Category: misc

Getting life done

Lifehack has some pointers they’re sharing from WiseGeek on how to make your life offline easier.

  • Hoard stamps. It’s true that snail mail is becoming less and less important, but every once in a while, you do need a stamp. – I rarely use stamps which means when I need one it usually means I have to take time to go to the post office to do it.
  • Outsource your chores. Your time and sanity are worth way more than that kid’s hourly wage. If you have the means, ask your friends and neighbors for a referral for a housekeeper that is trustworthy. – I’m a huge fan of this idea. $15 – $20 for someone to clean house or do chores once a week could be a huge help.
  • Never travel without a swimsuit. Period. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to enjoy a hot tub or sauna because they won’t let you go commando. – I used to be better at this when I was a kid. I need to get back in the habit.
  • Park far away from entrances. Walking across a parking lot isn’t necessarily the most pleasant thing, but it’s still walking. Walking is exercise and therefore reduces stress. Waiting patiently for a spot near the front, only to have that yellow H2 ignore you and pull into your spot will have the opposite effect. – I usually have pretty good luck finding close parking spots but I need to be willing to walk when time comes.
  • Change the billing cycles on your monthly bills so that they’re all due at the same time. Usually this can be accomplished with a quick phone call if it can’t be done online. This can prevent forgotten or lost bills, since you’ll have to go through your entire list of liabilities at the same time. If one of your accounts won’t allow you to change the billing cycle, then change all the others to match that one. The other useful thing about this practice is that it makes it easier to calculate your monthly expenses and make good decisions about your budget. – Mine are divided into two due dates so I can pay them with the corresponding check. Any thoughts?
  • Feel free to let the phone ring. Many people don’t realize that you don’t have to pick up the phone, or you can just turn off the ringer. The point is that people often call at bad times because they don’t know that it’s a bad time. Rather then let them interrupt you and complicate your life, simply ignore the call and get back to them when it is a better time for you. – I have no problem doing this. My mom and aunt obviously do.

Marriage advice

Boy – you tell someone you’re getting married and you will get advice from EVERYONE.
Here are some of the latest (as well as a couple older ones):

  • Marriage is about three rings. The engagement ring. The wedding ring. And the suffer ring.
  • Husbands are the head of the house as Christ is the head of the church. But wifes, you are the neck and you turn the head which ever way you want it to go
  • A couple who had been married for 50+ years was asked about the secret to their relationship. The husband spoke up and said, “We decided before we were married that I would make all the major decisions and she would make all the minor decisions.” The wife then added, “And it’s amazing, we haven’t had a single major decision to make in over 50 years.”
  • There’s one phrase you need to remember, “Yes dear.”
  • It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission
  • There are two phrases you need to remember, “Yes dear” and “I’m sorry.”

With my bachelor party this weekend I’m sure I’ll get even more loads of advice before it’s all said and done.

New fees could shut down OrangeNoiseRadio!

Keep Internet Radio On

Recently, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) issued the significantly higher new royalty rates for Internet radio for the 2006-2010 period. The ruling ignored webcasting community proposals and set out the SoundExchange proposed “per performance” rates and a $500 minimum fee per channel per year. With around 10,000 stations playing over 250,000 artists each month, that would mean an additional $5 million per year for Live365 and our broadcasters.

Although there is no clear definition of what a “channel” is, the $500 minimum fee per channel threatens Live365’s ability to help make the small webcasters’ voice heard on the Internet (like OrangeNoiseRadio), by effectively forcing Live365 to raise the minimum broadcasting fees to a level that would cause most small webcasters (like OrangeNoiseRadio) to discontinue their service thus silencing their stations. The CRB’s determination imperils small and large webcasters alike and threatens listening experiences of millions of Internet radio listeners.

What You Can Do:
Speak up!

There are several options you can take to help OrangeNoiseRadio stay on the air. #1 is becoming a sponsor. Zip us an e-mail and let us know you’d like to keep OrangeNoiseRadio on the air. With increased fees, our only option will be to find more sponsors to help pay the added fees, or shut down. You can also become a VIP listener through Live365. Your monthly subscription helps keep us and other stations on the air.
Also, please join us in our petition for overturning the CRB determination and in our fight to save Internet radio. Visit Live365.com/choice for more on how you can participate in our campaign early next week.
Meanwhile, make your voice heard by the lawmakers on Capitol Hill! Call, write, e-mail, and/or visit your Representatives and Senators today and request that:

1. Congress void the retroactive $500 per channel minimum that threatens to drive Live365’s small webcasters out of business.
2. Congress reinstate the Small Webcaster Settlement Act. The CRB declared that the 2002 SWSA would not be extended despite the Small Webcaster contracts SoundExchange offered on its website and signed with Small Webcasters for 2006 and 2007.
3. Stop the retroactive, ex post facto royalty payments for 2006 mandated by the CRB, until all appeals have been heard.
4. Create a level playing field by bringing the Internet radio per performance rates into parity with traditional and satellite radio. Unlike internet radio, traditional radio does NOT pay royalties to record labels or artists for songs performed over the air.

How to Contact Your Representatives and Senators:

1. Send a stamped letter, mailed by U.S. Mail or FedEx to your congressperson (find their mailing address). This type of hand-written message with your own personal story is treated with a LOT of value when received by your congressperson. Include your personal story… your name and location, the type of music you listen to, and how this new royalty will affect you. Be as specific as you possibly can.

