June 30, 2009
Battle of Monmouth 2009
June 29, 2009
April 22, 2009
Broken Camera...broken dreams!
Okay so perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic, but I'm still devastated to announce that my beloved digital camera has broken. Our lovely camera inexplicably broke sometime tonight between last night when we went to bed and this afternoon when we got home from work.
As I said...inexplicable.
So this does pose a bit of a problem because Ronny and I are going on a few trips in June. (more on that later) and we NEED to capture the events on digital film. Plus our funny baby dog is always doing something that should be documented for the ages.
So now the camera hunt begins again, Ron's only request is that the display be larger than the current one. More specifically "you know the same size as the one Rose has". So the search is on...
As I said...inexplicable.
So this does pose a bit of a problem because Ronny and I are going on a few trips in June. (more on that later) and we NEED to capture the events on digital film. Plus our funny baby dog is always doing something that should be documented for the ages.
So now the camera hunt begins again, Ron's only request is that the display be larger than the current one. More specifically "you know the same size as the one Rose has". So the search is on...
March 25, 2009
Upgrading Our Computer!
I've recently fallen into an interesting activity. Modernizing our computer! I'll talk about some of the things I've added so that it might inspire you to do this too. It's easy and kind of fun!
Many people probably purchase a whole new PC when a component or something becomes slow or obsolete. In the very least they take it to the store to get the new parts. When I was looking to replace our video card (this is what the monitor plugs into on the tower) I realized how easy it was to add new components and in effect make your computer almost new again! The best thing of all is how much you save doing it yourself and the obvious savings from not buying a new PC.
It's amazing what you can learn from the internet and Youtube. There are many many websites all about changing anything and everything within your computer and youtube has an instructional video on how to do just about all of it.
The most difficult issue though is simply figuring out which parts are compatible with your system. The best sources for that are your computer manual and your computer manufacturer (Dell, HP etc) Find you computer's manual online by typing your model number and "manual" into google.
I installed a 512mb video card which required me to also update the power supply to something around 500 watts. (old one was 350watts)
Opening up the PC was a bit intimidating at first but replacing the power supply was actually very good for familiarizing myself with everything in there. That is because the power supply is directly connected to just about everything inside. I was able to learn where just about everything was because of that.
The actual installation of the video card was simple. It's just matter of unplugging the old and putting in the new.
Just this week I made a new upgrade by increasing our RAM. This is your computers multitasking power. Having a lot of it will make for faster boot up, faster loading of programs, and less lagging if a lot of programs are open.
The exciting thing about this is it's SOOOO cheap and simple. Figuring out which RAM to buy is the only confusing part; again, it's all online. PCmemorystore.com is what I used. They have an easy interface that tells you what's compatible and appear to have the best prices. For a second opinion your PC manufacturer should also provide this in the support section of their website.
For $30 i was able to triple our RAM, from 1-3gig. Updating RAM is probably the easiest and cheapest way to significantly upgared your computer.
My next task is installing a second hard drive. The one that came with the computer, 80gig, is almost full. Hard drive space is so cheap; I can get 250gig for $45!
The ironic thing about all this is the original reason I started doing all this was so that our computer was modern enough to handle a particular video game that was coming out. Well for other reasons the game won't start up! Figures! Luckily i didn't pay full price. Oh well, at least i learned something HA!
-Ron
January 24, 2009
Inauguration Photos
We uploaded our photos to our shutterfly account. I think the following link should take you there. SHUTTERFLY LINK
January 20, 2009
President Obama!! Our Day Experiencing History
Well, we made it! What an odyssey!! Our alarm went off at 5 am and in my sleepy stupor i tried to snooze but Nikki snapped me out of it. We were on the road in the dark by 5:30. Rt. 66 was pretty clear until about two miles from the Vienna Metro station. At which point we ran into bumper to bumper traffic. We had the local radio station on and they were really hyping the parking situation and crowds. They were saying some smaller metro stops were filled to parking capacity already at 6:20am and insinuating that Vienna and others were near capacity. In order to exit rt 66 you had to be in the far right lane, which wasn't moving. Nikki suggested pulling out to skip some people. I eventually did this and thank goodness I did! I managed to sneak back into line at the exit...it must have saved close to an hour of waiting and quite possibly our ability to park!
