Similar to the constable in charge of the Watch of Messina, I try to be sincere and try take writing seriously but fear I will use the wrong words to convey my thoughts and that my desire to speak eloquently will become an occasion for parody.
Another year has come and gone.
Was able to get in a little more geocaching this year than in years past.
I have found 1901 caches since I started in June of 2002.
This year is my record, finding 692 caches.
Would have been fun to hit 700, but now I have a goal for next year.
It helped that I was able to attend cache machines (see note below) in January, March, and June.
My 3 best days of caching (so far) were during these 3 cache machines.
The Missoula Cache Machine pushed me to a new record of 200 caches in one month!
Besides finding 91 caches on the day of the Missoula Cache Machine, I found 46 on the way there and 16 on the way home.
Other highlights of the year are adding Montana and Hawaii to the states I have cached.
We were in on the Big Island of Hawaii for 4 days and spent most days driving around the island in a red mustang convertible and grabbed a couple caches each day.
I also found my first British Columbia caches along the way home from the Missoula Cache Machine.
Cache Machines
Usually when a person goes geocaching it is either solo or with 1 or 2 other people. At a cache machine a large group, say 50 to 100 people, starts at daylight and attempts to find as many caches as possible before the end of the day (dark for some, bedtime for others). Even though 70 people may start out together, by the 3rd or 4th stop the group has dispersed as people make wrong turns, stop for coffee, skip a cache they had found previously, or just plain get lost, so that usually it is only 2 or 3 cars at a time pulling up to find any given cache.
With the group dispersed, if you do have problems finding a cache it is very likely someone else will pull up and double the manpower in the hunt. If you get behind, you will probably come upon a group hunting for a tough one, which you get to claim quicker. And if all else fails and you really fall behind, you can always skip ahead and rejoin a larger group. By the end of the day you have usually ended up caching with a dozen different groups, meeting a dozens of other cachers. I met up again with folks I had met 5 years ago at the first cache machine. And at the end of the day, there is a group dinner where you can swap stories and meet up again with the people you met during the day.
Any other Geocaching stories out there? Any other Tupperware Trophies?
The
Wall Street Journal
recently reported that more and more drivers are letting their insurance lapse or reducing their coverage as the economy sours.
As you are driving, what are the chances that the guy coming up behind you does not have insurance?
By not having insurance he not only is putting himself at risk, he also may be putting you at risk.
What can you do?
Insurance companies in Washington state, like most states, are required to offer uninsured motorist coverage.
In some states the coverage is mandatory, Washington requires that the coverage be offered but allows the policy holder to reject the coverage.
Uninsured motorist coverage protects those in the vehicle just like the the uninsured driver had coverage.
If you or a family member is hurt in an accident, if they loose an arm or a leg, or worse, your uninsured motorist coverage will cover you.
If you do not have uninsured motorist coverage, you only have yourself to blame.
Several hundred thousand drivers dropped their insurance in the past year as the jobless rate climbed, estimates a study to be released next month by the Insurance Research Council, an industry-funded group.
Online agency Insurance.com says it also is seeing evidence recently of more uninsured motorists.
It says that as many as 40% of callers following up on online applications had let their previous policies lapse, up from less than 10% a couple years ago.
If you do not have uninsured motorist coverage, talk to your agent.
I have finally decided to take the plunge and join the social media revolution.
My first step was to start a Twitter account.
I learned that it was possible to send a text message to
[TextMarks.com](http://textmarks.com] after finding a geocache which would not only create a field note at
Geocaching.com to help me log it later,
but could also be set up to send a Twitter message to my ‘friends’ letting them know I found it in real time.
This was kind of interesting.
Although it became real apparent that I do not cache near as much as others.
Jon Stanley, (aka Moun10Bike or
@moun10bike on Twitter), a cacher I know who lives over in the Seattle area, has had this same set up going for a while, and for every cache I might log, he had 5+ showing up on my Twitter screen.
I had moved from Stage 1, Denial, to Stage 2, Presense, of what Rohit Bhargava (aka
@rohitbhargava on Twitter) describes as
The 5 Stages Of Twitter Acceptance.
But was there any other reason to use Twitter?
Before starting my Twitter account, I could not figure out why anyone would want to broadcast their activities on the web.
‘Going to sleep now’, ‘Had toast for breakfast’, ‘Dragging myself to work’, etc. just was not something I was interested in doing or watching others do.
