Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in PR

Sunday was a relaxing day for us after the long day on Saturday. We hung out on the beach and took a nice walk.

Good times continued into the evening. We had dinner at a favorite restaurant of Michael's, Miro. Miro serves a variety of food, but specializes in seafood. We enjoyed a lovely seafood grilled plate that included shrimp, scallops, baby squid, calamari, salmon, red snapper, and a variety of other delectable treats. It was outstanding.

You may also notice 1) we got a little sun! and 2) I was attempting to look serious!

Tuesday was a work day for both of us. Mike went to an office, I worked from our room. Then I went to the beach!!!

We had dinner at Pikayo on Tuesday night. This flagship restaurant of chef Wilo Benet was all we expected and more. The food was out of this world and the service was impeccible. It was well worth every penny we spent -- and they were a lot of pennies indeed!

Wednesday was another work day (with some beach for me). I saw Mike off in the morning, then broke some software and headed to the beach.

 

I managed to finish another book (Stuart Wood's Loitering with Intent).

It has been a good trip!

Puerto Rico, El Yunque

Our second big outing in Puerto Rico was an excursion to El Yunque, the rainforest. We wanted to take a memorable trip into the US Forestry Service's only rainforest. We arranged the tour with EcoAction Tours. Reviews I read after booking noted the outfit is a little disorganized. We found that to be true, in part. We were picked up by Peter and Miguel. Peter is the owner, Miguel would be our guide. Apparently they were having a fight (sitting in the front seat, I picked up on this instantly and whispered to Mike), as Miguel later explained with far more detail and frequency than was necessary. After about 2/3 of the pickups, Peter handed us off to Miguel for the rest of the day.

We began the tour by leaving Isla Verde and traveling through the countryside to reach El Yunque. Our guide, Miguel, is a history teacher from Bayamón and grew up on the island. He was very knowledgable and shared some great information throughout the tour.

We stopped along a local beach for photos (sorry, I've forgotten the name). He was kind enough to take our picture.

We loaded back into the van and continued to the rainforest. At this point in our trip, the rain began. It continued off and on throughout the day. Fortunately, it was a nice warm rain and was quite enjoyable. We checked in at the ranger station and got a pass for our group. We then continued through El Yunque to stop at a beautiful waterfall called La Coca Falls.

The fall had crystal clear water and a spiggot that can be used to fill bottles. The water tasted very crisp and clean.

We continued up the road to the Yokahu Observation Tower. This tower gave an incredible view of the rainforest and nearby islands. And check out those rain clouds!

Next on the trip was a hike down the Big Tree Trail, which ends at Cascada La Mina (La Mina Falls). Big Tree trail has an impressive Ausubo (“Bullet wood”) tree and other various natural wonders. The 0.7 mile hike was enjoyable and had a nice path that was easy to navigate. Miguel pointed out a variety of plants and animals along the way an made the hike a lot of fun.

We arrived at La Mina Falls and took advantage of the opportunity to play in the water and take some photos. La Mina Falls descends about 35 feet into a couple of pools. The current was stronger near the falls, as you would expect.

Mike took photos (to protect the camera) while I was the guinea pig model :)

 

We left the falls on a different trail than we came in on, taking La Mina Trail instead. The trail was more difficult than the first one and a great workout for our quads! We hiked uphill for about 500 vertical feet and arrived at the ranger station where we met Miguel (who left at the falls to go move the van).

We stopped at La Muralla for an authentic Puerto Rican lunch before leaving the rainforest. We got the special which included pasteles (I think it is called that), along with rice, beans and other local specialties.

We saw something that was pretty funny after the meal. The roof of the restaurant is the front yard for a house. The owners had a dog tied out on the roof so he could see visitors or sleep in his dog house. You don't usually see that just driving down the street!

Miguel continued sharing local information and stories on the way back from El Yunque. The trip was definitely memorable and worthwhile!



We planned a nice walk in the evening to get something for dinner but were interrupted by a rains storm -- a common occurrence in the Caribbean. We decided on eating dinner at the Cherry Blossom. We had Japanese food that was good. The cook wasn't terribly showy, which was too bad, but the food was good.

Monday was another wonderful day in Puerto Rico!

I have been remiss

on my blogging, again... I am sorry. I have been posting on FB, for what that's worth!

