i-Caught

Have you watched i-Caught yet? It's on ABC Tuesday nights at 9 PM. It's an hour-long show that I'm an episode behind on my TiVo, but it's an interesting show especially for a blogger like me who likes to stay informed on trends and the latest Internet gossip. The show details videos we see in the mainstream media and things experienced on the Internet and gives you insight into the behind the scenes aspects of the videos. If you haven't caught (no pun intended) an episode, you should check it out...

speaking of searching...

You can find just about anything you want on the Internet. What did we do before Al Gore invented the Internet? :) LOL! Just kidding...

I love to use Froogle to search for certain products that can be hard to find. You know, things kids ask for from Santa like a blanket with a yellow dinosaur on it or a pink trash can - yes - my kids asked for those when they were little. You can find anything from animal print bedding to funky (not in the stinky sense) trash cans on the wonderful world wide web and I'm so thankful for high speed broadband to find whatever their hearts desire, I could just spit...

searching...

I wrote on my other blog over at thedawnster.com about looking for a Charlotte cosmetic dentist or surgeon to perform a surgical procedure for my daughter who is more than ready to get her braces off, but needs to have her underbite fixed before they come off. The orthodontist who recommended the surgery, who's also the only orthodontist in town and rakes in a pile of money, wants me to see a surgeon who doesn't accept our form of insurance, so I'm looking for one that does. When I spoke to him about it before, he didn't want to budge on the referral, but I just can't afford thousands of dollars in medical bills. I think he's referring me to a college buddy, but who knows. I'll get her straight, it's just going to take some time and research...

work's work...

Just venting...

I deal with problems on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. In the world of manufacturing car and truck accessories, dealing with quality audits, and praying overseas suppliers meet specifications, it can, and does, get stressful. Not only the day-to-day aspect of work and job function is stressful, but worrying about our plant being for sale, wondering if I'll have a job next week, and doing the jobs of others who've left the company due to downsizing or just being plain fed-up adds to the stressful situation. Hopefully, things will get better, but I'm grateful that we both have jobs and the things we need...

new computer

Dude, I'm gettin' a Dell! I have a Dell at home and at work, but my work pc is getting upgraded next week. I can't wait to have two screamin' processors making it feasible for me to open and work in some of the memory hoggin' applications that I run (especially during the first of the month - chart & stat time). I know it'll have Office 2007 on it as well, and I know it's layed out much differently than Office 2003, so I'll probably be reporting on that as well...

I'm a chic who doesn't need diamond rings, flowers, or chocolate - just buy me electronics!

Looking forward to getting my new PC & maybe this means I'll have my job for a while longer since they only upgrade once every 5-7 years.

Issue: Quicktime plugin taking over Flash in Firefox

My friend Amy had a problem on her XP system viewing Flash content on webpages in Mozilla Firefox after installing Quicktime although the webpages appeared normal in IE 6; not sure about IE 7. Wherever a flash object was supposed to appear, there'd be a big "Q" with a question mark. I went into Quicktime Preferences and deselected everything except .MOV files, but that did not solve the problem, so I went looking for an answer to this on the web. Here's what I found (the last step of removing the Mozilla npqt*.dll files is what worked for her):

Quicktime plugin takes over Flash - MozillaZine Knowledge Base

If you see a Quicktime symbol with a question mark where the Flash content should be, it means that Quicktime has taken over handling of Flash files. On Windows, open Quicktime Preferences (accessible from the Windows Control Panel), select the Browser tab (or the "Browser Plug-in" drop-down menu option in Quicktime 6 or earlier) and select the "MIME settings" button. Uncheck "Flash media" or "Flash file" under "Miscellaneous" and "FlashPix" under "Images", then restart your browser. On Mac OS, go to the Quicktime System Preferences and deselect the corresponding MIME types, which are found by going to the Advanced tab in recent OS X versions [7]).

If the problem persists, remove the file "pluginreg.dat" from the "Firefox" or "Mozilla" folder in the profile folder location. Additionally, remove any "npqt*.dll" files found in the Mozilla Suite or Firefox installation directory's plugins folder. [8].

office space...

I'm lucky to have a modular desk unit inside my cubicle - I did manage to swing that out of the deal after being evicted from my office with my lovely ceiling and door which I could close when I needed to give someone a drive-by cursing. Almost all the furniture on my side of the building is old and ratty with depressing gray walls and floors and the carpet is so gross. Let's not even go there.

On the other side of the building where the VP's and the Prez reside, there are ergonomic chairs, modern desks and french doors with much newer, cleaner carpet and it's well-lit. They have better office machines, too, but the peons like me have to co-exist with the stiffies over there, so I guess I'll take my chances over here and maybe boost my immune system at the same time!

Troubleshooting Reference

Another helpful resource to assist with PC troubleshooting or if you just want to know what's running on your PC at anytime is a free service called My PC Profile - has anyone else tried this resource? How were your results? Did it help with troubleshooting or resolving some issue?

what kind of file is that???

Ever see a file or process on your PC and wonder just what the hell is that file and why is it running right now? Well, you can find out just what types of files these are at file.net which is a searchable library of Windows file names listed aphabetically. It can really come in handy when you're troubleshooting your PC.

nice rack!

