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- February 11, 2010: clubpenguinisdabest@gmail.com is very persistant
- February 5, 2010: Common Telemarketing Scams - Knowledge is power, share with a friend.
- February 4, 2010: Motorola Droid - my first few days
- January 4, 2010: Magellan Roadmate 1700 - bigger screen is better
- November 11, 2009: Keychain Remote Car Alarm & Door Open Gizmo is actually VIDEO CAM!
- August 18, 2009: Softbox Light Kit by PBL useless for most video production
- August 11, 2009: How to Select a Commercial Painting Contractor
- August 6, 2009: Review of the new MVIX Ultio Device Coming Up Next.
- June 2, 2009: "MAX" the number one name for dogs in the USA
- May 19, 2009: LEXUS long term 20-year test ride: surprisingly poor MONEY PIT
clubpenguinisdabest@gmail.com is very persistant
February 11, 2010 by admin.
Over the past several months I have been alerted to a user with an email address of clubpenguinisdabest@gmail.com. This is not a “real” person interested in my blog. This email is one of those people known as a “forum spammer”. Typically the user will register and ask for permission to post messages and then proceed to post huge amounts of SPAM about topics from Viagra to Percocet from online pharmacies. This user has many email addresses including johnzjnr@email.org , annetzjnr@hotmail.com, gregorzpitt@xmail.org, janezlittle@email.net, magicalbbgun@gmail.com, mileszyandext@email.net, veleszfrances@e-mail.comamoung others. The user has numerous different user-names including clubpenguincheat, cpcheat, clubpenguincode and clubpenguinbookcodes.
This person happens to be from France, but they come from all around the world. They have been bombarding my user registrations with attempts at posting in forums (which I don’t have) and also in replies to my posts.
I just wanted to alert my readers about the problems associated with running a blog. Not only do bloggers have to be responsible for their posts (or get sued) but we also have to fend off the little dogs that try and diminish our blog content with SPAM. I sort of hope that clubpenguin could read English, that way he may go away. It’s obvious to all my readers that I do not allow posts from people I do not know.
If you write a blog or have users in a website forum, be sure to check out www.stopforumspam.com it has been a great help in identifying the SPAMMERS and preventing their abuse from destroying a blog.
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Common Telemarketing Scams - Knowledge is power, share with a friend.
February 5, 2010 by admin.
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Motorola Droid - my first few days
February 4, 2010 by admin.
WTF? I really mean that. This really cool phone is baffling me and making me want to dash it against the wall. Here is what is happening:
- The battery lasts about 4 hours
- The phone dial screen disappears between button presses
- the screen shuts off even though it is set to 30-minutes
- the phone charges soooo sloowww
- Using the phone while charging is difficult because of the power plug position
- the audio quality of the speakerphone is terrible
- I can’t get the stupid thing to SEND email (it receives)
So I am NOT happy with the Droid. I am a bit of a techno junkie so I like to learn and use new equipment. But this thing seems to be poorly designed.
I will do a full report next week, but for now I would NOT recommend the DROID to anyone I like… maybe to people I want to be miserable.
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Magellan Roadmate 1700 - bigger screen is better
January 4, 2010 by admin.
My Cadillac’s GPS changed my life. My wife is great at lots of stuff, but she is a lousy co-pilot. When we are traveling my wife and I would often fight about the directions she offers as I drive. Sometimes I travel outside of the USA, but in most cases there is so much I have not seen here in the States that we travel America. My wife’s
driving directions often include such wise advice as “just circle while I figure out where North is” and “it’s probably back behind us a few miles”. Neither of those statements make me very happy.
When I got my Caddy in 2008 it came with a Nav system. From that minute forward I swore I would NEVER travel without a GPS in my car if I left Lee County. I have become so reliant on the Nav system that I use it everywhere. I find locations, restaurants, public facilities and more.
Naturally when we bought our used recreational vehicle (RV) I had to have a GPS before we took a trip to any unknown parts. I was looking around and comparing features when I discovered the Magellan Roadmate 1700. I immediately stopped looking when I saw the 1700. Features like Bluetooth, multiple accents/dialects of English or MP3 meant nothing when I gazed at the gigantic SEVEN inch screen!
Smaller is better with some stuff, but bigger is absolutely better when it comes to screen size of a GPS. Especially for 50+ eyeballs that squint at roadsigns at night.
I read all the reviews online about GPS devices. I read all the reviews I could find about the 1700, which were slim since it was new. Most of the nay sayers mentioned the lack of features like Mp3 or Bluetooth. The only features that mattered to me were mapping, text to speech and the big honking seven inch screen! After all, what I was buying was a device to help me find my way, not an entertainment device. Every car already has a radio.
