Friday, April 11th, 2008
I feel like I am reporting breaking news or something here.
I was on my way down to Lowe’s this afternoon when I happened to notice a very large area of black smoke in the sky in Middletown, NY. I kept looking at it, but it was over the horizon, so I couldn’t see what was causing it. I did my shopping in Lowe’s and pulled out of the parking lot. On the way out, I got these photos:
I thought this couldn’t be a good thing. Anyway, I wanted to see what the heck was causing all that smoke, so I checked it out online at this website. Apparently, Lee’s Quality Tire in New Hampton was on fire. A worker dropped a gasoline soaked rag on a light fixture and the place went up.
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Posted in Current Events | 2 Comments »
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
I know, for a fact, there is one tool out there that TONS of people need. The reason why so many people need this tool is because so many people are getting into online photo sharing, blogs, websites…
We have a lot of support requests that deal with photo resizing. People can’t upload their photos into our system because they are too large. That is a tough thing to deal with, because many people just don’t understand the many differences and variations of digital images.
Well folks, have I got a tool for you. This tool allows you to resize your photos online. Well, that is “shrink” them online. As I always say, you can’t make a photo bigger (while retaining the same quality), but you sure can shrink it.
So, next time you are trying to put a huge picture into your blog post and are wondering what the heck to do with it, visit this handy tool and shrink it to just the right size.
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Posted in Internet, Websites | 1 Comment »
Thursday, August 9th, 2007
Whenever someone wants to name their new band, I am sure there is some creative process that goes on. I always think of the band sitting around in some kitchen in Yonkers with a fluorescent tube light hanging over their heads. They go back and forth until they come up with something they can agree on. Usually, the longer this conversation goes on, the dumber the name gets. I think the best names for things just pop in to people’s heads while driving or rowing a boat or something.
We have all been there. We have all tried to find a name for something. Sometimes you think of something great and run around to tell everyone, but sometimes the name you settle on is a little weird and you avoid telling people what you thought of. Personally, I have always had a problem with thinking of catchy domain names. That’s why I just name them what they are now. If I am setting up a blog, I call it something like “jaysblog.com.” On the internet, the name really doesn’t matter anymore anyway.
I am having a little issue with some of the bands today. Firstly, they are all sounding alike. Secondly, they are coming out so fast that their names are just plain silly. I really like a song by Finger Eleven, but c’mon, what the heck is with that name? It sounds like they tried too hard. Also, Pillow Face is probably the most annoying name I have heard of to date. That was almost topped by a band name I just heard of a few minuted ago…Drowning Pool.
Maybe it’s just me. It usually is. Maybe back in the day, The Police and AC/DC sounded dumb, but we got used to them. Maybe in the future I will think that Pillow Face is a great band and I will tell people proudly that Pillow Face is my favorite group ever.
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Posted in Entertainment | No Comments »
Monday, August 6th, 2007
I had to write this post. Along with my three reasons for living (fiber, vinegar and mulch), I love beer. I am not a huge beer drinker, but I do love a nice, rich, creamy beer. The darker and richer, the better. With that said…
…I had the best beer of my life yesterday. After Laura and I went hiking up at Sam’s Point, we drove up to Emmanual’s in Stone Ridge. We did some shopping for our Harry Potter date later in the evening. We haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter movies and thought it would be cool to jump on the band wagon, or off the wagon, whatever. While we were shopping for very expensive food (everything is expensive in that store), I decided to refill my beer stash in the fridge. I ran out last week and have been feeling the loss. I decided to pick up some Sam Adams Double Bock along with some Honey Brown.
I was so excited to get home to open the bottle of Double Bock. I have never tried it. I got home and popped the top off. I took my first sip and said, “WOW.” I handed the bottle to Laura and had her try it. I have to say, it is the richest, creamiest beer I have ever had. I like creamy beers and this topped the cake. I just had to write about it because I was kind of excited. Give it a try.
I am going to have a bottle of Honey Brown tonight so I don’t spoil a good thing, but tommorow, I will be back to the Sam Adams.
This is a little addition to the original post - What the heck is it with these stupid age verifications on these beer websites? Heaven forbid someone under the age of eighteen read about beer. Yes, that’s it, let’s keep them so sheltered that the minute they turn twenty one, they get totally blitzed. Like they aren’t going to put in a fake date anyway.
I remember one time, back when I was seventeen, I read about a beer in a magazine. I was so inspired that I went out and bought a keg. Yeah right.
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Posted in Food & Drink | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
I see them almost every morning in the back yard, waiting for me to leave so they can continue to wander to the front yard and nibble around the Liquid Fence deer resistant spray I applied to my plants. Yes…that’s right, around the spray. If I covered half the leaf with the spray, they eat the other half. I guess I can’t complain that the spray doesn’t work. What the heck is going on? It’s not even winter yet. I bought two different deer repellers: Liquid Fence and Deer Scram. The jury is not completely in yet. We haven’t had a lot of continued damage, but there definitely has been interest. I know the cause is a combination of things. My neighbor had the tops of the flowers in his front garden removed by the teeth of the deer pack and he also has a whole slew of freshly fallen nuts on the ground in his backyard. We are definitely on the deer route.