Since I now had a presence on Twitter, I started adding to the people I was ‘following’ so I could see what Twitter had to offer.
Also, I had a couple people follow me right away who were watching for local Twitter users and recognized me (thanks @JeremyAsmus and @CraigSutton).
Watching the activity on Twitter I saw that it was much more than just personal status messages.
It is a way to share information.
As one low on the totem pole, I will be on the receiving end of most of the information, but that is fine.
As a matter of fact, it is great.
Hopefully what I contribute to the Twitter community will be valuable to others as well.
I have moved past stage 2 now but not sure where I am between 3 and 4.
Now I find, when asked by a family member what Twitter is, I can not give them any kind of answer that would make them want to join Twitter.
Maybe that should be one of the stages.
Stage 3.5 – You can explain to someone why you use Twitter and give a good case for why they should.
As I use Twitter more I will hopefully be able to give a better answer as to why I find it useful.
Right now I am in the learning stage.
By listening to some of the top tech people I can stay on top of what is happening in tech.
By listening to some of the top bloggers I can find ways to improve my blog.
By listening to local Twitter users I can keep in touch with what is happening around town.
By listening to some Twitter news feeds I can keep up on the news during the day.
By posting to Twitter I hope to contribute to the conversation.
I have ended up with 2 accounts, the first one, @YeOleImposter, is where I keep all my personal updates, geocaching updates, and things I want to send to my
facebook account.
The second account, @GaryPaulson, is my ‘professional’ account’ which I use to post things related to my work (insurance) and my blog.
I am not really sure I need 2 accounts but I did not feel comfortable posting personal stuff to the tech gurus of the world :)
I am interested in knowing if any of you are using Twitter?
How do you find it useful?
It scares me as I watched people walk on the snow covered streets because the snow plows have covered the sidewalks with a foot or more of snow.
What amazes me is that everyone I have seen doing this is on the wrong side of the street.
Instead of facing traffic as they walk, they have their backs to the oncoming vehicles!
Ignorance may be bliss, but I would like to have a fighting chance of jumping out of the way of a vehicle who did not clear his windows enough to see me.
In a pedestrian vs. vehicle accident, the police and lawyers are going to be the ones to determine fault.
As pointed out recently at the
InjuryBoard blog,
Washington State pedestrians have some extra coverage that is not available in all states.
If you are hit as a pedestrian, not only are you able to seek compensation from the vehicle owner’s liability policy, you also have access to the vehicle’s medical coverage.
If a driver has this coverage, not only does it cover the medical bills for anyone riding in the vehicle, it can be used by a pedestrian to pay for bills while they’re waiting for the case to settle.
It essentially treats the pedestrian as an injured passenger in the car.
Whatever medical coverage exists does not get subtracted from the driver’s liability coverage either.
His insurance company may be entitled to take credit for whatever bills they paid at settlement time, but they don’t get to subtract it from coverage.
Of course, accessing this coverage when you also have a claim against the same company for a liability settlement can create strange bedfellows.
On the one hand, the liability adjustor has the right to do everything in his power to deny, defend or delay your claim.
However, the medical coverage adjustor is supposed to treat you like any other passenger in the car, meaning fairly and honestly and is even required to keep any medical information they obtain on you confidential.
This can take the pressure off of settling a claim early just to pay bills and get you taken care of like you should be.
As always, if you are involved in a serious accident you should seek legal advice.
This morning I listened to the poem “Jaberwocky” on my mp3 player.
It was deposited there by the Classic Poetry Aloud podcast.
As I listened, I thought of Hans and Jaeger, my grandsons.
Not only do they battle their own Jaberwocks, they are full of nonsense and silliness, just like this poem.
‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Wikipedia gives a glossary of some of the nonsense words used in the poem and useful if you want to know what a wabe is or how to pronounce words like gyre and slithy.
It did not suprise me too much that WSDOT, the Washington State Department of Transportation, has a
blog with links to their cameras and travel alerts.
But I was amazed to find out that WSDOT has accounts on both
Twitter and
Flickr.
On Twitter they post the latest road conditions and even reply to questions posed to them directly via @wsdot.
I saw someone’s comment, “if this is the beginning of Government 2.0 , then I’m ecstatic!”
During this latest snow storm it has been interesting to ‘watch’ road conditions go from bad to worse.
Not sure how much coverage southeastern Washington will get, but probably our share, but that means not much since there is much more traffic on the west side and a little snow causes a lot more problems.
