Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Did You Know I Got Some Good News Today?

Did you know I got some good news today?

This morning I received and email from one of my son’s teachers. She was relieved to be able to send a GOOD message instead of her normal “he’s sleeping in class, not prepared, etc…” note. She praised his work ethic, even during sports season, his respect and his preparation for class. I have to tell you, that is a real joy to hear! I think it is a rare treasure to get something like this from a high school teacher and it came at a time when it was really needed for him. I am so happy that she not only noticed, but that she took the time to share the encouragement with us!

Did You Know About Scrapbooking?

Did you know about scrapbooking?

I've never been a big scrapbooker. It always seemed like such a monumental task to keep up with, one that I didn't see the end of. But since so many folks around here scrapbook, I have done a couple of books with a theme. I have done one for our first visit to Singapore and another for my son's "Journey to Black Belt". This made the project have a start and finish and kept it more manageable to me. It's fun to look back at these now and see the vacation or event which the book chronicles.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Did You Know About Sand Mining?

Did you know about sand mining?

On the news the other night, we learned how Galveston Island is using sand mining to rebuild the beaches eroded by Hurricane Ike. They are building up the sand along a two mile stretch of beaches. At the east end of the island they are dredging up sand using a pipe line about a mile long. The sand is pumped onto the beach area. They are also cleaning the sand. It is put into a screen-filter to have debris removed before it is placed along the beach. The news cast also showed how this same method was used to raise the beach front in 1900 to originally build the sea wall that helped allay any more damage Ike could have caused the island this past fall. The beaches are scheduled to be ready by the end of March, usually the time the sea turtles come in to lay their eggs.

Did You Know a Good Gift for a College Student?

Did you know a good gift for a college student?

If you have any college aged friends, it can sometimes be hard to know just what to buy them for certain occasions. I have a friend in college and last year I bought him a flash drive engraved with his name and school. He really thought that was cool. Another affordable idea is a simple memory stick which works with a number of electronic devices like Mp 3 players, video cameras and computers.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Did You Know About Carbon Chemistry?

Did you know about carbon chemistry?

I never took chemistry in high school. This was a tough section when my son went through it, though now that he is in chemistry at school, he thinks this section my daughter is on is a breeze! Here is what my daughter taught me about hydrocarbons today:

An alkane is a straight straight chain of carbon atoms surrounded by hydrogen atoms with one bond between the carbons.

An alkene is a hydrocarbon where there is at least one double bond between carbons.

An alkyne is a hydrocarbon with at least one triple bond in its structure.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Did You Know I Have Improved on My Swim Time?

Did you know I have improved on my swim time?

Last year I began training for a triathlon. My swimming is definitely my weakest event. I am wanting to do another triathlon in May this year. This race's swim is done in a pool. Because of this, you have to fill out an accurate swim time on the registration form. I wanted to get an idea of what my time is so I tried timing myself today. It is not 100% accurate, but it was enough for me to see some improvement in my time over the last year. Last March I swam the equivalent of 10 laps in an open bay in 18+ minutes, which I was very happy with at the time. Today I swam 6 laps in 7 1/2 minutes, and 10 laps in 12 1/2 minutes. This is a big improvement for me. I would like to get the time down a bit on the 10 laps, but I was really happy to see some improvement in my time!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Did You Know We've Got Our Celtics Tickets?

Did you know we've got our Celtics tickets?

I ordered our tickets to the game last night online. It is always with a little trepidation that I do things like that online. I found the best seats at the cheapest rate possible. We opted for the upper level instead of behind the basket. We should have a pretty good view, though it will be bird's eye!

I was not sure how long it would take for the tickets to arrive. We leave in one month so I put a note on the order stating our departure date and needing to have them in hand before then, or left at will call. I got a call today from the ticket agent saying that the tickets will be Fed Exed on Monday! That sure made me feel better about ordering them online.

On another note, when ordering these tickets, you can't look only at the price they are offered at. Many of these agents charge large fees. I found one agent selling the ones we bought for $75. They also added a $56 service fee and $15 shipping fee. That added up rather quickly! Instead I ordered from a "no fees" agent who sold them at a little higher price, but without the service fee. We came out over $50 better with that deal.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Did You Know About My Rendezvous?

Did you know about my Rendezvous?

After squirreling away some money that I've earned from blogging and from doing some work for my mom's office, I have finally saved enough to buy myself a newer vehicle.



We have been talking about it for some time, but just never found what we were looking for. Some friends of ours at church decided to sell their 2004 Buick Rendezvous and they made us "an offer we couldn't refuse"!



This car has just what I wanted and more! It has four doors and a third row seat. It has dual air control, seat warmers, a dvd player and so much more! It is really nice. There are some cosmetic issues on the inside, but it is at the upholsters now getting redone and back to new looking!



Saturday, February 7, 2009

Did You Know About Oscar the Grouch?

Did you know about Oscar the Grouch?

I found out today a little trivia about Oscar the Grouch, our friend who lives in a trash can on Sesame Street. I watched Sesame Street when I was a kid. I liked Oscar. But I never knew that he was originally orange. Nor did I know that he was designed to show kids "non-destructive deviance", a way to learn that everyone is not "nice" or "good" and that there are grouchy people out there and how to deal with them.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Did You Know About the Corn Card?

Did you know about the Corn Card?

This is a card made out of the renewable source of corn. It appears and functions like other plastic cards, only it is better for our world. If we could replace all of the phone cards, gift cards, membership cards, hotel key cards, and all the other plastic cards we use, we could surely make an impact for good!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Did You Know the Best Seats in the Gardens?

Did you know the best seats in the Gardens?

We are going to Boston next month. Of course, one of our priorities is to get to a Celtics game. In looking for tickets, I found an online 3D viewer which shows you the view from different seats. I found two different sections that I am looking at, both of which are nearly the same in price. One is in the uppermost section, near the back, at mid court. The other is down low, just above floor level, about half way back, just to the right of the goal (not directly behind it.) I can't decide which is the better view, though I am thinking that the lower seats will really get us more "into the game". Any suggestions?

Monday, February 2, 2009

Did You Know About Denny's Free Breakfast?

Did you know about Denny's free breakfast?



Tomorrow, Feb. 3, Denny's customers across America can get a FREE Grand Slam breakfast from 6am-2pm. They will also be giving out free coupon books to the earliest customers. For those who are in line at 2pm, you can get a rain check for your Grand Slam breakfast. It sounds like Denny's is really reaching out to customers tomorrow!


Did You Know About WiseGeek.com?

Did you know about WiseGeek.com?

I had never heard of this site, but I just subscribed today when I found it. It looks like a great source to use to get answers to common questions. There are over 34,000 articles answering things folks want to know. You can link to the articles of interest and site them in school essays. I think it will be a great source from which to learn things in a quick and easy manner. I mean, I found out that spring plungers are NOT cutely decorated seasonal bathroom cleaning aids!! Check out WiseGeek.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Did You Know You Can Tap Into a Wireless Signal With Your Desktop PC?

Did you know you can tap into a wireless signal with your desktop PC?

My kids got the computer from my granny's house. Since we have only one internet connection, but also a wireless connection, we got a kit that allows you to use the desktop with the wireless connection. It looks like a flash drive and allows you to tap into the wireless signal with the desktop PC. It comes in two formats, G or N, but the tech told me you can pretty much use either one (I don't know what the difference is.) I got the G and it runs around $50.