Here's what you've missed. We flew to Puerto Rico on Saturday morning. We were up bright an early (2:45 am for me and 3:00 for Mike) and out of the house by 3:45 am. We arrived at Mike's building to park around 4:40 and made our way to the airport by cab for our 6 am flights. I flew JetBlue, Mike flew Delta (we both come home on the same JetBlue flight).

We landed in different terminals of JFK. I bounded into Cibo Express to get my lunch time treats. I got a smoked turkey sandwich with fresh grilled green apple, sugar snap peas, a cranberry & walnut quinoa salad, Lake Champlain Tanzania bar, and diet Snapple iced tea. Things aren't cheap (the bill was $23), but I feasted on various parts of this food for days -- I still haven't finished the chocolate.

I boarded my connection to San Juan and read and watch some TV on the way down. We arrived at the airport about 20 minutes apart and met up at my baggage claim. A short cab ride later, we arrived at our hotel, La Concha. The room was very nice, in the tower with an obstructed ocean view. Unfotunately, we were right outside a loud fan vent that never stopped (we moved rooms to a pool room with a full balcony the next day).

We unpacked our things and took a trip to the local supermarket for provisions. Nearly every trip we take includes a trip to the store for cheese, crackers, cereal, milk, OJ, and other beverages. We grabbed a quick dinner at Chili's (I know it is an abomination, but we wanted something quick and easy), then returned to our hotel to prepare for our evening adventure.

We booked a trip with Kayaking Puerto Rico for their BioBay Excursion. They picked us up at the hotel at 6:30 pm for the hour + drive to Fajardo. We arrived in Fajardo around 7:45 pm for our 8:30 excursion. We walked around the area and hung out for a bit while we waited. The biobay is big tourist business and we saw at least 3 other companies with tents up for their tours. The group before us came in and were very pleased with their tour.

We had a little lesson about kayaking -- hold your paddle this way and do this and that -- for about 10 minutes. Mike and I have not been kayaking together (I've never been and he has been once, I think). We have canoed, and of course he rowed in high school and did boating as he grew up. We weren't too worried about the experience. The instructor showed us the route (embedded below). We were to leave the ocean bay, kayak through a forest for one mile, then arrive at the bio luminescent bay. We were told two important things: 1) don't hit the roots of the mangrove trees as it can damage them, and 2) do not yell as it disturbs the wildlife.





View BioBay in a larger map

We launched around 9 pm. We began the trip by paddling across the open space to line up. This was a bit comical as a majority of the group (but not us, thank God) had serious problems controlling their kayaks and paddling in sync. People were bumping into one another like crazy. Anyway, we made our way to the river through the forest. Now let me say this, there are no lights in this forest, it was dark out -- I don't know what moon phase -- with thick forest canopy all around. Kids, it was dark. The boats were equipped with a green light on the bow and a red light on the stern. We were to follow the red light ahead of us at all times. The pace was nice and slow (a bit too slow for us, but easy on the arms). The further we got into the forest, the cooler it got. As we moved our paddles in the river, the bio luminescense surrounded them. It is hard to explain, but if could imagine those light sticks you can get and break to glow being in the water and activating each time the water is hit, that is pretty close. We sprinkled water down our arms and legs and got little glows. The darkness of the sky also made the rocks along the sides of the waterway glow.

We reached the lagoon and got to paddle around for awhile enjoying the peaceful setting and incredible bio luminescence. After a while we rejoined in a line and paddled back to the launch point. The whole trip took about an hour and 20 minutes. I can't say enough times how amazing this trip was. We would definitely do this trip again. They took our photo as we launched. Though I posted it on FB, this is another (photo of a photo, sorry) shot that I enhanced using Picnick (which is awesome and free online photo editing -- which was location based in Spanish since we're in PR, and I still figured it out).

We headed back to the hotel and arrived around midnight to a very happening scene. There were hundreds of people partying in the lobby and pool areas. It was amazing. We couldn't miss out on the fun, so we took a quick shower and came back down to have a drink.

As you can see, there were live dancers (she posed for my photo) -- another one was just to the left.

Though we are not in the photo below it gives you a glimpse of the scene.

We enjoyed our day together and finally got to bed around 2:15 am. What a great start to our trip!

There will be more trip updates to come! Stay tuned...

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Deb, Helen, and I went t see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past on Tuesday night. The trailer is embedded below.