On Flickr they post photos from the webcams but more often they are just interesting shots. It is definitely worth checking out.
They even have a YouTube Channel but the videos are not updated as often and so far have not been that interesting.
Had fun last night watching the Kids’ Christmas Program at church, Grace United Reformed Church.
Of course having my two grandsons in the program made it that much more special.
As with anything with young kids involved, it was watching all the antics that keep you chuckling.
Hats off to those involved with pulling this off.
I think the term is “herding cats”.
What happens when you let marketing experts into the church building?
TheChurchCheck.com.
According to Mark Galli at Christianity Today,
ChurchCheck will send “mystery worshipers” to assess the Sunday morning experience as a non-biased third party visitor.
Our team of savvy professionals can secretly worship at your church, analyze it in detail, and present you with a report detailing items that are lacking. With this report, you can make changes that boost your retention rate and make your church grow. Make the adjustments our team suggests and you’ll not only retain more of your first-time visitors, you’ll get them talking to their friends about you.
I believe Galli is correct in his assesment, “All in all, marketing resources like Church Check only exacerbate the fundamental and tragic lie that infects the hearts and minds of so many churches and “guests” today—that church is about us and our experience.”
HatTip: Challies.com for pointing us to ChurchCheck.
UPDATE: I-82 rest stop at Prosser reopened after package examined
PROSSER –
A suspicious package that prompted the closure of an rest stop just off Interstate 82 in Prosser has been examined and the rest area has been re-opened.
The rest area was closed for about 3 1/2 hours after state Department of Transportation workers found the package, officials said.
Washington State Patrol Sgt. Ed McAvoy said the workers found a plastic bag and thought something might have been inside the bag.
Troopers closed the rest area around 1 p.m., temporarily blocking both the entrance and exit driveways while a bomb squad from Walla Walla responded to inspect the package, said Mike Westbay, DOT spokesman.
Traffic on I-82 was not affected.
The rest area was re-opened at 4:30 p.m.
Are these bomb scares done just to give the bomb squads some practice? I mean a plastic bag is found at a Prosser rest stop and a bomb squad has to come from Walla Walla?
I could see if it was a bag hanging off the door knob of city hall. But are rest areas a high threat area? Have we just become paranoid?
While sitting at the Toyota Tri-Cities dealership waiting for the windscreen to be installed in my Solara convertible (it reduces the air turbulence by covering the back seats), I see they have quite a display set up for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program. Anyone who might be interested in giving a toy to a needy child should look into the program and consider bringing a toy to a local drop off location
Here is some information about the program from the website:
MISSION:
The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.
GOAL:
The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.
OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help needy children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable natural resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.
ACTIVITIES:
The principal Toys for Tots activities which take place each year are the collection and distribution of toys in the communities in which a Marine Corps Reserve Unit is located and in communities without a Reserve Unit that has a Marine Corps League Detachment or group of men and women, generally veteran Marines, authorized by Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to conduct a local Toys for Tots campaign. Local Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators conduct an array of activities throughout the year, which include golf tournaments, foot races, bicycle races and other purely voluntary events designed to increase interest in Toys for Tots, and concurrently generate toy and monetary donations.
I just received an email that in December Microsoft is going to announce Windows Live Sync.
Live Sync is an upgrade of Foldershare, or as they state in the email, “think of it as FolderShare 2.0.”
FolderShare keeps directories (folders) between two or more computers “sync’d up” over the internet.
I have been using FolderShare for a number of months now to sync a couple of folders between my office desktop computer and my laptop (which is usually at home).
Here are some of the folders I have sync’d up:
my docs folder – I work on something at home, when I get to the office the document is available.
my photos folder – I can take pictures off my camera at either location and they will be available at the other.
my geocaching database folder – I can work on the database at either location and not loose any data.
It does more than just sync folders.
You can set up ‘shared libraries’ that are available (by invitation) to friends, co-workers, and family.
You can access all your files on the remote computer, not just “shared” or “sync’d” files.
According to the email the new Live Sync is going to look familiar but will allow:
More folders and files—sync up to 20 folders with 20,000 files each.
Integration with Windows Live ID—no more extra sign-in stuff to remember.
Integration with the Recycle Bin—no more separate Trash folder to fiddle with.
Many of the programs we use in our office make different sounds when they need attention.
We use Miranda-IM to ‘chat’ between desks and Pegasus for our internal e-mail program.