So we pulled in and got a spot. The metro was supposed to be charging 4 bucks cash but apparently they abandoned this and we pulled right in free of charge. We waited on line about 30 minutes just to enter the station. When we got on the train it was already standing room only! The ride in was certainly the low point of the day. UGH! 2 of the slowest hours standing in awkward positions in the most crowded train i have ever scene!
All sorts of metro stops on or near the mall were closed due to over crowding or security so we ended up exiting early at MetroCenter...we didn't particularly mind it anyway; we were dying to get off the train. We started our trek following the sea of people to the Mall. We took lots of pictures of the crowds, you'd think the city was evacuating or something, crazy! But the one aspect of the crowds that stayed constant from beginning to end was their positive demeanor. We never saw anyone being rude, pushing, yelling, fighting or vandalizing. Everyone was just happy to take their time and experience this event with like minded people. Everyone was patient, happy, excited and friendly.
We finally made it to the edge of the Mall at the Washington Monument.(about 19th St) I think it must have been around 11am by this point. There we ran into a reporter with the Financial Times. She interviewed us for at least 10 minutes and we were excited to answer her questions! Our reward was some of my comments showing up in their inaugural report!! Too bad we both didn't make it, Nikki said some good things. Financial Times interview link (See paragraph 4th from the bottom.)
We ended up staying put immediately left of the Washington Monument facing the Capital. There was a jumbo tron and sound system so we were able to hear and see everything. It was funny experiencing this with thousands of others. Whenever Obama or some prominent Democrat was shown cheers would erupt from the crowd. As soon as Bush or Cheney would be shown booos would fly.
During his oath the crowd was quiet as a mouse up to the "So help me God", at which point the crowd went wild! Again the crowd was quiet and still when he gave his speech. I'm not really sure how to explain the experience other than it was extremely powerful and memorable.
SO...then the speech was over and the hard part began...now what do we do! We followed the flow of humanity up all the way to Georgetown. Many streets were closed by the National Guard so we were really forced up there. We ended up having a much needed rest at Zed's for lunch. We then browsed a small bookstore to let the crowds thin and then by about 3:30pm we made our attempt for the metro thinking the crowds may have thinned...uhhh no. We couldn't even enter the system, there were huge lines to enter at the Foggy Bottom and Farragut stops. In desperation we attempted to take the Metro Bus to Rosslyn but after waiting about 35 minutes for a bus that's supposed to come every 15 minutes we made another trek to the McPherson stop. There we found luck, no lines at all!!! I have no idea why it was so uncrowded, the other stops still had lines above ground!
With the memory of the morning still fresh in our mind we were determined to get a seat for the ride back to Vienna. However, every train that came by going to Vienna was standing room only. Nikki had the bright idea to go the opposite direction, go above all the activity and then hop onto the empty train near the beginning of the line. This worked perfectly! There were plenty of seats. By the time we made it to Vienna at 7:15pm it was close to being as packed as it was this morning.
By 7:45pm we were in our room again. We went over to Golden Corral for dinner again and now we can relax! Phew what a day! It flew by and is an event that Nikki and I will never forget!! It's something that we wouldn't look forward to doing anytime soon, but are definitely happy we went! :)
Tomorrow it's a change in our Obama theme. We're off to Manassas National Battlefield and then home.
So we pulled in and got a spot. The metro was supposed to be charging 4 bucks cash but apparently they abandoned this and we pulled right in free of charge. We waited on line about 30 minutes just to enter the station. When we got on the train it was already standing room only! The ride in was certainly the low point of the day. UGH! 2 of the slowest hours standing in awkward positions in the most crowded train i have ever scene!
All sorts of metro stops on or near the mall were closed due to over crowding or security so we ended up exiting early at MetroCenter...we didn't particularly mind it anyway; we were dying to get off the train. We started our trek following the sea of people to the Mall. We took lots of pictures of the crowds, you'd think the city was evacuating or something, crazy! But the one aspect of the crowds that stayed constant from beginning to end was their positive demeanor. We never saw anyone being rude, pushing, yelling, fighting or vandalizing. Everyone was just happy to take their time and experience this event with like minded people. Everyone was patient, happy, excited and friendly.
