Thursday, December 27, 2007

Troy Hooton Versailles Video

I just received a phone call from Delores Hazzard (Troy's Daughter) and she was unhappy with the Troy Hooton video on YouTube, I will be removing it from YouTube. She did say I could leave it on but I feel it best to remove it. I'm sorry if I have caused a problem with the YouTube version I edited and uploaded. My only intent was to let people see Versailles as it once was 50 years ago by putting it on YouTube.

She advised me I had changed the background music and she, not a company in Columbus, had converted it to VHS format. The music was changed because of the many editing cuts for YouTube. I was told by a relative of Mr. Hooton that the conversion to VHS was performed by a video company in Columbus, Indiana. I must have misunderstood.

I will not be editing, duplicating, or distributing any further copies in the future. She also informed me that the Tyson Library, Versailles, has the original copy by Mrs. Hazzard.

I sincerely apologize for any problem I have caused to anyone in this matter.

--
Yours Digitally,
Jonathan (Jack) Demaree
Versailles, In.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

MagicJack VOIP


MagicJack is a newly offered Voice over IP (VOIP) device that has just launched. In a perfect world you can purchase this small device for $40 plus shipping, plug it into your broadband internet computer via the USB port then any home phone plugs into the MagicJack. The company states you will be making unlimited calls both local and long distant for free. After the first year you must renew at $20. Yes I said year. "To bad this is not a perfect world". You receive a phone number so people can call you but I found the area codes are sparse, No Indiana codes at all were in the group. I picked a phone number in or near Cleveland Ohio. This is not a real big drawback as I will be making calls not receiving calls. People calling me can just call my regular phone number as they have always done in the past. I found that when I plugged MagicJack into the computer nothing happened at all. My computer did not recognize it at all. I tried another computer and nothing. I then plugged in a powered USB hub, then the MagicJack into the hub. This time the computer recognized the device and went onto installing the software and upgrade it needed to activate. You type in a few questions it asks like your address for 911 & what area code you want. I found that after the install using the hub it would work without the hub, Why ? I don't have a clue. In the left pain of the software window that is displayed you can click to have it open your browser. This will not work on my system. It opens up Internet Explorer but I use FireFox as my default browser. As a work around I copy and past the URL into FireFox and it displays the the URL OK. I called a few people both long distance and local finding I could hear the party I was calling perfect, but the person that was called said they could hear a clicking noise on their end. I found the quality as good or better than a cell phone connection. By the way I called a cell phone number and it worked OK but it dropped out a few times but it was the cell phone's problem as the party was in a fringe area. I also found there is no voice phone contact to the MagicJack company. It has no email address either. If you want to return it before the 30 day trial is up you are in for a surprise as it took me the best part of an hour to get a return authorization number (RMA) to send it back. Here is the URL to obtain the RMA:
http://support.magicjack.com/EmailForm.php
Make sure you keep your sales slip (print it out) and everything that comes in the package, as you must send all of this back for a refund. Send it to:

RMA:_______
magicJack LP
PO Box 6846
West Palm Beach, FL 33405

To sum MagicJack up, If you are a advanced user and consider yourself a somewhat geek MagicJack might be for you. But my advice would be to wait for improvments..........jack

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Trans-Siberian Orchestra



I love to listen to fifty and sixties music, I'm open to other types of music as well. I do play some classical records from time to time. Glenn Miller was searching for that new sound and found it several times with such songs as "Tuxedo Junction", "American Patrol", and my favorite "In the Mood". He once said,"A band ought to have a sound all of its own. It ought to have a personality." I found a group by the name of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They have the new sound and it is loaded with personality. I think no matter if you are a teen or an old geezer like me you will like their sound. My wife tells me they have been around for 6 or 7 years. I guess I don't get out much. I think you can listen to 25 of there songs for free at:
http://www.rhapsody.com/transsiberianorchestra
Buy a CD, you won't regret it.
There is a YouTube video with "Wizards In Winter" (Instrumental) with Christmas lights keeping time to the music. A large number have seen this video but not knowing the composer. It can be seen/heard at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SMhCDvzr3nY&feature=related
or some other videos at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AkAhmH40kiM&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kGrhzCgy_bg&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jA9DmSfufSQ&feature=related

Friday, December 21, 2007

HD TV & HDMI inputs

The new HD televisions have HDMI inputs for satellite, blue ray, and game consoles. Instead of RGB cables, or composite cables, an HDMI cable can deliver much better quality video and audio in one simple plug. Considering Hi Definition is still in its early days I wasn’t expecting a cheap tag. But when I got to the store I was stunned to see the price tag… $100 for a HDMI cable! This couldn’t be right, but there were no other cables in the store, so I went onto eBay and searched for HDMI cables, and I found a bunch for only $5 plus shipping. Wal-Mart had them for $20 and up. So what’s the difference?

After trying the cheaper one myself, I can say there is almost no noticeable difference in quality. When you buy a $100 Monster HDMI cable, all your really buying is a designer cable, one that looks cool with the Monster Cable logo on it. But if you’re like me, you don’t spend your day LOOKING at your cable; you just want it to use.

Don’t get suckered into paying too much for your cables. An HDMI shouldn’t cost you more than $20, and you’ll be getting something that is almost the same as a rip off Monster Cable. The only true benefit to getting one is the fact that it might be a little bit thicker than a cheaper one, making it harder to break. But since its something that just hangs there, it’s not worth your money. My advice is to shop around.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

KM Player = audio/video

Software audio/video player with an extraordinary array of built-in audio and video decoders. The KM player has impressed me and is now my default a/v player. You'll need to install Real player or the free RealMedia Alternative codec to play .rm, .rmvb, etc. files, but it supports nearly everything else natively, including Quicktime formats. Did I mention it is free ?

Get it here: http://tinyurl.com/33lfpa.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

CAN You FLY A HELICOPTER ?

THINK YOU CAN FLY A HELICOPTER ?
Read directions first before you start....


You must hold the left mouse button down to go up...release to go down...MOST DIFFICULT

Some people have worn their finger out on this. If you are working for a living, do not forward to your co-workers.. The rest of the day will be useless to the company..

Think you can fly a helicopter? Click on the link below and give it a whirl!


Fly a helicopter

Thanks L.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Why Your Electronics Suck (Energy)

Your DVD player is wasting energy. Chances are, so are your TV, audio/video receiver, video game console, desktop or notebook computer, printer, scanner, fax machine, cell phone charger, cordless phone system, microwave oven and more.

How can that be? As long as they’re plugged in, most of these electronics are still using electricity when they’re turned off. That’s right, as in OFF, which is supposed to mean OFF—except in this day and age, when apparently OFF means something can still draw power. And that costs us money, wastes energy and contributes to our global warming problem. (More than 40 percent of all global emissions of carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas, is caused by electrical power plants.)

