Showing posts with label Mr. Rogers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mr. Rogers. Show all posts

Friday, March 20, 2009

Stupid Criminals, Along Came a Spider, -and- The Nose Knows


Stupid Criminals - car thief nabbed after calling 911 to brag
Along Came a Spider - world's deadliest arachnid found in Whole Foods produce section
The Nose Knows - Michael Jackson plans more plastic surgery for comeback

On this day in history: March 20, 1968 - The U.S. goes off the gold standard.

Born on this day in history: March 20, 1928 - Fred Rogers (1928 - 2003) Born in Latrobe, PA, TV personality Fred Rogers became famous as host of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," a show for preschoolers that debuted in 1965. Rogers’ distinctive manner made him a national institution.

Scripture of the Day: "Who has stirred up this king from the east, who meets victory at every step? Who, indeed, but the LORD? He gives him victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot. He puts entire armies to the sword. He scatters them in the wind with his bow. He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he." — Isaiah 41:4

Video of the Day: "Spring" - Vivaldi ("Four Seasons")





Spring is NOW! Click to enlarge.






SPRING IS HERE! Spring begins on the Vernal Equinox (usually March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere) and lasts until the summer solstice (usually June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere).

In spring, the axis of the Earth is tilted toward the Sun, and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly causing new plant growth to "spring forth," giving the season its name.

I recently bought a battery-powered alarm clock called "Night Vision." It is called "Night Vision" because of the backlit LCD that provides illumination for viewing the time in a dark room. The clock has a sensor on top that activates the backlighting when the sensor determines that the room is sufficiently dark to require this. Additionally, a bar atop the clock increases the backlighting when pressed. Unfortunately, none of these backlighting features operated when I installed three AA batteries in the clock and set the time, as directed by the instructions.

I emailed the manufacturer and was told that a new clock would be sent to me.

[While I slept] The new clock arrived at my office. I had anticipated its arrival and had placed three AA batteries in my pocket. I installed the batteries, and the clock did not illuminate the LCD readout. I thought perhaps the room was too well lighted. I placed my finger over the sensor. No backlighting took place. I took the clock into the bathroom, closed the door, and turned off the light. No backlighting occurred. I emailed the manufacturer and explained that this clock was faulty. I was assured a new clock would be sent. Several days elapsed, and no replacement clock arrived. I emailed the manufacturer, voiced my disappointment, and said that my patience was quickly evaporating. I was assured a replacement clock would be shipped overnight FedEx. The next day, the FedEx driver appeared at my office with a very large package. When I opened it, I found a full case (144) of clocks, a box containing 432 AA batteries, and an apologetic letter from the chairman of the board of directors of the manufacturer. Throughout the day, I inserted batteries into clocks. None of the clocks illuminated! At 4 PM—in unison—the alarms on the clocks sounded loudly. I scampered about the room, turning off the alarms. It was a laborious task, but I finally completed it. When I quieted the last clock, I awakened.

Hopefully, when the replacement clock arrives, it will work properly, and there will be no need to live out this nightmare.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Fighting Back, Crime and Punishment, -and- From Mexico with Love


Fighting Back - 81-year-old kills home intruder
Crime and Punishment - Texas man gets 60 years for 10th DUI
From Mexico with Love - gang had James Bond Car

On this day in history: February 20, 1968 - The U.S. goes off the gold standard.

Born on this day in history: February 20, 1928 - Fred (McFeeley) Rogers (1928–2003) Born in Latrobe, PA, TV personality Fred Rogers became famous as host of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," a show for preschoolers that debuted in 1965. Rogers’ distinctive manner made him a national institution.

Scripture of the Day: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. - Ephesians 3:20-21

Video of the Day: Big Dog Quadruped Robot - submitted by Frank





Happy Spring! Today is the first day of spring!





Spring is finally here! It appears that today will be a beautiful, sunny day. This is the forecast. While the weatherpeople are wrong more often then not, it appears—looking at the morning sky—that their forecast for today is correct. The rain that was forecast for yesterday arrived as a very brief sprinkling.

An installer from DirecTV is coming today to install an dual-feed HD dish and a DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR. With the latest DVR and HD technology rolled into one easy-to-use unit, the DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR will change the way you enjoy home theater. Images are sharper. Colors are brighter. Sound is crisper. And now they can be recorded. The DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR also features Media Share, allowing you to enjoy photos and music stored on your Intel® Viiv™ processor technology-based PC — on your TV.

Features:

  • High definition (mpeg-2, mpeg-4) and standard definition (mpeg-2) enabled. View the best in both HD and SD programming.

  • Record up to 200 hours of SD programming, up to 50 hours of HD programming. Watch your favorite shows on your own schedule.

  • Record two shows at once while watching another recording.

  • Series Link feature: Automatically record an entire season of your favorite shows, even if they change day or time.

  • One-touch record, auto record, manual record and bookmarks.

  • Pause and rewind live HD TV for up to 90 minutes. Control what you watch—back up, slow down or use instant replay.

  • Media Share capable: Listen to music and view photos stored on your Intel® Viiv™ processor technology-based PC.

  • 2 satellite tuners for access to SD and HD DIRECTV programming.

  • Take advantage of DIRECTV interactive features like DIRECTV Active™. Get weather information, lottery results and horoscopes onscreen.

  • 14-day Advanced Program Guide®. Search the channel guide for shows up to 14 days in advance.

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound capable. Listen to superb theater-quality sound with additional hardware.

  • View and log Caller ID info provided by your local phone company.

  • Parental controls/locks: Enjoy peace of mind over what your children are watching by locking out objectionable programming.


  • This will be a fine companion to the Vizio GV47LF 47" LCD HDTV we installed Tuesday.

    Soon, a Sony BDPS300 Blu-Ray DVD player will arrive. This unit will play Blu-Ray DVDs, of course, but it offers another exciting feature: It offers complete backward compatibility. We can still enjoy our current favorite CDs and DVDs, no matter the format. In fact, they look and sound better than ever before, because the BDPS300 can take our current DVD library and upconvert it to a near high-definition experience (1080p) via HDMI connection or 1080i via component video.