took some photos like I said I would in a previous post.
This is a sea plane, as you can see from the upper propeller in back of the pilot.
This plane had “Experimental” written on the side of it, so I thought it deserved a photo. I have no idea was type of experiment they will perform with it.
The next one is a Cessna (the most popular small plane out there) and the last is the flight school across the way. If you look past the hangar, you can see runway 3.
Yigal arrived after me and we talked a little about the weather. I was concerned about the very light drizzle coming down and he said that wasn’t a problem, we could fly in the rain if need be. It was visibility that mattered.
He had me call the weather service again for a standard briefing. I was secretly apprehensive about making this call because the first time I called the service, a real jerk gave me a hard time. This time, Yigal told me not to let them get the best of me and had me put the call on speakerphone.
The operator came on and was a different guy than last time, or the same guy, just beat up a little bit from his supervisor. He was very, very helpful. I gave him the airplane tail number and the airport we would be taking off from. I told him the duration of flight time and he gave me a complete rundown of everything I could possibly want to know. He also gave his opinion based on his experience, which was nice. We had good visibility, so it was cool to fly. What a pleasure talking to him.
I gave the plane a preflight in the hangar and we pulled it out. We got in and taxied to the runway. Today, I was going to do touch and goes for about an hour and a half. This should be interesting. Landing an airplane is the toughest thing to do.
Basically, here is what we did. I took off and climbed to an altitude of 1000 FT. Then, I made a radio call: “Orange County, Cherokee turning crosswind at runway 3.” Then, I continued to climb, while making a left turn to1400 FT. When I hit 1400 FT, I lowered the throttle so the engine was running at 2000 RPM (cruising speed). Then, when I was about a mile out from the runway, I made another radio call: “Orange County, Cherokee turning downwind at runway 3.” We paralleled the runway until we passed the very end (where we begun our takeoff) of it, then, I raised the flaps one click. We continued past the beginning of the runway for about one more mile. Then, I made a radio call: “Orange County, Cherokee turning base at runway 3.” This is where I made the most mistakes. At this point, I had to make another left turn, lower the RPMs to 1700, raise the flaps one more click and begin our descent to about 900 FT. It took me a while to get this. It seems like the plane wants to climb when I should be descending and vice versa. When we were lined up with the runway, I made one last radio call: “Orange County, Cherokee turning final for runway 3.” There were about 3 other training planes up in the same airspace this moring, so there was a lot of chatter. I talked over one guy once or twice…I’ll have to correct that for next time. Note to self: Listen for open air before making a radio call.
So, at this point we were heading straight for the runway. I would line my angle of descent up with the lights on the runway (VIZI Lights?). When I was too high, both lights would be white (and I’ll fly all night), too low, both lights would be red (and I’ll be dead…a little saying pilots use to remember the lighting sequence), just right, the rear light would be red and the front one would be white. As we got closer to our touchdown spot, I would flare the plane slightly. Basically, I would let the plane fall, give it a slight flare, let it fall, and give it a slight flare. When we almost touched down, I would give it another flare to land the plane. Too many flares and you slow the plane too much and it begins to fall too fast for a hard landing.
It took a few times to get the entire takeoff and landing pattern down pat with no mistakes. I took off and landed 5 times and had two very good landings. The second landing was very iffy, as I over-corrected with the rudder to land kind of crooked.
Yigal says that I am doing excellent for a student with only slightly over 4 hours. Next step, continue with my ground school, start looking into my own headset and prepare for my next lesson, Thursday of next week at 5:30PM.
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Posted in Flying | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 12th, 2006
As I have mentioned a few posts ago, it’s getting chilly in the air around here in the mornings. It feels REALLY good, especially after the summer we have had. There is a lot that comes with the return of chilly mornings…the changing color of the leaves, sweaters and college.
Every so often, I check out my alma mater, Binghamton University and their School of Management. I see they have built a new field house, a clock tower and some new dorms. I am not sure if I would recognize the place if I visited.
