Looking Up

Webber w/Bandana

Katie likes Webber to look festive. A dollar store bandana always does the trick!

Fall Colors

Autmn Blanket

Farmland Sky

Teepee?

Pumpkin Farm Landscape

Gourds

Webber meets the Goats at the pumpkin farm.

Windmill #1

Webber loves to lay in the sun!

Lot's of Leaves

It's Fall

Electrical

 

iPod Update...

I'm sure you'll understand why I haven't posted an update to "My iPod is Home." I've been too busy listening to about 100 podcasts that I missed while the iPod was down. So here's the update: After finding out that the iPod had arrived over at my parent’s house, I left work and drove as fast as possible to their house. I was so excited when I finally arrived at my parents and saw the box on the kitchen table. I immediately opened the box and was even more excited when (this is the point where you can pretend that in the background, when I finally open the box and see the iPod, a chorus of angels begins to sing and the iPod magically floats out of the box. As it floats out of the box there is a heavenly glow around it, the glow begins to appear larger and larger as the iPod starts to float to my hand until it finally rests in my grasp...) I removed the packing material to find that they had actually shipped me a brand new iPod. The case and screen had no scratches or finger prints and it looked just like my original iPod did the first day I got it. I want you to know that even though I was excited to see a new iPod I was still a little skeptical. I was just a little worried that when I plugged it into my computer I would find that this iPod was also corrupted. I am very happy to say that that was not the case. Anyway, after seeing that I actually had a new iPod, I showed it to my parents. They had never seen an iPod and they were both pretty interested. I answered all of their questions and showed my Mom how to work it.

The Update

When I got home I immediately went to my computer and plugged the iPod in. Again, I didn't have high hopes that everything would work. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the iPod Updater pop-up on my screen. I updated the software, plugged in to the power source for a reflash, and then plugged back in to my computer to add all of my music. At the time of the update I had 2045 music/mp3 files in iTunes. I began the update at 8:03pm and amazingly my iPod was completely updated by 8:49pm. I disconnected it from the computer and did a test listen to some random songs and podcasts just to see if there was any skipping. Everything worked fine and the rest is history. I have had my earbuds in my ears for the most of the last 4 days, and I have loved every minute. I missed a lot in the podcasting world and I have been very eager to get caught up.

I am thinking of adding a list of my top ten favorite podcasts to the sidebar of my blog. Many of my friends have been asking me questions of which podcast I would recommend. The best I can do is to tell them which podcasts are my favorites, tell them about podcast alley, and let have them take a listen. We'll see what happens.

See ya.

My iPod is Home!

I just found out that my "new" iPod has been delivered via FedEx. It's at home and I can't wait to see what they sent me...will it be a brand new iPod or a refurbished one? We'll see. You can be sure I'll let you know what they sent me. I am so excited!!! I haven't been able to keep up on all of my podcasts and I can't wait to catch up. There's lots of listening to be done! Stay tuned.

See ya.

Happy Birthday! Capone

Finally

So I am finally getting around to sending in the iPod... it is pay-day after all. How long do you think it will take HP to send me my "new" iPod. It doesn't matter I suppose. I just want to have an iPod that works and that doesn't let me down when I need it the most. In the interim, I have been using my iRiver to listen to my Podcasts and a small number of mp3's. I have to say, I like my iRiver almost as much as my iPod. The only downfalls of the iRiver are the small dispaly screen and battery life. Anyway, I can't wait to get my "new" iPod. I will be a very happy boy the day it arrives at my door.
Fall is here, and with fall comes the time when the trees explode with beautiful colors. Since I have developed love for photography I have spent most of my time taking pictures of flowers and other summer things. I am excited for the fall because it will give me the opportunity to take photos of the color changes, leaves, leaf piles while raking, and eventually the "naked" forest. The colors are changing fast here. I am hoping to get out on Sunday to take some pic's at one of our local nature centers. Stay tuned...

See ya.