We finally made it to the edge of the Mall at the Washington Monument.(about 19th St) I think it must have been around 11am by this point. There we ran into a reporter with the Financial Times. She interviewed us for at least 10 minutes and we were excited to answer her questions! Our reward was some of my comments showing up in their inaugural report!! Too bad we both didn't make it, Nikki said some good things. Financial Times interview link (See paragraph 4th from the bottom.)
We ended up staying put immediately left of the Washington Monument facing the Capital. There was a jumbo tron and sound system so we were able to hear and see everything. It was funny experiencing this with thousands of others. Whenever Obama or some prominent Democrat was shown cheers would erupt from the crowd. As soon as Bush or Cheney would be shown booos would fly.
During his oath the crowd was quiet as a mouse up to the "So help me God", at which point the crowd went wild! Again the crowd was quiet and still when he gave his speech. I'm not really sure how to explain the experience other than it was extremely powerful and memorable.
SO...then the speech was over and the hard part began...now what do we do! We followed the flow of humanity up all the way to Georgetown. Many streets were closed by the National Guard so we were really forced up there. We ended up having a much needed rest at Zed's for lunch. We then browsed a small bookstore to let the crowds thin and then by about 3:30pm we made our attempt for the metro thinking the crowds may have thinned...uhhh no. We couldn't even enter the system, there were huge lines to enter at the Foggy Bottom and Farragut stops. In desperation we attempted to take the Metro Bus to Rosslyn but after waiting about 35 minutes for a bus that's supposed to come every 15 minutes we made another trek to the McPherson stop. There we found luck, no lines at all!!! I have no idea why it was so uncrowded, the other stops still had lines above ground!
With the memory of the morning still fresh in our mind we were determined to get a seat for the ride back to Vienna. However, every train that came by going to Vienna was standing room only. Nikki had the bright idea to go the opposite direction, go above all the activity and then hop onto the empty train near the beginning of the line. This worked perfectly! There were plenty of seats. By the time we made it to Vienna at 7:15pm it was close to being as packed as it was this morning.
By 7:45pm we were in our room again. We went over to Golden Corral for dinner again and now we can relax! Phew what a day! It flew by and is an event that Nikki and I will never forget!! It's something that we wouldn't look forward to doing anytime soon, but are definitely happy we went! :)
Tomorrow it's a change in our Obama theme. We're off to Manassas National Battlefield and then home.
January 19, 2009
Ron & Nikki Go To Washington - Part Deux
Well Ron and I are finally home after a long day in Washington D.C. Winded, weary and slightly smelly but alive and thoroughly exhausted. We began the day after breakfast (by the way, craaaapppy breakfast at this hotel, continental deluxe my butt) by heading over to the Vienna metro station to buy our tickets for both today's activities and for the Big Day.
We got there around 10:30 and were shocked to see HUGE lines already just to purchase the tickets. (**side note, the camera was left at our hotel room today...I know....sigh...I know...we did make up for it by buying a disposable to capture all the happenings of this afternoon but still, ugh!) Anyway after about a 30 minute wait we got our tickets and boarded the metro train headed towards New Carollton (sp?) and amazingly we actually got a seat.
(One day if you get a chance please do ask me for a diatribe on the cleanliness and efficiency of the Washington D.C Metro System, I have many complimentary things to say...) After a pretty uneventful ride we popped out in the middle of the mall into a crowd of Obama supporters. I can only describe the atmosphere as incredibly festive, hopeful and truly joyful. People are excited, both to be in D.C for the inauguration but just to be with people who, at least for these few days, are of a like mind.
Ron made the comment this afternoon that the 'republicans are hiding' and frankly it seems to be true because its so hard to find anyone without an Obama pin, button, hat, bag, scarf etc. People are asking each other where they're from (our polling shows mostly Atlanta for some reason, although we met people from Alabama, Tennesee too), some folks are recording short interviews of other attendees (Ron and myself were interviewed) to show who those couldn't make it what it was like.
The other thing I love is that there are SOOOO many children here! Everywhere you look are these kids who will be watching what happens tomorrow with wide, learning eyes. It will forever change the way they view the world and I'm so happy their parents brought them!