Read the rest of this article

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Christmas food & toy distribution


Again this year the Versailles American Legion along with others are preparing for the annual Christmas food & toy distribution to the needy. Our Post 173 would like to welcome Ohio Rod as a sponsor this year. I have posted a few photos that were taken the day of delivery from United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Thank you goes to Kroger Co. for furnishing transportation. Super-Val of Versailles provides perishable goods for delivery. A big thank you goes out to our sponsors & individuals that help with this service to our community.
See the photos at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/ChristmasFood121507

Two short years

It has been 2 years sense I started this Blog, I did have another one of my own that was sent out via email. It was very hard to track and lets face it no one wants to sign up for anything on the Internet, the boogie man may get you. Google's Blog fills the bill very nicely as you can read it or not read it, its your choice. It seems I have a very small but faithful following that seem to ask for help, make suggestions, and yes tell me to drop dead. If you are one that reads this Blog often I just want to say thanks. I hope I can go for 22 ! ........jack

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

"Victory at Sea"


If you are an ol' timer like me you'll remember the TV show "Victory at Sea". I have about 16 hours on VHS tape that needs to be converted to DVD, may be I'll get that done on a cold snowy day soon. Any way if you remember this program there was always great music in the background played by the United States Navy Band. You can hear it again on this Web Page:
http://victoryatseaonline.com/victory_music.html

Here is the Special "Extra-long" Theme you can listen to now:
Symphonic Scenario - MP3 ... 1.8M

Trans Siberian Orchestra

Every year I get this same question, so here is the replay:

Q.
You seem to be able to find things on the Web that others can't, so where can I find the song or video of Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas lights. I was told it was on the Web but I have not had luck locating it. Where is it ye ol' Google man ?

A.
You Tube has the video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK1O5pkDniA

Monday, December 10, 2007

Screamer Radio

My Geek friend John alerts me of great little Radio player for Microsoft Windows. Screamer Radio is a freeware Internet Radio player. It will replace Windows Medea Player and is much simpler to use. There are presets to choose from or ad your own. Record what you hear is a super feature.
  • It's easy to use
  • It's not bloated
  • It's ad free
  • It has no spyware
  • It has a huge database of radio stations
  • It has a cool peak meter ;)
  • You can easily record what you're listening to
  • You can hide it in the system tray
  • You can play back on multiple soundcards
  • .. and it's free!
Get it at:
http://www.screamer-radio.com/
John also reports that my Police scanner works perfect with this program.
Just type in http://68.46.218.228:8080 under > file > Open URL
Thanks John for the great tip............ jack

Friday, December 07, 2007

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a pre-emptive military strike on the United States Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Empire of Japan's Imperial Japanese Navy, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 that made the United States enter World War II. Two aerial attack waves, totalling 350 aircraft, were launched from six aircraft carriers with the intent to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet.

read more at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Dial Up & YouTube

Q.
I'm using a dial-up connection and can't play the YouTube videos. Is there a work-around for us non broadbanders ?
A.
If on dial-up and your connection is to slow to view a YouTube movie there is a trick you can perform to show the flick.
After the movie starts click the "Pause" button. Notice the red bar that will appear in time. Wait till the red bar reaches the end of its track. This may take several minutes. This is called "buffering". Now click "play" and if your computer is up to speed the movie will play without stopping to re-buffer (or catch up).
Thanks Bob B for your question............. jack

Friday, November 30, 2007

Jefferson Proving Ground Photos


Full size Photos from Jefferson Proving Ground can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/JPG

Tis the season

I have had a few (very few) requests for the link to the Holiday cards. Yes, I still have them online. There are links from the www.RipleyCounty.net page or the direct URLs are:
http://wb9otx.com/card/

http://ripleycounty.net/card/card.htm

Happy Holidays...................from jack

Rename Master (free)

Rename Master is a utility for renaming large groups of files with a few clicks. Anyone that has worked with websites, file archives, or collections of music, videos, or pictures has probably spent way too much time renaming hundreds of files. The program provides an easy to use interface that allows you to perform simple and advanced rename operations, very easily. You can even preview the to-be-renamed file names before you finalize it and apply any changes. Advanced renaming features include adding, removing from the original file name, replacing characters (name or extension) and support for several meta variables, that allow you to perform renaming based on the files size, date and several other criteria. Renaming operations can be saved as scripts, so they can easily be reused at a later time. Additional features include optional Explorer integration, uppercase/lowercase conversion, file filters and more. A powerful, yet easy to use renaming utility!
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/renamemaster.html

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Crackling fireplace

There’s nothing like a crackling fire to warm you inside and out during the holiday season. And now… you can even have that “fire” on your desktop.

At iYule.tv, you can purchase 30-minutes of crackling fire and a beautiful original score by Geoff Smith formated for wide or standard screen portable players, your computer or Apple TV. This was filmed in high definition, and can come with or without music.

This is a collaborative effort between Geoff, Paul Cullgian, and Cali and Neal. The cost for the Yule Log is anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00, depending on what you need. Why should you pay for this? Well, a portion of the proceeds is going to charity. ‘Tis the Season for giving, after all. In Cali’s own words:

This is something we?ve worked on nights and weekends for almost a month and we hope it?s something that will warm your heart and bring smiles to the faces of friends you share it with.

If you?re giving someone an iPod that plays video this year, load it up with the iYule Log.

If you?re taking that special someone in your life out for a nice holiday dinner, load iYule Log on your iPod and put it on the table for a touch of whimsical romance.

Proceeds will be split by the producers and a percentage will go to three of our favorite charities. Geoff chose the Songs of Love Foundation, a charity that provides personalized songs for chronically and terminally ill children and young adults. Paul has chosen LitLiberation, the largest online literacy experiment in history. Neal and I have chosen Heifer International, a non-profit that helps families in poverty by giving them valuable live animals to provide eggs, milk and farming help.

The video we've produced is a cozy multi-sensory experience that pulls me into the romantic essence of a fireplace, every time I turn it on to watch.
Get it here:
http://www.premiumcast.com/index.php?&req=vp&id=11752

Warning !!! you will need a broadband connection to download (1 Gig file size)
If you need a MP4 player get a free one at:
http://www.videolan.org/

Monday, November 26, 2007

Flo Pegee - A legend of Versailles Ind.


I was ask about Flo Pegee and if I had any photos of her home. So I have up loaded all the pictures I have to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/FloPegee

Below text copied from: "Tales of Versailles" by Alan Smith Sr.

Flo Pegee or Florence Skeen was a legend in Versailles. Views differed, so it is left up to the reader how she should be judged. Flo was called a "witch" by some children because of the style in which she dressed when she was of older age. She was convicted as an abortionist in her late years, but she always claimed that she was a friend to those in need. Her father was Calvin Skeen, who ran the Hassmer House, (now the Yellow Dog) and was a prominent man in Versailles. Flo's brother shot himself at the Hassmer House when he was 20 years old. For many years Flo operated a saloon in a small green house on lot #72 on the southwest corner of Main Cross (now Tyson St.) and Washington Streets. While she ran this saloon Flo had a pet parrot named Polly. Polly was very popular with the town children and customers. Polly was trained to say some appropriate and not so appropriate phrases, but was enjoyed by most customers. Flo was a talented seamstress and made hats and clothes for many of her friends. Upon her death, she specified that she not be buried below ground. According to her wishes, she was buried in an above ground stone tomb in Cliff Hill Cemetery.