It was a great chick flick! We all laughed and got misty eyes at various parts of the movie. The twist on The Christmas Carol's three ghosts was interesting and executed pretty well overall. The ghost of girlfriends past (as opposed to present or future) was the strongest, while the ghost of girlfriends future was most poignant.

Nearly all of the scenes were filmed in or around Boston. I can't wait to see it again on video with Mike so he can tell me where some of the places were that I didn't recognize right away!

We are thinking our next movie will be The Proposal (trailer here)...

A close-up of our birthday gifts: from Girlfriends

I am blessed with not only a great family, but also with a great group of girlfriends. They are always there (even long distance) to share a laugh, a story, or just a random thought. And they are just so thoughtful...

Melissa knows we're always having get togethers in the summer and she got me a fabulous set of salad servers. I just love them! She also got me the book Dewey. My mom read it a couple of weeks ago, and it was on my list of books to get. Melissa is such an amazing mind reader that she just must have known! I can't wait to read it.

Helen is a jewelry treasure trove (what with a live-in jewelry smith) and gave me these gorgeous earrings. Aren't they fabulous?!

And Alison knows how much we love the beach, so she got me this insulated bag that has a matching pareo, hairband and pouch!

I'm feeling so loved!

Have a super day!

Friend Lists: Now in Chat

For us all Facebook heads...

Friend Lists: Now in Chat

via Facebook Blog by Rob Goodlatte on 5/11/09

Since we launched Facebook Chat, many of you have asked for ways to organize your connections and to control which friends see you online. Maybe you want to be online with your best friends but offline with your work colleagues. You can now do that by using Friend Lists to filter your connections in Chat.

Friend Lists let you group friends to more easily share with and view information from specific sets of people. You already can use them to filter your home page, send Inbox messages and manage privacy settings.

From the bottom right corner of your browser, go online with Chat and choose which lists you'd like to include in the Chat pane. You can use your existing lists or create new lists directly from Chat.

Creating Lists
To create a new list, simply select the "Friend Lists" menu on the Chat pane, enter a new list name, and drag the names of people you want to include into the list. You can exclude lists from Chat by unchecking them in the "Friend Lists" menu. If you don't want your friends grouped in Chat at all, you can simply uncheck all the Friend Lists, and you'll then see your friends listed alphabetically.



If some of your friends aren't in a Friend List yet, they'll be included under "Other Friends."

Going Offline
Alongside each list, you'll notice a green switch; when you turn off the switch, you'll be logging off of Chat for that list. Friends in lists that are switched off will not be able to see that you are online or chat with you, nor will you be able to see whether they are online.



Friend Lists are useful in organizing and filtering your experience on Facebook, especially as you have more friends from different parts of your life. To learn about other ways to use them on the site, watch this recent video tutorial.


Rob, a designer at Facebook, will see you online...or maybe not.

How I Feel about Mondays

Don't we all feel this way?!

A close-up of our birthday gifts: Birdbath

We always enjoy visits from Pat, Deirdre, and the kids. Connor and Fiona have a great time playing in our yard. They check out the flowers and look for birds. Naturally, they thought a birdbath would be the perfect birthday gift for us!

Isn't it pretty? It is a pretty shell pattern that makes us think of the beach. Check it out close up.

The birdies will be so happy!

Last year they got us hibiscus for our birthdays. We over-wintered them in our guest room on the second floor and they did great. We have them on the patio for now.

What pretties!

Have a happy day!

A closeup of our birthday gifts: Treasures from the Cape

Pat is always able to find things that no one else can. Her sense of style,  color, and the current trends never ceases to amaze me. She's one hip chic! This year rung in feelings from the Cape. A beautiful turquoise purse. Aaahh...

A beautiful carving set with cranberry gems. Doesn't it just make you want to make a turkey?!

A great serving tray for the summer. We have one at camp, but not here. We are forever running back and forth to the house from the patio. Not anymore with this baby!

She also got me a shirt from Alternative that is awesome. I didn't get a pic though. Here is a snap of me wearing it this morning!

Thanks so much for the thoughtful, fun gifts!

A closeup of our birthday gifts: Internet Connect Weather Station

We've posted about our weather station and all its doodads in recent months. We really like knowing all the meteorological details at a glance. Mike really wanted to take the system to the next level -- broadcasting conditions on the internet so we can get the deets any time.