I had a very good experience in Binghamton. I transferred in as a sophomore and stayed for two years and then returned a year after graduation for the MBA program. When I went back, the business school had a new Dean and a new direction. I thought it was on the right heading, because things seemed to fit similarly with the reading I have done on MBA programs. The Dean had a tough, disciplined approach. We certainly did learn a lot during that year…some of which I apply every day.
I will always remember the very first day we met each other. It was during an orientation. No classes had started yet. We (the students) were asked to complete a short case study with a few questions to answer. We were so cocky…you know, in the new MBA program and all. We walked with a certain swagger. The Dean was up on stage and began going over the case study and asked a few questions. We were doing alright until the very end, when he asked, “Well, what course would you suggest for this company?” We all had so many useless answers based on nothing but opinion. Really, there was only one correct answer, and it was based on the figures given in the case study. No one came remotely close to being correct. We all learned an important lesson that day…don’t just make stuff up because of certain perceptions. If there are truths in what you are dealing with, rely and base your decisions on them. He knew we would overlook this and I am sure that is why he made us go through it.
Every so often I miss going to college. If you think about it, (and anyone who has graduated will tell you this) life is pretty easy during those years. Basically, you get up, go to classes, come home, study and chill with friends. I always wonder why so many people never leave their hometowns to enjoy this. I know I am over simplifying the experience, because when I was in college, I thought things were much more difficult than what I just described. One thing is true, life is adventurous during those times, with new people, new classes every 15 weeks and new challenges at every turn.
Perhaps I will take another walk through SUNY New Paltz.
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Posted in Autumn, Business, Education | No Comments »
Monday, September 11th, 2006
So here is another catch up entry. As you can see, I have quite a few. It’s not that I don’t have enough going on these days, it’s just that I have this folder full of pictures looking at me every time I get on the computer. And then, of course, there is that nagging feeling like there is someone out there who enjoys reading these things. I hope so, because I really enjoy writing them.
So here were go…Woodstock, NY…home of the great “Radio Woodstock,” errr, ummm, WDST? (great music) Anyway, yes, so we LOVE to go to Woodstock, even if it just a drive-through on our way south from somewhere north. The village is not large, only a few dense roads and a bunch of country ones. The reason we love it is…well, take a look. I have always wondered what this guy does for money. He probably won the lottery.
Now, I have been to some pretty cool towns in my day (Ithaca, NY), but none quite like this. When we arrived, Laura and I planned to walk around a bit and go into some of the shops and then maybe later on go to lunch. There were TONS of people in town that day. I remember the sidewalks were so full. Everyone was pretty cool and, shall I say, environmentally friendly. Yes, environmentally friendly. There are lots of great shops that like to sell candles, little books of phrases and incense. There are also a few jewelry vendors on the sidewalks that sell beads, silver, etc…
After we did our moseying, we got to the top of the hill, and bumped into a guy trying to pull people around in some sort of a carriage.
This was pretty amusing to watch because the carriage owner couldn’t keep his feet on the ground. Look closely at the photo. He kept bouncing up and down trying the get the thing down. I’m not sure what I would’ve thought if that was me sitting in there preparing for a ride.
So we were watching this guy, checking out some stores to go into and we hear a noise that sounds strikingly like a drum, and then another drum and then another. We turned around to see a crowd of people gathered around the Village Green for a drum circle.
It was a peaceful demonstration. These guys were going at it. I think the greatest thing was how anyone can join in, all they needed was a drum. We saw this guy who looked like he just got off work from an office wailing away on his drum. He was sweating and wailing. I was pretty excited because I thought this stuff was dead after I graduated college.
We have been back to Woodstock many times throughout the years, but never at Christmas. I heard that the village lights up quite nicely around the holidays. This year we’ll visit, and yes, you will see some photos.