Sorry, I didn't Realize

Sorry I didn't realize that somebody was actually reading this. I received an email asking me if I had an update on the iPod situation. Well if you are wondering that too, the answer is, not yet. Since that post I have not been feeling very good and have spent a majority of my time at home on the couch. So needless to say, I haven't packed the iPod up yet to send to HP. I miss it everyday though. I will get off my ass this weekend, get it packaged up, and I'm thinking I will ship it FedEx only because there is a Kinko's or FedExKinko's near where I work. Stay tuned.
You may notice that I have removed the link to my Buzznet site. I clicked on the link today and found that it redirected me directly to the login page at Buzznet. I then double checked the html template for my blog to make sure that the code for the link was correct. After verifying that it was indeed correct, and trying to figure out what the hell is going on, I have given up. It is my assumption that the people over at Buzznet want people more people to join and are redirecting any traffic to their homepage. That's a bummer. It's unfortunate that they have resorted to that type of tactic because I know there are quite a few people out there who have started Buzznet accounts because they were first able to see what Buzznet looked like by clicking on my link. So, screw you Buzznet. Maybe I'll start using your service again if you make it more blogger friendly.

See ya.

P.S. I just used the spell check utility within Blogger, and to my suprise, it didn't know the words: iPod, blog, blogger, Kinko's, or FedEx. That's funny that the Blogger spell checker doesn't even know the word blog. What's up with that?

Podcasting Education 2nd Edition

Podcasting Education 2nd Edition – Here is an update to my original post Podcasting Education. The original was written after I found out some of my friends had iPods but hadn’t discovered podcasting yet. I’m posting this second edition as an update to the original. I found out more of my friends are either getting iPods (Danny), other mp3 players such as an iRiver, or are just tired of me talking about podcasting and want to check out some podcasts using their existing media players such as Windows Media Player. Finally, I have also added instructions for those of you who want to use iTunes to pick, subscribe, and listen to podcasts.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast - this gives a great definition of what podcasting is.


2. http://www.ipodder.org/ - click on the download ipodder link to download the ipodder program. You can set this program up to automatically download new podcasts and send them to iTunes or Windows Media Player. There are many other aggregators out there, but this one is free and very easy to use and understand.


3. http://www.podcastalley.com/index.php - Podcast Alley is probably the best place to do some research into different podcasts. It is also the place where everyone goes to vote for their favorite podcast(s), and where the podcasters go to see who is rated the best. When you start listening to podcasts you will hear most of them ask you to go to Podcast Alley to vote for them.

I highly recommend getting your podcasts using an aggregator other than iTunes. From my experience iTunes doesn’t update the shows fast enough and has a lot of problems. I prefer to get the shows as soon as they are available. Also I’m just not a big fan of the amount of commercialized podcasts that iTunes has on the main page, or the way they have categorized the podcasts within their music store. That’s just my opinion. If you prefer to use iTunes I have included directions at the bottom of this post.

Here is a list of some of my favorite Podcasts:

1. The Dawn and Drew Show


2. 5 Minutes with Wichita


3. Geek News Central


4. Podcast 411


5. Earthcore


6. The Typical PC user


7. The Skinny on Sports


8. Daily Source Code


9. Living on Earth


10. Science Fridays

Just click on the links above and you will be magically whisked away to each of these podcast’s websites. Look for a little orange button with the letters XML on it. There may also be a button that says Subscribe or Podcast. When you click on one of these buttons a new page will appear. This page is full of strange looking code…this is an RSS feed. The only thing that is important to you here is the URL (web address) at the top. Copy the address and paste it into your new aggregator (usually titled Add Feed).

Using iTunes:

1. Open iTunes like you normally would


2. Click on Music Store


3. Click on the Podcasts link in the Inside the Music Store section on the left.


4. Choose a podcast.


5. Click on the Subscribe button.


6. Check the Podcasts playlist on the left side of your iTunes to make sure that you are subscribed.

I am hopeful that these instructions will help you finally hear your first podcast. Enjoy your journey into the podosphere!!! If you need any help just let me know.

If you are reading this and are not someone that I know, please let me know if this information was helpful, and thanks for taking a look!!

See ya.

