Thursday, September 14, 2006     Up, Up and Away!

This is the first day of a new thing. This is a very preliminary version of this site. Things will change. I'll be adding a sidebar with some additional information, including the story of how the name Primary Wizard came to be. For today, just the link and the tip from my store of wisdom (ha!).

Tip of the Day: When shaving with a blade, rinse it with cool or cold water. If you use hot water, the repeated shock can take the temper off the edge sooner. Using cooler water will make the blade last longer. Also, you're less likely to get razor burn. This advice is also good for kitchen knives. Always wash them with soap and cold water. You're less likely to kill the temper and the knife's ability to hold an edge.

Link of the Day: Ever want to put your own message up on a McDonald's sign? Well, here's your chance (sort of): Ronald McHummer's lets you put your own message on a McGreaseburger sign. You can do it as a protest or a lark, or whatever your deviant and perverse reason may be. Have fun. Send me some of your results and if I get some good ones, I'll put them up here somewhere.

Send me an e-mail at webmaster@primarywizard.net and let me know what you think. Send your tips or sites to feature. Credit will be given where due. I'll probably do this page more like a standard blog with the latest entry first. Then, again, I have trouble with that format. Like I said, things are pretty fluid here right now.

Friday, September 15, 2006     Stainless!

As you can see, if you happened to chance upon this site yesterday or this morning, things they are a changin'. There is now a navigation bar at the right. Nothing actually works, other than a page to tell you it doesn't work. Soon, I promise.

Tip of the Day: I know this is an old one, but I thought it warranted repeating for those eleven or so people who don't already know this tidbit.To remove onion or other strong cooking odors from your hands, wash them with soap and water, dry thoroughly, then rub them front and back on something made of stainless steel. This can be a pot, a mixing bowl, (carefully) a chef's knife, or anything else made of stainless steel. There are even stainless steel "soap bars" available at Wal-Mart and other places, so apparently this knowledge is becoming common. Adding to the common, I am, yours truly.

Link of the Day: One of my dearest online friends is Liberty Frederick. Liberty's blog is a true delight. She is one of the best and most interesting writers on the web today, in my not-so-humble opinion. Go back and read the archives from the beginning. She's a lovely, interesting person. Her husband, kids and neighbors, seen through the lens of her wit and sensibilities, are marvelous characters in an ever-evolving story of life on planet California. Enjoy! I'm sure you will

Right now I'm just copying one day's entry, then editing it for the new day. Sometime next week, I'll have a batch of templates and macros set up to make it quicker, easier, and less subject to unwanted deviations. I'll make at least some of the other pages function, too. I'll be playing around with the format, too, until I get it the way I want it. All is flux.

Saturday, September 16, 2006     Buying External Hard Drives

Hard drives have gotten incredibly cheaper in the past few years. It's a good thing, too, with all the software in the world taking up more and more space and digital camera creating bigger and bigger picture files. Today's tip is something to consider when buying an external hard drive.

Tip of the Day: When buying an external hard drive, there are two things to consider. First, you need to decide whether you want USB 2.0, Firewire, or both. USB 2.0 is marginally faster than Firewire, but if you have several other USB devices on the bus, you may want to opt for Firewire. Second, try to check out the drive in operation before you buy. I bought an external drive online and when I got it hooked up and running, I found that the thin-walled enclosure and fan made it noisier than all the other parts of my computer system, combined!

Link of the Day: Have you ever changed computers or set up an older machine and found that the latest and greatest program won't run on it, or installed new software only to find you didn't like it as well as the older version? Well, then, it's OldVersion.com to the rescue. As they say, Newer isn't always better.""

I've gotten no feedback so far about this site. Of course it's only been around three days now, and I've not put it out there anywhere, so I should perhaps wait and see if anyone responds. Please write. Let me know what you think. Let me know what you want to see here. Send tips and links. Thanks!

Sunday, September 17, 2006     Jump!

I recently had to give my son a jump when his battery died after the car sat during his shift at work with the lights on. Today's tip is useful information so if you're giving or getting a jump you won't have to call AAA or your mechanic.

