October 12, 2009

New indoor grill

Filed under: Business, Family, Food, General Living, Shopping, Technology and Gadgets — Copa @ 3:27 pm

Not very long ago I wanted to grill some steaks on the gas grill outside.  We had everything ready to go, all of the sides and the table set.  I went out to turn on the gas to the grill and was quite upset to discover that the tank was empty!  I don’t like using the broiler in the house, or pan-frying steak, so we ended up not having steak that night.

Well my wife decided that we need a back-up plan for the next time that happens.  We used to have a George Forman grill but my wife didn’t like it – she said it was too difficult to clean.  And even though it was the largest Forman grill on the market at the time, we could only fit one steak on it!  So we ended up giving that grill away and simply did without.  This time, however, she got online and found a large grill made by Hamilton Beach that has removable grids that can get put in the dishwasher.  I’ll be interested to see it when it arrives and give it a try.  I hope we like it!

October 11, 2009

The big stuff

Filed under: Family, Fun, General Living, Parenting, Shopping — Copa @ 7:55 am

A few years ago my son forbade me from using the term “bling bling.”  He said it just didn’t sound right coming out of an “old guy.”  I think I just might buy some of the hip-hop jewelry that’s on clearance on the hiphopbling.com website and wear it the next time that he’s visiting!  I can just imagine the expression on his face when he sees me wearing it!

October 9, 2009

The flu

Filed under: Family, General Living, Health — Copa @ 7:47 am

With all of the news in the media about the flu, and the large outbreaks of people being sick – so sick that the doctors are overwhelmed and just telling people to “self-isolate” just “in case” I have to say that I am concerned that the people who really need medical attention might not be getting it.  As of this writing, we have at least three family members who are sick with “flu-like symptoms” that have simply been told to “just stay home.”  I wonder if what they have is, in fact, the H1N1 flu, or something else.  Am I correct in thinking that if they HAVE the H1N1 once that they cannot get it again?  I think so.  But without a “real diagnosis” of whether they have it or not, when the vaccine comes out, how do we know if it is a wasted effort to get vaccinated against it?

October 8, 2009

Technical support is evolving

Isn’t technology wonderful when it works?  And it’s absolutely hateful when it doesn’t work the way it is supposed to!  I’ve been around long enough to know that computer glitches are the work of the technology demons that hover over and around everyone who uses the computer.  At any moment the blue screen of death could appear!  In the not too distant past, even minor computer glitches could paralyze an office for a day or two; waiting for the “computer guy” to show up to fix the problem, or even worse the computer would have to be taken to an off-premise site for a week or more.  Ahhhh….. those were the “bad ol’ days!” of the pioneering days of the personal computer.

In the modern day, remote desktop software can be, and often is, the answer to many of the problems that can arise in an office full of computers.  This secure software enables a user to be in one location and access the computers in a different location to trouble-shoot and hopefully repair what is wrong with the troubled computer.  So if the problem with the computer is not something as drastic as the motherboard frying, the quick-fix is a real possibility with this type of technology.

October 5, 2009

It’s too good

Filed under: Family, Food, Technology and Gadgets — Copa @ 3:17 pm

Lately my wife has been making a lot of fresh bread with a bread machine that she bought for $3 at a thrift store. She wasn’t sure at first if it would work or not because she had bought one several months ago that didn’t work, but she thought she’d give this one a try…. A leap of faith!

Well, it works – and boy does it work well! This makes up to 1 1/2 pound loaves, and so far she has tried about four different recipes. They have all been delicious! And the smell of the bread baking in the house drives me crazy! There is nothing finer than a warm slice of fresh baked bread. In this economy, such a simple pleasure makes life a little bit easier to take!