Both of these work much better if you can get an audio cue when a new message comes in.
Some folks in the office feel they need to mute their sounds which means they do not always notice when a new message is sent to them that a call or client is waiting for them.
I found a little utility called NirCmd that will unmute the system sound.
By running it in everyone’s task scheduler every half hour I can ensure that the sound is usually turned on.
Here are some of the things this program can do:
Increase & Decrease the system volume
Mute & UnMute the system volume
Create shortcuts
Turn off the monitor
Start the default screen saver
Put your computer in ‘standby’ mode
Log off the current user
Ask if you want to reboot, and if you answer ‘Yes’, reboot the computer.
Turn off your computer
Minimize all your Internet Explorer windows
Close/Hide/Show all your Internet Explorer windows
Close all your Explorer windows (My Computer, folders, and so on)
Hide/Show the start button on the system tray
Hide/Show the clock on the system tray
Set the display mode
Open the desired Registry key/value in RegEdit
Enable/Disable the screen saver
Change the date/time of the specified filename (creation time and modified time)
Open & Close CD-ROM drives
and many others
Besides being a very interesting way to ‘haunt’ someone’s computer, I can see a number of different ways to use this little program.
My son-in-law is half way through his Police Academy training and has been keeping us updated through his blog. Videos like this one now hit a little closer to home.
Watching this I have to give the driver the benefit of the doubt. Since he used his blinker I am guessing he thought he put it in “Drive” and was going to speed out. Instead…..
The local newspaper does have a write-up about it.
Henry Raskin, 70, of Niles had been pulled over by a Buffalo Grove officer on the 400 block of Dundee Road around 11:30 a.m. Friday for driving 58 mph in a 35 mph zone, Sgt. Scott Kristiansen said.
The officer wrote the ticket and returned to the car, and Raskin got ready to drive away. Except he went flying backward.
“(He) apparently was going to pull away at a high rate of speed, but the only problem was that he was in reverse,” Kristiansen said.
I just saw that Doug Wilson’s new book, Heaven Misplaced: Christ\’s Kingdom on Earth is being offered to ['early reviewers' over at LibraryThing](http://www. Brand Names : Alkeran, L-PAM, phenylalanine mustard Along with their needed effects, medicines like melphalan can sometimes cause unwanted effects such as blood problems and other side effects. AlkeranAlkeran, a trademark for an alkylating antineoplastic agent (melphalan). Buy Alkeran alkeran’s profile. Alkeran, a trademark for an alkylating antineoplastic agent (melphalan). librarything.com/er/list Specifically designed for menopausal and perimenopausal women. Alternative Treatment For Menopause treatment – Stem Cell Therapy. Buy Estrace Although most women tolerate Estrace well, serious side effects canFast Relief From Hot Flashes, Mood Swings & More. Free Welcome Kit. ). This is the second book by Wilson I have seen offered. I was not one of the lucky ones for that book, but maybe I will be for this one!
Here is the blurb about the book:
Though most Christians refrain from predicting exactly when our world will end, many believe that when earth’s finale does arrive, it will be nothing short of a catastro com – Herbals – 36 Beauty, Ashwafera, Enmobil Cream, Green Pearls, Heart Shield, Herbal Viagra, Mega Hoodia, Nutriloe, Ortholife, Penisole,Versandapotheke 24. Ortholife On Line. Buy Ortholife About $$$ BUY ortholife. Kurzbeschreibung; Wer von Ihnen möchte gerne 150 Jahre alt werden. phe. They expect that before Christ comes back to reclaim His own, Satan will escape his chains and return to wreak havoc on our planet. Details vary, but the general assumption is the same: things will get much, much worse before they get better.
But is this really what the Bible teaches?
Leaving aside the theological terms that often confuse and muddle this question, Douglas Wilson instead explains eschatology as the end of the greatest story in the world – the story of humanity. He turns our attention back to the stories and prophecies of Scripture and argues for “hopeful optimism”: the belief that God will be true to His promises, that His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that the peace and good will we sing about at Christmas will one day be a reality here on earth.
As I was looking at the online voters guide for Washington State, I came across a link to My Vote. This is a great link because it will show what political races will show up on my ballot instead of the hundereds of races the primary Voter Guide link shows.
Not only can I see my own ‘personalized’ voter guide, it also shows all my current elected representatives for Federal, State, Judicial, and even Local offices. Most of the positions provide mailing addresses, phone numbers, websites, and email addresses.