DVD Videos

Q.
I can see that you are into making videos by looking at your YouTube page. Can you give me (us) some pointers on the task? Thanks, Bill H.
A.
I am ask this question very often and I always answer it the same way,"buy a DVD set-top recorder". A good place to get one is Wal-Mart. They always have a large selection to choose from. Just plug your CamCorder or AVI camera into the DVD recorder and push the record button.

Now if you are a geek and want to experiment get a capture video card for your computer. The ATI "All In One Wonder" is the one I use but there are many to choose from. The easiest and also included with Windows is Windows Movie Maker, Very simple to use but limited in features. Here is a nice basic free editor:
http://dvdstyler.de/
You can pay hundreds of dollars for high end editors if you care to, but the beginner should start out simple till you get the hang of editing your movie. You can always upgrade if you find you want to go high class.
If you want to make a nice presentation with still photos try:
http://animoto.com/
or you can do it with Microsoft Power Point if you have it.
You can also up-load your photos to:
http://picasaweb.google.com
for a slide show that your friends can view online.

With any form of video just be prepared to spend a lot of your time. My first edit and with a menu took about eight hours to get uploaded and finished. As I said at the beginning "just buy a set top DVD recorder".

Thanks Bill, hope this helps with your movies...........jack

Sunday, November 25, 2007

The perfect shot



I was sound asleep in my chair in my living room when I awoke to a load buzz. It was my motion alarm set to sound when movement was detected near the house. I was now wide awake and gathering my thoughts. I looked at the clock to find it was four AM. I grabbed my pistol, flipped the TV remote to view the security cameras that scan the property. There he was sneaking down the driveway, was it the mad coax cutter or the jerk that sugars gas tanks? no it was a very large coyote just checking out the yard. I opened the door, clapped my hands and gave out a loud yell, "Get out of here"! His very large glassy eyes looked direct at me for a few seconds then he just pranced off to the high way, crossed into the neighbor's yard and out of sight. Not a big deal this time, but if it had been the Stone Queen or other jerk I would have had a perfect shot. To end this short story, I backed up the DVR recording to DVD so I could show my wife when the morning came and went off to bed. The moral of this story, "Don't mess around my house if you have bad intentions".

Thursday, November 22, 2007

PrimoPDF

FREE! Convert to PDF from any application by simply 'printing' to the PrimoPDF® printer - it couldn't be easier! Within minutes, you can create high-quality PDFs by converting from Word, Excel, and virtually any other printable file type.
  • Completely FREE PDF Converter - not just a trial version.
  • Print to PDF from virtually any Windows® application.
  • Create PDF output optmized for print, screen, ebook, or prepress.
  • No annoying pop-up ads, no registration requirement - no catch!
  • High-quality, easy to use PDF creator for all users.
  • New! Ability to merge PDF files upon conversion.
  • New! Now supports Windows Vista
Get it here: http://www.primopdf.com/

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks to God at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada.

Read more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Internet security

Q.
What Internet security suite do you use ?
A.
Preferring stand-alone programs that tend to do one job well and take up fewer resources than the big cludgy suites like McAfee, Norton and ZoneAlarm. (Forget AOL! It should be declared an Internet traffic hazard.)

NOD-32 anti-virus I feel is one of the best and NOD32 is a steal at $29.95 a year for a two-year subscription.
http://www.eset.com/products/nod32.php

Next is AVG free if you are on a budget.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/

If you are still running XP, PC Tools offers a very nice free Firewall.
http://www.pctools.com/firewall/?ref=google_free&gclid=CNG3jJG3648CFQg1WAodREgpMg

lavasoft is free for the taking and offers a good protection from spy-ware and malware.
http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
There is also a pay version, but think not worth the cost.

Although I have not used it, nod32 comes highly recommended and yes it is a security suite (all in one) The cost is about $60 per year. Free 90 day trial at:
http://www.betterantivirus.com/nod32-90-day-trial-offer/

A firewall is kind of a pain in the rear for a novice to use, but if you do not use a router connected to your modem you may want to use one for added protection.

Thank you for your question......... Jack

Sunday, November 18, 2007

A nice Christmas gift


A nice Christmas gift for your wife would be "The Master's Message" a book of short stories written by my Wife Betty. Here is what she tells about herself:
I was born in the state of Maine, but my parents brought me to Indiana when I was very small. I have lived in Southeastern Indiana most all my life. My husband is a Vietnam veteran. I married young and I am still married to the same man. I have two children and two grandchildren. The writing bug bit me many years ago and for almost three years I wrote and distributed a newsletter, which consisted of biblical teaching, inspirational segments and short stories. I have spent endless hours sitting in front of the computer applying the story telling to the screen in front of me and then sending it on to numerous people hungry for an opportunity to escape, if only for a short time, into a world of imagination. The teaching area of my letters and the inspirations were a means of getting God's message out to those who cared to listen. Hence, the title of my book. "The Master's Message." We have all been told from time to time that we are incapable of accomplishing our dreams. Why is it that we buy into all that negativity? I am an ordinary human being, with an ordinary background, in an ordinary life and I have proven that anything is possible if you just step out and have faith. We all have God given gifts and talents and if it is our desire then it is God's desire also, providing it is used to be a blessing to someone. I hope that this book blesses you. The one who is reading this now is hopefully one of many, but nevertheless, if only one is touched, then my job is done.

An article that appeared in our local newspaper:

http://www.ripleynews.com/2006/06_10_19_Author.html

Here is a sample from the publisher "Author House"

http://ripleycounty.net/sample_book.txt

Betty Demaree's Web Page:
http://www.betty.wb9otx.com/

If you would like a copy of "The Master's Message" in time for Christmas please email Betty at:
bdemaree@comcast.net
Your book will be shipped Priority Mail. You may pay with PayPal or Money order. She will reply with the details for your order.

How do you find this stuff ?

How do you find this stuff ?
My answer is always the same, "I search for it".
Try Google's Advanced Search at:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en
or
Here are some tips to try.
By default the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words entered in your search query. If that fails, it then tries to locate pages which contain any words in your search query.

In addition, there are several ways to modify the default search behavior.