Tip of the Day: When jumping a car's battery, there are some safety procedures you need to observe. First, position the cars close but not touching, as having a multi-point ground between the two vehicles may be dangerous to both you and the automobiles. Be sure to put both cars in park and set the brake. Now, AAA recommends that both cars have the ignition and all accessories turned off. However, if you're not confident of your battery's ability to start two cars in quick succession, I've never encountered a problem with the car providing the power to be running during the operation. When you connect the cables, connect the positive first, unless the cars use a positive ground, in which case, connect the negative first. Connect to the live battery first. Then connect the negative cable to the live battery's negative terminal. Now, here's the important part: Do Not connect to the negative terminal of the dead battery. Attach the other end of the negative cable to the alternator housing, the engine block or frame of the car being jumped. Let it set for at least 20 seconds before cranking the starter. If it doesn't start on the first attempt, let it sit for a couple minutes before trying again. Once the car is running, wait 30 seconds, then disconnect the cables in the reverse order. (partial information from Journeys, September/October 2006 issue, published by AAA.)

Link of the Day: If you use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to tweak your digital photographs or for any other nefarious purpose, it might pay dividends to make a trip to Planet Photoshop. Tutorials abound, along with advice, information and camaraderie with other Photoshop geeks. Don't expect a whole lot in the way of writing style, however. You know how those visually-oriented folks are. . .

If you want to come directly to the most recent entry in this blog, you should use this address: www.primarywizard.net/index.html#today or Click here to add this page to your list of Favorites. (Internet Explorer users only). In the foreseeable future I will add a method or device to travel directly to any day's entry you so choose. Until the next. . .

Monday, September 18, 2006     Anyone still use film?

I have a pretty nice film camera or two, but with the advent of digital photography, they don't get a lot of use. I've been pretty much just using them with some old film that I inherited from a friend who moved out of the country. The film is so far out of date I wonder if it's even worth the bother. Who knows? When you're going for art instead of snapshots even bad film can work out well through the magic of happy accidents.

Tip of the Day: If you still use a film camera and plan to scan your photographs to e-mail to friends and family or for whatever other purpose, be sure to have the prints made on glossy paper. The matte paper is actually pretty shiny too, but it's made to look matte by way of an irregular surface. This surface will reflect the intense light of the cold cathode tube in your scanner and create more random "noise" than can be easily be gotten rid of. Glossy just looks better anyway.

Link of the Day: Think you don't really care for ukulele music? Think again: Jake Shimabukuro will make a believer out of you. If you feel so inclined after watching Jake burn up the strings, go to the menu on the right hand side of the page (you may have to scroll down to see it) and try out some of the other ukulele virtuosos with their varied styles and sometimes offbeat senses of humor. Great stuff for a rainy afternoon.

Rollin' right along. . .

Wednesday, September 20, 2006     Sock it to me!

Okay, so I'll miss a day every now and then. So shoot me. Today I'm sitting at home, having had to repair some damage to my computer environment from an unknown source. The power dropped out for a few seconds a while ago and I had visions of my hard drives all getting confused and my losing even my backups. I suppose I should do weekly or at least monthly image copies. That's a lot of hassle though.

Tip of the Day: Does your dryer eat socks? Do Jimmie's socks end up in Dad's drawer? Here's an easy fix for both problems. Buy a lingerie bag for each family member. A different color for each person would be good if possible. Otherwise, use a laundry marker to differentiate among the various owners. Have each person put their dirt socks in their bags. When laundry day arrives, just toss the zipped up bags in the washer and voila! no lost socks, no mix up. There's the added benefit that you can probably get everyone to mate their own socks too. Variations: two bags for each person, one to use while the other is in the laundry room; or one for dark and one for white.

Link of the Day: Now and then a really delicious mystery comes along. To me, and apparently to a lot of other people, The Voynich Manuscript is one of those mysteries. I originally got interested in it because of the indecipherable writing, but the thing as a whole fascinates me now. Do a web search on Voynich to see what all you can find. The original manuscript is kept in the Yale University Library.

Yesterday it was in the low 80's in some places around here. Right now it's 55 degrees. Fall fell.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006     Weed Eradication

Be sure to check out my ide-a.net blog for a look at what happens in your lawn when you're not paying attention.

Tip of the Day: A strong saltwater solution will work as well as expensive defoliants to kill grass and weeds in sidewalk cracks and other places where you don't want things growing. It just takes a little longer to bump them off, and you really have to be careful not to spray where you might want anything else to grow, ever! Also, pay heed to drainage, as rain may migrate the salt to unwanted spaces. If you're spraying saltwater for weeds, try to do it in a time where there will be no rain for several days afterward, as rain can wash the salt away and lessen the effect. As with all weed-killers, be careful not to get it where you don't want it.

