Google Earth

Jim did his Google Earth seminar yesterday and I’m starting to understand it enough to get hooked! Someone today came up and asked if you could use Google Earth to look at a river and see if it would be a good area to paddle. You know, no dams, no waterfalls, stuff like that.

What a good idea!

We are planning to paddle the Peace River this Sunday (our good friend, Marie, is coming to visit) and we want to do a little more distance than the last time.

Here is a video recording – a ’screencast’ - of me using Google Earth to decide exactly where to paddle on the Peace River.

Blog Migration Successful!

Whew! Y’never know when it’s gonna be you that gets stuck in a computer quagmire with something like a server migration such as the Blogger conversion. It took about an hour and a half. I didn’t have to do anything but wait, but it was a nervous time.

Next, I’m supposed to pick a new, upgraded template. One step at a time. I’ll wait an read some more. Maybe I’ll upgrade the template tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the main feature I was looking forward to is already available to me. It’s called labels and it acts as a way to categorize all my Blog posts by topics that I define. I occassionally debate about whether this is a personal blog (about family, friends, RVing and Travel) or a business blog (about computer stuff). In Jim’s and my life, we love what we do and we do what we love, the line between personal and work is very blurry, so we write about it all. We’ve been keeping this blog for over 3 years now and it would be nice to click on ‘WiFi’ and see all the posts we’ve written about WiFi. Click on RVing and see all the posts that have been specifically about the RV lifestyle etc. That’s what ‘Labels’ are for, and I see the place on my screen right now to put labels on this post. I think I’ll categorize this post as ‘Computer’ and ‘Blogs’. Then, I’ll start categorizing all my old posts and see how far I get.

Blogger migration

Out with the old, in with the new. This seems to be a good time to migrate this blog to the new version of Blogger. I’ve backed it up every conceivable way, and I’ve been reading all the forum messages about other people’s experiences. Lots of folks have had smooth migrations, taking just a few minutes and continuing on as if nothing had happened. Others have had 2-3 day ordeals. And a few have lost the ability to post to their blogs at all. So … I figured I’d post this notice. If this blog is missing in action for a few days – don’t worry, I’m working on it. If the worst happens, just go to our home page at www.jimandchris.com or www.geeksontour.com. Both of those have links to ‘Blog’ and I will post information there about what happened.

Water in the River

It looks like we picked a good time to be away from Peace River. The whole area was under Tornado watch most of the day on Christmas. To accomodate everyone for Christmas dinner, the park erected a big tent over part of the parking area. We expected to see that blown away when we got back, but it was still there. We were told that it was touch and go at a few points though.

They *did* get a lot of rain though, which means water in the river! The river has been too low to paddle so far this winter, but now it looks good. Here is the view of the river from our bench, just last week:

and, here is the same approximate spot today:

That water level will definitely ‘float our boats’!

Christmas Day

It was a very warm day – even for Florida. We like that!

We got up at 6:30 and went with my Mom to see the sunrise at the beach.

This has been tradition with a group of folks from our dive club for many years. A nice tradition.

Then, in the afternoon, we went to Jim’s sister’s in West Palm Beach to share a ‘Turducken’ Christmas dinner with 4 generations!

What’s ‘Turducken’? You might ask. That’s TURkey, DUCK, chickEN. Amazing the work that must go into this thing. They take all the bones out of a turkey and lay it out flat. Then spread stuffing on top. They take all the bones out of a duck and lay it on next. Then more stuffing. Then a boned chicken. They it gets rolled back up into something resembling the original turkey. When it’s cooked, you cut it like a cake and it has layers. Quite yummy.

Then we drove 3 hours back to Peace River. Long day.
Today we just veg’d. Finished a couple books. Watched a movie.

It’s a Wonderful Life

We had our ‘Movie Night’ here at the park last night. It was a beautiful night to sit outside, munch popcorn, drink wine, and watch a movie. Jim discovered a better sound system to hook up to his computer, so, there were even people soaking in the hot tub that could hear and watch the movie! The ‘wet’ seats.