1. phrase search
The search engine supports three types of phrase search.
* To match an exact phrase, use quotes around the phrase
Example: "free search engine"
* To match a near (within a couple of words) phrase, use square brackets [around the words]
Example: [free search engine]
* To match a far (within several words) phrase, use braces { around the words }
Example: {free search engine}
2. + and - qualifiers
If you prepend a word with + that word is required to be on the page.
If you prepend a word with - that word is required to not be on the page.
Example: +always -never
3. * wildcard
If a query word ends with a * all words on a page which start the same way as that query word will match.
Example: gift*
4. ? wildcard
If a query word contains a ? any character will match that position.
Example: b?g
5. boolean search
You can use the following boolean operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT. These operators MUST be in capital letters.
Example: (contact AND us) OR (about AND us)

All of these techniques can be combined: +alway* -ne??r*

Happy searching ...............Jack

Saturday, November 17, 2007

KAGUYA (SELENE) press release

November 13, 2007 (JST)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) have successfully performed the world's first high-definition image taking of an Earth-rise* by the lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE,) which was injected into a lunar orbit at an altitude of about 100 km on October 18, 2007 (Japan Standard Time. Following times and dates are all JST.)

The Apollo project was the first mission to take images of Earth rising over the Moon. The KAGUYA successfully shot high-definition images of the Earth-rise showing an impressive image of the blue Earth which was the only floating object in pitch-dark space. These are the world's first high-definition earth images taken from about 380,000 km away from the earth in space.

The image taking was performed by the KAGUYA's onboard high definition television (HDTV) for space use developed by NHK. The moving image data acquired by the KAGUYA was received at the JAXA Usuda Deep Space Center, and processed by NHK.

The satellite was confirmed to be in good health through telemetry data received at the Usuda station.

* Note: we use the expression "Earth-rise" in this press release, but the Earth-rise is a phenomenon seen only from satellites that travel around the Moon, such as the KAGUYA and the Apollo space ship. The Earth-rise cannot be observed by a person who is on the Moon as they can always see the Earth at the same position.

Read & see more at:

http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2007/11/20071113_kaguya_e.html



Thursday, November 15, 2007

Windows' Notepad Replacement

NoteTab Light improves on Windows' Notepad in so many ways; it's tough to count them. Start with the basics: You can open multiple files, not just one as you're forced to do in Notepad. Each file runs in its own tab so switching between them is easy. The program comes with all kinds of nifty built-in utilities too, such as a feature that strips HTML out of a document, a Paste Board that saves text clips automatically, macros and plenty of oddball free tools such as a mortgage-rate calculator. Get it here for free:

http://www.notetab.com/ntl.php

I wish people would use a simple program like this to strip out the garbage ">>>>>" like that, from the forward emails. Copy and paste them into this program and strip out the garbage, then paste it back into a new email you want to send to 35 people in the next 10 minutes so your phone will ring at 7 pm with good news......... jack


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Another Weather Map

(Google Earth), Weather.com has been using it for about 4 months that I know of. Double click on the interactive and then it works just like Google Earth (It is GE actually) without running the program. Then click on the tab for “Weather Layers”. You can check radar or clouds or both. You can get pretty close to the exact area you live and see the clouds and radar if there is bad weather in the area. You can also adjust the transparency of the clouds. Its a pretty cool website.
http://www.weather.com/weather/map/interactive/

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

WLW RADIO


If you know me well you know I love radio and it is a big part of my life. I am 62 and I have been fasinated sense I was about 6 years old. When 6 I had an all American five in a wood cabinet. It set on a small table next to my bed and played all night with a small speaker that I had wired in. The external speaker was placed under the pillow so only I could hear it. WOWO, WLW, KDKA, WSM, and many others put me to sleep every night. Its to bad that you younger than I missed this world of radio and only watched TV. I still listen to AM radio but it is nothing like it was then. If you would like to step back into time here is a few links I have found telling of "The Big One" WLW Radio from Cincinnati, Ohio.
http://www.ominous-valve.com/wlw.html
http://hawkins.pair.com/wlw.shtml

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Veterans Day - November 11th


Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)

Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to United States national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty.

From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I always thought I spoke with the accent of a true Midwesterner being from Indiana. Find out your Linguistic Profile at this fun page.

***My Linguistic Profile:***

60% General American English

20% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Yankee

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Indiana Fall Colors


As promised I took a few photos of the Fall tree colors from Cliff Hill Cemetery overlooking the Versailles Lake.
Here is one of the entrance arch to Cliff Hill with some colorful trees in the background .
The rest of the photos are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/FallColors2007
As always, all of my public photos can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree
The trees are not as colorful this year due to the very dry season we had. I hope you like them.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Free Full Books

Thousands of free books you can read.
Just a few clicks away.

http://www.fullbooks.com/

Friday, November 02, 2007

Paul Tibbets, dies at 92


Paul Tibbets pilot who bombed Hiroshima

To the end of his days, Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. believed that dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a justifiable means of shortening World War II and preserving the lives of hundreds of thousands of American servicemen who military experts said might have died in a final Allied invasion of Japan.

Read the complete article: Click Here


Tibbets was one of my heroes.
Jack

A Very Sad Day


Today is a very sad day here at the Demaree household. Our little black dog named Baxter has passed away. He was born in the state of Illinois 11 years ago. He was brought to Indiana by my daughter Sandy. He lived with her for a few months them came to our home and has brought 10 years of joy to Betty and I. He was Betty's dog from the start but when she was away he made up with me. He did not like thunder and would climb on my lap when storms came, he would beg setting up at my feet when I had my lunch and always gave him a few crums. He was my red dog K.C.'s sidekick. I'm sure K.C. will miss him as much or more than we. I have had dogs all of my life and each time I loose one I have to cry as they are part of our family. Baxter will be missed greatly.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Under $200 PC

Everex delivers $198 Google-friendly PC by ZDNet's Dan Farber -- Everex has teamed up with open source players to create a $198 PC (sans display). The Everex Green gPC TC2502 runs a Linux OS and is loaded with (or has links to) free applications, including Gmail, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, Google Product Search, Google Blogger, Google YouTube, Google Maps, Google News, Meebo [...]
I did a WalMart store search for this computer and found it not in stock within 100 miles of Madison or Greensburg. However, you may purchase it online and have it shipped to the closest WalMart store for no shipping charge. Just be aware this computer has an OS of Linux. This means Windows programs will not run on this computer. I think this computer would be great for someone just wanting to use email and Web surfing. The printer that you use with this computer would have to have a Linux driver. Also I think you must have a broadband ISP (cable or DSL) connection.(Caveat emptor)


Read more

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

One for my Geek Friends

I just ran across a handy service called senduit, What you do is go to the page, browse for your file on your hard drive (100 MB limit), set the expiration time (30 minutes to 1 week) and hit UPLOAD. The site generates a URL for your file, which you send to whomever via email where they can download it from the sent URL. When the file expires, it goes away from the server forever.
http://www.senduit.com
I have been using "You Send It" but I like this un-bloated one better.

Vista - Laugh of the Day


Today I boot up and a balloon pops up and tells me I have an illegal copy of Windows installed on my computer . I guess Compaq or Staples is ripping off Bill. (not) I will let you know the outcome after I call Microsoft or HP. Stay tuned, as I'm sure it is going to be a good one.