Link of the Day: Does your creativity need a jump start? Need something to do on a cold winter day? Want to try something a little different to shake yourself out of the doldrums. A dear online friend of mine saw that I needed some or all of the above and sent me a link to Learning To Love You More. I'm not sure where the name came from but the site has a list of projects or "assignments" that you can do to stimulate the old creative juices. Try it out. It might surprise you.

I still can't find my file of handy hints. No one has seen fit as yet to contribute their wisdom to this site, so it looks like I'm on my own. I'll try to do better and put something up every day, even if it's just a notice saying, "screw this, I can't think of anything."

Wednesday, September 27, 2006     More is Less

I'm still waiting to hear from site viewers. Send me your hints, tips, ideas, links, whatever. I'll give credit where credit is due.

Tip of the Day: To save money on energy spent running your freezer, keep it as full as possible. When there are only a few items in the freezer compartment, you're constantly having to re-chill the air. When the freezer is full, there's less air to cool and the solid blocks of food stay cold better than the air. If you don't have enough frozen goods to keep the freezer full, stuffing it with plastic jugs or bottles of water will help. A full freezer can save up to 1/3 of the electricity cost of running the beast.

Link of the Day: Still stalking inspiration? Then why not try Daydreaming On Paper? Start with the Beginner's page then go from there. This site might not be everyone's cup of tea, but some people like fruit juice.

Fall is here. The leaves will soon be changing. I can hardly wait. Colorful forests, football, cold pillows! -- what's not to like?

Friday, September 29, 2006     Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

No, I've not lost my mind. Well, actually, maybe I have, but that's neither here nor there. Soon the cold weather will be on us, unless Global Warming overtakes the season, in which case, disregard today's tip until the next ice age.

Tip of the Day: A few days ago I posted a tip about using saltwater as a defoliant. Well, folks, the same effect can be had on your grass when, in winter, you use rock salt or calcium chloride ice melt on your sidewalks. When it melts -- saltwater! This can seep into the soil and stunt or kill off the grass or other plants growing near the walkways. Instead of using rock salt or traditional ice melt, go to your local garden supply store and get a big bag of Urea fertilizer. It will melt the ice off your walks and drives, albeit a little slower than salt, but with the added benefit of not only not harming the vegetation, but giving it a boost. Urea is good for grasses and broadleaf plants. Greens things up nicely. Urea is good down to about 15 degrees. Colder than that, you'll still have to use something a little nastier, but if you've already been using Urea before it gets that cold, it should keep the damage to a minimum.

Link of the Day: I never had real Legos when I was a kid. I never had an erector set either. Something I am still resentful about. *pout* I wonder what I would have created with Legos? Surely not something as elaborate as the Abston Church of Christ.

I used to love building toys. I had a small set of "bricks" similar to legos but not quite the same, Lincoln Logs, and Tinkertoys. A couple of my friends had Erector Sets and I really wanted the most elaborate one there was. These friends have gone on to be Medical Researchers, world renowned scientists, and engineers. And her I am: purveyor of web sites, hack artist and photographer, and confused philosopher. Mom! You should have got me the Erector Set!

Oh, by the way, all the pages on this site are working now. There are a couple where there's nothing really there, but there is a notice to that effect at least. The submission form works now, so lets get those handy hints coming in. I can't be the next Heloise if you don't help!

Monday, October 2, 2006     Something's Burning!

. . . and I don't think it's love. We're into forest fire season around here and in many parts of the country. Today's tip is more of an admonition.

Tip of the Day: If you burn brush or trash out of doors, find out when fire season starts and ends. Make the effort to learn when, where, and what you can burn outside. Also be sure you know the safety rules for burning. All this information can vary from place to place, but this much remains a constant: never leave a refuse fire unattended, have a method ready at hand to extinguish the fire if it gets out of hand, and if there's a wind blowing, don't burn! More than half of the forest fires in West Virgnia last year were the result of a refuse burn that got out of hand.

Link of the Day: Fun, creative thinking, and just plain idiocy, it's The Lair of the Crab of Infinite Wisdom. Can't beat that for a name!

I'll probably peel off some of this stuff and stick it in the archives soon. I'm not sure how much I want to keep on the current page, but I'm fairly sure I don't want more than a dozen or so entries to accumulate before they get passed down to deeper catacombs.