We showed ‘It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart. I think it’s required viewing for the week before Christmas! I hadn’t seen it in several years … it really is good.

Next week is Pirates of the Carribbean! Arrrrr! I’ll watch Johnny Depp in anything! Over and over. We’ve lined up our Thursday night shows for January too.
Contact
In Her Shoes
Starman
Walk the Line

These are DVDs we happen to have. We may need to supplement our library come February.

We’re leaving tomorrow to spend Christmas with family in Fort Lauderdale.
Best wishes for a Wonderful Life to all of you!

It’s a Wonderful Life

We had our ‘Movie Night’ here at the park last night. It was a beautiful night to sit outside, munch popcorn, drink wine, and watch a movie. Jim discovered a better sound system to hook up to his computer, so, there were even people soaking in the hot tub that could hear and watch the movie! The ‘wet’ seats.

We showed ‘It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart. I think it’s required viewing for the week before Christmas! I hadn’t seen it in several years … it really is good.

Next week is Pirates of the Carribbean! Arrrrr! I’ll watch Johnny Depp in anything! Over and over. We’ve lined up our Thursday night shows for January too.
Contact
In Her Shoes
Starman
Walk the Line

These are DVDs we happen to have. We may need to supplement our library come February.

We’re leaving tomorrow to spend Christmas with family in Fort Lauderdale.
Best wishes for a Wonderful Life to all of you!

It’s a Wonderful Life

We had our ‘Movie Night’ here at the park last night. It was a beautiful night to sit outside, munch popcorn, drink wine, and watch a movie. Jim discovered a better sound system to hook up to his computer, so, there were even people soaking in the hot tub that could hear and watch the movie! The ‘wet’ seats.

We showed ‘It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart. I think it’s required viewing for the week before Christmas! I hadn’t seen it in several years … it really is good.

Next week is Pirates of the Carribbean! Arrrrr! I’ll watch Johnny Depp in anything! Over and over. We’ve lined up our Thursday night shows for January too.
Contact
In Her Shoes
Starman
Walk the Line

These are DVDs we happen to have. We may need to supplement our library come February.

We’re leaving tomorrow to spend Christmas with family in Fort Lauderdale.
Best wishes for a Wonderful Life to all of you!

Sittin’ on the Bench of the Bank

The nature trail here at Peace River follows the river and there is a well-placed bench about in the middle where you can sit and watch the river go by. I took a couple hours yesterday and did just that. A beautiful, meditative afternoon.

Odie came with me of course.

This guy was on the other bank, so we could watch him safely. He (or she) didn’t move the whole 2 hours.

The turtles are more nervous. You had to be very quiet to keep them from splashing into the river.

I just love reflections.

Now, here’s a well-traveled cat!

For more scenes from Peace River, check out this movie that Jim made with Photo Story 3. He’s giving a seminar on using PhotoStory3 this week, so he’s been practicin’! Click the picture below to play the movie. It takes a minute to load because it uses a different format than the videos I make. It’s not too long though.

Sittin’ on the Bench of the Bank

The nature trail here at Peace River follows the river and there is a well-placed bench about in the middle where you can sit and watch the river go by. I took a couple hours yesterday and did just that. A beautiful, meditative afternoon.

Odie came with me of course.

This guy was on the other bank, so we could watch him safely. He (or she) didn’t move the whole 2 hours.

The turtles are more nervous. You had to be very quiet to keep them from splashing into the river.

I just love reflections.

Now, here’s a well-traveled cat!

For more scenes from Peace River, check out this movie that Jim made with Photo Story 3. He’s giving a seminar on using PhotoStory3 this week, so he’s been practicin’! Click the picture below to play the movie. It takes a minute to load because it uses a different format than the videos I make. It’s not too long though.