I brought my neighbor’s attention to his damaged flowers yesterday, so maybe he will get some repellant and we will fight these mongrels together - as brothers. Also, I did some research, and the fact that I bought most of the tastiest plants, shrubs and flowers out there doesn’t help. So what to do? I dug a little deeper and here is what I found.
A Great Article on Deer Resistant Plants
It’s No Wonder That Deer Invade our yards and gardens to find nourishment. More than five million mule deer and 20 million white-tailed deer roam a continually shrinking habitat in North America.
Just how much your ornamentals are bothered by deer depends on many factors: the number of deer in your area, prolonged periods of heavy snow cover in winter, a summer drought or the loss of nearby browsing areas. These and other factors combine to limit the availability of wild plants.
However, there are several things you can do to prevent your prized plantings from being eaten by deer. Try deterring the deer either by hanging bars of soap or bags of hair around your yard; the smell is thought to keep deer away. Unfortunately, such deterrents are often limited in their effectiveness. Hunger may drive a deer to endure an unpleasant smell. Also, many gardeners find the soap and bags of hair a bit too unsightly.
There are several commercial repellent sprays available for deterring deer, but they do not afford 100 percent protection. To make the sprays as effective as possible, reapply them after every rainfall. In a rainy spring, or if you have a yard full of plants, that can be a lot of spraying.
By far the most effective way to protect your plantings from deer is with a fence. Deer are high jumpers, however, so to be effective the fence should be at least 8 feet tall. The cost of such a fence is no small consideration. Some municipalities have ordinances restricting the height of fences, and a few areas even ban fencing altogether. As for me, I like to invite wildlife in, not fence it out.
So what do you do? The best alternative is to learn to live with deer by planting your garden with them in mind. Take into consideration the following guidelines:
1) White-tailed deer are known to eat more than 600 kinds of plants; mule deer eat at least 780. Some of their favorite foods are yew, hemlock, willow, arrowwood, bearberry, red cedar, spindle tree, Japanese holly, American arborvitae, evergreen azaleas, phlox, crocus, hosta, tulips and violets. By avoiding these and other susceptible plants, you can minimize the amount of damage deer do to your landscape.
2) Gardeners know that many plants do better when they are well fertilized and grown in rich soil. But this same practice also makes the plants tastier and more nourishing to deer than wild plants. To help discourage deer, put your plants on a diet. Try growing more native plants, many of which will readily grow in poorer soils.
3) Don’t count on the thorns or spines of plants to protect them. Deer often eat thorny plants such as roses, firethorn and Russian olive.
4) No plant can be considered completely deer-proof. A ravenous deer will eat just about anything, including the somewhat toxic foliage of mountain laurel. They may also, for whatever reason, start feeding on plants that in previous years had gone untouched.
5) There are certain types of plants that deer normally won’t touch. They usually turn up their noses at toxic and medicinal plants, as well as those with sticky or hairy leaves and stems. They also dislike plants with fragrant foliage, especially those that smell lemony or minty.
6) Some plant families also seem to be more deer-resistant than others. Many of the plants in the mint (Labiatae), daisy (Compositae), poppy (Papaveraceae), buttercup (Ranunculaceae), snapdragon (Scrophulariaceae) and barberry (Berberidaceae) families often go untouched by deer.
7) Mule deer, for the most part, have tastes similar to those of white-tails, but there are some marked differences. For example, forsythia, mountain pine and Scotch pine are virtually ignored by white-tails, but mule deer find them very palatable.
Deer are creatures of habit, returning to the same area to feed day after day. Since it’s hard for deer to break this habit once it’s been established, it may take them a while to realize that any new deer-resistant plants in your yard are not on their menu. So be patient.
9) You don’t have to eliminate a plant just because deer like it. Quite often, a plant that was browsed during the winter will recover. Just like any pruning you might do, winter browsing promotes vigorous new spring growth, which continues on into summer. Plants that are especially well-adapted to recovering from “deer pruning” include the native serviceberry, chokecherry, hawthorn, currant, sumac, elder and rose. Evergreen conifers, however, are often permanently damaged.
Whether you choose to landscape your yard with plants that withstand being browsed, or opt for those that tend to be shunned, you can learn to live with deer.
Deer-Resistant Plants
The plants in this list can be used as a starting point for choosing your ornamentals. But be aware of the fact that deer in one part of the country may eat what the same kind of deer in another part of the country won’t touch. Don’t be afraid to experment with plants not on the list.
