Category: This and That

Would you go the distance to get an education?

diploma and mouse

I am a great believer in continuing education. I wish I had finished college, more for myself than anything. Time and money are an issue for me, as I’m sure they are for many other people. One alternative for folks with a busy schedule is an Online masters. How much more convenient can you get than classes in your home that fit your schedule! Gonzaga University is an online school that I recently learned about. They offer several masters degrees online including some in Nursing and Communication.
A lot of the top ranked schools don’t offer online programs because of misconceptions that the quality of education is somehow less. I was surprised to learn that it is ranked one of the nations best universities by The Princeton Review and Forbes Magazine, and was ranked number 3 in the West by US News and World Report. That’s news I think anyone considering an online school would welcome hearing. Would you go the distance to get an education? I’d love to hear if you would consider online courses if you wanted to go back to school, and why.

Aug 18, 2010 | 1 comment | View Post

A Thought On Road Signs

wrong way sign

We just returned from vacation in upstate New York. One thing I notice every time that I take a long trip is that sometimes the signs are poorly placed. On major highways you’ll often see signs a mile or so ahead of time alerting you to food, gas and lodging. But what isn’t always clear are some of the exit signs. Sometimes when there are lots of turns onto different secondary highways the sign is literally right after the turn. In unfamiliar territory there have been one or two times where I turned at / just before the sign and it turned out to be too soon. Maybe they ought to consider putting words like “TURN NOW” instead of just the name.

Aug 12, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

DEAL ALERT - Digital Picture Frame - Great Gift For Fathers And Grads

buycom aluratek 7 digital picture frame

It’s Graduation season and Father’s Day is around the corner. Need to find a gift? One great gift idea is a digital picture frame. Grads will appreciate the frame as a place to store pictures from their years in school, helping keep their memories fresh. sporting events, dances, parties, friends - students take a lot of pictures. That special man in your life would surely love to have a digital frame on his desk containing photos of you, children, pets - whatever he’s into.

I found a good deal on the Aluratek ADPF07SF 7″ Hi-Resolution Digital Photo Frame. This is a black frame with a seven inch TFT LCD display. The frame has the capability to be adjusted so you can display it vertically instead of horizontally. Connect the frame to your USB port or insert your memory card (SDHC, SD, MS, MMC and XD format) and any JPEG pictures you have are available to view. There’s an auto slidehow feature available.

The Aluratek ADPF07SF 7″ Hi-Resolution Digital Photo Frame regularly sells for $34.99. It’s currently on sale for $29.99 and has a $10.00 mail in rebate if you purchase before June 10. The frame also qualifies for free shipping. It’s a great deal, get it while it’s hot!

Jun 03, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Thoughts On Furthering Education For Career Advancement

online education diploma

The job market is still pretty poor in our area. RB finally got something after being out of work for more than a year. I think it’s going to be get harder and harder for people to get a job. Young people fresh out of school are competing for jobs with experienced, older people. I believe the older people are losing out. The only edge may come from specialized training or higher education.

Take the IT field, a field that is constantly growing and changing. It’s not so easy to get into the field anymore without experience. Not just anyone has the knowledge to keep up with the changing threats to our country’s corporate networks, as well as the needs of those networks. Someone already in the field with experience would be smart to continue to pursue their education, perhaps with an information security master degree.

It is possible to working folks to further their education while working by taking online courses. The great thing about online courses is that they’re flexible. Lewis University offers an online Master of Science in Information Security. Lewis University is Regionally Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). Lewis University courseware meets all of the elements of the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) National Training Standards for Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) Professionals. The program offers a choice of two concentrations - managerial and technical. The managerial concentration teaches why information security is important and the technical concentration teaches how to make it happen.

I often wish I’d finished college when I had the chance years ago. These days I don’t have the time or money to go back. who knows what I’d be doing for a living if I’d finished. Hopefully I’d be more financially secure than I amm now. Did you go to college? If you did, or do now, what are your thoughts on the flexibility of online programs?

Jun 01, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

DEAL ALERT - Sony Reader Pocket Edition

buycom sony rose ereader

Looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift? Maybe a gift for an upcoming graduation? Here’s a deal you’ll want to know about. As you know digital readers are becoming very popular. The Sony Reader Pocket Edition is one of the popular models out there and I found a nice sale on it.

The Reader Pocket is sleek looking and I actually really like the rose color. Weighing about 7 ounces it’s pretty light. There is a 5” display built in with 8 levels of grayscale. There’s no shortage of books for the Sony. This model can hold about 350 books at once with the 512mb built in memory. Owners have buy from the Sony eBook store, borrow from public libraries or download from more than one million free public domain titles from Google Books. A helpful feature it has is the ability for the reader to choose from three adjustable font size, to make reading most comfortable for them. A single battery charge can last about two weeks, or turn 7,500 page turns. The Reader Pocket charges using a USB cable, which is also used to transfer books to it.