Being the wonderful Mom she is, Pat got Michael the necessary equipment to upgrade our system to broadcast online. The Oregon Scientific WMR968 is a beautiful touch screen station with a serial output that can be connected to a computer.

We got the serial to USB cable and a software upgrade, and voila! our weather online!

We are now a personal weather station on Weather Underground. We can even make cute little stickers to post on other sites (see our footer and the example below in this post).







Next up, a little website that we customize with even more of our weather data.

Cool (or hot, depending on the day!)!!!

A close-up of our birthday gifts: Clothes

Who knows a girl better than her mom? **Note added here: you all know me pretty darned well, I have to admit!!** My mom (and Brian) outdid themselves for my birthday. Check out this awesome outfit!!!

It is a little hard to see. I got a beautiful new chocolate top, an awesome skirt (this is the back, which is pleated, the front is flat), earrings, and a necklace. And the perfect way to top things off, perfume!!!

I really wanted to model the outfit, but was in a time pinch and it is cold here. I'll have to take a snap when I wear it. I can't wait!

Thanks a bunch, Mom!!!

A close-up of our birthday gifts: Networking

I send my deepest apologies to the non-techies out there as I write this. I didn't have time to take photos of my other fabulous gifts, so today's spotlight is on a nerdy (but much needed) gift.  For years we have been using our Airport Express for Wireless Printing.

The scenario worked out great for several years. As our home computing needs have grown, I have been looking to reconfigure our setup. We have two printers we want to print to regularly (a standard printer and a compact photo printer). We really wanted the convenience of choosing either of the printers to use wirelessly. You all know I am too lazy to unplug my computer, walk into the front hall with it, and hook up to the photo printer... I also wanted stream music to our stereo (from iTunes) wirelessly using AirTunes. This is another capability of the Airport Express. We were not able to do that with our setup because we didn't want to move the printers to the entertainment center.

Whew, what a long story so far. I hope you haven't fallen asleep!!! After years of searching (we are very picky and wanted very specific features) we found a print server that supports 2 USB printers. Woo hoo! The Netgear WGPS606 is a nice little device that has a four port switch, support for two USB printers, and a wireless connection. If you are wondering (Dad, I know you are) why we didn't just get a network printer, well, our printer works fine and we have extra ink for it. We just didn't want to spend the money.

Mike got me the print server for my birthday. I hooked it up last night and we got 2/3 of our computers set up to print. I also setup the Airport Express for AirTunes.

**extra nerdy part coming up
As an aside, the hardware setup for the print server and then for the PCs that access it was a bit of a pain. I spent about 25 minutes trying to figure out how to dedicate an IP address on the router for the print server (which it requires). Software has to be run on each PC to properly configure each printer connection. The Macs, on the other hand, were easy peasy. I just set up an IP printer for each printer by identifying the print server (by name or IP, I used name) and the queue. It took, literally, 2 minutes. Setting up AirTunes was equally easy. After I plugged it in, I spent about 3 minutes in the AirPort Utility and was all done.
**end of nerdy part

I promise that I will have a more interesting selection of gifts up for tomorrow!

Smiles

What I'm Reading (April)

Here's what I've been up to in April. I can't believe it is May 5 already!!!

