Sunday, September 28, 2008

New Photos in SmugMug

I've added a few photos I took a couple of weeks ago upon leaving the Park. A beautiful sunrise was presented about the time we passed through the area of the 2006 forest fire. You had to be there - the pictures aren't enough.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is installed and working on my older laptop. It boots very quickly and shuts down even faster. It doesn't have all the pretty stuff that Vista has, but it has promise. All of it is free!! Once I get home, I will try to use it most of the time.

Two Weeks

Only 11 working days to go. About the only visitors now are tours; last night was very slow - no customers in the store at closing time.

It's now official - the Shop will stay open until December 1. There should be lots of snow by then and no customers. How will the staff stay busy???


Wednesday, September 24, 2008

New Internet Access

This Winter I'm trying Alltel's EVDO, Rev. A internet access as a replacement for the park's DSL. It provides speeds up to 3Mbps (althouth 1.2 to 1.6 might be typical) and it's cellular based. This means my computer has a small card in the pc express slot. I'll also use a router at home so that all devices can access the network. This card has an external antenna capability that should provide excellant signal strength. I've been given 30 days to try it out. Last night it worked well in Gold Canyon - doesn't work here at the Grand Canyon (I have no external antenna).

The Trip

It was nice to visit "the big house" again.  I discovered why our electric bill was so low this last month - the air conditioner was turned off.  Don't know how that happened; maybe I did it in July when we last visited the house.  Anyway, it was 95 degrees inside when we arrived.  A couple of candles had melted a little; otherwise, things seemed ok.

We spent some time at the Alltel office.  Turns out our phone has a reception problem (the reason for all the dropped calls) and a replacement phone is being shipped to us at the North Rim.  I also signed up for Alltel's internet service, rather than continue with the DSL in the park.  I'll use Kyocera's small card and will be able to access the network in most locations in the country.  Initial tests indicate the speed at almost twice that of the park's DSL.  I already have a Kyocera router that will use the card at home.

We cleaned the deck; not sure we removed much dirt, but the carpet "looked" cleaner.  And, we brought back a lot of stuff we won't have to try to pack in a couple of weeks.  It was great to see some HD television again.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Deck Cleaning Trip

Man, are we anxious to get home!  So much so, that this next Monday & Tuesday we're driving down to deep clean the deck.  Donna will schedule an eye doctor visit, and Steve will try to help Connie with some computer problems.  I know it's a long trip, but some days away from Junior are always nice.  Consider it a mini-vacation.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Chrome Revisited

I've used Chrome for a while now; I like the apparent speed and the minimalistic style.  However, I find myself always returning to Firefox as the browser of choice.  I guess I have too many added features to Firefox that I enjoy.  I'll try Chrome again once they've added additional features.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Four Weeks to Go!

But, who is counting? Me!

Nights are getting a little cooler - it was 50F this morning. I'm hoping we can leave before the first significant snowfall. More Aspens are turning yellow in their top branches. And work is slow. I think we had a couple of bus tours yesterday (and they spent the night), so activity in the Store was a little higher.

Today's our "thursday", so the weekend is near. I think we'll go to Kanab and have my blood viscosity checked; and, get some groceries.

Donna is making dinner. Picking our pills for the next week is next. Must go.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Five Weeks to Go!

The last few days at work have been very slow.  After school started, the attendence seemed to drop off quite a bit.  We are getting some tour buses, but not many so far.  I think I've hit a wall -  I want to return home and work on the "big house".  A change of scenery, I guess.  We only have five weeks, and I suppose it will go fairly quickly.  I think we both agree that about 4 months in Junior is max.

We go to St. George this Monday for an overnight trip.  We seem to take more of these trips this year - it's nice to have a "vacation" with a big bed.  And, eat out.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Google Chrome

There's a new internet browser out there - Google Chrome.  It's very fast and with very few settings.  A little different interface - try it out.  I think I like it.