How IT started for me

Some of you may know my “on-line” handle that I’ve used since 1980.  I’ll only give you a hint that it’s based on the first computer I used that my wonderful father bought me:  The Tandy Color Computer   It used one of the first operating systems that Microsoft had written, and had a whopping 4k of RAM.  I spent way too much time cutting my teeth on it, but I did manage to learn how to program in BASIC.  The last of the Tandy computers I used was a Color Computer 3 .  I eventually ventured to a IBM compatible 80286 12MHz machine that I bought with funds from working as a landscaper for a summer. I recall relating how fast a computer was by how fast a Dir(ectory) command would display the files.  After the 80386 machines, that was no longer feasible. 

 

Computers Recycling locations in Missouri

MoDNR Solid Waste Management Program – Computer/Electronics Recycling Lists

One question I get asked often is what can I do with my old computer. Of course, throwing it in the trash is not the best idea, due to the many trace amounts of toxic metals. This site keeps an updated list of places to drop them off.

Where are the best seats are on an airplane

Find out Here

Home sale update

We received the inspection results and it was mostly small things. Strange thing happened though; I went over to the house to check
on the pool, and was greeted by a green pond complete with Wilma. Fred and Wilma, two mallard ducks adopted our pool as a great place to cool off during the summers. They have been visiting us for about four years now. We've not seen Fred in about a year, but Wilma has been there every time I've gone back to the house to visit. I waved to Wilma before entering the pool, since she's shy about visitors.

In any case, I started mixing a batch of our algae-consuming toxic elixir and treated the water. The pool pump was struggling with the load on the pool, so I went to backwash , I noticed something strange. There was PVC shavings all over the pump and upon a closer look, someone had replaced some PVC piping. I also noticed they changed the direction of the pool outlets, and pointed them up
which would cause the deep end not to get a good mix. A hot day with poor water movement and bad balance of chemicals is a recipe for algae growth. I called our agent and told them although I appreciate someone fixing parts, I didn't want anyone on our property until they own it. It's a liability issue; if someone were to drown in the pool for example, I would be liable. I couldn't believe the buyer felt he had the right to make changes to a property he didn't own.

We're making a counter-offer on the inspection repairs. Once this is hashed out, and we get a Ballwin and Laclede inspection we are good as sold. In addition, the buyer asked to move the date up almost a week, which is good for us.

On the flip side, at our new house, it seems our A/C unit is running almost 24-hours, even after a new coil was installed that our "home warranty" paid. grrr…

Cheers!

Best way to keep up-to-date with this Blog

RSS is a new method for “subscripting” to websites that sends you updates to a RSS reader. I’d suggest getting intraVnews since it hooks into Outlook if you use Outlook. If you don’t use Outlook, it’s possible to setup a google homepage or a hotmail homepage which support these feeds. If you prefer software that runs on your PC and you don’t use Outlook, check out this page for a list of readers.

Once you have the software installed, on ANY webpage that has an orange RSS box {note: wordpress apparently doesn’t follow this standard.. the link is under “meta” on the right side called RSS} click on that box/link and you will see the RSS feed. Copy the path in the “address” bar of your browser, and go to your RSS reader and paste the link. It will “subscribe” you to the website/blog. As updates are posted on a site, your RSS reader will see these changes when it check periodically, usually every 60 minutes. You’ll get what looks like an email with a portion of the information with a link to the whole page if it sounds worth reading further.

So what does this mean to you? You no longer have to remember to check the website frequently to see new posts / information. This is a great tool for all NEWS, Technical, etc websites. I can now “browse” instead of 2-3 websites a day to over 40, since I only click on links to new information that sounds interesting. It can be a little addictive, so be warned

Give it a try. If you have questions, post a comment and I’ll see if I can help.

Cheers!

Black holes are out there..

I ran across this interesting site on Black Holes. The thing that amazed me was the time it takes to get to Pluto even at speeds much faster than light.

New method for visualizing sound

Two articles, one readable, the other more technical, describe a "break through" technique for visualizing sound which they claim will have a vast impact on several technologies:

"“The applications are immense, and can be used in most fields of science and
technology,” Magnasco says. And those applications aren’t limited to sound,
either. It can be used for any kind of data in which a series of time points are
juxtaposed with discrete frequencies that are important to pick up. Radar and
sonar both depend on this kind of time-frequency analysis, as does speech-recognition
software.
Medical tests such as electroencephalograms (EEGs), which measure multiple,
discrete brainwaves use it, too. "

First Arena Gig

As some of you know, I’ve been mixing professionally for many years now.  I’ve started mixing for a local sound company; and my second gig was at the Family Arena in St.Charles for the Localpalooza.  It’s the first time I’ve mixed with an array flown speaker system (see photo below) and in such a large venue.  I honestly have to say, it took me much longer to get “in my groove” since the room was so large – it took me a while to “filter” out the sound of the room itself.  But by the second act, I felt comfortable and I received a lot of compliments from other sound professionals who were there.  It was a great time.  I also took many photos from the gig I’d suggest skipping towards the end of all the photos, since the better shots are from later in the night when the larger bands played and they used the entire light show.  It was fun    They will do it again next year, I’d suggest you check it out.
Cheers all!                                        

           

If you look real hard there’s my elbo on the MIdas FOH mixer:              Line Array Speakers
                   
              

Latest on seeling our old house & a new bloging method

I'm testing a new method for blogging to the side. It's a plug-in to firefox called Performancing. It should make it easier for me to update the blog.. I'm not sure if that is good or bad.

We've got a contract on our old house; the inspection is Thursday so we'll know soon if this is going to work for us. It will be a big load off our shoulders

Wish us the best of luck!