	The Babysitter's Code by Laura Lippman Kindle Edition This short-story mystery follows a teen-aged babysitter and her unexpected glimpse into the world of adults. It wasn't bad (for free!).
	Stranded with a Spy by Merline Lovelace Kindle Edition   From Amazon: "When Mallory Dawes, suddenly infamous in the States, decided to take that vacation to France, her problems were just beginning: a lost passport. A car swept out to sea. Missing travelers' checks. And a mysterious, if intriguing, man who always seemed to turn up just when she was in trouble... Cutter Smith-code name: Slash-was told to keep the beautiful blonde in his sights. But as his interest in her veered from the professional to the intensely personal, Cutter knew the cost of falling in love would be high indeed. And he would have to pay the price...." This was another freebie from Amazon. I loved it so much, I would have gladly paid for it. It was a good story, a bit predictable, but happy and romantic in the end.
	Afraid by Jack Kilborn Kindle Edition  Kilborn is a pen name for Joe (aka JA) Konrath. I've written a lot about Konrath's Jack Daniels series over the months, and they have really grown on me. This book is billed as being very scary. Here's what the reviewers said: Jack Kilborn's AFRAID is appropriately named. It will scare the hell out of anyone who reads it. Fast and ferocious, this is a dangerous thriller that will take a bite out of you. An absolute must read for anyone who loves the adrenaline rush of a shocking story told with style, speed and savage grace. (Jonathan Maberry, Bram Stoker Award winning author of PATIENT ZERO and THEY BITE ) Jack Kilborn's "Afraid" is a true page turner, a novel that offers a million mile a minute action and suspense. Definitely, a must have with constant thrills and chills. (Heather Graham, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author ) Full of colorful characters and dynamic action, this hard-to-put-down page turner will keep readers riveted and squirming in their seats. Hands down, AFRAID by Jack Kilborn is perhaps the best psychological horror novel to come along since Silence of the Lambs. (Michael Laimo, author of DEAD SOULS and DEEP IN THE DARKNESS ) "Kilborn kicks down your psyche's front door and RAISES HOLY EVER-LIVING HELL. Never have I read a novel so gruesome and simultaneously relentless. AFRAID throbs with unmitigated, inexorable. sheer friggin' TERROR." (Edward Lee, author of CITY INFERNAL and BRIDES OF THE IMPALER ) A bloody, terrifying, hurtling assault across a landscape of non-stop mayhem. A guilty, guilty pleasure. (F. Paul Wilson, creator of Repairman Jack ) "AFRAID is one of the most intense, relentless books I've ever read. This one takes no prisoners." (Marcus Sakey, author of The Blade Itself ) "The moment I heard about this book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it." (David Morrell, NYT bestselling author of Scavenger ) "AFRAID is a bungee jump into pure terror, a story that plays brilliantly on all our primal fears, and stands shoulder to shoulder with the very best of Harris, Koontz, and King. A classic horror novel." (Blake Crouch, author of Locked Doors ) "AFRAID is a masterpiece of unrelenting horror. And I'm not exaggerating. Masterpiece. It's the best piece of fiction I've read in several years. It simply NEVER lets up." (James Rollins, NYT bestselling author of Black Order ) My take: This book was very good. It scared the crap out of me. But, it is not for those with a weak stomach. There is lots of blood and twisted stuff going on... It was very suspenseful and kept me turning the virtual pages!
	Testimony: A Novel by Anita Shreve From Booklist: "*Starred Review* Shreve, consummate crafstman and frequent provocateur, is on fire in her latest novel, a mesmerizing read centering on a sex scandal at a prestigious Vermont prep school. The story is laid out in short, dramatic chapters narrated by a chorus of participants and bystanders, from the beleagured headmaster to the heartbroken parents to the vacuous girl at the center of the scandal. Three star basketball players were videotaped having sex with a freshman, and the tape was then posted on the Internet. The reaction is immediate and the results devastating, destroying marriages, ruining futures, and, most horrifying of all, resulting in a death. Part of what makes the novel so riveting is its graphic rehashing of a scandal familiar from newspaper headlines, but most of this affecting novel’s appeal lies in the way it so carefully fills in the nuances often missing from the headlines. One of the boys, the son of local farmers who was attending the elite school on scholarship, had learned a shocking secret about his mother just prior to the incident and, uncharacteristically, had too much to drink. Conversely, the girl ultimately calls the cops, thereby alerting the media, and accuses the boys of rape because it’s easier than having to face the wrath of her father. Shreve views all of the characters, even the most flawed, with a good deal of compassion, revealing the heartbreaking consequences of a single reckless act. --Joanne Wilkinson"
	Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian From Publishers Weekly: "In his 12th novel, Bohjalian (The Double Bind) paints the brutal landscape of Nazi Germany as German refugees struggle westward ahead of the advancing Russian army. Inspired by the unpublished diary of a Prussian woman who fled west in 1945, the novel exhumes the ruin of spirit, flesh and faith that accompanied thousands of such desperate journeys. Prussian aristocrat Rolf Emmerich and his two elder sons are sent into battle, while his wife flees with their other children and a Scottish POW who has been working on their estate. Before long, they meet up with Uri Singer, a Jewish escapee from an Auschwitz-bound train, who becomes the group's protector. In a parallel story line, hundreds of Jewish women shuffle west on a gruesome death march from a concentration camp. Bohjalian presents the difficulties confronting both sets of travelers with carefully researched detail and an unflinching eye, but he blinks when creating the Emmerichs, painting them as untainted by either their privileged status, their indoctrination by the Nazi Party or their adoration of Hitler. Although most of the characters lack complexity, Bohjalian's well-chosen descriptions capture the anguish of a tragic era and the dehumanizing desolation wrought by war." I didn't know what to expect from this book, but it was good. As with any book about interment of the Jewish, it was sad. It followed the family for several months and painted a pretty complete picture of their devastation. The book was well-written.
	The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff Kindle Edition From The New Yorker: "This ambitious third novel tells two parallel stories of polygamy. The first recounts Brigham Young's expulsion of one of his wives, Ann Eliza, from the Mormon Church; the second is a modern-day murder mystery set in a polygamous compound in Utah. Unfolding through an impressive variety of narrative forms—Wikipedia entries, academic research papers, newspaper opinion pieces—the stories include fascinating historical details. We are told, for instance, of Brigham Young's ban on dramas that romanticized monogamous love at his community theatre; as one of Young's followers says, "I ain't sitting through no play where a man makes such a cussed fuss over one woman." Ebershoff demonstrates abundant virtuosity, as he convincingly inhabits the voices of both a nineteenth-century Mormon wife and a contemporary gay youth excommunicated from the church, while also managing to say something about the mysterious power of faith." This book was great. Not what I would normally read, but it really sucked me in.
	Vision in White by Nora Roberts Kindle Edition From Amazon: "Wedding photographer Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be’s brother…an encounter that has them both seeing stars. A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac’s type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends—and business partners—to see her way to her own happy ending." I am reading this now. I love love love it. Can't wait to finish!!!