So, on to the thousand mile road-test. I first used the 1700 in my Scion Xb to find an address in Lehigh Acres, FL. It found the location perfectly, in spite of the fact that the address was on a dirt road in an area of new homes. Then I unplugged the unit and re-installed it into my RV for a trip to Charleston, SC.
This would be a real test. The device would have to find rural campgrounds, restaurants, historic sites, shopping, parks, detours and more. The most disconcerting feature was the way the 1700 rotated the screen image to show your destination directly in front of you. This seems to be automatic and not manually controlled. Since I was leaving Florida, I
was used to seeing the State in its usual position, aimed downward from Jacksonville to the Southernmost point Key West. But when I was headed East, the map rotated, placing Key West to my right and Jacksonville to my left. It was a little disorienting. On my Caddys Nav System the rotation can be manually overridden. I did not see where the 1700 could be set manually. Any manual adjustments would disappear after a few moments. This means if you zoom in or out on your map it will return to the default position after 30 seconds of not touching the screen. But the map does zoom into any location automatically that would be requiring a turn or navigation.
I liked the way the screen showed highway signs and spoke the road names. I also like the way the GPS would remind you to stay in the proper lane when the road split. My Caddys Nav System just assumes you will stay on track until the next turn. Sometimes the road signs are very confusing and I found these little reminders very helpful. The only strange thing about the “voice” is the way “she” describes the type of turn. “She” will call turns either “soft”, “slight” or “hard”. The difference between the two is random as far as I can see. I have heard 90-degree turns called “slight right turn” and I have heard a curve in the road called a “hard right turn”. But, I can ignore those little foibles.
So, out of 100 different turns and direction changes the system was 95% accurate. This is roughly the same as my Cadillac Nav System. The biggest problems were always in areas with locations on the opposite side of divided parkways. Those areas would often cause both units to suggest U-turn after U-turn, circling the boulevards near destinations.
Now the other stuff. The Magellan 1700 has two types of directories, the AAA and its own Magellan directory. I liked the triple A ratings on restaurants. The Magellan Directory sometimes provided more returns on searches. But neither was flawless, they missed some very good places. But, overall, they were a BIG help on my trip finding campgrounds, restaurants, drug stores, tires and just about anything I sought.
So, overall, I would take the larger screen on the Magellan over all the little bells and whistles any day. After all, it’s a navigation system, NOT an entertainment system. Buy one, you’l like it and use it.
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Keychain Remote Car Alarm & Door Open Gizmo is actually VIDEO CAM!
November 11, 2009 by admin.
I LOVE gadgets! This new one is so cool I can’t get over it! I bought it on eBay for $.01 plus $13.99 shipping from Hong
Kong. Total = $14. This is even cooler than my watch video camera. It looks just like a regular car key-fob but shoots 720X480 30 frames per second video with audio. The gadget shoots up to 2 hours of video per charge. It uses a micro SD card for memory. I bought an 8 gig card for $20 at BJs Wholesale Club store. The 8 gig card will hold 16 hours of video. Nice thing is you can swap out the cards fast if you suspect someone will be checking you out. Pull the micro card and hide it just about anywhere, it’s the size of a quarter of a postage stamp. Even if they find the recorder they will never find the recording.
The video is really clear. Low light performance suffers a bit. If you wave it around, the video gets a bit skewed while it records. The sound is automatic and will clip a little if very loud sounds are suddenly recorded. White balance is based on the first frame of video, so if you move into different lighting you may see strange orange or blue tinting. The unit also takes 2 Mega-pixel still pics as well.
Imagine always having a video camera and still camera with you… that is actually clearer than your cell phone. Awesome! I highly advise getting this gadget.
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Softbox Light Kit by PBL useless for most video production
August 18, 2009 by admin.
I was looking for a portable softbox light kit for the field. The latest trend seems to be using the new compact fluorescent bulbs to draw low voltage and emit less light. I bought a set of those (I will review them later) CFL softbox lights and they did not meet my needs. So I scoured many sources and found a set of 1000W tungsten lights that had built-in dimmers.