Illegal Vista OS

I desided to call HP / Compaq to see what they say about the illegal Vista OS. After speaking to their computer with pretty good voice recognition I was connected to a very hard to understand low audio speaking young lady. She ask several questions about the computer (that I had to have repeated several times) then took control of the computer. She made several changes & had me reboot the machine. After the reboot I did not receive the message telling of the OS was illegal. She tried to sell me an extended warrenty but I declined the offer as it was $139.00, this was 1/4 the price paid when purchased when new. (too much) I hung up the phone and rebooted again. After opening thr FireFox browser the computer locked up. I had to shut it off with the power button. I restarted and now I am typing this paragraph in NotePad getting ready to send it to the Blog. I will now save it just incase it locks up again. I opened FireFox again and now pasting and typing to the blog. All seems fine so maybe it is fixed. I will tell you I am impressed with HP's customer service as I have called them two time now and they seem to fix the problem and the wait time is short. Till next time - Stay tuned for the next episode of the Vista nightmare !

The saga continues

I was out for one hour but when I returned The balloon was on the screen informing me of the illegal copy of Windows installed on my computer. I called HP again and was told all I had to do was validate Vista. I was given a phone number to Microsoft. I called the 800 number and stayed on hold for about 10 minutes. A fellow with a very hard accent wanted to know my full name, phone number, then my email address. After saying could you repeat that about 20 times I tryed to tell him I wanted to activate Vista. He transferred me to some nice music for a few minutes then came another person I could not understand. I had to go threw the complete thing as before, then he ask what could he help me with today. I told him I just wanted to activate Vista then he told me he would transfer my call so I could do that. BE Bop tones sounded and I was disconnected. I called back and went threw all the name phone number and email address again. I was then transferred to another department that ask all the same questions again. At last I thought I had a young lady that could help me, but no she said she did not do Vista. Enough is enough, I went to the old stand by Google and started searching for my problem. On the second page I found the answer. Another fellow had posted the same problem and below was the answer ! I installed a firewall a few days ago just like he did. It is not compatible with Vista, and when un-installed the problem was fixed.......... I think.... So far. I wasted two hours on the phone and got nowhere with the people that should have had the answers. To end this mess I just want to say I thought the OS Microsoft "ME" was bad, it don't hold a candle to this thing called Vista. Do not load Vista till you are forced into it.

Halloween


Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, Halloween festivals, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving jack-o-lanterns, and viewing horror films. Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain[citation needed]. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.

Copied from Wikipedia encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Halloween Pumpkin Carving
http://www.pumpkincarving101.com/

Saturday, October 27, 2007

The Real Truth about Vista

If you have Vista now or just thinking about getting it, You need to watch this very well done video.
"Help I'm Crashing & I Can't Boot Up"!

http://www.blimptv.net/mostpopularV1.html

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Spam Problem - Help -

Q.
I am getting tons of spam. Is there a way to delete it before I download it to my mail program ?
Thank you, Jim B.


A.
Email Remover can save you the trouble of downloading unwanted email. It connects to your ISP and retrieves mail header information (sender, subject, date, etc.), letting you pick mail you don't want to receive and deleting it from the mail server. It will optionally run your regular email client when it's done so that you can transfer and read the mail you do want. Email Remover is a handy little spam blocker in the never-ending battle against spam -- and it's free!.
http://email-remover.com/
User Name: Beta User Key a3
Key: L8pblBN7wdXrCA

(case sensitive)


Another Remover that I use myself is "G-Lock SpamCombat"
This program may be overkill for some but I get hundreds of spam emails every day and it is a real time saver. Download it from:
http://www.glocksoft.com/sc/

If you need a free email account and spam filter combined get a G-Mail account for free. The spam filter works almost flawlessly. Give it a try at:
http://gmail.com

I hope this helps with your spam problem that we all have.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

DPHOTO, Store & View 100 photos free

Wouldn’t it be great if you could bring atmosphere to your photo galleries? These galleries may be online instead of at a physical location, but the presentation can still be impressive. DPHOTO enables you to create slick picture galleries with your photos.

There are three account types that you can choose from on DPHOTO, but thankfully, even the free version doesn’t contain ads. Photo importing and management is simple, and instead of receiving some complicated URL for your gallery to share with your friends, you’ll get a simple and personalized address. When you move up the account chain, you’ll gain access to features such as storage and backup of your original photos and extended file format support.
http://www.dphoto.com/

See the photos I have on file at:
http://versailles.dphoto.com

Infinite Password Generator

Infinite Password Generator will make any number of different passwords for your use at websites and applications. Using only a Master Password which you need to remember and a keyword of your choice, you can use different passwords for every websites without remembering them all.

The algorithm will make sure that no one can get the Master Password using the generated password. It uses MD5. The specifications of password generation method is provided so that you needn't to worry about hidden tricks.

It is easy to use and utilizes many keyboard shortcuts to make the generating process very simple and straightforward. You can also customize the password generated whether including letters (uppercase and/or lowercase), numbers, and/or symbols.

Just a very simple application that will make you free from stressful passwords.


The installation procedure is very simple and takes less than a minute. Just double-click on the downloaded file and follow the instructions.

No need to register, this program is completely FREE, contains no advertisement and is not a spyware.


http://www.ikitek.com/products/Infinite-Password-Generator.html

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Foxit PDF Reader

This free utility lets you view PDF files, and edit any of the text they contain.

Are you tired of Adobe Reader hogging almost 23MB of your disk space, always phoning home for updates, and not providing such swift performance? (Browse to ?Before They Spoiled the Software? at find.pcworld.com/58949 for details.) Make the switch to Foxit Reader, a willowy, 2MB download that?s fast, free, and more versatile than Adobe?s bloatware. For instance, with Foxit you can annotate a PDF with text or graphics, and save the PDF forms you fill out.

--Steve Bass

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download/fid,62648/download.html


Above articale from PC World

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Old Music



If you like older music like I do here is a page where you may play or save the songs. The songs are in WAV format and the quality may not be the best, but heck your gett'em for free. Is it legal ? You'll have to ask the RIAA about that. Look at the bottom of this page and pick the artist you want. This will display the songs in a new page. Left click to play or Right click to save.
http://www.pcdon.com/

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Martin "Marty" F. Conatser, National Legion Commander


Today A fellow member of the Versailles American Legion and myself will travel to Seymour Indiana to attend a short meeting at their Post #89. The guest speaker will be Martin "Marty" F. Conatser, our National Commander. This is quite an honor for a small post. Last year the 2006 National Commander, Paul Morin, spoke at the the Versailles post #173. I was there and snapped a few photos that you can see at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/NatLCommander
I'll have my camera ready today to get a few photos. I'll post the good ones, Stay tuned ........
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Up-Date <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The photo taking was held to a minimum but I did capture this one of Martin Conatser (left) and our Versailles Post past commander Mr. Frank Braley. A short program and fine dinner was served. Commander Conatser spoke of the many programs the Legion provides for local and national alike.



