Monday, May 29, 2006

Wireless on Abaco - The FAQ

Abaco's Community Message Board - View Single Post - Wireless on Abaco - The FAQ

More information on setting up long range WiFi on board

WiFi on Board

Panbo's Marine Electronics & Communications Weblog: Om Sweet Om, with WiFi

With the 9dBi antenna I have been able to connect to base stations with a clear line of sight up to about 1 mile from the boat. We used it extensively in the Abacos over a two month period roaming from Green Turtle to Little Harbor without ever being without a usable signal. I didn't go with a higher gain antenna as this one suited my needs, but the range can be increased to 5 or 6 miles using a 15dBi standard antenna and even more using amplification.

Motorhome Wireless System

¤RadioLabs || WaveRV - Motorhome Wireless System

The WaveRV is not only the best solution, but also the simplest and most economical to connect. How do we make this so easy? Our powerful wireless board, combined with an external 360 degree antenna can expand the connection of your RV, motorhome or camping location up to 30 times the current range of your notebook. Imagine taking a powerful antenna and wireless card combination and putting it 12 feet in the air, trying to locate any wireless connections in the area. This is what RadioLabs' WaveRV is all about.

The high-gain vertical antenna, with built-in wireless card is an excellent combination of form and function. We designed this on our CNC machine and each antenna adapter is made by hand in Northern California!

Antenna comes with a 5' USB cable and an additional 15' USB extension cable for up to 20' of extension outside of your RV.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Chicago might require microchip IDs for dogs

City might require microchip IDs for dogs

Owners of Chicago's estimated 600,000 dogs would be required to microchip their pets, limit tethering, pay stiff fines for letting them roam free and choose between neutering and sharply higher license fees, under a sweeping crackdown proposed by an influential alderman.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Bermuda : Active Pursuits : Snorkeling | Frommers.com

Bermuda : Active Pursuits : Snorkeling | Frommers.com
Bermuda is known for the gin-clear purity of its waters and for its vast array of coral reefs. If you're ready to explore, all you need is a snorkel, mask, and fins -- if you can swim, you can snorkel. A handful of companies can help you; otherwise, you can hit the water on your own.

The best places to go snorkeling are public beaches. Many hotels that are right on the beach will lend or rent you fins, masks, and snorkels, and will advise you of the best sites in your area. You almost never have to travel far.

Die-hard snorkelers, some of whom visit Bermuda every year, prefer Church Bay above all other snorkeling spots on Bermuda. It lies on the south shore, west of the Fairmont Southampton Golf Club and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. The little cove, which seems to be waiting for a movie camera, is carved out of coral cliffs. It's well protected and filled with snug little nooks. Another advantage is that the reefs are fairly close to land. However, the seas can be rough (as is true anywhere in Bermuda), so we always advise caution.


Sunday, May 07, 2006

Great Site for Eric

Printable Maps - Reference

nationalatlas.gov provides a host of printable maps in .pdf format. Need to keep this site in mind for school projects.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Florida Folk Festival

Google Maps - 5417 cedar pine court orlando fl to white springs, fl

175 miles door to door 165 highway, about 2.5 hours travel time.

There are plenty of hotel rooms around $60 in Lake City, about 14 miles south of the Park.

We can pack picnic basket for lunch and dinner and drive up Saturday morning arriving around noon. Stay through Rosanne Cash then spend the night in Lake City.

We could bring our snorkel gear and hit a spring such as Ginnie Springs or Blue Springs or something around the High Springs area.

Friday, April 28, 2006

It's Bermuda!

We have booked our 20th anniversary trip to Bermuda.

Thanks to American Express Rewards points and Delta Skymiles it will be cheap!

We are staying at the lovely Fairmont Hamiltion Princess hotel. While there we intend to snorkel, scuba, take a glass bottom boat ride and head to the Beach Club a time or two.

We last went to Bermuda in 1985 and are looking forward to our return visit.

Top Ten Caribbean Dive Sites, Carribean, Carribbean, Best Diving

Top Ten Caribbean Dive Sites, Carribean, Carribbean, Best Diving

TCI Diving is based in the Turks & Caicos, but lists their favorites throughout the Caribbean. The Caymans, Cozumel and BVI are recurring destinations in many lists.

2005 Annual Reader's Poll Best of Winners - Caribbean Travel & Life

Scroll down to "Best Dive Sites"
2005 Annual Reader's Poll Best of Winners - Caribbean Travel & Life

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Crunching The Numbers On Alternative Fuels

Popular Mechanics - Crunching The Numbers On Alternative Fuels

Rising oil prices are leading skeptics to take another look at formerly ignored alternative automotive fuels. Ethanol is getting the most attention--but interest is growing in methanol and even leftover french fry oil for use in diesel engines. In addition to these biofuels, research continues into electricity and natural gas as vehicle power sources. Department of Energy (DOE) policy calls for eventually making a transition to a hydrogen-based economy. And President Bush has recently stated that he wants hydrogen-powered cars on the market by 2020.

Windows Security

After fighting with Norton Internet Security for a few years I'm giving up and starting to experiment. Norton is simply a piece of crap -- it hogs way too many resources and slows down the computer. On top of that, Betsy's annual subscription keeps coming up asking to be renewed every 60 days which is about ten months short of my calendar year. So here is what I'm going to try:

AVG Anti Virus Free Edition

Kerio Firewall which is also free in a limited capacity

Microsoft Defender Beta 2 which replaces Microsoft Anti Spyware Beta 1

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

AlGore Out to Save the World

New York Daily News - News & Views Columnists - Richard Cohen: Gore movie puts heat on Bush

Richard Cohen, who has a high school education and later attended three different colleges has this to say about GW:
Bush has been studiously anti-science, a man of applied ignorance who has undernourished his mind with the empty calories of comfy dogma. For instance, his insistence on abstinence as the preferred method of birth control would be laughable were it not so reckless.
Whereas, in his unbiased opionion he says about AlGore:
Wherever he goes, he finds time and an audience to deliver his (free) lecture on global warming. It and the film leave no doubt of the peril we face and neither do they leave any doubt that Gore, at last, is a man at home in his role. He is master teacher, pedagogue, know-it-all, smarter than most of us,
Speak for yourself, please, Mr. Cohen. Yawn. How boring.

Monday, April 17, 2006

PADI Openwater SCUBA Cert

Certification course at a nice resort - classes Mon - Thurs.
Divi Tiara Beach Resort Cayman Brac Activities

Life in the Green Lane

Life in the Green Lane - New York Times

The car that started the hybrid craze, the Toyota Prius, is lauded for squeezing 40 or more miles out of a gallon of gas, and it really can. But only when it's being driven around town, where its electric motor does its best and most active work. On a cross-country excursion in a Prius, the staff of Automobile Magazine discovered mileage plummeted on the Interstate. In fact, the car's computer, which controls the engine and the motor, allowing them to run together or separately, was programmed to direct the Prius to spend most of its highway time running on gasoline because at higher speeds the batteries quickly get exhausted. Indeed, the gasoline engine worked so hard that we calculated we might have used less fuel on our journey if we had been driving Toyota's conventionally powered, similarly sized Corolla — which costs thousands less. For the owner who does the majority of her driving on the highway, the Prius's potential for fuel economy will never be realized and its price premium never recovered.