And then... we went to the museum of American history. Which is a big ol new museum, however the crowds sort of put a damper on the trip. Ah well...I don't really feel like talking about it. Here... you can go to the website if you want more info: americanhistory.si.edu.
Celebrity Count - 3
So there are mountains of news and press people here, while we haven't yet seen the elusive Silver Fox (Anderson Cooper) we did spot Soledad O'Brian of CNN, Chris Mathews and Pat Buchanan from MSNBC. Tomorrow we will continue our Fox hunt and hopefully we will have a Cooper spotting to report.
So inconclusion, things are great here, people are happy and relaxed and just filled with hope and (dare I say it..) patriotism. That's all from the front...update on the BIG DAY tomorrow!
We got there around 10:30 and were shocked to see HUGE lines already just to purchase the tickets. (**side note, the camera was left at our hotel room today...I know....sigh...I know...we did make up for it by buying a disposable to capture all the happenings of this afternoon but still, ugh!) Anyway after about a 30 minute wait we got our tickets and boarded the metro train headed towards New Carollton (sp?) and amazingly we actually got a seat.
(One day if you get a chance please do ask me for a diatribe on the cleanliness and efficiency of the Washington D.C Metro System, I have many complimentary things to say...) After a pretty uneventful ride we popped out in the middle of the mall into a crowd of Obama supporters. I can only describe the atmosphere as incredibly festive, hopeful and truly joyful. People are excited, both to be in D.C for the inauguration but just to be with people who, at least for these few days, are of a like mind.
Ron made the comment this afternoon that the 'republicans are hiding' and frankly it seems to be true because its so hard to find anyone without an Obama pin, button, hat, bag, scarf etc. People are asking each other where they're from (our polling shows mostly Atlanta for some reason, although we met people from Alabama, Tennesee too), some folks are recording short interviews of other attendees (Ron and myself were interviewed) to show who those couldn't make it what it was like.
The other thing I love is that there are SOOOO many children here! Everywhere you look are these kids who will be watching what happens tomorrow with wide, learning eyes. It will forever change the way they view the world and I'm so happy their parents brought them!
And then... we went to the museum of American history. Which is a big ol new museum, however the crowds sort of put a damper on the trip. Ah well...I don't really feel like talking about it. Here... you can go to the website if you want more info: americanhistory.si.edu.
Celebrity Count - 3
So there are mountains of news and press people here, while we haven't yet seen the elusive Silver Fox (Anderson Cooper) we did spot Soledad O'Brian of CNN, Chris Mathews and Pat Buchanan from MSNBC. Tomorrow we will continue our Fox hunt and hopefully we will have a Cooper spotting to report.
So inconclusion, things are great here, people are happy and relaxed and just filled with hope and (dare I say it..) patriotism. That's all from the front...update on the BIG DAY tomorrow!
January 18, 2009
The Butkiewicz's Go To Washington
Well, actually, I guess Virginia! Well we're here and the ride in was a breeze. I hope to make daily updates thanks to our free Wi-Fi.
We hit absolutely no traffic. For dinner we went to The Golden Corral, a local buffet chain. It was very good and very popular! Golden Corral website
Driving down I-95 was interesting because we were constantly seeing cars with Obama stickers. It was obvious they were doing exactly what we were doing because they represented various states.
Our hotel room at the Quality Inn in small but nice. The local news is all about the concert at the Lincoln Memorial. We watched it on HBO, nice show and whoa, lots of people! Guess it shows what we have to look forward too on Tuesday.
Tomorrow we intend to go into DC, check the mall out, check out the capital if possible and visit the Museum of American History.
We hit absolutely no traffic. For dinner we went to The Golden Corral, a local buffet chain. It was very good and very popular! Golden Corral website
Driving down I-95 was interesting because we were constantly seeing cars with Obama stickers. It was obvious they were doing exactly what we were doing because they represented various states.
Our hotel room at the Quality Inn in small but nice. The local news is all about the concert at the Lincoln Memorial. We watched it on HBO, nice show and whoa, lots of people! Guess it shows what we have to look forward too on Tuesday.
Tomorrow we intend to go into DC, check the mall out, check out the capital if possible and visit the Museum of American History.
January 9, 2009
YAY Bear!
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