Tire pressure

My tire pressure was way too low on the front two tires of my Civic Hybrid. I inflated the tires this morning and although I seemed to get better mileage before I got on the freeway, the overall result wasn't that different. I got 58 mpg on the 40 mile trip to work. I think I should be closer to 70 on the way home, assuming I can find a truck to draft behind.

Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes is playing like an all-star for the Warriors. I know he bounced around with a few times and played for the Clippers for a little while, but when did he get so good? It may just be that he fits in really well with the crazy style the Warriors play, but he sure has done well for them. I like his hustle and he's really become a good three point shooter.

Where'd my photos go?

My photo site seems to have been down lately - http://www.temeculatalk.net/photos. It's running today but maybe that's what I get for my $20 for the first year of service. It does always seem to be slow to load.

Suns will go all the way

I think this may be the year the Suns get to the finals and win it. I hope so. Dallas does not look good and is struggling to get out of the first round. The Suns look hard to beat when they play their game and I think they can deal with the Spurs and the Mavericks and then whoever wins the East. If I had the money, I'd drive to Phoenix just to see a playoff game.

Online Memorials at Registry of Life

Many people put so much of their lives online now in social networking sites, blogs, web sites, photo sharing sites and more. Using the web as a place for memorials is a nice way to keep important memories alive and available for others to share. Registry of Life is an Online memorial site which lets you create a nice web page with lots of information, photos, links, a timeline and a guest book. There is a one time fee of $49.95 when you set up your memorial.



Press Release:

Seattle, WA. – The passing of a loved one is difficult but can bring many an opportunity to find meaning and strength. Registry of Life.com – a new Web site developed by clinical psychologist Dr. Wayne Dees – provides an interactive way to share memories, stories, and photos of loved ones long after they are gone.

Registry of Life.com is an online memorial honoring and celebrating the lives of loved ones who have passed away. Providing a link from the past to the present, the Registry provides a legacy in words, pictures and even music accessible by family, friends and future generations.

www.registryoflife.com allows members to create a personal URL for their loved ones and is an easy and beautiful way to continue the legacy of those closest to their hearts. Members can create a customized Web site that includes a photo album with slideshow, a life timeline, music, customized design templates, and a guestbook. It also provides optional password protection to allow personal memories to stay personal. The one-time fee opens the door to a lifetime dedication and allows families and friends to upload memories, share stories, and find strength together, forever.

“As a result of counseling many grieving individuals and understanding how difficult it is for many to tolerate the painful emotions of mourning – it’s wonderful to have a place where families can honor their loved ones, share their memories, and continue their legacy,” explains Dr. Wayne Dees, creator of Registry of Life.com.




Registry of Life.com also features articles on bereavement and loss as well as recommended reading to help individuals cope with the normal but often difficult emotions that arise when dealing with loss: shock, denial, anger, guilt, sadness, and depression, while also helping the griever to move on through awareness, acceptance, and hope.

Registry of Life.com includes suggested readings that can help individuals find a productive means of coping, and more importantly, help their loved ones live on forever through their memories and images. Using the Registry can also be a great tool to help educate future generations about their family’s history.

“The Registry can help individuals in coping with the grieving process and to tell the life stories of their loved ones in words, pictures and music,” adds Dees. “We want people to have the opportunity and ability to commemorate the accomplishments and memories that celebrate life rather than focusing on loss.”

About Registry of Life.com:
Registry of Life.com is the creation of Dr. Wayne Dees, a clinical psychologist licensed in the state of Washington and a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Bereavement. Dr. Dees has worked extensively in the areas of bereavement, grief and loss. He holds a masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, CA, and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Spalding University in Louisville, KY. The American Psychological Association approves both programs. Dr. Dees provides individual, couples, and group counseling in Seattle, WA. The Registry of Life.com is $49.95 after free 14-day trial period. For more information about Registry of Life.com, please visit http://www.registryoflife.com/ or email info@registryoflife.com.

Adobe CS3 options a little confusing

I'd like to upgrade my copies of Photoshop and Flash and get Adobe Lightroom. Adobe has an offer for Photoshop and Lightroom and another one which includes Flash and Photoshop, but the only way to do what I want is to probably buy the Photoshop & Lightroom deal and then buy Flash separately. When you do that, you pay so much money that it seems better to buy one of the package deals and purchase Lightroom by itself. That might be the better move, but there are too many deals and packages that it's all a little confusing to me. And some of them aren't available yet, which makes it even more confusing.

Too busy for blogging

I haven't gone so long in between blog posts in about a year. I got busier at work and at home with the start of soccer season and I'm also enrolled in a photography course, so there's not much free time lately. I think I've got things a little better under control, so I hope to get back to a more regular blogging schedule.

OS X 10.5 not coming until Fall

I guess it's not a big deal, but the next major update of Mac OS X is delayed until October. It seems odd that the reason is that so many resources have gone into getting the iPhone ready for release in June, but Apple isn't really so big that they've got enough people to manage all these products at the same time. At least that's my guess. I'm disappointed a little bit because this will also delay the purchase of new hardware unless they offer a free upgrade on the software. It will also delay the new version of iLife and possibly other software. Six months isn't that long, but in technology time, it's a whole generation.

False precision

I think the thing that bothered me about my experience with the chiropractor was the false precision involved in some of the discussion. Saying that with a pinched nerve I was at 45% function didn't impress me. No x-rays, no real way of knowing what was wrong other than my own description. And then saying that it would take exactly 57 visits to cure the problem and it would just happen to cost $4000 seemed pretty dubious. That plus the application to finance the bill over 5 years wasn't what I had expected when I went there.