If you wonder if you are registered to vote you can verify your status on this page. Mine shows:
Voter Status Active
It appears you can change your address and also find out which elections you have voted in since September 2005.
To access the page you must enter your name and birthday. Since there is nothing personal on these pages, I am guessing that the only reason they ask for my birthday is to differentiate people with the same name. Only thing that might be incriminating is that it will show anyone who knows your name and birthday which elections you were too lazy to drop a ballot in the mail.
Initiative Measure No. 1029 concerns long-term care services for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
This measure would require long-term care workers to be certified as home care aides based on an examination, with exceptions; increase training and criminal background check requirements; and establish disciplinary standards and procedures.
Should this measure be enacted into law?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
It is always best to vote No on initiatives unless it is obvious that what is being requested would be truly benefitial to society.
Unless someone can show me otherwise, this initiative is going to be an easy no vote.
As much as there may be good reasons for home care workers to have more training from what I read it sounds like this is being pushed through by the labor union with a vested interest.
Plus, in reading the ‘Statements for and against’ in the Voters Guide, those against the initiative are more persuasive.
Initiative Measure No. 1000 concerns allowing certain terminally ill competent adults to obtain lethal prescriptions.
This measure would permit terminally ill, competent, adult Washington residents, who are medically predicted to have six months or less to live, to request and self-administer lethal medication prescribed by a physician.
Should this measure be enacted into law?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
Death with Dignity… What could sound more ‘dignified’?
On its face assisted suicide seems like a sensible and humane policy.
My first inclination was to be against the initiative but then I heard the commercials featuring actor/activist Martin Sheen.
I am not sure I have ever been on the same side of an issue as Martin Sheen.
After further study I have decided that legalization of assisted suicide would still be a serious mistake for many reasons some of which are not always immediately evident (as evidenced by Sheen’s commercials).
Physician-assisted suicide and/or euthanasia proposals have been introduced in 21 states, some multiple times, since Oregon passed its law in 1994. Not one has passed.
But it is not just the Catholic Church and politicians who are against assisted suicide.
The American Medical Association and the state medical associations in 49 states, including Washington, oppose legalizing assisted suicide.
A Washington State Medical Association brochure, “I-1000 is not the Answer”, states the organization “strongly opposes” I-1000.
Initiative 1000 requires that two doctors must agree that an individual meets the law’s criteria.
But it doesn’t have to be your regular doctor.
In Oregon, where a similar law has been in place since 1994, there’s considerable evidence that a majority of people ‘shop’ to find a doctor who will say yes.
In Washington you can already choose to refuse any medical treatment you don’t want.
You can already choose to receive good end-of-life and hospice care, excellent pain control, and the relief of discomfort.
Suicide is not a medical “treatment.”
Patients have a right to care, not to suicide.
Depression is natural for people diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Depression is usually temporary and treatable, but I-1000 doesn’t require professional assessment or treatment for depression.
The waiting period is only 15 days, so a suicidal “cry for help” could easily be met with lethal prescription, instead of encouragement and treatment.
Many feel they would find relief in hastening their own death, we, as a society, have long discouraged suicide as a remedy for psychological suffering.
I also believe that it is not the physical pain that frightens most people but rather the loss of independence and the indignity.
Fear of not being able to get out of bed on our own power and not being able to make your way to the bathroom.
We don’t want our loved ones to have to have wipe our backside.
But do we want to condone suicide just because we need help using the toilet?
Many people with disabilities would object to that being a criteria for self-worth.
To summarize, although it is argued that we should not legislate morality, I believe we definitely should not be legislating immorality.
Sources:
[What you don't know can kill you](http://dredf.org/assisted_suicide/ab374.shtml By Marilyn Golden)
This measure would open high-occupancy vehicle lanes to all traffic during specified hours, require traffic light synchronization, increase roadside assistance funding, and dedicate certain taxes, fines, tolls and other revenues to traffic-flow purposes.
Should this measure be enacted into law?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
I thought that the best way for me to decide which way I should vote on ballot issues would be to look into each one of them between now and the election.
I am hoping that I will not only gain a little more knowledge about the ballot measures but possibly someone will post a comment that will point out why my thinking is wrong and convince me I should vote the other way.
The Washington State Voter Guide does not appear to have anyway to link directly to the details, so go ahead and drill down find more information about this initiative.