I'll keep you posted on this month's books...

A close-up of our birthday gifts: Yard Art

Our friend Steve is very creative. Every time we turn around he has come up with a super-cool new design. Yesterday he gave Mike his birthday gift -- a beautiful Celtic knot for our garden.

Here's a close-up:

We put it by the driveway for now... It will be fun to move it around as the mood strikes. Thanks, Steve!

Remains of the [Birth] Days

Mike and I have had a great 6 days of birthday celebrations. We made a yummy sugar-free cheesecake for his birthday on Saturday.

It was so yummy... As you can see by what was left this morning, we didn't like it at all. Nope, not at all...

We were so blessed to be thought of by so many of our friends and our family. (Don't worry if you don't see your gift in the photo, they are all around the house and we love everything)

If you were wondering, the eggs in the nest are a cocktail table decoration, not a gift.

Our two favorite cards were from our friend Helen. She made them herself and they are so awesome!!! Check them out:

This one was for me. The background in Aquinnah (Gay Head) Beach. She included shells, sand, sunglasses and flowers. The inside (did not get shots of the insides before I left the house) had presents, a cake, and a purse that looks very similar to the one Pat gave me...

Mike's card features a picture we took from Mount Snow this winter. Look at those ski boots and goggles! She included a set of skis and poles inside. How awesome!!!

Thanks to everyone who helped make our birthdays so special! I'll try to feature some of the goodies over the coming days...

Happy Birthday, Michael!

Today is a special day -- Michael's XXth birthday! How do you like those Xs? Apparently he didn't want to hear his age in his earlier years either...

He has aged well, though...

Happy Birthday, honey! I love you :)

Interesting Idea: T-Mobile Cameo Digiframe

Update on 5/1/09: My father looked into this and found out that the offer is only valid for T Mo subscribers. So, if you don't have T Mo, this won't work. That sucks, because this sounded so great. Thanks for the skinny, Dad!

I just saw this. Interesting... We all know someone who could use one of these.