More iPod troubles & My Lack of Faith in HP Support

I just got off the phone with HP support and now I am pissed off!!! As all of you will recall (again, with the cynicism) I have been having troubles with my iPod. You may be asking why I called HP if I own an iPod. Well, that’s because I made the dumb decision of choosing to purchase the “Apple iPod + HP.” You may also be asking why I made that decision. The answer is that at the time I became interested in purchasing an iPod I was worried that the Apple version would not be as compatible with my Dell PC as the HP version would be. All of my research told me that the HP version of the iPod would be much more user friendly to a PC user. Now I want to set the record straight here and say that I love my iPod like I gave birth to it myself. My iPod used to be my source of sanity in an insane world that is my job. My iPod was my treasure chest of beautiful music that fit all kinds of moods and could magically whisk me away to a different world where anger, stress, and frustration ceased to exist. My iPod was the holder for all of my favorite podcasts and the cause of much laughter. It has been broken now for about two weeks. I am the kind of person who likes to fix things on my own, and that’s what I attempted to do…unfortunately I failed and had to call HP for help, again.

Here’s what’s happening:

• iPod, although loaded with 2500 songs/podcasts will only play some of the songs/podcasts some of the time.


• When it does play a song/podcast it frequently only plays ¼ to ½ of the song or podcast.


• When I plug the iPod into the USB 2.0 port the computer will recognize that I have plugged something into it, but not that it is an iPod. This causes all the iPod software to fail to recognize the iPod. That means that the iPod updater is unable to assist me in reformatting the iPod and then updating the software


• When the iPod is plugged into the USB 2.0 port and the computer fails to recognize it, the internal mechanism of the iPod makes a clicking noise, then I get pissed that it’s not working and leave the room in hopes that something will happen and when I return it will have fixed itself. When I do actually return however, the iPod is warm, even hot to the touch which tells me that something is definitely wrong!!

I contacted HP Support on August 30th and thought that, with their help, we had solved the problem for good. I was able to reformat the iPod and update all of the software, and it worked great for about 4 days. Then it started freezing up and skipping thru songs. I have had to restart the iPod more times than I care to remember.
I finally found time to call HP today. I spoke to a very nice woman named Karen. She guided me through all of the normal trouble-shooting steps, mainly those that I had already done, and then she proceeded to tell me that she would just arrange to have a “new” iPod sent to me…she just needed my credit card number. I understood why but I asked anyway. She told me that it was their (HP’s) insurance that they would get the defective iPod back after I received my “new” one. I asked her if HP would be putting a hold on my credit card for a certain amount and she told me “no, it just incase”. I proceeded to inform her that I just paid for a semester of college on my card and that if they were going to place a hold on my card that it would get denied. She again told me that HP would not be placing a hold on my card. I gave he my card number, and guess what…it was denied just like I told her it would be. Can you feel me getting more pissed off? The only alternative is to send it in myself and eat the shipping charge. Karen gave me all the instructions on sending it in to HP and I just let the issue go.
My next question was concerning the term “new”. I paid approximately $300 for my brand new iPod. I wanted to make sure that they weren’t going to send me a refurbished one, due to the fact that my money was spent with the intent of getting a brand new iPod that performed perfectly out of the box. Her response to my question was that they may send me a brand new iPod, or they might send me a refurbished one; she would not guarantee a brand new one though. She did her best to assure me that the refurbished models are just as good as a brand new one. I proceeded to apologize for my frustration and again informed her that I was pissed off because of the principle of the matter. Again, my money was spent in good faith that I was purchasing an iPod that nobody else had used before me, not a used one that has been erased. I told her that I would send in my iPod but I was very disappointed that I had made the bad decision to choose to purchase an iPod from HP. I also told her that I wished I would have bought the iPod from Apple so I could have just taken it to the Apple store and have them resolve the matter right away. She apologized again, and I understood that she really didn’t give a shit; she was just doing her job! Anyway, it looks like I won’t have a functional iPod for another 2 weeks. Fortunately for me I have my trusty iRiver IFP-899 as a backup.

Hopefully someone out there has had an experience like this one and can offer me some guidance. I have very little faith in HP. If you are reading this and can offer me a word of hope, please send me an email to birderboy@gmail.com.

Stay tuned.

See ya.