Click photo to enlarge

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Verizon nightmare resolved

I returned to the home of the young lady who was having slow download speeds and mail problems with Verizon DSL. To sum up, the download speed is up where it should be now, but the Windows mail still would not receive mail. I changed a few settings but it still would not download. I told her she could use the browser to read her mail from the Verizon Web Page, but this was not a fix. I use Mozilla Thunderbird for my mail cliant and decided to download and install it just to see if it would work. After the install and set-up it worked perfect. So I ran her threw the basics on how to use it and home I came. This was the fault of Vista or the Microsoft Mail program, not sure of the problem but Thunderbird was the work around. Don't install Vista till you must !

Monday, October 08, 2007

Columbus Day is a holiday


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Observed by the Americas, Spain
Type Historical
Significance A celebration honoring Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas in 1492
Date second Monday in October (USA); - Banks, Post Office, & court Houses are closed, save yourself a trip !


Photo from this page

October 12 (actual/traditional)
2007 date October 8 (USA)

Columbus Day is a holiday celebrating the anniversary of the October 12, 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas. Similar holidays, celebrated as Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) in many countries in Latin America, Día de las Culturas (Day of the Cultures) in Costa Rica, Discovery Day in the Bahamas, Día de la Hispanidad in Spain, and the newly-renamed (as of 2002) Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) in Venezuela, commemorate the same event.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Blogger Play Shows Random Photos


Blogger Play is the name of a new service by Google's blogging platform. It shows random photos from recently published blog posts in the form of a slideshow. (Note the photos are not always safe for kids), as they're random. Google says they're applying SafeSearch, but there's still nudity sometimes. I have watched the photos zoom by for several minutes and never seen any photo that was out of the way. Clicking on an individual picture takes you to the blog post in question in a new window or tab and pauses the slideshow. Try this new Google gadget, It is a real time waster that you will love.
http://play.blogger.com/

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Jammie Thomas found guilty fined $220,000


RIAA wins key victory, accused file sharer must pay $220,000

A Minnesota woman must pay $220,000 to six of the top music labels after a federal jury found that violated their copyright.
Read the full scoop at:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9791383-7.html?tag=recentPosts
Do you or your kids download copyrighted music ? Do you have $220,000 ? If you don't they / you better quit !

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hear what Chris Pirillo says:

Real Audio won't play - but now it will

I have a Web Page that has Real Audio files for you to listen to. I found after trying to play these files with my new computer that uses Vista for the operating system, no player would play them. Off to google to search for a player. One was found that was supposed to play anything. It is called "VideoLAN - VLC media player free for the taking and highly recommended. I downloaded the program and installed it. It is a very nice player for about any audio or video file, that is except Real Audio (RA). I remembered in my collection of software I had a very old copy of Real Audio hiding out in my closet. I dug it out but it was on floppy. Big problem, new computers do not have floppy drives any longer. Rather than trying to convert the floppy to CD I remembered a Web Page that I have used many times in the past called "oldversion.com". I used their search engine to locate Real Audio and up came about six old versions. I picked the oldest one hoping it would run OK on Vista. The download finished, then came the install, I ran the program then loaded the RA files and 1 2 3 pouf it played perfect. You say why didn't you just go to Real Audio's Web page to download it from there as it is free? I do not like all the extra bells and whistles that come with the new one. I only want to play RA files and not anything else with this player. So now I'm happy that indeed it will work with Vista. Old sometimes is much better. Do you like 50 & 60s music ? I think Its better too.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

"Sputnik" Happy 50th Birthday Oct 4, 1957


The Sputnik program was a series of unmanned space missions launched by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s to demonstrate the viability of artificial satellites for exploring the upper atmosphere as part of the International Geophysical Year. It included Sputnik 1, the first man-made object to orbit earth. The Russian name "Спутник" means literally "co-traveler" or "traveling companion" or "satellite". The R-7 launch vehicle was designed to carry nuclear warheads.

Read more at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

ComCast Email (not)

Another half hour was spent listening mostly to elevator music this morning. I spent one hour two weeks ago also. My problem is with my mail being blocked to any ComCast customer. Comcast bounces my mail back as soon as I send it because their spam filter flags my emails as spam. Why ? I do not have a clue and neither do they. This problem appeared about four or five months ago and still comcast can not seem to fix it or even tell me why it is flagging my emails as spam. Gee, I can't even email my wife unless I use G-Mail. Comcast tells me they will call me back in three days but it seems they have a different calendar than mine as three days never seems to come. I wait a week then call them back and it is the same answer, "we will send this to another department and they will call you back". I worked 27 years for a company that told me from day one "we only sell service and when we stop giving service we are out of business". ComCast should adhere to this phase or they will nolonger have a business to call you back.People will finally stop using the ComCast service if it dose not improve. It is my advice to have a back-up email service and a good one is Gmail, try it you'll like it.
Update (a week later)
ComCast emailed me at all of my email accounts (3 total) and told me someone was sending Spam from my accounts. They gave me another outgoing port and also told me to run a virus scan to remove the virus that was sending the spam out. No virus was found on any of my computers, 7 total. I changed the port and for the last two days my mail is going out as it should. (knock on wood)

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Online Banking

Q.
My bank offers online bill paying and access to my account. Do you think it is safe to use?

A.
Yes I think it is safe as long as you use good common sense. Don't display your password or pin numbers where others can see them, like on a post-it note stuck to your monitor. Do not have a text file with log-in information stored on your computer. If you can't remember passwords lock them up in another part of the house. Think it over before you sign up for this service, Do you really need this? I do not need this online banking and do not use it, but still I do think it is safe. If you sign up and find yourself not using it have you bank cancel it.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Verizon DSL Nightmare

