So this weekend it was Nemo on Ice, this is Hagan’s 2nd show in 2 weeks, also her 2nd Disney on Ice show. The show overall was ok, not as good as Monsters INC., to me the audio was really low and the lighting was not as good as it should have been, in fact the follow spots were dragging behind the talent and in some cases just not there at all. In the end it was all about a 3 (going on 4) year old and that’s all that matters, it was for her and she had fun.
We were at the Wiggles today, the New Wiggles where Sam is the new Yellow Wiggle, as always they put on a great show for all ages! Clicking the slideshow will take you to the Google Pics site and you will be able to see full size images, as they were intended.
On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.
I just opted to switch over from Cox Internet to Qwest after I got a call from the cable company advising me that my prices were going up to over $50 per month for what was sub-par service. The move from Cox to Qwest was fairly smooth however integration into my Linksys WRT54GL presented some challenges that I wasn’t prepared for and Qwest didn’t do a very good job of providing documentation for.
To make anyones life that is considering this switch a bit easier, here is an FAQ that will help setting up the Qwest M1000 DSL modem with your Linksys (or compatible) Router.
Step 1: You need to enable Transparent Bridging in your M1000 modem, this will allow you to pass the Username and Password from the next step to configure your Linksys Router for PPPoE.
This doc M1000 Transparent Bridge Mode will show you how to change the DSL modem to Transparent Bridge mode, for this step and the next step I recommend you plug your PC directly into your M1000 modem, connect to the host IP (192.168.0.1) and run the setup as per the PDF instructions.
Step 2: The Qwest box came with some paperwork that offered ZERO explanation and contained my QuickConnect information, a number and Code which translate into your PPPoE Username and Password, you cannot setup the modem without this since your Linksys will not be able to authenticate to the modem.
There is no place in any of the documentation that offers these 2 items and even a call to tech support yielded me with the incorrect information and more international call center frustration.
Enter https://kai03.qwest.com/QuickConnect/ManualInstall/ into your browser that will bring you to this page where you can enter the information from your New User Packet and get the vital PPPoE Username and Password information for your Linksys router.
Step 3: I upgraded all my Linksys Routers to DD-WRT firmware, their build offers some expanded features such as power out control, better user GUI, WiFi Hotspot, and a host of other features that basically take a $69 Linksys and turn it into a $600 router capable of being much more than a simple home access point.
The DD-WRT build will load easily if you’re using a Linux based Linksys WRT54 router, the WRT54GL is about $20 more than the standard WRT54G however it’s so hard to find the right version of WRT54G that will work with DD-WRT that it’s just easier to get a new router.
The DD-WRT site does provide a great WIKI with what serial numbers translate to what firmware in the Linksys routers, but that’s not something that I will cover here.Once inside the router, you merely need to change the connection type to PPPoE, enter in a Username and Password and enjoy your new DSL modem with your old Linksys home network.
Just got the word of a new cam set to hit the street in late December, might be a nice replacement for one of my older HDV cams. No reviews on this one yet, but let’s hope it fits the bill, at first glance this would is going to be hot.
Sony has unveiled what they call an “entry-level professional HDV camcorder” dubbed the Sony HVR-HD1000U. The new camcorder has a shoulder-mounted design that will allow for more stability when shooting. The Sony HVR-HD1000U looks like it could be a great investment for wedding videographers, educational facilities, and anyone else who is looking for a professional-end camcorder for a decent price.
Some specs on the Sony HVR-HD1000 include Sony’s 1/2.9″ ClearVid CMOS sensor, a 10x Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonner T* lens with optical image stabilization, and an LCD screen and EVF that are both positioned in front of the cameraman when the camcorder is shoulder-mounted.
The HVR-HD1000 also features Sony’s “Smooth Slow Rec” function that allows for slow-motion recording and playback. 0 lux shooting is also possible with the Super NightShot mode, which uses an infrared light emitter to allow for video to be captured even when there is not light source.
The Sony HVR-HD1000 can shoot at SD or HD resolutions and can also downconvert. If your workflow is still completely SD, this will give you the option of keeping it that way until you can upgrade, and also allows you to have HD master tapes to go back and use if needed.
Because Sony seems to be using a consumer-end sensor inside a “pro” camcorder, it remains to be seen if the quality will match the functionality. Since Sony’s Pro camcorders have higher manufacturing standards we will probably see a better overall quality.
And for the price, who can really complain? Available in December, the Sony HVR-HD1000U will cost you no more than $1,900.
Well not really, I’ve done “A Brittany”, pulled out the old #1 and said, it’s gotta go and now it’s gone! Hagan doesn’t look too amused does she. Next time, it’s the old Yule Brenner (Yea I’m showing my age).
If you’re a serious PC user running MS Vista you know all to well that you can’t do anything to your own computer without Vista warning you that you might screw up your own machine. Well there is a solution, you need to disable the User Account Control (UAC) built into the OS, however there is a caveat to this and where it should be done so that you aren’t NAGGED by Vista to turn it back on.
The easy way to turn off the NAG Popups is to enter the Control Panel, go to the Security Center, on the left hand side, click the “Change the way Security Center alerts me” and choose “Don’t notify me and don’t display the icon (which according to Microsoft is not recommended)”. In fact using this method Windows will still find a way to pop back up and warn you in the future prompting you to turn this feature back on and drop a little reminder in the Icon Tray with a red X since your machine is vulnerable.
A better solution is to disable the option in the Security Policy and from what I’ve found this is really the only way to do it with 100% effectivness.
Here’s how:
Step 1: Open the Control Panel (if you haven’t switched to Classic View, do it now) and click Admin Tools
Step 2: Select Local Security Policy
Step 3: Dial Down to Security Options (left pane) and locate “User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode” however you will likely only see a part of this unless you slide the display bar to the right. Once you’ve found the Policy, change it to “Elevate without prompting”
I just uploaded about 200 new pics to the site, I”m in the process of adding them on a daily basis but it’s a real pain so more to come as time allows.
BTW, Picasa from Google http://picasa.google.com/ it’s the coolest picture organizer and photo editor I’ve seen in years, amazing tool and it’s free to boot, I recommend it to anyone that has a ton of pics and has no idea how to organize them, it’s fast, easy and best of all, non-destructive so you will never alter your original image, again cool.
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