Archive for September, 2007
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
This morning’s drive was a mixed bag…sunny in some parts and foggy in the rest. I thought I got some really cool shots of the fog, but they ended up to be just gray.
If I was able to stop on the side of the road today, I think I would have been able to get some really interesting photos. There was cool fog mixed with the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge and some clouds were hanging about half way up Mount Beacon. Since I was on the highway, I thought I would look like a herb pulling over to take pictures. Also, I probably would’ve been killed by that one 85 pound woman driving that huge Suburban all alone. I thought it was a bus.
Anyway, to the pictures. One of them actually has some leaf change…
Ok, this isn’t the one with the leaf change. It’s a pretty picture of a field. Remember, this isn’t too easy to do while driving. I think whoever was driving behind me probably thought I was drunk.
Here is another good shot of some trees.
This is the one with some color change. Right in the center of the photo, you will notice a little something peeking out. Actually, there was some action today, but I didn’t get too much of it. I will have to make more of an effort next time.
I thought this was pretty neat. I was sitting on Rt.208 in Montgomery, waiting to turn left to get on Interstate 84, when I looked to the left. Up on the wires were some birds. Since it was cloudy, I was able to get a nice pic right into the sun.
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Posted in Animals, Autumn, Environment, Trees & Shrubs | No Comments »
Monday, September 17th, 2007
Well I hooked up the new Brother printer. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical, because I have never actually used that brand. I was very used to HP printers.
I think every printer I ever had has been an HP, except for that one Epson printer I bought back in the day. I remember I bought it over in Danbury, CT. I was so excited. I brought it home and hooked it up to my laptop. I printed the first page and looked at the outcome. All the print looked “spattered.” I printed a few more sheets…same thing. I thought there was something wrong with the printer, so I brought it back to the store. I handed it to the guy behind the counter and told him what happened. He said, “Did you use the special Epson paper?” I said, “What?” He continued that the Epson printers need special Epson paper so the ink doesn’t spatter. I almost started laughing. I told him that I have been using regular copy paper with every printer I have ever used and the print had been just fine. Now I was supposed to start buying special paper just to use an Epson? Pleeeeeease. I just bought an HP instead and the regular copy paper worked fine. Life was good.
Anyway, this new Brother printer seems to be doing the job nicely. It’s not too big on the desk and it seems like it can live up to the “Workhorse” nickname it has. The print is very clear. It should be fine for my two pieces of paper I need printed per year…yeah, just fine.
Hey, if there’s a problem, I’ll let you know.
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Posted in Computers | No Comments »
Monday, September 17th, 2007
So I returned the HP laser printer. I was getting a black line down the right side of the paper every time I printed a graphic. I didn’t need the hassle. I even uninstalled the driver and reinstalled the new one from the HP website. Nothing worked.
Really, I am getting too old to diagnose a brand new printer that is supposed to work when plugged in. I paid for the plug and play technology when I bought a brand new laptop and desktop and, pardon me, I expect it to work. It’s HP’s job to have updated drivers for printers they claim to work with Windows Vista.
I returned the printer to Staples today with no problem. I went over to the shelf and grabbed a bigger Brother HL-5240 Laser Printer. All I really wanted was a small home office laser printer, but walked away with something described as a “work horse.”
I am going to hook this one up tonight and see what happens. I looked on the Brother website and saw printer drivers for Windows Vista. I will let you know what happens.
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Posted in Computers | 3 Comments »
Sunday, September 16th, 2007
I was showing off last night while trying to print out some nice letterhead that I made. I printed the envelope with no problem, but when I printed out the full 8 1/2″x11″ piece of paper, I got this annoying vertical black line on the right side of the paper.
It seems to be a clear, solid black line, not some fuzzy thing that is caused by physical damage to the toner cartridge. I searched Google for, “laserjet 1018 problem black lines” and came across this good thread about “HP LASERJET 1020 MICROSOFT 64 bit and 32 bit DRIVERS.”
Some other people seem to be having the same problem. I can print from Microsoft Word just fine, but when I add an image, such as a .jpg or a .gif, that’s when I get the line.
People on the thread solved this issue by installing the beta driver. I may do this, but I am hesitant, since the driver is a bit bulky at around 58MB.
Anyone else having the same issue?
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Posted in Computers | 15 Comments »
Saturday, September 15th, 2007
What a weird feeling I had all day. The temperature feels like it’s around 60 degrees and it’s quite breezy. It feels like the seasons are changing. I am sure there will be some more annoyingly hot days, but I think it’s here.
It’s nice, but it’s not. It’s nice because something new is around the corner. As everyone always says, “I get to wear all my really cool sweaters again.” The only problem with me saying that is the only cool sweaters I have are the same cool sweaters I had last year…and the year before. Still, I get to wear them. It’s not nice because I am going to have to wait until the Spring until I get to see all my trees grow again. Sounds strange, I know.
I say that I don’t ask for much, but I actually ask for quite a bit.
I was driving to work the other morning when I just happened to look to the right. I was on Interstate 84, heading East towards Newburgh. When I looked, I noticed the most beautiful piece of land. There was a field and a lake, with the mountains in the background. That’s when I told myself that I don’t ask for much. All I wanted to do was walk around that field with a nice hot cup of coffee. That’s really all I wanted to do. Then I started thinking about how maybe that’s all anyone really wants to do. When people go on vacation, they sit on the beach or go to the mountains. They like to take it easy and enjoy the beauty. Well, that’s what I want for my whole life. It’s probably unrealistic to think that I will be happy taking it easy, when my personality type is ambitious. Oh well, we shall see.