Trees and Shrubs
American holly (Ilex opaca) Barberry (Berberis species) Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) Blue spruce (Picea pungens) Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) Bridal wreath (Spiraea species) Butterfly bush (Buddleia species) Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica) Magnolia (Magnolia species) Pear (Pyrus communis) Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) Smoke tree (Cotinus species) Wax myrtle (Myrica species) Weeping birch (Betula pendula)
Annuals and Perennials
Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) Astilbe (Astilbe species) Barrenwort (Epimedium species) Bleeding heart (Dicentra species) Buttercup (Ranunculus species) Columbine (Aquilegia species) Lavender (Lavandula species) Marigold (Targetes species) Mint (Mentha species) Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale) Rue anemone (Anemonella thalictroides) Sage (Salvia species) Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) Speedwell (Veronica species) Zinnia (Zinnia species)
Bulb and Climbers
Allium (Allium species) Clemantis (Clemantis species) Daffodil (Narcissus species) Iris (Iris species) Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium) Wisteria (Wisteria species)
I hope this helps. If anyone has any stories or more ideas, please don’t hesitate to share.
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Posted in Animals, Gardening, Landscaping, Trees & Shrubs | No Comments »
Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
This post may seem a little fragmented towards the beginning, but keep reading. It will all come together…trust me.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone about the internet and about half way through, you noticed them mentioning websites and services they just assumed you knew about? I have. It’s a real personality trait for these people. I am not talking about industry people talking about industry things to other industry people. Obviously those people know what they are talking about, even if we don’t. I am talking about those types who blow the smallest little service out of proportion and think the world should know what the heck is going on. I remember I was talking to someone (artist) once about art. He needed some help with designing a website. He says, “There is a HUGE buzz about me on the internet!” I’m like, “Who are you again?” I think he was insinuating that we all hang out in art chat rooms or something.
Now, if you are talking to someone and they mention that they just purchased the best little treasure on EBay and you don’t know what that means, you really need to see a specialist. Well, maybe they do…they really should do their shopping on WebClassifieds.US. I wonder how the execs over at EBay feel knowing that WebClassifieds.US is creeping up on them. (hehe)
Let me break in here for a second - I want to mention one of my favorite things about the internet…and that is creativity. What if the internet was never created? Can you imagine some of the world’s most creative people sitting at cubicles selling buttons instead of devising and creating fascinating solutions to problems and wonderful websites that you never even thought you needed. I mean it. There are things today that just boggle my mind. They do things that I never thought could be done or ever thought should be done. It’s like this amazing extra slice of the world was born and finally gave habitat to all those people who never truly had a home. Now that is deep folks. In just a few years, (relatively speaking) the internet has woven its way into so many people’s lives…and many people don’t even know it. I for one, make a living off it. Ten years ago, I would’ve laughed at that idea. Me, at a computer? Pleeeeaase…I was too busy taking engines out of cars.
Ok, here it is. The point of this chatter is all about two up-and-comers that you may hear about in conversation. After reading this post, you will know a little about them. I really get excited when a team gets together to bring us another nifty tool.
The first website is StumbleUpon.com. I literally stumbled upon this one. I was in Paul’s office yesterday and he was checking his blog’s stats. He was like, “Whoa, 65 visitor from StumbleUpon since this morning!” My ears perked up. I thought that if he got 65 new visitors, I could get at least 32.5. I went back to my desk to investigate.
Apparently, StumbleUpon.com works like this: Someone visits their website and signs up for an account. Then, they download their toolbar (which works with other toolbars, not instead of). When set up, they can push the “Stumble!” button on their new toolbar and their browser shows a random website. Not all that new of an idea. What is pretty cool is that you can rate any site out there and give it a review with the toolbar. Also, there is a networking element to it as well. You can recruit “friends” and join “networks.” Kind of like MySpace. The big benefit of the whole thing is that, once a site is reviewed by someone and StumbleUpon discovers the site, StumbleUpon drives traffic to that site like mad. People everywhere are now pushing that “Stumble!” button visiting random websites. This isn’t targeted traffic, but traffic nonetheless. You figure out what to do with it.
The second website is FeedBurner.com. If you have a website that has a RSS or any other type of data feed, you can sign up to push your feed to FeedBurner. Once they have it, you use their feed service instead of your own. They make it really easy for people (who are looking for site content) to grab your content and use it on their own websites. Take a look at the right column of this blog. This is good for you because again, this drives traffic to your website. Once again, it is up to you to find something to do with this traffic. If you have no model, you might not want all of these visitors because it may just increase your web hosting bill. The cool feature of FeedBurner is that they offer stats on who is using your feed.
Having the personality I was born with, I get excited, yet frustrated when I come across these types of great sites running with awesome ideas. I wonder why I’m not on their team…but then I get sucked back down to earth and am reminded that I have my hands full with my own boiling cluster of websites.
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Posted in Internet, Websites | 3 Comments »