ReAct

If you did not watch the MTV, VH1, and CMT Katrina releif fundraiser go here and watch it now. I am sure that you will be as moved as I was while watching it. Check it out now! More to come tomorrow. Time for bed.

See ya.

P.S. I have never been so impressed with TV in my life. Great job Viacom! You will probably never hear me say that again...

iPod Down, iPod Down...AGAIN!!!

To start, let me just say that I am pissed off. My iPod is down again. For $300 dollars this maching should not break. I'm going to call HP again and see what they say. I hope they can tell me how to fix it, and they better not send me a refurbished machine. Angry Scott is not a nice person...stay tuned.

See ya

Shadows

Me & Webber

Old Barn

Tuttle Marsh

Narrow Bridge

Flag

Chacos....Again!

I love my Chacos!

I'm SO Proud!

I am SO PROUD of my sister today! I just found out that she has decided to send my nieces to one of the best schools in town. Because of this incredible decision, the girls will receive a wonderful education with individualized attention. I am so incredibly happy about this, and I am so excited for the girls. WHAT A GREAT DECISION!!!

See ya.

The iPod Lives On

Due to the overwhelming response to my last post (yes, that is cynicism!) I caved and contacted HP to get my iPod up and running again. I was convinced that there was something wrong with the hardware of the iPod but I was wrong. Like I said, I contacted HP (I have the Apple iPod by Hp) and spoke with a Canadian guy named Louis. Louis reminded me that the iPod uses USB 2.0 and instructed me on how to figure out if my computer was even equipped with USB 2.0. After some minor remodeling of the configuration of USB cables in the back of my computer, the iPod started loading faster than it ever had before. Louis also informed me that this is the biggest troubleshooting issue they have with the iPod. Louis was very friendly and knowledgeable...I thanked him again and again. I was lost without my iPod, but now I am found. Thank you Louis!

I decided today that I am getting pretty bored with the layout of my blog. I have begun looking at other blogger's blogs in order to get some new ideas. There is some pretty cool shit out there. Stay tuned...

See ya.

iPod Down, iPod Down

Is there a doctor in the house? An iPod doctor? My iPod is broken and I am lost without it. I have done everything I can think of to get it up and running again with no success. I have restored it, restarted it, reformatted it, completely removed iTunes and the iPod software from my hard drive and reinstalled it...etc. If you are reading this and have some suggestions please send me an email or leave a comment. The only thing I have left to try is to call Apple and probably send it to them for warranty repairs. I don't want to do that. I'm worried if I do that they'll just send me a refurbished one which will just lead to more and more problems. Please, if you know anything else I can try, let me know! Thank you for your help...if you are out there.

See ya.

This is one of my most favoite pictures yet. The black & white gives it a very dramatic effect.

John's Butler

Sepia Sky

Hibiscus

B-I-N-G-O!

Inside the Hibiscus.

I have no idea what this is but I think the color is just beautiful. It looks like pink and purple baby's breath.

This is what happens when you abandon your house and let the bank take over. The house that this was placed on has been abandoned for more than a year.

Webber's World

Did you know that our dog Webber was famous. Yep, he has his own magazine now. It hits news stands this weekend!

Home Improvement

Home improvement is very time consuming, and doesn't leave much time for fun or blogging. I'm remodeling our bathroom and laying new floors in the bathroom, kitchen and dinning room...I'm a busy boy! More to come...and picutres....stay tuned. If you'd like to see some picutres from our trip to the U.P. last weekend click on the flickr link on the right or click here.

See ya.

Confusing Sign

Katie and I weren't sure if this sign meant that you could go and look at hadicapped people, or if there was hadicapped access to the lookout point ahead.

Poe Lock - No Joke!!

Taken at the Soo Locks. When I first saw this I thought it was a joke. Turns out that it wasn't! The Poe Lock...that's hilarious!! The guy who named this Lock was a true comedian.

Save Our Prison

How many times in your life are you going to see a sign like this? This picture was taken in downtown Newberry where they must truely value their prison...I'm guessing it's because of the jobs, not because of the prisoners! The disturbing thing about this sign is the shackle that frames it ever so nicely. While we were in the Upper Penninsula there was actually a prisoner that escaped. He was assisted by a food service worker. They were both caught in Wisconsin the next day, at a hotel.