So, I was thinking, even since Laurie wrote the comment wanting to see some photos of the Autumn up here in New York, perhaps I would just walk around and take random shots of whatever. I mean, sometimes those are the best types of pictures to look at. What’s nice about the end of summer is just what my Uncle Bob said; the way the sunlight hits you just a little bit differently than before. It’s quite noticeable.
Here we go…
This is the front yard. Not much of a leaf color change there yet.
Just a weird shot of the driveway, my car and the road in front of the house.
This is the side of the house. I am not sure that my rock walls get enough attention. So many times, when I walk up and down that beautiful stairway, I tell myself, “Self, you really had no idea what you were doing, but it still came out A OK.” I mean really, when does anyone really ever teach you how to build a rock wall and a stair case made out of 6×6s?
I took this picture when I was driving through Walden, NY the other morning on my way to work. As you may have been able to notice, it was spur of the moment. Please don’t try to change me.
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Posted in Autumn, Spring, Summer, Trees & Shrubs | 2 Comments »
Saturday, September 15th, 2007
Ok, I had an idea a few days ago and put the wheels into motion. Things took a few days to set up, but this morning, I think I finally finished everything. I would like to present to you, the next great Free Business Directory.
Now, please be careful. This is not going to turn into some cheesy link directory for a bunch of spam websites. This directory is for land based businesses with real street addresses. You know the pizza place downtown..yeah, that’s what it’s for.
So now you know. If you have a land based business, please visit the website and submit your listing. There are many good features and I think you will like it. Enjoy.
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Posted in Business, Internet, Websites | No Comments »
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
It’s getting a little chilly in the mornings these days.
I remember last year, all summer I was putting straight water in my windshield washer fluid tank. It started getting cold and the water in the hoses froze and I couldn’t clean my windshield. That was very annoying. I had to park in the sunlight so it would thaw out.
The weather is really good for going outside. This Sunday, we are planning on going up to Windy Hill Orchard in Stockbridge, MA to pick some apples. It is only supposed to be a high of 65 degrees and sunny. That should be perfect apple picking weather. Also, I am planning on getting another ten yards of mulch to spread out over various places on the property. I hope to work with the mulch this time without sweating so much.
Here is a photo I took this morning. It really isn’t of anything particular, but a man with a camera is dangerous.
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Posted in Autumn, Travels | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
I decided that today was a good day to buy a new printer. I have always wanter a laser printer instead of my ink jet printer. My ink jet is nice, but there is a small problem…the ink dries up. I don’t use printers too much, so when I do, and the ink is gone, I get mad. I am hoping the laser printer’s toner won’t dry up.
I bought a HP LaserJet 1018 Printer from Staples. It was $129.98 before the $65.00 rebate and had a final price of $64.98. I would say that’s not bad.
Here are the printer specs…
Laser printer: This HP LaserJet 1018 printer delivers a simple, compact design and reliable, consistent results at an ideal price for personal users.
Meet all your personal printing needs: The 150-sheet input tray, single-sheet priority input slot for specialty paper and 100-sheet output bin provide the flexibility to print the documents you need. The printer supports plain and specialty paper up to legal size, as well as envelopes, transparencies, card stock, postcards and labels.
Print quickly: There’s no need to wait while the printer warms up—you can print a first page from PowerSave mode in less than 10 seconds. Complete your printing jobs fast, at speeds of up to 12 pages per minute for letter-size documents.
Print resolution: Output prints with resolution of 600 x 600 dpi (effectively 1200 dpi when enhanced by HP REt and FastRes 1200 technologies).
Space-saving design: Why give up more desk space than you need to? It’s easy to find just the right spot for your printer. Its sleek, compact design makes it an ideal fit for any desktop, shelf, or other small, convenient spot.
Just plug it in: Focus on getting your work done instead of learning to use a new device. Convenient USB 2.0 connectivity lets you set up in no time. With support for Windows® 98 SE, Me, 2000, and XP, this printer fits right into your existing environment.
Accomplish more: The host-based print driver quickly translates application output into high-quality print images. The driver uses your PC’s processor and memory rather than the printer’s, which lets you print more complex jobs without the cost of additional printer memory.
Connectivity: This printer is USB 2.0 compatible. Cable is not included.
System requirements :
Windows®
Windows 98 SE/2000/ME/XP (32-bit only)/NT 4.0/Server 2003 (print driver only)
Available USB port
CD-ROM drive
I made some templates in Photoshop for my envelopes. Now I can print envelopes (by the way, I also bought 500 envelopes today) with my company logo on them. It looks niiiice. Also, I made some pretty letterhead. I tried a few sample prints and everything looks good so far. The print is crisp and clear.
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Posted in Computers, Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
I am not the most creative person, especially when it comes to thinking of good domain names. I usually use the most descriptive term that pops in my head at the time. That’s not good when I am trying to make things “catchy.” I don’t think “dogbedsandothergoodpettoys.com” is a very good domain name.
So what’s a guy to do? Well, I had a nice creative idea to help solve this little problem of mine. I would use a nice “Synonym Finder.”
Remember, synonyms are different words with identical or at least similar meanings. So, from now on, when I think of a lousy domain name, I can just play off of my original idea and find a suitable synonym.
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Posted in Business, Internet, Websites | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
I was just handed something very cool.
I am sure you have all heard about the huge plastic bag problem here on our very lovely planet earth. Some cities have gone as far a banning the use of plastic bags altogether. That’s a good thing.
Anyway, the thing that was handed to me was a biodegradable plastic bag. It feels just like the other type of plastic bag and seems just as strong. I didn’t even know these existed. Perhaps more people will become aware of these types of bags and will insist on their use in those high traffic supermarkets. Hmmm…that’s an idea.
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Posted in Environment, Politics | No Comments »