The Sony PRS300RC Pocket Edition Digital Text Reader is currently on sale for $139.95 and qualifies for free shipping. They surely won’t last long at that price so hurry if you’re thinking about it.

May 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Deal Alert - All In One Mens Grooming Kit

buycom norelco all in one grooming kit

CJ has alopecia areata. Male pattern baldness. His hair doesn’t grow in evenly and he ends up with bald spots all over the place so generally we buzz his head. A few days ago the hair he had was getting long, so I told RB it was time to buzz it.

Into the bathroom we went. I sat CJ on the countertop and got out RB’s grooming kit. I turned it on and it barely buzzed. We tried charging it. It didn’t get better. It had died, leaving us with a problem and the need for a new grooming tool.

I found a sale for reasonably priced solution to the problem - the Philips Norelco G485 All-In-One Grooming Kit. This trimmer has more features than our recently departed groomer. The trimmer works on beard, mustache, nose and ear hair. The trimmer has nine cutting lengths and comes with a several blades, a cleaning brush and eyebrow comb. There’s also a charging stand with storage spots for all of the attachments. This trimmer takes ten hours to get a full charge and will run for up to 35 minutes.

The Philips Norelco G485 All-In-One Grooming Kit regularly sells for $69.95 and is currently on sale for $39.99. There’s a $5 coupon on top of that, bringing it down to $34.99. And, it qualifies for free shipping. This would make a great gift for any guy. And don’t forget, Father’s Day isn’t all that far away.

Apr 30, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Deal Alert For iPod And iPhone Users - iConnect Media Keyboard

buycom lifeworks iconnect media keyboard

How many things do you have on your desk, connecting to your computer? We all have an iPod in our house so at any given time there is an iPod charging, sitting next to my desk chair. Today I saw a really neat keyboard, made especially for iPod and iPhone users - the LifeWorks iConnect Media Keyboard.

The LifeWorks iConnect Media Keyboard works on computers operating with Mac OS X 10.6 or later, Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 operating systems. It has a built in dock that accommodates many models of the iPod and iPhone. When your iPod is in the dock you can control it using the keyboard. When it’s not in the dock the dock has a cover that slides shut. The keyboard has a numeric keypad and two built in USB ports on the right side. What I like best physically about this keyboard is that it has a built in rubberized wrist rest. As far as features go the ones I like the best are that your iPod syncs when placed in the dock and that the keyboard media keys allow for quick and easy navigation of your iPod music and files.

The LifeWorks IH-K230MB iConnect Media Keyboard is on sale for $49.99, a big discount from it’s retail price of $169.99. It also qualifies for free shipping.

Mar 21, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Deal Alert - Dragon Naturally Speaking

dragon naturally speaking software

Something I have seen a lot about and always wanted to try was dictation and voice recognition software. Today I found a great deal on Dragon Naturally Speaking Standard 10.0 over at Buy.com. In case you don’t know about Dragon Naturally Speaking, here it is in a nutsell. Let’s say you have a lot of information you need to type. You’d speak into the microphone and what you said would be converted into text on your computer in front of you. It’s about three times faster than typing the information in yourself. You can use it in most popular applications as well as to move around in your computer and when browsing the internet. It will even format some of the data for you!

I was fully prepared to purchase this until I checked the system requirements. Unfortunately for me, my computer won’t run it because it has an old non-Intel processor. Boy do I need a new computer! Anyway. To run this software you need a computer with an Intel Pentium 1 GHz or AMD processor running Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (32 bit), Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (32-bit). The computer needs to have 512mb of memory (1gb for Vista), 1gb (2gb for localized non-English versions) free on the hard drive, a DVD-rom drive and a Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 or equivalent sound card supporting 16-bit recording . The package comes with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking v.10.0 Standard software and a Noise-canceling headset microphone.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is on sale for $39.99! That’s a 62% discount from its usual $99.99 price, plus it’s eligible for free shipping. At that price you can’t go wrong!

Mar 19, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Not Happy With Your Ear Buds?

buycom qelectronics earbuds

Every member of our family has an iPod. Something we all agree upon is that the ear buds that come with the iPhone stink. You know, those little roundish white ones? They are not comfortable to wear and the sound quality is not what I would call exceptional. TJ recently told me he wanted to get a pair of in ear ear buds for when he’s on the bus or exercising, partially for sound quality and partially because the originals don’t stay in his ears. I started for looking for something reasonable.

I didn’t have to look far before I found a good prospect on sale at Buy.com. These ear buds come with three different sized ear tips, so you can get a fit you’re happy with. If you’ve ever tried in ear ear buds then you know the better the fit the better the sound. That’s part of what keeps background noise out. These come on a one meter long PVC cord. The only thing they don’t come with that would be helpful is a small case but for this price I could do without a case.