2. Though it’s not nearly as effective as a postmarked letter, you can also send an e-mail message to your Senators and Representatives. With your zipcode or address, you can use this quick, easy e-mail form to get directly to the congressperson for your location: http://www.congress.org (use the form letter found there or write your own story)

May Election information

This comes from my good buddy in Belton, Prosper Walker:

Regarding May Election – “Don’t forget us old folks”
I am sending this email to everyone on my email address list who lives in Texas.
I want to be sure you are aware of a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot at the May election.
It is an amendment to correct an error made by the lawmakers when they voted for a reduction in school property taxes in 2005. When the lawmakers voted for a one-third reduction school property taxes beginning in 2006 and to be completed this year, they forgot about the homestead exemption for senior citizens and people with disabilities. The state constitution caps school property taxes for homeowners 65 years and older and those who are disabled. However, they DID NOT get the same reduction when the property tax cut for schools was voted on two years ago.
So an amendment is on the May ballot to correct this error. The problem is that most voters who are younger than 65 or not disabled probably won’t even notice the amendment or care. PLEASE get out and vote for this amendment if not for yourself then for your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends. We would really appreciate your getting the word out to all your friends and families to vote for this amendment. The fear is that with a low voter turnout, the amendment could very well not pass.
So, please, please pass the word and VOTE for the constitutional amendment.
Early voting will take place will April 30 – May 5 from 7 am to 7 pm; May 6 from noon to 6 pm and May 7 – May 8 from 7 am to 7 pm. Election day is May 12 from 7 am to 7 pm. So there are plenty of options to stop by a polling place and vote.
VOTE!!!

Birthday fun

Laurie’s birthday was yesterday. I think she had a good day – despite having to work for the first time in many years on her birthday.
I cooked dinner and I think we found a couple winning recipes. They were both new to me and I did my own adaptations but I was pleased and we plan on holding on to them for use in the future.

We started dinner off with a chicken teriyaki stir fry. We laughed that I’m not one who normally follows recipes very well. I like to make my own changes and such but here’s the recipes with my notes added. I eye balled all the measurements so none were exact.

1/3 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/3 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. salad oil (used a low fat cooking oil)
2 tbsp. white cooking wine
1 tbsp. honey
3 chicken breasts split

Combine onion, garlic, soy sauce, oil, wine, and honey; mix well. Arrange chicken in shallow baking dish; pour sauce over. Marinate at room temperature 30 minutes, turning several times. (I cooked the chicken breasts whole in a shallow pan on the stove and then cut them up after they were done cooking. After they were cut up I put them back in the sauce on low for a few minutes to soak up additional flavor).

Broil or grill while brushing with sauce until tender. Cook stir-fry vegetables and place on platter. Arrange chicken breasts over top. Makes 6 servings.

STIR-FRY VEGETABLES
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. salad oil (same low fat cooking oil)
2 c. sliced carrots
1 c. sliced onion
2 c. green beans or broccoli (i used fresh snap green beans)
2 c. cauliflower or cabbage (i used cauliflower)
2 tbsp. lemon juice (i squeezed the juice from a full lemon)
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
dash pepper
2 tbsp. chopped parsley

In wok or large heavy skillet, heat butter and oil. Add carrot and onion; stir- fry 3-4 minutes. Stir in other vegetables and stir-fry 2 minutes or cook until they way you like them. (i actually added all the vegetables in our wok as I finished cutting them up. then i turned on the stove and cooked them all together with the butter and oil. i also added the parsley to the mix in the beginning which added some fun color to the mix and kicked up the flavor a bit.)

Add other ingredients and stir. Sprinkle chopped parsley over.

For desert I had angel food cake with an orange sauce topping.
I have the recipe at home but I ended up changing it a good deal anyways.
I started with a regular store bought angel food cake.

For the sauce I used 3/4 cup of sugar, 12 oz. frozen orange juice from concentrate and 2-4 tbs. of corn starch.
I mixed the three ingredients together and then heated them in a sauce pan. I added a bit of water in the beginning and then stirred until the corn starch helped thicken the sauce, similar to gravy. I added several dashes of cinnamon to step it up a notch. And then poured the warm sauce over a slice of angel food cake and topped with whip cream.

Very delicious. The original recipe called for a can of mandarin oranges and peaches and only 6 oz. of OJ but Laurie’s not a fan of peaches and I forgot the oranges at the store so I adapted.

I had a glass of Pinot grigio that went great with the chicken and stir fry but became a bit bitter when drinking with the desert.
All in all I thought it was a great birthday dinner – we’ll just have to wait and see if Laurie blogs about it and says the same thing ;-).

We finished the evening off with a 2 mile walk down the Waxahachie Hike and Bike Trail with Presley. It was a great night for a walk and we tried out geocaching for the first time with a borrowed GPS unit. We’re still hoping to get our own for our wedding – hint hint.
We failed at our first two attempts: N 32° 22.344 W 096° 50.198 and N 32° 22.193 W 096° 49.850 but we probably didn’t search as hard as we should have. We were right in the area but quit because of the overgrowth and poison ivy in the area. I was wearing shorts and Laurie gave me strict instructions to not get poison ivy less than two weeks before our wedding.

None the less, it was a great evening and I’m looking forward to spending countless more birthdays and special occasions with the love of my life.