The seller had a rating over 20,000 on ebay and the price was $349 shipped to my door. It seemed there was little to lose with a kit at such a low price. I already owned stands, so if the stands were junk I could use my own. I already owned many carrying bags and cases, so if the case was junk I would use one I already have. If the dimmers worked poorly I could always use my own light controller… well, you get the picture. Here’s the description from the seller on ebay:
“This is a new professional (SIC) PBL VL-1000 halogen quartz continuous 2000 watt 2 light kit with variable output. This lighting kit is designed to give professional results. Each PBL VL-1000 light has variable output from 50 watts to a full 1000 watts of power, just turn the knob. Now you can have just the right amount of light when you need it. This kit will add new dimension
to your photography. Perfect for independent video productions, digital and chromakey studios. These lights can do it all. Leave them on all day, since they are cooled by a whisper soft fan. The fan increases the life of the bulb. You will be amazed at the difference this light will make in your images. When used with the included 32″x 32″ softboxes you will get shadowless light that will wrap around your subject. No more hot spots. You will be amazed at the difference these lights will make in your images. They will add magic to every shot. Also included are reflectors and barndoors so that you can get variation in your lighting set-up. Use the barndoor for direct, hard lighting effects, and the softbox for soft lighting. The possibilities are only up to you. Compatible with all video and digital cameras. Nikon, Canon, Hitachi, Panasonic and JVC.”
That last part about compatibility was just too cool! To think that there would be some light that would not work with a specific camera was just crazy. I should have told the seller I was using a Sony camera and the listing did not include Sony as being compatible. But, dispite the temptation, I did not ask. The pictures from the seller showed a lot of promise. There were three bulbs included, which was really nice. The set even had barn doors just in case you wanted to use them as open face lights. I hardly ever use open face lights, but in a pinch they are better than nothing. The dimmer was a clincher. Built-in dimming? That was way cool.
So I looked through the sellers feedback for hints that the light kit was acceptable to buyers. A few buyers wrote that the kit was very good and well made. Now that sold me. Somebody bought them, used the lights and said they were good. I was happy. I paid the $349 and eagerly awaited the delivery. About a week later the kit arrived. I like getting stuff in the mail or by UPS. It’s like a surprise gift. The UPS guy walks in and for just a minute or so, I forget what I ordered. I sign the UPS-O-Meter and look at the label. Cool! It’s my light kit! I rip off the tape and peer into the large box. There are several boxes and bags wrapped in plastic and everything looks nice and new. I hate it when people send me items that were returned by a previous purchaser. It’s always obvious and casts aspersions on the item since it was unwanted by the last buyer. These boxes and bags were sealed and new.
At first glance it struck me that there were way too many carrying bags. Each stand had a bag, each softbox had a bag and they all fit into yet another bag. But what the heck, no harm. The stands were a bit cheap (as expected) and the lights were plastic, but I had another set of soft lights from JTL that were similarly constructed and lasted for years. It took a few minutes to set up one light. Soft boxes all have their own way of assembling and these were slightly different than Chimera and the JTL lights.
Once I got a light set up I hit the power button. The light was very even and soft. The dimmer was smooth from about 100 watts up to 1000W. but wait. What was that sound? The lights were equipped with “whisper quiet” fans. Well, if someone was whispering in your ear maybe… or if they whispered real real loud. So I set up the second light. Together the two lights sounded like a small microwave oven whirring in an adjoining room.
There is no way that you could record audio on camera in an enclosed room with these lights. They are not “whisper quiet” or even close. You should not use the word “quiet” in any description of these lights. So, if you need soft lights (softboxes) for a video shoot where you will not record audio, these are perfect. But if you demand more than one type of use from your lights like I do, then avoid the PBL VL-1000 soft light kit.
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How to Select a Commercial Painting Contractor
August 11, 2009 by admin.
As the owner or owner’s representative, you should evaluate the experience level of any painting contractor that you are considering. Painting a large commercial building or complex is much different than painting smaller structures. This type of painting requires experience in various application techniques, addressing safety issues, knowledge of materials, paints, required licensing, permits and proper insurance.
There are numerous application techniques for painting commercial buildings. New technology and extensive research have created superior hi-tech coatings for commercial structures. In example: many owners of commercial buildings are using knock-down on interior walls. knock-down is joint compound which has been specially formulated to be sprayed directly on walls to give the surface a “stipple” effect. This technique has a very nice look and has become very popular. Exteriors of commercial buildings are often painted with an elastromeric coating. This is a very durable coating that expands and contracts as the temperature changes and lasts longer than ordinary paint. Using this technique on split faced block helps to seal the block from water damage. Knock-down interiors and elastomeric coated exteriors are best done by painting contractors who have past experience in using those methods.When interviewing, be sure to check for proper insurance. All commercial contractors should carry a minimum of two million dollars liability insurance and workers compensation insurance on all of their employees. This is a minimum and more may be required by the size of the project. A certificate of insurance from the painting contractors insurance agent should be provided with his estimate. Another common way to verify insurance is to have the agent fax you a copy prior to hiring the contractor.