The full text of the initiative is available but is very difficult to read.
When I read the Explanatory Statement and the Statements For and Against my first thought is that since it deals with traffic congestion and since I live in Eastern Washington, in theory, nothing in this initiative should affect me except when I must visit Seattle.
But then there is this portion:
A portion of the revenues collected through the levy of the state sales tax (15% of the amount of sales tax revenue collected from the sale of motor vehicles, except for retail car rentals) would be placed in a Reduce Traffic Congestion Account established by the measure.
So, when I buy a car over here in Eastern Washington, 15% of the state sales tax will go to reduce congestion in Seattle! No thanks.
And if that were not enough,
In addition to the sales revenues, the following revenues would be placed in the new account: … one-half of one percent (.05%) of the money appropriated for any transportation-related public works project.
This is, in essence, a tax on all road projects, thereby raising the price of all projects by half a percent.
Since the amount of money available for these projects does not magically increase with the imposition of such a tax, it would, necessarily, reduce the amount of money available for projects which means reducing the number of projects that can be accomplished with the available funds.
So, as much as I hate visiting Seattle because of the traffic, I can easily solve that problem by staying away and suggest others to do the same.
If some of the companies pick up on the idea, their employees will not only be able to avoid the traffic congestion but will also be able to enjoy a much better quality of life! And we even have Starbucks over here.
After watching much of the recent news interviews of ‘undecided voters’, I must admit that I am baffled at the undecided voters.
Is it lack of information? Ask them if they have gone to each of the candidates websites to find out where they stand on issues.
If they are waiting to learn where a candidate stands by listening to 3 minute commercials or even 90 minute debates then they will never know the candidates position.
Maybe the Daily Show is correct in its examination of “the undecided voters” and the issues that are important to them.
According to John Oliver, “These people are idiots. You can’t trust a word they say, and on Nov 4 the election will be in their hands.”
John Oliver polls undecided voters (a large portion of which fall squarely in the ‘stupid’ category) to find out what issues are important to them.
“Let’s look at the latest numbers. Right now, nationwide, it’s Obama 49, McCain 43, Undecided 8. Those Undecideds can still break either way. But who are they? As you can see, they fall into a variety of categories: Attention seekers; racist Democrats; the chronically insecure; and “the stupid. That is 45% of the Undecideds, John. They are the swingiest of the swing voters. And they, as they always do, will decide this election.”
Panasonic has an interesting camera, the Panasonic BL-C111.
This camera can just be plugged in to your router and you have the ability to check on your home, office, or anywhere else you need to keep an eye on things.
If you can’t or don’t want to run network cables, they have another model available that is wireless.
We have set up these cameras in our 3 office locations and it is nice to be able to ‘pop in’ and see how busy they are at any time.
It will also come in real handy then next time I get a call from our security monitoring service and I will be able to see what is going on in the office without having to drive to the office.
Or at least be able to take a peek and see if someone is actually in the office or if it is, more likely, a false alarm.
I would be real tempted to put one at home to be able to check on things while on vacation as well as to just be able to keep an eye on things when I feel like snooping
The cameras, which can be panned up and down and side to side, can be viewed and controlled from a standard Web browser.
I have not been able to get the audio to work with Firefox yet.
You can even pull the image up on a web-capable cell phone.
The camera can be set to automatically record video at certain times and can also be set to record and/or notify you by email when someone enters the room.
Retail price runs about $199. We paid about $165 each for ours online.
Features
Pan/Tilt/Digital Zoom with Presets
Simultaneous MPEG-4 and JPEG
1 Lux Color Night View Mode
Up to 30 Frames per Second CMOS
Full-screen Monitoring
Remote Monitoring from Cell Phone
4-up and 12-up Multi-camera Pages
Built-in Web Server/IP Address (IPv4/v6)
Built-in Microphone
Thermal Sensor
Image Transfer by Motion Detection, Sensor Alert, Timer
Privacy Mode
Plug-and-play Installation
Free Web Address
Multi-Language Interface
1 Year Warranty
Specifications:
Image Compression – JPEG (3 levels), MPEG
Quality Video Resolution – 640 x 480, 320 x 240 (default), 192 x 144
Frame Rate – Max. 30 frames/sec (640 x 480, 320 x 240 or 192 x 144)
Authentication – User ID/password
IPv4/v6 – IPv4/v6 Dual Stack
View Snapshot and Control from Compatible Cell Phones