At work, our IT department finally invested in some new servers to accommodate all of us users who have to save every single email, document, spreadsheet and funny video we receive, create, or send. They have a nice ladder rack style server rack that holds all our useful, and sometimes useless, information so it's there whenever we need it. I'm one of those people who keeps nearly everything for future reference and I have to say it's come in handy at times, and it never hurts to partake in a little CYA'ing...

insurance woes...

I've been writing on my other blog about insurance woes. Having to get child insurance for an auto policy is a pain. There are a ton of sites out there that offer online insurance quotes, and some advertise that they'll give you quotes from other companies so you can compare the rates. Not true in North Carolina, though. Why? Does anyone out there know why those sites don't quote several companies at once like they say they do? I know what the disclaimer says, but what's the real reason?

need a break...

I still haven't taken a break from all this action. Tomorrow, we'll be going to the lake for a tournament and that's fun, but I need a getaway. I've planned to have a garage sale the first of August, so any vacation time will have to be after that. Maybe I'll make enough money to go online and scoop up a nice Orlando vacation home rental, but I don't think they take change as payment, so I'll have to come up with something else...

coffee table pc...

Microsoft, as you know, is developing a coffee table computer called Surface. I was reading about the gadget and many are saying they've never seen anything like it. One thing you can count on with having a home computer and all the accompanying peripherals is a ton of cables and connections, but with the Surface, there are no peripheral cables; not even a mouse, keyboard or trackball. The pointer is literally the user's pointer - their finger and peripherals like digital cameras and the like are connected merely by placing the device on the surface of the Surface. Hmph, interesting. I need to see the price tag on this before I get excited about adding it as part of my home furniture - anyone out there know how much this thing will cost?

geeky tv freak

I'm definitely a geek and I'm definitely a tv freak. We have a Sony surround sound system (which I wired including going under the house since my husband screams like a girl at the sight of 8-legged creatures). I have 2 TiVo units which are connected through my wireless network. All I need now is an HDTV and some home theater seating to complete the equation. Oh, and maybe a couple of bowls of popcorn...

need to get away...

I've been looking at data all week. Numbers and percentages and formulas. Measurements, specifications and tolerances. Too many numbers, too many charts, and too many blueprints makes for a very tired and burned out me. I need a Florida vacation, or any vacation for that matter. Heck, I'd settle for sipping on a drink with a little umbrella in it while sitting my lard butt in a lawn chair in my own back yard at this point. Then, the only numbers I'd need to keep up with are the ounces of tequila in my margarita and the spf factor of my sunscreen...

virtual tours

I have my NC Real Estate Broker's License, but I haven't taken the plunge into selling real estate just yet. Although I haven't gone to work for a firm, I try to keep up with trends in real estate and technology seems to be one area where a lot of old school agents are lacking. I see a lot of listings online that don't have photos attached to them and I usually skip over those which is probably what most people do. When I do take the headfirst plunge into the real estate game, I plan to use the technology available to me to market my luxury home listings as well as my cozy cottage listings - it just makes sense to use every resource. I wonder if I could offer services around here to make virtual tour videos or just take digital photos for active listings...

Anyone had any experience in this type of service? Leave me a comment...

hosting service providers

Seems there's a whole host of hosts out there to give your website a home on the web. What's good for us is that the more providers there are, the cheaper the service - it's basic supply and demand. Host208 - Webhosting Services offers competitive plans from $4.50 per month including a user-friendly control panel interface, 3 hosted subdomains, dedicated 24/7 customer support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Anyone tried Host208? If so, leave me a comment about your experience.

continuing ed...

I waited until the last minute to take my real estate continuing education classes this year. I met the deadline, but next year, I should probably try to go right after the first of the year when the schedule comes out. The classes are designed to educate licensed real estate agents of changes in laws and to give them a refresher in a back-to-basics approach so they can meet the state requirements to renew their license. I remembered most of the material, but some of it was new. I could take part of the course online and only have to be in the classroom 1/2 the day, but I'd have to take a test - the classroom classes don't require a test; they only require you to be there and basically have a pulse and breath air, so I'll probably do the classroom again next year, and knowing me, I'll probably wait 'til the last minute...

high tech pens

I was looking around for some new ink pens today and ran across some that would make the NASA $12 Billion Zero-Gravity Ink Pen look like a crayon. Of course the 12 Billion -dollar ink pen story is an urban legend, these are real. I saw one pen that has 1 GB storage built in and other pens with calculators built in - that would come in handy when you're balancing your checkbook. I usually use just your regular, run of the mill, ball point or roller ball pen, but these high tech pens have this pen freak drooling just a bit...

to be so lucky...

People who live near water are lucky and the ones who actually live on the water I'm even more envious of. It would be a dream to be able to grill out on the deck with a beautiful view of a slick as glass lake or to watch the people go by with the backdrop of the waves crashing on the sand. One day, maybe we'll own a piece of NC waterfront property. It might be a modular home on a duck pond, but I'll take what I can get...