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Review of the new MVIX Ultio Device Coming Up Next.
August 6, 2009 by admin.
About a month ago I received notification from MVIX USA that their new Ultio device was available. I was extremely disappointed to learn that the units were sold out within
hours. About a week later I was allowed to place a pre-order for units that will be shipped out in August. Naturally I was dismayed at their requirement for pre-paying any orders, but I really liked the first “media tank” I bought from them. It’s now August 6th and there is no word from MVIX, but I’ll post my review as soon as I get the unit.
The only fault in the original unit is the need to re-boot occasionally. It’s a small problem, but persistent. The unit will refuse to turn “off” by the remote or operate and must be disconnected from the power source. This happens once a week. I have yet to figure out how to use the features allowing access to internet based files and videos. All attempts I have made simply allow me to view a few promotional videos from MVIX. But the small inconveniences are well worth the benefits of the player. It plays .ISO files flawlessly, just like a DVD was just inserted. The menus, special features and options work just fine. For me it is great, and allows me to archive my extensive 500 DVD collection safely in boxes and still watch the movies.
Stay tuned for an update on the MVIX Ultio!
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“MAX” the number one name for dogs in the USA
June 2, 2009 by admin.
As dog lovers may know, your dog does not have to be attractive to be loved. Recent news stories show that people love their dogs so much, a few are willing to marry them. A little research on the Internet yields information on the top ten dog names in the USA. The name MAX is the most popular. So it is very likely that the most popular dog name has the most ugly dogs under it’s moniker.
Even my sister named her dog “Max”. That dog was one of the pups whelped from a breeding pair I owned, “Peaches” and “Romeo”. You see, I did not fall into the “Max” name trap myself. My pets through the years (all dogs) have been:
- Shotzie
- Caezar
- Lady
- Snuffy
- Radar
- Peaches
- Romeo
Not one “Max” in the group. I wonder if the proliferance of “Max” is the same as the preponderance of other common names? It seems that every girl born in the 80’s was named “Heather”. It was such a joke that there was even a movie called “Heathers” about a clique of high school girls with the same name. just a few months ago I read a Reuters story on my Q9h smart-phone (iPhones are for posers and iPhonies) about the person that married their dog. I wonder if that dog was named “Max”? Probability is likely.
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LEXUS long term 20-year test ride: surprisingly poor MONEY PIT
May 19, 2009 by admin.
Here’s the results of a 20-year test drive of the very first LEXUS. In 1989 my dad went to the local Toyota dealership to see a new model being hyped. He drove home with the first LEXUS sedan. Although the sticker proclaimed LS400, the car was not badged with that number. There was no other LEXUS after all. The silver LS400 was their only model and one of only two in stock. There was not even a LEXUS dealer yet, so when one was built we had quite a time getting warranty service.
The 250 horsepower motor was so quiet we often thought it had stalled. The ride so quiet that even a Cadillac seemed noisy by comparison. It did not have the latest audio gear, back in 1989 car CD players were just starting to be optional and not standard in any car of that time.
The leather sets were buttery soft and comfortable. It had a long list of standard options and needed special “S” rated tires for the sporty suspension. I liked the “power” switch. Much like the “close door” button on an elevator it was installed to reduce the frustration of drivers wanting more get up and go. It seemed to bog down when you stomped on the accelerator. Under the hood it was mysterious and futuristic with an almost hidden motor under the LEXUS nameplate.
Now, 20 years later, my Dad passed away back in 1997 and the car was used by my Mom until she became unsure at the wheel. Mom gave the car to my bother, our youngest family member with only 80K miles on the odometer. It had a checkered past, Since Dad had gone, I was responsible for it’s maintenance. It seemed to take more than $1000 a year to keep it in shape. It had a new drivers seat, new oil pan, two AC systems, a tranny, and loads of little gadgets and widgets that seemed to drop off.
My brother gets the car and tallys up the repairs after warranty. From the end of the warranty to now it has had over $17,000 in repairs. WHAT? SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! The stupid car only cost $37K when new. I’m not counting the ordinary stuff like batteries (that cost too much for no reason), tires, oil changes or belts. My God, that is crazy, the car only had 80K miles and had used just 8 sets of tires in it’s life. The finish was like new and the car had been garaged all it’s life. So, if you buy a LEXUS LS400, don’t buy it for life. Know that after 10 years you should sell it or give it away or it will eat your retirement money faster than the stock market. LS must stand for Lose your Shirt. 400 is what your quarterly maintenance costs are $400.
Love your LEXUS? It must be new.
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