Manhattan

In May we are going to the big apple.  The above photo was taken in the skyway downtown during the USBank PutPut Golf Open.  The golf holes are made by area architecture firms.  Thus the design is not copyright by me, just the photo.  There were some really sweetly designed holes on the course.

Anyway, one to a better topic….NEW YORK CITY!  We are planning on 3 or 4 plays as well as some museums and galleries.  Ross would like to visit Union Theological Seminary while we are there.  I’d like to take some photography around Manhattan or one of the buroughs but we’ll see what happens.  That is a ways off, so look for more on Ross Blog or right here at Fibonacci Sequins.

What is it?

This is in my house right now – what is it?  An LED Light bulb.  In our continuing effort to help the environment, we purchased three different LED light bulbs for use around the house.  We ended up choosing cool white and they have a blue tint – we should have selected the warm white.  The warm white might have been a little more familiar light output but these are really neat.  The lights they replaced were compact fluorescent bulbs of about 13 watts.  These things are around 3 watts.  Two of the bulbs are in locations that are used quite a bit so we should see some really good savings from them.  Our hope is that by purchasing a bulb or two (or three) that we help to bring down the cost of LED lights and to make a viable market for them.

So do your part, replace a one or two incandescent lights with a compact fluorescent light.  Better yet, write your congress person and ask them to pass legislation to ban incandescent lights.

Did I mention how cool the led light is!!  Not only that, but it took a really fun photo.

Washing Machine – HE Compatible IS NOT HE

HE (High Efficiency). Well, we finally got our washer fixed.  Did you know that High Efficiency Compatible laundry soap is NOT suitable for front loading washers.  We learned the hard way – $480 in repairs.  The above photo is similar to how our internal stainless steel basket looked like.  The soap suds created from the HE compatible detergent from Costco (Kirkland Signature brand) appears to have eaten away the metal and the bearing seal – which leaked grease all over two loads of laundry.  Bye bye clothes. 

After the repairman put together the washer, he ran an empty load with no soap and there was enough residue from the HE Compatible soap to create a boat load of suds.  Suds are bad in a front loader.  I dumped in a few cups of vinegar to cut the suds and to help remove the soap residue.  I also ran a load with two cups of bleach and hot water.

So, we are using true HE soap – buyer beware of HE Compatible!

We are using Consumer Reports recommendation on Cheer – I’d buySA8 if it were less expensive and explicitly said High Efficiency.

Did I mention I found instructions on the net to perform the repair and I thought about doing it myself.  After watching the two of them do it, I’m glad I didn’t do it myself.  Ross would have helped but it would have been a crazy attempt!!!

More Lion

April continues to be a wonderful month to view snow.  It was 30 today, though the sun did shine for some of the day.  This photo was taken outside of Bellanotte.  They have a lovely 3 course lunch for ten bucks.

I finally was able to fix the front door knob.  Do you know how difficult it is to find a 5 inch offset part.  Mostly because it is called either backset or setback.  Knowing the correct words to search for and *pop* – there are your parts!

10 things you should know about John McCain

McCain is so far out of touch with faith, we should all be scared. (Up next – more photos).

In case you were wondering, this is a political post.  A re-posting of information from MoveOn.Org, it is worth a read.  Post comments on your thoughts – think critically about the post and let me know your views.

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don’t):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has “evolved,” yet he’s continued to oppose key civil rights laws.

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain “will make Cheney look like Gandhi.”

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.

4. McCain opposes a woman’s right to choose. He said, “I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned.”

5. The Children’s Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children’s health care bill last year, then defended Bush’s veto of the bill.

6. He’s one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a “second job” and skip their vacations.

7. Many of McCain’s fellow Republican senators say he’s too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: “The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He’s erratic. He’s hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.”

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his “spiritual guide,” Rod Parsley, believes America’s founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a “false religion.” McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church “the Antichrist” and a “false cult.”

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be.

I have sources for the information if you are interested please let me know.

FireFox 3 Beta 4

I love it.  Firefox 3 has some nice features.  I’ve been playing with beta 4 for a while.  Not all the extensions or Ad-Ons are yet updated to the version but my favorite feature is the ability to save your tabs.  In version 2, if you had been working on some research and had a bunch of tabs open, you would have to bookmark them prior to closing the browser.  WELL, let me tell you (but first I’m going to go make a BLT). <And now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast.> In Firefox 3, it will prompt you to save your tabs for the next time it starts.  I LOVE THIS FEATURE!  The icons are different and there are numerous new features but on the performance front, it is not such a memory hog as before and does appear to be faster.  So look for something this summer when it is released, and until then, know that I am testing the software for you.

In Like a Lion….Out Like a Lamb?

 Self Portrait 2008

In like a lion and out like a lamb – yeah whatever.  Here is a self portrait taken Monday morning at the beginning of 7 inches of snow.  It landed quite quickly and by the time I arrived downtown, the flakes were like quarters.  Very pretty indeed.  Oh, and I’m not shoveling. Tomorrow it will be in the high 30’s and then it will be warmer later this week.  And how do I know this – because Forecastfox was recently updated to work with Firefox 3 beta 4.  Did I mention how much I really like this new version?

On a side note, I took a number of self portraits and maybe will eventually show them all, but one series was downtown near a skyway which I walk on (eventually).  Apparently there was a security guard watching me take photos and when he finally saw me, he asked if I wanted my photo taken in the snow.  It was really nice of him and I tried to explain I was taking artistic photos and thanks but no thanks.  He looked at me weird – like a terrorist weird.  Umm, it is legal to take photos in public the last time I checked.  Anyway, I did refrain from taking a self portrait in front of the armored truck so I do use *some* judgment.

I keep finding photos to blog about and still haven’t put up any of my St. Patrick’s day photos – I have a few that I really like, so eventually look for those…oh and I’ll blog about Firefox 3 sometime soon.

Feel free to provide comments on any of my entries, things you’d like to know or see or whatever.

PS – we almost went bowling tonight on the Wii.  I hear I need to do some practicing to take on my Aunt Marcia – she’s somewhere in the 200’s and I think my high is 179.  Wii’d best get practicing.