The Q:Electronics Noise-isolating Ear Buds regularly sell for $14.99. They are currently selling for $5.99, and are eligible for free shipping. They’re available in black and silver.

Mar 17, 2010 | 1 comment | View Post

XBox Live 12 Month Gold Subscription Deal

xbox live 12 month subscription card packaging

We love video games in our house. We all like different ones. TJ’s favorite is the Xbox. He wanted an Xbox for a long time. When he finally got an Xbox 360 last Christmas he immediately informed us that he “needed” Xbox Live, so that he could play online games with his friends. It does other things to, such as allow users to download games, share photos, chat with voice and/or video, create your own avatar, check out game demos and use Netflix. You can even access Facebook and Twitter with it. So I bought him a year subscription and put it to the back of my mind. It actually slipped my mind until I received an email reminding me that it was expiring. The renewal price for the Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Subscription? $49.99. A bit high for my discretionary spending budget of $0 so I started hunting.

I found what I was looking for at Buy.com. They had the 12 month gold subscription on sale for $34.99 plus free shipping, a nice savings for folks on a budget like me. I ordered it and it arrived in about a week. It arrived with three days to spare before the existing subscription ended. TJ was very happy he got to renew and I was very happy I saved some money. If you’re looking for an Xbox Gold 12 Month Subscription be sure to check Buy.

Mar 16, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Storm Season Is Coming - First Alert Storm Light Deal

buycom first alert storm light

The strangest thing happened this morning. We had thunder. Itt’s strange because it isn’t warm and just a week ago we had snow. It passed quickly but did remind me of the times we’ve lost power in the past. One of the things that worries me the most about storms is losing power in the middle of the night. The alarm clock can’t go off if you lose power. That’s the main reason I found the storm light on sale at Buy.com so interesting.

The First Alert SRC 500 has a Multi Purpose Storm Light, AM/FM Radio and LCD Clock & Digital Alarm w/Snooze all built in. To use it requires four C batteries and one AA battery. This would be perfect to have in the house in the event of a power outage. I hate walking around holding a candle, it seems so unsafe. This would be so much better to have if you have to get around a dark house. It also has the radio so that you can listen to music and news, because it can get pretty quiet when there’s no power. And the alarm clock means you can go to sleep without worry. This would also be a great item for camping.

This First Alert storm light regularly sells for $24.99. It’s currently on sale at Buy.com for $13.99 and qualifies for free shipping.

Mar 14, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

A Furnace Mystery

furnace humidifer

Not long ago we had a friend of the family over. A plumber by trade, we asked him to take a look at our furnace. We’d been having some problems with it, and had found wiring to something we were unsure of what it was. After checking things out he told us that the furnace had a dehumidifier (similar to the one shown above) attached and that it wasn’t working. He said there were frequently problems with these and that he preferred smaller room size models and found them to be more effective. He removed it. He didn’t think it had anything to do with the problems we’d had but said that since it wasn’t working it had no need to be there. Do you have a dehumidifier on your furnace? Does it help?

Mar 13, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Time To Get The Ring Looked At

diamond ring with missing stones

Back in September I mentioned that an anniversary ring (blurry picture above) that RB had given me had lost three stones. This week I noticed that it looked like one of the stones had moved a bit and as a result looked crooked. It looks like I can’t wait any longer to get this problem taken care of. I’m going to see a jeweler in the next week, to see if he has some loose diamonds to put in the empty spots. Apparently he’s going to need to look at the setting as well, since I not notice that it looks like one prong from where one of the diamonds fell out is missing. I’m going to get three estimates. Keep your fingers crossed that they don’t all tell me it will cost me an arm and a leg to get the ring fixed.

Mar 13, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Our Closest Brimmeth Over

my nascar jackets

The problem with our closets is that they’re full. We don’t have many closets in our house. There’s one closet in CJ’s room. There are two closets in our bedroom, one for me and one for RB. There are two more closets, one by the front door and one in the hall. The one in the hall has a couple of gowns in it but for the most part serves as a storage area for Christmas decorations. That leaves the closet by the front door. It is full of coats. It’s actually so full that you can barely close the door. I’ve gone through it and gotten rid of some things but we still don’t have enough room. Winter coats are thicker and bulky. All four of us have spring jackets and hoodies in there. I can’t bring myself to get rid of my Nascar jackets. I’m wondering if we might gain some room if we folded and stacked them instead of hanging them. Any suggestions?

Mar 13, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

A Question About Your Windows

exterior shutters

We have two sets of windows on the front of our house – one in the bedroom and one in the living room. The bedroom windows used to have exterior shutters. They were the only shutters on the house. I never understood why the builder didn’t put them on the living room window. My best guess is that because the living room window is under the little roof that our front porch has maybe he thought they wouldn’t look good. To me it jus looked unbalanced. Do you have shutters on all of your windows or just some?