August 2008 - Posts

Etc...
Thursday, August 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

For those of you who are old enough to remember, the days of video Pong are long gone. Don’t forget to add the numerous other games like Atari, Intellivision, Sega Genesis and Nintendo Entertainment System to the storage closet of your mind.

 

You may have thought that spending time in front of the TV with a video game controller was a just fading memory of your youth. Well, the Wii is about to change that. You no longer simply play video games. You now engage in a full-on gaming experience.

 

Introduced by Nintendo in September of 2006, Wii has arguably become the most popular game unit of the last 5 years. From grade schoolers to grandparents, it’s for people of all ages. According to Nintendo.com, there is a whole new reason to get together with family and friends. Wii can almost be considered the new millennium’s version of the classic board game.

 

Young players can choose from a variety of sports, racing, battle or fantasy games. Mature players might focus their energy on the newly released Wii Fit. This game is fun and easy way for those with all levels of fitness to get off the couch and start exercising. You can choose from 40 different activities and games that incorporate strength, aerobic, balance and yoga movements.

 

So, let the games begin and the whole family can have fun working up a sweat. The hardest part may be moving the furniture out of the way.

 

A few interesting facts about Wii:

  • According to Nintendo’s 2008 first quarter financial earnings statement, 29.62 million Wii consoles have been sold worldwide since being released.
  • The Gravity Fitness Center at Le Parker Meridian hotel in New York offers a one-hour Wii personal training session for about $120.
  • The Rehabilitation Center at the Cortland Regional Medical Center in Cortland, NY is using the Wii as a therapy tool with the clever name, Wii-hab.

Have you added Wii to your workout routine? Let us know!

by Katie | with no comments
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The Welcome Mat
Thursday, August 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Winterizing Your Home

While summer has just ended and the thought of much colder days seems far in the future, winter is coming and precautions should be taken to keep your home energy efficient during the coming months. Using the tips below can help reduce the heating bills of even those living in milder climates. 

 

Inspect your insulation

Since hot air rises, the best way to keep your house heated is to make sure it’s appropriately insulated. That way the heat can’t escape as easily. Check the insulation in your attic. If you can see the ceiling joists, you don’t have enough.

 

Seal up outdoor cracks

Inspect the outside perimeter of your house for cracks, especially around your windows and faucets. Gaps in these areas can let in a tremendous amount of cold air, which can send your heating bills soaring. Use standard caulking to seal up these areas.

 

Seal up indoor cracks

Just as outdoor cracks can let in a lot of cold air, indoor cracks can let out a lot of warm air. Using standard caulk, walk around your house and seal up any cracks around windows, perimeter walls, and electrical outlets. If your windows are drafty and new windows are not in the budget, purchase a window insulation kit. They are easy to install and can considerably reduce the draft.

 

Check your heating system

Have a professional come out to inspect your system every year to make sure it’s running efficiently. Also, have your ducts cleaned and your filters changed periodically throughout the winter months so dust doesn’t hinder your system’s effectiveness.

 

Another idea to consider is to purchase a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to set the temperature of the house for different times of the day. For example, you can set it to lower the temperature at 10pm, raise it at 6am and then lower it again at 8am, so you don’t have to worry about leaving the heat on too high while you’re at work.

 

Keep your hot water hot

Part of your utility bill is used toward providing hot water. By wrapping a blanket around your hot water heater and insulating your water pipes, you can help keep your hot water hot and lower your utility bill. These specialty blankets for the water heater and foam insulation tubes for the pipes can be purchased at your local hardware store.

by Katie | with no comments
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Media Mix
Thursday, August 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Operation Homecoming
Edited by Andrew Carroll

In 2003, The National Endowment of the Arts – with extensive cooperation with the U.S. Armed Forces – established Operation Homecoming, an initiative based on the question “what would happen if the nation fostered a conversation between its writers and its troops?”

