ABC Wednesday--D is for...

D is for Digital TV Conversion

For more than the last year, US TV viewers have been bombarded with public service announcements concerning the upcoming conversion of all television broadcasts from analog to digital.

For those with newer sets, and those with cable or satellite service, these are just a very redundant addition to the day's viewing. The same messages over and over and over.

For those with an older set getting their TV signal over the air, the messages explain that come the effective date in mid-February, if you don't act, your TV screen will go black.

So, what is to do:
1. Purchase a converter box.
Sounds simple enough--BUT...

The government, in its infinite wisdom, since it has mandated that your TV will go dark, has issued coupons for $40 off one of these boxes. Each household that receives its signals over the air is entitled to two of these coupons.

Once you have jumped through the hoops to get one of these coupons, you go to WalMart, Circuit City, Bet Buy, your local independent TV guy, or any of the other sources to purchae a box.

We got the last one at WalMart, where we went when our local TV guy did not get any boxes in. We got a second one at our local TV guy, whose boxes finally came in just before our coupon expired.

And we got ours early. As we approach the original date of conversion, the government has run out of coupons, the stores have run out of boxes, and many people's coupons have expired.

2. Connect the box to the TV and to the antenna. Somehow the DVD/VCR goes in there, too. See how many wires go out the back of the box?

3. Go back to the independent TV guy and find out which connections we have hooked up wrong since nothing works at all.

4. Reconnect the cables and scan for channels.

5. Figure out the sequence of use of the remote controls to get a signal.

We consolidated our remote controls to only three by replacing the old DVD and the old VCR with a combination unit.
Once we had done this, we had three of our normal five stations coming in on digital signal, and suddenly had several other variations on these stations.

Since it was still early in the game, we figured the other two stations were not yet broadcasting in digital. A different sequence of remote control mechanations would get those stations in analog.

And all was well.

Then we found out that all stations in our area were already broadcasting in digital as well as analog. So we scanned again. The congress had changed the digital changeover date to June 12, but most of our local stations, ready for the change and needing to do so because of equipment, are completing the change on the original date--NEXT WEEK. So we scanned the stations again, and got no additional stations.

We went to see our local independent TV guy again. and about $150 later, took this down:
...and put this up:
and scanned again.

They say that with Digital you either have a signal or you don't. There is no putting up with a bad signal--if it's bad, it isn't there.

We are still lacking one station. Unless we can figure out something, it's goodby CSI, NCIS, Survivor, Amazing Race, and Numb3rs.

And that's not even touching on the TV in the bedroom, where this:
...used to bring in a signal just fine, but we had to buy this as well as the converter box:
...but it still doesn't bring in any Digital Stations.

ABC Wednesday, in its fourth round, originated with Mrs. Nesbitt. To find the other participants, stop by the ABC Wednesday blog.

I'd like to make special note of David McMahon's post D is for Desolation. It is worth a read.

100 things for my 500th post

This is my 500th post on Katney's Kaboodle. I thought I would celebrate it with the 100 things meme.

The hundred things list has gone around some. I saw it most recently at Jan's, but have seen it before on other blogs. the list varies from time to time as people add to it and others bring it back to one hundred.

The idea is to bold or color the things you have done, and leave those you haven't in place. A bit of editorializing or explanation is okay. I have added a few photos. The spacing changes each time I preview, so I think it's time to leave it as is.

1. Started your own blog


2. Slept under the stars


3. Played in a band


4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower


6. Given more than you can afford to charity


7. Been to Disneyland - I feel like I practically grew up there, but we haven't been back in years.


8. Climbed a mountain


9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning - years ago in Spain

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train - Irkutsk, Siberia to St. Petersburg--We slept on the Krasnoyarsk to Novosibirsk portion, and between Ekaterinburg and Moscow. On other parts we stopped at different cities and for other excursions. Irkutsk to St. Petersburg is about 5000 miles.

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - when in high school I would do this to get caught up on my work

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb - expect to do so this spring

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - both

31. Hit a home run -

32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

36. Seen an Amish community

37. Taught yourself a new language - just enough to get by

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing - in Siberia

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight - and caught grunion in my stocking cap

46. Been transported in an ambulance - On Sundays the ambulance which sereved as a mobile clinic from the St. Joseph Development Foundation doubled as transportation for those boys from St. joseph Boys Village who went to church in the nearby town.

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie - but I was on TV when I was nine

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

There are my mother's story books and my father's doll. The doll represents a character from Uncle Tom's Cabin, and flips to show another character. I think the characters are Little Eliza and Topsie.

I do have childhood toys of my own as well.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt -or a hundred.

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible - at least most of it, but not straight through

86. Visited the White House - outside

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - if you count a fish

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit -

98. Owned a mobile phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

Now I am going to add to the currently traveling one hundred.