Tuesday I was called to install Verizon DSL on a young lady's new computer. I arrived at 10 AM and went to work installing the DSL filters on her 4 phones. Two were wall phones but Verizon did not include wall phone filters. I removed them from the wall and told her to contact Verizon and they would send them to her. I popped in the CD into the drive and started the install. I noticed from the start that the procedure was going very very slow. Others I have installed took about one hour, this one took about one hour forty-five minutes. When finished I went to the Windows mail program for the set-up. I could get mail to send but not to receive. Another half hour passed with no results. I told the lady to call Verizon and ask for the two wall phone filters to be sent and also get them to run a line check on the modem. Later in the day she called to tell me that Verizon does not send wall phone filters out any longer. I ask if they run the line test, she replied no as she could not understand the heavy accent that the lady from Verizon had. I told her I would return and call Verizon for her the next day. I arrived at her home at 1 PM and looked at the mail program again. It was set up correctly as I had looked at the Verizon help page from my home. It still would not receive email. I placed the call to Verizon and waited only a short while when I was connected to a very nice lady with not to bad of an accent. I explained the problem with the slow connection and email. She took control remotely of the computer and began to change settings in the browser. After changing alot of settings she suggested that I install Fire Fox Browser. The computer was downloading slower than dial-up, same as before. She then went to work on the email program. She told me it was configured correctly but would I mind if she put me on hold for five to six minutes? What could I say but yes ! After five minutes went by she returned and ask if she could put me on hold again while she had her supervisor look at the problem, I said OK, what else could I say ! She came back on the phone and said everything was set up correctly and it must be the fault of the Verizon server. She told me to wait three days and if it still was slow and or the email was not working to call back. I told the customer to keep trying it each day and if it was no faster to call me and I would return. I returned home 3 1/2 hours after arriving at the customers home. What a nightmare to say the least. I know of one other computer that is acting the same way. I commented on it in a past Blog entry. It was found that when a known perfect working computer was hooked to the DSL line it performed as slow as the original computer. I do not think that Verizon will fix this problem but I hope I'm wrong for the customer's sake. Both of these people can get cable internet, but at a much higher cost. If you have the same problem after installing Verizon DSL be prepaired to spend about four hours on the phone. You have 30 days to cancel the service, so keep the box and all that came in it. If you have a wall phone get ready to shell out more dollars at Radio Shack for filters. This is not a Vista problem as one has XP for the OS the other is running Vista. I'll post again when I find out the outcome to this problem.

Racket Squad


Scams arrive in my mailbox at the rate of about three per day. I mostlikely receive more than you do but I do think you will get one soon if you have not received one as of yet. Don't fall for these scams. There was a TV show that I watched when I was a kid called "Racket Squad" At the end the MC would state "There are people that will slap you on the back with one hand and pick your pocket with the other. And it could happen to you". Here is a web page that will give you some advice on how not to get into these scams:

http://www.fakechecks.org/


Take a minute to visit these pages, It may save you a lot of grief.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Video added

"Holiday at French Lick" has been added to "My Video Page"
See it here along with the rest:
http://wb9otx.com/youtube/
This is the long version.
A slide show video of the Versailles Pumpkin Show will be added soon.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

The GrandKids, My Betty, Sandy, & Aunt Betty


Photos from French Lick
See the full length video at:
http://animoto.com/play/1ee8338904316fb2a42de45726651b9a

Spybot - Search & Destroy

A new version of Spybot - Search & Destroy has just been released. I have tried it and it seems to work just fine even on Vista. Use this program along with Ad-Aware to keep your machine free from spyware. Get it here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd15/index.html
This is a free program and I may ad, one of the best.

Digital Photography

Digital photography, as opposed to film photography, uses electronic devices to record and capture the image as binary data. This facilitates storage and editing of the images on personal computers, and also the ability to show and delete unsuccessful images immediately on the camera or software itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_photography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Friday, September 21, 2007

Six Must-Know HDTV Facts


Disappointed by how fuzzy CNN looks on your new HDTV? Wondering why Jack Bauer looks so soft and plump on your new flat-screen? Maybe it's because you're not really watching HD on your high-def TV.

Get some advice here:
http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/patterson/578

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Pumpkin Show

Versailles Lions Club Pumpkin Show
September 26th - 29th
105th Anniversary

Wed - Fri: 5:00 PM
Saturday:
9:00 AM Amusement Rides open
10:15 AM National Anthem
10:30 AM Parade
1:00 PM Pumpkin weigh in contest

Fri 9:00 PM
Versailles Legion Open House
Over 21 after 9 PM
Don't miss seeing your old friends
I'll be there too

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Versailles, Indiana School Life 1818 - 1966


A nice surprise came knocking at my door today. It was Ken Akers, he handed me fresh from the press "Versailles, Indiana School Life 1818 - 1966 History & Documentary Sketches". By Alan F. Smith, Jr. and others. This is a book you must have if you attended VHS. It is packed full of class photos, ball teams, and school adventures. The book will be on sale at several locations about Versailles I'm sure, but only one that I'm sure of and that is The Friendship State Bank Versailles branch. Get your copy and take a walk back through time.

Update:
Spencer-Tyson Drug (on the square) has them, also the American Legion has a few.
.
They can be ordered from:

Four-Sep Publications
P.O. Box 86
Friendship, IN 47021
Cost is $20 each (plus $3 for shipping/handling )

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Slow DSL Computer

Q.
My Dad just hooked up to DSL but the download speed is about the speed of dial-up. The phone company tells me the line is OK. He was on dial-up before and it seemed to run at the speed it should of, but now it should be much faster and is not. What can I do to help him?

A.
Take your laptop there and check the speed to see if it runs fast, if it does it is his computer. I it does not it is the DSL. If yours is OK and his is not try all of this.

Go here to check the speed http://speedtest.net/ It should be about 750 kb or so for the slow DSL. 1 to 1.5 Meg for Fast DSL

Run Adaware to clean off the spyware get it here:
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2007-Free/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5
Make sure you update it, then after it runs delete the files it finds.

Download a reg cleaner at http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,64953-page,1-c,downloads/description.html

Remove any symantec (Norton) products from the computer with:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2007080716240739?Open&docid=2005033108162039&nsf=tsgeninfo.nsf&view=docid

Install AVG free virus program. Get it here:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/downloads-products/us/frt/0?prd=asf Update it and run it to see if you have a virus.

After you do all of this check the speed again and it should be running faster. All of this should take about three hours or so. Good Luck !

Monday, September 17, 2007

Versailles CVS Photos

While getting breakfast this morning I snapped some photos of the almost completed CVS drug store. I stitched them together for a complete view. The store (talk about town) will not open till December. See all the CVS photos at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree/CVSNewLocation
See all my albums at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.demaree

Sunday, September 16, 2007

A Juiced Up Youtube = stage6.divx.com


You will need broadband for this one - sorry dial-uppers.
This is basically a juiced up youtube, LOTS BETTER AUDIO AND VIDEO than youtube, it does require the divx webplayer plugin, but its a small download and its worth it to me for the superior quality, check it out, there are all kinds of music, sports, movies, and etc. Check it out at:
http://stage6.divx.com/
Use Fire Fox browser to to follow the above link. Internet Explorer should work but I have not tried it to get the pug in. You can save these videos to your hard drive also, just wait till the buffer is completely full, then right click.
Play with Fire Fox browser to view from your hard drive.
Here are two of my favorites, but there are hundreds more that will fit your taste.