 

More than 6,000 troops attended writing seminars taught by American authors such as Tom Clancy, Tobias Wolff and Judith Ortiz Cofer, then put fingers to keyboard to write about their wartime experiences. The result was Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, a collection of narratives, first-hand accounts, letters, e-mails and poems written by U.S. troops and their family members about the experience of war. 

 

Whether it’s the pilot taking off and landing under hostile fire, the infantryman passing the time by watching Jeeps crash into stealth potholes or the Marine tasked to move a live IED into his truck only to be told to return it a moment later, readers are exposed to the reality of war in frank and sometimes amusing prose.

 

The heart of the book – and the toughest to get through – is the Worlds Apart section. Dedicated mainly to letters and journals of the families left behind in the states, these entries get to the real cost of war and show in detail the hardship, loneliness and heartbreak family members endure while their loved ones are on deployment. After reading a mother’s account of the weeks following the death of her son in Iraq, it’s hard to not pause a little longer after hearing about the latest war casualties on the nightly news.

 

Despite widely disparate views on the current wars taking place overseas, Americans have uniformly come together to support the troops serving on those missions. Operation Homecoming provides us with a small but profound glimpse at the sacrifice those men and women make on behalf of all Americans.

 

Have you read Operation Homecoming, or do you have a story of your own to share? Tell us more.

by Katie | with no comments
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Etc...
Monday, August 18, 2008 2:07 PM

Build your own toys – xoddo.com

You design it; Xoddo® will bring it to life. Pronounced "zough-dough," Xoddo.com proclaims itself as, "the first online 'design it, build it, buy it' stuffed toy in history!"

Similar in nature to Build-A-Bear®, Xoddo.com allows users to build and purchase their very own one-of-a-kind stuffed creature. What makes a Xoddo® so unique is the virtually unlimited number of combinations that can be made simply by selecting body color, eyes, clothes, accessories and more. Building a Xoddo® allows for hours of creativity.

Created by illustrator and designer Russell Benfanti. Xoddo.com was made with children in mind. Not only is Xoddo.com safe and easy to use but it also allows the user to create and save as many Xoddos® as they want for free!

Once you've finally created the perfect creature, simply click on the Xoddo® you want to buy and click, "buy me now." It's that easy and each gets its own sequential ID number identifying it as unique. Xoddos® currently are available in two different sizes, standard size "Xoddo®" (9Hx10"W) priced at $28 and "The Beaner" (4½Hx5"W) for $18. All Xoddos® are handmade in the U.S. and usually take 10-14 from the order date to arrive.


Xoddos® aren't just for kids! Xoddo.com is also willing to work with your school or business to create bulk orders and put logos on a Xoddo® for giveaways, special events and trade shows.


Know someone who already owns a Xoddo®? Plan ordering a bunch for your school or business? We'd love to hear from you!

by Katie | with no comments
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Media Mix
Monday, August 18, 2008 2:01 PM



Get Smart – Another failed TV remake?

 

After the movie Bewitched bombed a few years ago, and Car 54, Where Are You? made maybe one person laugh a few years before that (I actually don't know – I haven't see either of them), I wasn't sure what to expect from Get Smart. Turning beloved TV shows into movies is risky…But thanks to the cast – namely Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, and Alan Arkin – Get Smart works.

 

Carell plays Maxwell Smart, a clumsy-yet-earnest analyst for secret agency CONTROL. After CONTROL headquarters is taken out by its Russian nemesis, KAOS, the cool-talkin' Chief (Arkin) promotes Maxwell to a field agent – Agent 86. He's paired with beautiful and capable Agent 99 (Hathaway) and the two take off for Russia to spy on KAOS agents and (attempt to) stop their anti-American terrorist activities. (The movie doesn't get too heavy into anti-Americanism, but KAOS is planning an attack on the President at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A.)  

 

Of course Carell delivers some good punch lines, but Hathaway holds her own. The two have a real chemistry and play off each other well. But, not all the jokes connect (I cringed when someone corrected the President with, "It's nuclear"), and some plot elements didn't make sense. Agent 99's plastic surgery back-story and failed romance with Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), for example, felt unnecessary.

