Month: June 2008

So I have been in possession of four different webcams. I’ve been trying to get them to work on Linux, but have been having issues. Two of them are too old to even work on Windows, one of which works in Linux, but it doesn’t do the auto light exposure. The third one was DOA, and the last one seems to lock up computers. So I broke down and went to Target to look at cameras. I finally decided on a Logitech QuickCam Messenger after a little research via Google on my phone. It also came with a second camera, a Labtech. I took the camera home, and to my surprise, Ubuntu immediately recognized it and the built-in microphone (I had previously had issues with the microphone on my computer). Ever since, I have been Skyping away with my family, including my sister in Iraq, and Danielle’s friend Misty. I love it, and it’s becoming quite an addiction. So if you have Skype, Skype me at jason.greb. I will be sending the free camera to my grandmother so that I can see her also.

It’s been a busy last few weeks. I needed a break. So I took one with Danielle. We spent Friday afternoon at Busch Gardens. It was a blast. Well, sorta. So we got there at about 1:30. Got her ticket (I’ve got a pass, so I get right in), and headed for SheiKra. By the time we got in line, we were dripping in sweat. It was hot out. And being surrounded by hundreds of other sweaty people was not helping. So we get about 15 feet from the ride… and then it starts raining and thundering. They shut the ride down. For about 45 minutes. We waited it out however. And it was worth the wait! While standing in line, the girl in front of us looked strikingly similar to Amber. It was uncanny their similarities in both mannerisms and posture. They had the same physical features, from the hair down. They even wear the same clothes. It actually started freaking me out. I snuck a picture of her… shhh.

After the first ride, it got to be more fun. We went on water rides, and even a short “Safari” ride, called Rhino Rally. The girl driving the truck was quite hilarious. As we were all piling in, some old lady couldn’t figure out the seatbelt, and the driver said “It’s just a seatbelt. They’ve been around since 1893.” We also stopped by the special “brownies” left by the rhinos. She made sure to move slowly by them so we could all get the “full effect”.

Also, Jungala just did not impress me. Maybe I didn’t see all of it, but it’s mostly kids things (in fact, it says you must be accompanied by a child. And the there was only two tigers out. Now, if they had thrown out a big hunk of meat, I might have been impressed, but there was nothing. Just a sleeping tiger.

Toward the end of the evening, the park started emptying out. It’s Summer Nights at Busch Gardens, and it stays open later. The lines on the rides were incredibly short. We rode Montu, and both became dizzy and started a headache. We then headed for SheiKra again (via the skyride, where the ferocious child strollers must ride alone). We rode it twice. However, on the second time, I literally saw a drop of water smash into my eye, and there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was watch in horror as my head (forced back in the seat by the G-force) headed for falling droplets of water. Then, the water smashed into my eye at 70mph. Also, I must note that each time we rode it, we were shoeless. It made the ride quite a bit more interesting.

Anyway, it is now a full 24 hours later, and I am still drained of energy. We will save more trips to Busch Gardens for another day (or night when the rides have shorter lines, and it’s not so hot out).

I don’t like frogs. I think they are disgusting. I feel about frogs the way a few people I know feel about cockroaches. That is why I love this video:

So I’ve taken another step in my home improvement/energy savings. Yesterday, I got a 7-day programmable thermostat. While I am away, the temperature will go up, but at night, it will go back down. And on the weekends, it won’t go up so much. Of course, I was hooking up the wires, and I snapped the head off of one of the screws. I tried drilling the screw out, stuffing the cable in, etc. Nothing. So I MacGyvered it. The cover will press on the wire (via finely crafted, stacked pieces of rubber), and hold it against the terminal. And this morning, I took apart my leaky faucet, and will be getting new O-rings for it so it will leak no more. Now if I’d only wash the floors or something…

Being a small business owner, the state of economy both interests and worries me. I certainly don’t know all the terminology and don’t claim to know everything about the economy. But I do see it plummeting. Some say we are in a recession. I don’t think we’ve even seen it yet. And in my opinion, it’s only going to get worse. And summers are bad. Summer has always been a bad part of the year for me with slower business. However, as I am entering summer, I don’t have as bad of a feeling as I usually do for myself. But I am not seeing booming business either. I think it was stay pretty level throughout the summer for me. For others however, not so well. I have several customers who appear to be on the edge of bankruptcy… scrambling for a way to make it to the next month. Now and then, I have been like that, and it’s hard. But my revenue numbers aren’t near what theirs are. It makes me wonder how some people even make it when their monthly bills are in the thousands or tens of thousands. I have a bad feeling that a lot of businesses will be closing up this year. Gas prices are certainly not helping. My tank fill up in my truck is now $70. Two to three times a week. When I first got my truck, it was about $40 to fill it. Prices are rising, from food to clothing to housing. I can see a lot of families just making it. Thankfully, I have done a lot this year to keep costs down. My electric bill is extremely low, and can be made even lower (although, with summer coming, it will be harder). I have a second vehicle that gets better mileage than my truck. I have changed certain eating habits. I am learning how to not need the latest and greatest and not be so extravagant.

I pray that I am wrong, and that things will get better… but I don’t know. I’d like to think more positively, but I don’t get that feeling.

How do you feel about the economy? What have you seen?

I had a dream last night that my mother went through my shed, and cleared it out, throwing out all of my stuff. I believe she did the same to my old home office. This obviously freaked me out, and I had to check my shed to make sure it was still a mess this morning. Of course, instead of just leaving it like that, I have decided to start cleaning it up. I’ll take before and after pictures. But I will not post the befores. You don’t need to see those. The process will be slow and painful. I will also start transferring things to my newish bigger shop. Time to start taking apart old buildings for lumber!