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Posted in Travels | 3 Comments »
Monday, September 11th, 2006
I have been doing some research on this deer stuff. Apparently, there are some plants and shrubs that deer don’t like to eat. I have heard that they will eat just about anything on especially cold winters when not much is available, but for the rest of the year, they will avoid these plants.
I found a good study on the Rutgers website entitled “Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance.” I think the key word here is “Resistance” and not “Proof.”
I took a look at the list and went to the nursery this afternoon. I bought a “China Girl Holly.” It’s not on the list, but tons of other Hollys are that are rarely damaged, so I took a chance. I also picked up some Hybrid Lilacs. These are middle of the road, but I just can’t resist Lilacs.
So how did my deer repellent spray work? As far as I can tell, great. I didn’t see any deer this morning and none of the plants were eaten. I am going to reapply in a week, then once a month. Also, I picked up some “Deer Scram” this afternoon to double up the protection.
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Posted in Gardening, Home Improvement, Landscaping | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
Well, browsing might be a better word for it. We couldn’t really hike because the trails up in back were very muddy from the rain the night before. It’s just as well, because we got to spend more time in front looking through the butteryfly gardens and at the animals.
What a surprise! This place was great. We have passed by a few times driving up the Connecticut border with New York, heading towards Sharon and Lakeville, but never gave it serious thought to go in. I guess we felt inspired this time. It is really kept up well because it is owned and run by the National Audubon Society. Believe it or not, we were the only ones on the entire property during this visit. Remarkable, because the weather was prefect and just about everything was in bloom. Did I mention the butterfly gardens? Here, take a look…
I mean, if you are into this kind of stuff, you can’t get much better than this. There was a pretty cool barn and a lake with a waterfall.
Also, there were a few habitats for animals in need of rehab. It kind of reminded me of Green Chimneys in Brewster.
All in all, it is a great place to walk around and unwind. I also think it is a great place to bring your…significant other.
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Posted in Gardening, Hiking, Travels | No Comments »
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
We often look out our back door early after we wake up in the morning to find a very pretty family of deer. Lately, it has mostly been the two youngest ones, just roaming around carelessly eating the acorns that have fallen from the large Red Oak tree on the edge of our property. They are so tranquil…we really enjoy watching them go from place to place…
…until this morning. Now, I am not so sure I love the deer as much as I used to. They ate our plants. I was afraid of this. All summer long as I was planting the Arborvitae, I kept thinking of all the deer-eaten Arborvitae I have seen throughout my life. You know the ones…a nice full, green top, with skeleton of dead, wirey branches at the bottom. Poor victims of a hungry deer assault. Well, they got our front garden.
They didn’t get everything, but did eat one of our plants right to the root. We’ll have to see if that one comes back in the Spring. I hope so. They did the most damage to our Easter Lilies.
So, what to do? Well, I immediately got on the internet and started doing some research. I came across two websites. One has liquid deer repellent and is called “Liquid Fence.” They say to apply this spray once and then again the following week. Then apply every month thereafter. I also found a pellet deer repellent called “Deer Scram.” They say to apply this granular deer repellent every few months as needed.
Well, I needed something for tonight, so I ran out to our local Agway. Just as luck would have it, they had some Liquid Fence. I bought a gallon and brought it home. (now that I have a blog, I really am starting to take some strange photos)
I bumped into a lady in the store who was buying the same stuff. She said it really worked, but smelled HORRIBLE at first, but not bad after it dried. I had to see for myself. I opened the top of the gallon container and took a whiff. UHHGGGGG…I came a few milliseconds away from losing it. She was right, this stuff smelled like a mix between road kill, rotten eggs and the bottom of your kitchen garbage pail. Great, not only will I repel every deer this side of the Hudson, but my neighbors will have to move out as well. Hopefully it won’t be so bad after it dries. I applied it to all of the new plants I put in over the summer. I will let you know how it goes in a follow-up post.
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Posted in Gardening, Home Improvement, Landscaping | 1 Comment »