 

Besides the expected comedy (and an unexpected cameo from a comedic veteran), there were also some surprisingly well done and fun action scenes.  The gadgets are fun, too, and we can't wait to see how Max will misuse his newest contraptions next – and how Agent 99 will get them out of this one. In the end it's Max's human compassion that saves them both.

 

Steve Carell plays the Clueless Try-hard well (also as Michael Scott in The Office). He's sort of an idiot, but a funny, likeable idiot, and so we want to see him succeed. And he does.

 

Have you seen Get Smart? Tell us if you agree with this review.

by Katie | with no comments
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The Welcome Mat
Monday, August 18, 2008 1:51 PM

It's berry picking season

It’s berry season again! Time to enjoy some delicious and nutritious cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, boysenberries, mulberries, strawberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants.

A fun, family summertime activity is to go to a farm and pick some yourself. Find a farm near you that accommodates guests picking from their canes and bushes. Many of these farms also feature other great attractions, such as hay rides and petting zoos.

Once you bring these fruits home, the possibilities are endless. You can put them on your breakfast cereal, make pies with them, dip them in chocolate, or can them. If you’re interested in canning, check out the college of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences of Ohio State University’s Web site. Once you’re there, click on the large food icon, and you’ll find in-depth, easy-to-understand articles on canning under the heading Food Preservation.

You could also make frozen fruit smoothies by combining in a blender:

·     A cup and a half of plain or vanilla yogurt
·     Two spoonfuls of skim milk
·     A half cup of oatmeal
·     A spoonful of wheat germ
·     A spoonful of sugar or sugar substitute
·     A couple of large berries

Blend this until it has the texture of ice cream, then start adding more berries, two or three at a time, giving the blender plenty of time to break up the frozen fruit. Combine until you have enough to fill two large glasses. Try adding some granola on top. It makes a healthy and delicious breakfast.

 

Have your own recipes or other berry ideas? Share them with us!

by Katie | with no comments
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Eco Friendly
Friday, August 01, 2008 2:35 PM

Go green and save green

Going green doesn’t have to mean installing expensive solar panels on your roof or purchasing hybrid cars. There are many free or low-cost ways to help the environment that actually save you money.

You can cut your paper costs in half and help save trees by e-mailing documents or posting them on the company intranet, instead of printing them. To minimize the impact of the paper you do use, buy products made from post-consumer recycled content; and when printing, reduce the margin size, print double-sided and select the “printer-friendly” option on Web sites.

To help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, encourage employees to walk or bike to work. For employees who live far, institute carpool incentive programs or subsidies for public transportation, or consider letting them telecommute on a part- or full-time basis. It is estimated that every employee who leaves his or her car at home two days a week saves an estimated 1,590 pounds of CO2 emissions annually.

By using energy-efficient products, you can lower your energy bills while helping to decrease the burning of fossil fuels. To help consumers to easily identify energy-efficient products, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy created the ENERGY STAR® program. ENERGY STAR® labels can be found on major appliances, office equipment, lighting, electronics and even on commercial and industrial buildings.

When you buy new products for your office, don’t forget to recycle your old ones. Landfills pollute the air, water and soil. Many retailers reward customers with coupons when they recycle ink and toner cartridges. Staples® also offers in-store recycling of cell phones, PDAs, computers, printers, fax machines and other office technology. Many retailers sell interesting and fun recycled products, such as the 75% recycled Zebra® Jimnie retractable ballpoint pen; the body of the pen is made from recycled car headlights and compact disks, the plastic tip from recycled cell-phones, and the internal tube from plastic shopping bags and car battery encasements.

By taking a leadership role in environmental issues, many organizations enhance their reputations and attract new customers. If we all do our part, we will preserve our planet for many future generations to enjoy.

by Katie | with no comments
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