Putting ice on my back several times a day and stretching has really improved things to the point where I can move around without too much pain, although I can't sit for extended periods without my back getting tight.

Bad back

I did something to my back on Monday morning and wasn't able to stand up straight for two days and I still am having trouble moving around. I can't drive and can't do much of anything. I visited a chiropractor today, and that helped a little, but I'm not sure I've got the money to go back 57 more times, as was recommended. That was a pretty surprising recommendation based on the little bit of consultation involved. I've had good luck with chiropractors in the past, but they were also covered by my health insurance. Now, I don't have any coverage for chiropractic and I don't think I can spend $4k on that.

Florida - Ohio State

I picked Florida from the start and figured they would play Ohio State. I think Ohio State has a slight edge at point guard with Mike Conley and if Greg Odom plays well they could do well inside, but the Gators have too much for them. I think the experience will also make a difference if the game is close. I don't expect it to be very close though.

More Apple TV

One thing that is clear from using the Apple TV is that it's helpful to keep your iTunes library organized. I've got too many playlists and too many videos which won't play back on the Apple TV. I'm not sure that converting them is going to be a good idea because of the decline in quality.

It also looks like you can get access to your iPhoto library or your Aperture library, but not both at the same time. You could turn off one or the other, but not have both active at the same time. Not sure I like that feature either.

Apple TV first impressions

I finally set up my Apple TV today. It was easy to get it up and running, although even though I have used iTunes since it came out, I was not familiar with the Devices list, which is just a way of saying the column on the left side of the screen. Once I figured that out and entered the right info, everything worked pretty well. I had some trouble with accessing a few of the movie trailers -- they either loaded very slowly or not at all. Others loaded quickly and played fine. I watched some TV content -- free stuff from the iTunes store. It wasn't in HD, but it looked fine from across the room, just not close up.

My chosen podcasts seemed to fill up the entire Apple TV, so I turned that feature off and just streamed them which worked nicely. I did load 450 photos I took yesterday from my Aperture library and wasn't as excited about that as I wanted to be. The images can only be viewed as a slide show which has no manual advance feature, so it doesn't work well as a way to review images. Even if it had manual advance, it doesn't allow you to rate the images. That would be great since it's nice to see the pictures on a big screen. I do like the idea that I can look at things I've produced without creating DVDs, so that alone should make the Apple TV something I'll use quite a bit, along with the podcasts and easy access to the iTunes library.

Apple TV Hacking

I haven't even set up my Apple TV yet, so I'm not planning on any upgrades or software modifications, but it's nice to know that other people have figured out quite a bit in the short time the Apple TV has been around. Dan Frakes at MacWorld has a very detailed step by step guide with photos on how to swap the hard drive. It's not quite as easy as just replacing the drive, but it looks like it's a reasonable thing to do if you've got the time -- it takes about 16 hours to copy the disk image from the original to the new drive...

I'd just like to get mine hooked up and working this weekend.

Phoenix - Golden State

I don't think there has ever been a Don Nelson team which was known for defense and although they outscored the Suns 45-33 in the first quarter tonight, I'm still picking the Suns to win. The Suns have already cut the lead in half and they can get hot and really put up the points quickly. The Warriors were hot but I don't expect them to stay hot like that all game.

Confirming the info

Last week a neighbor told me that a rape had taken place just a few minutes before I drove past a swimming pool about 2 blocks from my house. I had no way to confirm this so I waited to read about it in the newspaper. I finally found the article today and it turned out that a woman was assaulted while jogging about 1/2 mile from my house and was able to fight off the guy and run away. The attacker was later caught. So the facts were a little different than the neighbor had gotten them. Maybe he listens to a police scanner, otherwise I have no idea how he would have known about it.

Food Bloggers

Blogging about food is pretty popular. SFGate says that some restaurants don't appreciate some of the amateurs who post reviews. Personally, I'd rather hear from a few regular people who offer a balanced review than from a professional who may or may not be able to relate to people who don't eat in restaurants all the time.

If you think restaurant critics from mainstream newspapers, television and magazines are tough on the food industry, you haven't spent much time in cyberspace. Online message boards, gossip columns, city restaurant guides and food blogs are proliferating and having a profound influence on where consumers spend their eating dollars. The once-genteel discipline of restaurant reviewing has turned into a free-for-all, celebrated by some as a new-world democracy but seen by others as populist tyranny.

Gators still rolling

I am sticking with my pick of my alma mater, the University of Florida, to win the NCAA tournament. It's not going to be easy, but I think they have the best starting five and the most experience, which should be enough to win it again. Ohio State would be a tough opponent, but Florida has the inside and outside game to beat them. I don't think either UCLA or UNC or Georgetown can beat Florida, but anything can happen in one game and all the remaining teams have the players to win. I think that depth has been the difference between the teams that almost beat the #1 seeds and those teams that won, but at this point, experience will matter more.

Soccer season starts

The spring soccer season has started for our family. It's co-ed in the spring and usually the girls are a little better than the boys on these teams. It seems to be that way, anyway. One of my sons is on a team with 7 girls and 4 boys. The other guy's team is split 6 and 6, I think. Games start in about 9 days. It looks like one team may be competitive and the other one may be in it for the fun.

Lakers moving up

I'm not sure that the Lakers can win in the long run with Kobe Bryant scoring half their points every game, but they are looking much better now. With Lamar Odom and Luke Walton in the lineup, there is much better ball movement as well as two other guys who can score. And Kwame Brown is playing good defense and rebounding, so the team looks more like it did early in the season. Maybe it was just the injuries that caused them to lose so many games recently.