Happy Anniversay!!!

On this day, one year ago, I said "I do" and married my best friend. Happy anniversary Katie, I LOVE YOU! I hope the rest of our lives together are as wonderful as the last year!

Podcast Review: Geek News Central

As I have said in a previous post, I have been listening to podcasts since February. I began listening to podcasts almost as soon as I received my iPod. One of the first podcasts that I subscribed to is Geek News Central. GNC is a podcast that is produced by the now infamous geek, Todd Cochrane. Todd has been doing GNC since September of '04. Todd rose to podcasting fame when he published the first ever podcasting how-to book, "Podcasting: Do it yourself guide". GNC is a podcast about tech news/happenings. On Podcast Alley GNC is described as, "...a tech show for the common man...”

Geek News Central is for the common man, however that man must be willing to do some research. When I started listening to GNC I was very, very new to the tech world, and I didn't even know what the blogosphere was. I can remember listening to Todd for the first time thinking, "I have no idea what this guy is talking about!” Keep in mind that since I was new to this world I was not familiar with terms like HTML, Adsense, FireFox, Linux, CCS, and Gnomdex...etc. I kept listening. During each show I would make little notes about things I didn't understand or hadn't heard of. When I would get home at night I would spend a couple of hours on the computer learning about all these new things. After a month or so I could listen to GNC and feel like I had some understanding of what Todd was talking about.

Some things that I enjoy about GNC are: the show is well produced, with a great format; Todd explains things in a way that are easy to understand; by listening to GNC I can stay up to date with new happenings in the tech world; I like how Todd makes you feel welcome and the way he welcomes new listeners to each and every show; GNC is a very honest podcast, Todd always informs you if he is being sponsored or is employed by a manufacturer of a product that he is recommending. There are many more reasons that I enjoy this show, too many to list!! I recommend this show to all of my friends and will continue to do so. For anybody out there reading this - If you have not subscribed to the Geek News Central podcast you are really missing out on an awesome podcast! GO SUBSCRIBE NOW!!!

See ya.

Biker Bash & Born

Thank you to Born for allowing me to come and take pictures. You guys rocked!! The sound outside was very crisp; I was very impressed!

Here's Wyatt!

Patti gave me permission to publish Wyatt's picutures on the blog. These were all take by Katie on 07-26-05, Wyatt's second day in the outside world.

Day 17

Excitement/Disappointment

Excitement: Wyatt was born on 07-25-05. A healthy baby boy, 10lbs 12oz, 22in long. He is a big guy!! Katie and I went to the hospital to see him for the first time and to check on my sister Patti. While we were there visiting Wyatt did what babies do best; he slept. While he slept Katie and I unwrapped him so we could look at this hands and feet and feel his soft skin. I also took advantage of this situation to snap approximately 50 pictures. Katie and I took turns holding him and getting our pictures taken with him. It was all very exciting! It is amazing to me how incredible the miracle of birth is. The whole time we were there Wyatt was calm & cool, but Patti on the other hand was beginning to feel the pain of her C-section.

Disappointment: The birth of Wyatt went well. Patti did not experience any pain during the process except for the initial spinal that she was given to basically numb her bottom half. She told me that the pain meds she was given during the procedure contained some amount of morphine. The meds did their job...and then they began to wear off. (I should interject here and let you know that of my two sisters, Shelly received all of the genes for pain tolerance. Needless to say, Patti is not good with pain. Now I don't want you to think that I'm insinuating that what Patti went thru was not painful. I understand that a C-section is major surgery and is/can be extremely painful; I'm just saying that Patti doesn't handle pain well.) It is my understanding that after a C-section has been performed, the woman is supposed to be up and walking 6-8hrs into her recovery. This is supposed to be done to help with fluid removal, keeping the skin around the wound stretched out, and to reduce gas build-up. On this particular point, the nursing & doctorial staff dropped the ball. When we arrived at the hospital (around 7:30pm) one of the nurses came in the room and in passing, mentioned to Patti and my Mom that she [Patti] should have been up and walking by now. Due to the fact that she hadn't been cared for properly her belly (which is now void of the baby) is so full of gas bubbles that you would never know she had delivered the baby. Her doctor came to check on her yesterday and was pissed that the nursing staff hadn't cared for her properly. I guess he should have taken better care to keep track of his patient! Anyway, her doctor informed her that she will have to stay at the hospital for an extra 2 days due to the problems created by their lack of care.