T-Mobile Cameo Digiframe Price Drop in Time for Mother's Day

via Amazon Daily on 4/30/09

I've never owned a digiframe. Personally it's a novelty that just never clicked with me, and correspondingly I have an external drive that is packed to the gills with images of friends and family, and vacations and trips I've taken. That leads me to Mom.
The eventual question that comes from her is what's going on, and where are the pictures? I tell her that I'm going/have been here and there and am doing X, Y and Z. Most of this is pretty much Latin to her, but pictures, those are universal. I've tried sending her digital copies and links to sites where she can view them, but that's never going to be terribly successful with founding members like herself of  pre-computer generation. I vaguely recall a glimmer of hope when I heard last year of T-Mobile's network integrated Cameo Digiframe. It's basically a frame with a phone number that updates with images and picture messages that you send it, or via memory card. Then I saw the price: $100 for the hardware and $9.99/month for the line. Uh, no. My Mom doesn't even have a cell phone for emergencies. But wait, just in time for Mother's Day it would seem that T-Mobile has gotten the hint.
According to a post on Engadget this morning, T-Mobile has dropped its prices to $40 for the frame and a monthly fee of $1.99. Now that's a little bit different, now isn't it. For a measly $24/year Mom can be clued in visually everything that is going on with me or anyone else for that matter. Who knows, after she vicariously becomes an expert in wireless technology she may even break down and accept a cell phone for the glove compartment. All kidding aside this is actually a pretty cool and affordable idea for anyone, especially Moms, who want to effortlessly keep up with other's lives.
A few things about the Cameo. It unfortunately is only available through a physical visit to a T-Mobile store, but there are no contract obligations, it comes with unlimited message capability, can hold up to 500 standard sized images, allows for the blocking of individual senders and does not take up one of your allowed accounts if you have a family plan. All in all pretty nice. Mom is going to like it and I think I may too since I may just get one for myself as well.
Want to read more about T-Mobile's Cameo Digiframe? ZDNet did a nice review of it yesterday. Check it out for more details.
--Tom Milnes

Awesomeness

As Mike and I were discussing our food plans for the weekend he said to me, "Wouldn't it be great if there was some place where you could enter the ingredients for a recipe and get the nutritional information?!" I googled "nutrition information recipe" and hot dog!!! I found a great solution. The top hit was SparkRecipes.

SparkRecipes lets you join for free, enter recipes, and get nutritional information. You can save, print and share recipes, too. What a great tool for anyone who need calorie, fat, or carb (important for us) information for what they are cooking. I entered the recipes I have on the menu for this weekend, got the nutrition info and printed everything out. SNAP!

I have shared my recipes for those who are interested. Just click here to go to my page. I have also added a link to the sidebar of this blog, "My SparkRecipes" under the Fun Stuff section. There are only 4 listed so far, but I know I'll be adding more!

Smiles

Swine Flu

So, I am kind of freaked out by this swine flu. It is really scary, and already being called a pandemic. There is a great resource to track the latest outbreaks over at Google Maps:




View 2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map in a larger map

There are all these warnings to wash your hands. Doesn't everyone know to wash their friggin' hands? C'mon folks, we're not living on the prairie anymore...

Do you know anyone with swine flu (I hope not!)?

*sigh*

I think this really speaks for itself. And makes me laugh...

*sigh*

via Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? by Cheezburger Network on 4/28/09

May Styles Early

Well, here it is a few days before the end of May and I can't wait to share the new blog design! In addition to the new header (which I love with the Berkshires and Vineyard photos) and background, I have switched out the icons on the side again.

I hope you like it!

A Quick Hello

I have been a little quiet over the past few days. I traveled for work last week and am gone again today. Both trips were short -- 2 days -- so no complaints from me! We attended a wedding last weekend on the Cape. It was very beautiful.

Anyway, I got this on my reader tonight and it made me laugh. I hope you enjoy it, too!



see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Have a happy day!

Weather and Washing

Over the years we have become increasingly interested in tracking the weather at our house. We started with a pretty simple exterior thermometer. A couple of years later we got a weather station that had a few remote sensors. Finally, a few years ago we got a weather station complete with remote hygrometer, rain gauge, and wind sensor.

Mike mounted it on the barn where it would get the most accurate readings. The rain sensor is the most sensitive of the pieces and has to be taken down in the winter. He re-mounted it on Sunday.

I am so glad he isn't nervous up there. You know I don't love being up that high. I do, however, love getting our readings inside... Outside temp, inside temp, milk house temp, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed/direction, and rain statistics...

As much as we love this weather station, our next one will include Wi-Fi for wireless real-time weather transmissions to the web...

We spent some time washing and waxing our new car. We gave Pat's car a wash while we were at it. My obsessiveness came out when I saw a lot of accumlated dirt on the top of the car (car washes can't get this stuff)...

I scrubbed and scrubbed to get that stuff off. **Notice me holding onto to the luggage rack. It got really soapy and slippery up there. I started having visions of slipping and falling onto the ground, so decided it woul be smart to hold on. I am such a nut.**

We were glad to get the rain gauge back online and the cars clean!

Smiles