101. Visited India

102. Flown first class - we were bumped to first class when we returned from Russia.

103. Crossed the International Date Line

104. Visited National Parks in five countries

105. Visited zoos in four countries

106. Volunteered in a foreign country

107. Lost a job you loved

108. Done a cancer walk

109. Swum in the Mediterranean Sea on New Year's Day

110. Been interviewed on radio or a newspaper in a foreign country.

111. Met a bear in the wild

112. Given or attended a surprise party.

113. Taken your grandchildren camping.

114. Gone snowshoeing

115. Tried cross-country skiing

116. Forgotten the dozen other things you were going to add to this list.

Two fer Tuesday

This is a twofer in two ways.

As we drive through the Yakima Valley it is not uncommon to see a hawk perched in the highest tree in the area (sometimes that "tree" is a power pole) surveying his territory. Yesterday, for the first time in my memory, there were two sitting in the same tree. Do you see them just about center?
We turned back, found a spot to park, and I set out on foot. They weren't too keen on the idea and took off.
It would have been a good time to have the ten power zoom along, but it was home.

Jonna started Twofer Tuesday--posting two related photos or groups of two on Tuesdays. Stop by to see what she has going today, and find who else has some twofers for us.

Warm enough?

Check the Odd Shot details by clicking the Odd Shot Camera in the side bar. (This one won't take you anywhere.)
Some people get little sweaters or jackets for their pets, and others think it's kind of odd.

But here is what our Little Guy Trailer got for Christmas--a new jacket.

It may seem odd--but since we don't have a garage, it is a good way to keep the finish protected over the winter.

And then, we are a bit odd anyway.

Maybe next time I should post a picture of us--the odd couple.

Sunday's Psalm--Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.

Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the numbers of the stars;
he calls each by name.

Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

to his wisdom there is no limit.

The LORD sustains the lowly;

the wicked he casts to the ground.

Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Photos:

• sunset at Goose Lake, OR
• Wukoki Pueblo, Wupatki National Monument, AZ
• golden mantle squirrel, Mt. Rainier National Park, WA
• conjunction of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon
• autumn at Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, AZ
• beach rocks on the Olympic Peninsula, WA
  

PhotoHunt--Theme: bridge

See TnChick for more PhotoHunt.

Since I regularly participate in Bridges between... (you can see my last bridge post here.) I decided to go a different way here. Hopefully it will be a reminder to call for that appointment to take care of my bridge that needs to be replaced. Sigh!

In again for 60!

60 what?

I'm dusting off my walking shoes to plan and train once again for the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. That's a walk of sixty miles over a three day weekend. I'd been holding out on registering for a while, but it is time to make my commitment to join an estimated 50,000 walkers who will participate in fifteen cities this year.

This year I will be walking in Arizona in November. If you would like to share in my fundraising effort, you can find my donation page here. If you would like to know more about the event, about breast cancer, or about the efforts to find a cure for breast cancer, there are many links here.

Respect the Blog!

Several years ago, before I was a blogger myself, I had found my way to my grown son's blog. I read it for several weeks before one day I ventured to make a comment. I signed it "Mom".

Another young blogger followed that comment with this: "How would you feel if you knew your mom read your blog? Xxxx knows."



Xxxx assured me that it didn't bother him at all.
~
A blog is a tool. Bloggers blog for a variety of reasons. Some want an outlet for their creative side--whether writing, art, or photography. Others have a cause they are passionate about and blog tirelessly to promote it. Some just have things they want to share.

Like any tool, a blog can be used or misused. (Sometimes by the blogger and sometimes by its readers.)

Is a blog a journalistic tool? Could be. Like I said, it has a variety of purposes.

Don Mills Diva is a trained journalist with a blog. Is her blog a piece of journalism? Maybe sometimes. It is other things, too. After having been misquoted and inaccurately attributed by a supposedly "real" journalist in an article in a seemingly respectable newspaper, she has established this "Respect the Blog" badge, which I will proudly display in my sidebar. (I was in the process of saying "a seemingly respectable newspaper article, but changed it to read as it did because the article ended up being a promotional piece for the author's new book.) Go read her posts about it here and here, and see if you, as a blogger, aren't also rather incensed.

A newspaper is also a tool. Unfortunately, since this article appears online, I can't use that tool as mulch or papier maiche.

Jus' so-s ya know...

I haven't changed my header since a couple of months ago.

Or are you seeing something I'm not?

ABC Wednesday--C is for...

Coconuts

In keeping with my initial plan of photos from my travels, here are some coconut palms from Tamil Nadu, India.

When they were babies, the trees looked something like these in the coconut nursery maintained at St. Joseph Boys Village to help support the program.

The sterotypical cartoon image is of someone being killed when conked on the head by a falling coconut. Highly unlikely though it is, when we were in India there was a story in the newspaper that it had actually happened. The man was standing by a well, a coconut fell and knocked him into the well, where he drowned.

ABC Wednesday, in its fourth round, was originated by Denise.
Visit the dedicated site to check in and to find out who has posts ready.