See ya.

Bubbly Toes

Welcome to the world Wyatt!!

Baby Bigfoot

That's a big baby foot!!

Wyatt's Birthday

Wyatt will be born today around 9:00am. We can't wait. More pictures to follow...

UPDATE: Wyatt was born today at 9:35am. He weighed an amazing 10lbs 12oz. and was 20in long. Wyatt was born via C-section because of his gigantic size!

Rita

Happy Bithday Memie. We love you, we miss you!

Bate or Bait

Bate: to reduce the force or intensity of
Bait: something used in luring especially to a hook or trap
Somebody needs a spelling lesson!!

Duke

We are dog sitting for the weekend. This is Duke. He poops in the basement and has a wicked case of separation anxiety.

Vacation

Dragonfly

Dahlia Backside

Day 16

I hate shaving! - I can remember waking up one day, looking in the mirror, and coming to the realization that it was time that I start shaving my face. I talked it over with my Dad and he showed me what to do. I used a normal disposable razor, probably a Bic, and was worried the whole time that I was going to cut my face wide open and begin hemorrhaging into the bathroom sink. Luckily, I finished my first shave with no injuries. Had I known what was to follow, I probably never would have begun shaving. What followed was more shaving (at first it was every 4 or 5 days, now it's every other if not every day), and irritated burning skin. After years of shaving with shitty disposable razors, I switched to the trusty Mach3. The Mach3 was an improvement however; it still gave me irritated skin and ingrown hairs (ahhhhhh!). Then I noticed that my Dad had been using an electric razor as opposed to a disposable. So like every good son who wants to be more like their Dad, I decided that I should try an electric. Now, you might ask, "doesn't the electric razor burn you skin more?" My answer is, yes much worse, that is at least for the first 3-4 weeks with new heads. With a little conditioning though, my face has become used to this irritation and long gone are the ingrown hairs and most of the burning itchy skin. Until lately the electric razor has been great, but ever so gradually shaving has been working it's way closer to being put on my "Things I hate doing" list. On this list are tasks such as: laundry, cleaning the basement, filling out thank you cards (wedding, shower, graduation...etc), and urinating. I have to shave my face every day mainly because if I don't I look ridiculous. My facial hair seems to grow in patches and my "mustache" grows in such a fashion that if I were to let it grow out, it would look like I have patches of alopecia affecting my lip. There are actually spots on my lip that completely refuse to grow any hair. For years women have been using a much better alternative to shaving...Wax! Some women wax their lips and they don't have to do it again for weeks or even months. I'm not sure if that's because their facial hair grows slower, or if waxing is just awesome and totally removes the follicle. I've begun to think that maybe I should try waxing; if not my whole face, maybe just the "mustache". What's stopping me is the fact that I would probably end up burning my lip and getting huge, nasty blisters, or actually ripping the skin right off my face. I think that I will settle for my electric razor and shaving every day. I will just mark it down as something that I will always have to do along with: laundry, cleaning the basement, filling out thank you cards (wedding, shower, graduation...etc), and urinating.

See ya.

Day 15

I love the beach! We decided last night that we sould get up "early" and head to Caseville for the day. After a somewhat late start, we were finally on the road. The weather looked a bit questionable, but we kept on going. When we arrived at the Sleeper State Park beach it was overcast but very hot and humid. Then it rained like hell for ten minutes and soaked all of our beach gear. The great thing about the rain was that everybody packed up and headed home. We however decided to stay, and we had the beach to ourselves for a little while. I'm glad we decided to stay because the sun came back out and the day became beautiful! Any day at the beach is a good day!

Thank you agian to Chaco for making such a grat product. You helped keep our feet safe today even on the slippery, wet rocks. I love your product and will continue to recommend it to all my friends!!!

See ya.