Faith Hope and Charity

An epic historical WW2 drama based on the actual defence of Malta.
1 hour

Pictures-of-War
What happened to flight 19
This movie is based on a true story only with Monty Dan's view on what happened.
30 minutes

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Delorme Street Atlas 2007




It all began in the year 2004 when a small GPS unit and mapping software was installed on a notebook computer. The GPS location was displayed on the 15 inch display and was so accrete it was unbelievable. I was so happy with the performance and low price. It came the year 2007 and the software company Delorme notified me of upgraded maps I could install at a reduced price. I bout the upgrade and it installed without a hitch. I was happy again. Now still 2007 I purchased this new laptop that had the Vista operating system (OS) and I wanted to load the GPS software on it. I popped the first CD of three into the drive and after a mouse click or two an error message appeared. It would go no further. I went to the Delorme site on the Web to find a work around solution. I navigated to the customer service page with no help, then the tech support page, no help there either. I looked for a phone number but could not locate one. I found a search box and typed the error message. Boom, up popped a few suggestions, none applied to my problem. But wait, way down at the bottom of the page was in very small print, “ Vista users call 800-xxx-xxx”. A call was placed and a very understandable English speaking man answered. I told him the problem and he tells me I need the up-graded 2008 software. He told me he could send it out for $39.95. I said, “don’t you think after me buying 2004 and 2007 I should get it for free”? Well he did not think this was a very good idea at all. He said Delorme was not a non-profit company, but he did agree to sell me the upgrade for $15. I said, “if you can drop from $40 down to $15 you could drop down to nothing. He did not like this idea of mine either. The conversation went on and on but the negotiation stopped at $15. I ask him to let me talk to his boss. He said sure and put me on hold………. Forever, I hung up after twenty minutes, an old trick they all use. Not to give up I called a geek friend that I knew that has a Vista machine running the Delorme GPS software. I asked him if he had the 2008 upgrade. To my surprise he said no, it was 2007. I told him 2007 would not load on my machine. He said yes he had the same problem but all you have to do is load 2005 and then 2007. You can delete 2005 after the 2007 install. I ask if he could lone me 2005 and as luck would have it he was coming to Versailles in an hour or so. He dropped off the disk, I loaded 2005, then 2007, plugged in the GPS receiver and off it went. It works perfect. You say it was illegal to get the 2005 software from him, I guess it was but only for about five minutes as the 2005 was only on my machine for a short time, then removed. I only used it as a patch. Yes the joys of Vista continues and will keep on repeating time after time. This I’m sure is not the end of the Vista saga…………… jackDemaree

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Nightmare marches on Part 2

I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with this new laptop running Vista. I have a much more complex computer setup in my home than most ever would. I have a cable modem, a router/switch, a 4 port switch, a G access point, and two B access points. This connects five desktops and three laptop computers all on a network. The problem I was having with the new Vista laptop was holding or just making connection on the wireless network. The two XP connected laptops worked (connected) perfect. I was blaming the Vista laptop for the connection problem, but maybe I was mistaken as after resetting & rebooting all of the access points it is connecting and staying connected. I do not know if it was the access points or the computer that was at fault, but it all seems to be working as it should now. I'm getting more at ease with Vista as time passes but there is a great deal more to learn. I would tell you, "Do not try to upgrade your XP computer to Vista". It will be bad enough when you must buy a new computer with the Vista OS installed. Vista may not be all that bad if you never used Windows 98 or XP. It is just a new way to get to the same place. The biggest complaint I have is some, not all, of my XP programs do not run at all or if they do they do not run correctly. As time goes on new programs will be written for Vista and this will be corrected, just have to wait I suppose............Jack

All about Labor Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day_%28United_States%29

Friday, August 31, 2007

Indiana Ice Slideshow

Just testing a slide insert

pulling my hair out

About three days of pulling my hair out I am giving in and just realizing there is a hardware major malfunction in the design of the Compaq F500. The WiFi drivers were upgraded with what I hope was the correct ones as Compaq does not even list the F500 on there Web page. (I'd try to get out of it too!) It came with a total mess of trial (share ware) loaded on it and after removing all of it the best I could, Icons and bits and pieces remained scattered about the registry. A reg cleaner was used and this made other problems appear. After the restore for about the 3rd time I just loaded a virgin copy of Vista. This seemed to do the best fix so far, but the WiFi is still slow connecting if at all. Sometimes you must re-boot 3 times to get it to see the network. I did find if you hard wire it to the router with CAT-5 it works without a flaw. So if you do not have a wireless access point or wireless router you would fair very well with this computer. I wanted to up the RAM from 1 Gig to 2 Gig but found the machine only has two slots and they are filled with 2 separate 512K boards. This means you would have to remove and discard them replacing them with 2 one Gig cards (strips) at a cost of over $280.00. This is half the cost of the machine, therefor, out of the question. Alot of my little ad on programs that I have come to use everyday will not run under the Vista OS. The file system is very hard to look at, and I could keep going on but you have heard many times before about the quirks of Vista, believe me they are true. I did some research on loading XP on this machine and found there was a driver nightmare. Sound, video, nic, and probable much more. You must stick with Vista, Bill has gotcha again. To end, I have done all I can do, I am just going to try to live with it. It seems I have took a step back instead of forward by getting a newer computer. It's for sale at a discount price.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Nightmare marches on


I just bout a a new Compaq notebook with Vista Home Premium, It has an AMD dual core proceser that runs at 1.7 Ghz. It has 1 Gig of memory. By the specks it should be a rocket compared to my old HP 4900, but its not. Why ? I'm trying to figure it out. Vista is somewhat the same as far as the user is concerned but the file system and deep down in the guts is much different. It is going to take some time to understand just what Bill was thinking about when he coded Vista. I find the built in wireless (WiFi) works much poorer and takes a lot of head scratching to connect. I find that it takes as long as five minutes to connect to my network from a cold boot-up even after it was configured to it. I'm going to put another 1 Gig. of memory in it and see if this helps to speed up the process. I do like the wide screen and light weight and the touch pad is very smooth. It took me 4 hours to un-install all the junk & trial ware that came installed on it. I crashed the OS completely in the process but I restored it from the 2 DVD disks I made then repeated the un-install process without a problem the 2nd time. Most all the big computer sales companies are too cheap now to provide the Windows OS on CD or DVDs. I bet it saves them at least 50 cents per machine. Make sure you burn the OS to dvd after you buy a new machine, believe me you're going to need them. I'm going to try a few things on this computer to get it going to the way I think it should be running. I'll keep you posted as the nightmare marches on...........jackDemaree.

Friday, August 24, 2007

New Camera


I have just installed a new camera atop my Ham radio tower. It produces a very high resolution image and has extremely good night vision. It will be aimed at State Rd. 129 and South Main street through out the day till near sunset, Stratton - Karsteter Funeral Home is centered in the frame, then moved to Benham Rd. and South State Rd. 129, this move is because of sun angles. You can see the image at:
http://webcam.wb9otx.com/cam/
Scroll down the page till you see the two side by side photos. The new camera view is in the right frame. I wish to thank all of the nice emails and guest book entries received from all the people that were from Versailles, but now living afar. I'm glad I can give you a small view of your home town. By the way, leave a note in the guestbook as people love to read them........ Jack