Land Line Phone Alternative? + JR on TV

I want to get rid of our $40 AT&T land land phone plan.
Any suggestion to an alternative?

My nephew JR washed the dishes this evening so I get to relax and play games on my iPhone :) As he was washing, we saw him painting on Channel 7 News… Awesome!!!

Ed’s Drobo + Google Analytics…

3:14pm My coworker just got a Drobo!!!… I’m jealous… www.drobo.com #

6:07pm Learning how to use Google Analytics#

6:38pm Any suggestions on a free but detailed website analytics site?… I’m testing Google Analytics, but it’s complicated & not working for me… #

DVD/Blu-ray Player Suggestions?…

A couple days ago, my Mom expressed interest in playing her exercise videos in our living room TV since there is space there to move around (unlike our family room which is crowded). The problem is that her exercise videos are on VHS tape and we don’t have a VCR on that TV anymore.

BTW… I have been recording the TV program Sit and Be Fit for my Mom… Here she is exercising in the crowded family room. She was so adorable!

Exercising

I can reinstall the VCR in the living toom, but I’m thinking of getting a DVD (or Blu-ray) Player that will play DVDs. I also want it to be multifunctional… This is what I’m looking for:

– DVD or Blu-ray Player
– Can play DVD-R with burned H.264 video (.m4v)
– WiFi (built in, I don’t want to buy a separate USB WIFI receiver)
– Can play videos (mpeg1, mpeg2, mp4, m4v) on networked computers
– Can play videos on an attached USB drive
– Netflix Now Playing
– Old style composite video output (yellow)

Any one have any suggestions?

These are some that may qualify. I still need to research further:

LG BD570 ($250) >>
LG BD590 ($380) >>
Insignia NS-WBRDVD ($180) >>

Gurney’s Catalog…

Got my Gurney’s catalog in the mail today.
Get yours here: j.mp/aTWAPc

Are (Rusty) Cans Safe to Grow Edible Plants In?…

I saw a few of these cans near our storage in our backyard and I like how they look, rusted and all… My Mom has used these as a planter and dustpan.

I was wondering is it safe to use these as planters to grow vegetables? I didn’t know if the rust is bad/unsafe for vegetables and/or other edible plants.

Rusty Wafer Sticks Can

Gardens are a Form of Autobiography + Centella asiatica + Wild Radish + Peach Left Curl Question

  • 2:47am Wish List: Takip Kuhol (Centella asiatica) j.mp/9bRsYf #
  • 9:08am Gardens are a form of autobiography. ~Sydney Eddison #
  • 11:26am It [my garden] would say I’m a packrat and I will try to take care of any plants I can find… (but I love it!) j.mp/chsCtM #
  • 11:39am This morning, I saw white/pink Wild Radish flowers in bloom along the freeway near Solano Fairgrounds… #
  • 6:47pm Anyone know an organic method to get rid of Peach Leaf Curl?
    We have been manually picking the affected leaves off… j.mp/bOCwJN #

    Peach Leaf Curl Disease   Leaf Curl Removal

Plumcot? Pluot? Aprium?

I noticed some Plumcot, Pluot and Aprium scions at the last CRFG Scion Exchange… I know they are all Plum/Apricot crosses, but I wonder if there is a technical difference between the three… so I posted an inquiry at the California Rare Fruit Growers Facebook page.

I’ll update this post if I get any responses.

[Update Jan 25, 2010] Someone on Facebook responded with a link to Dilip Barman (dilipB) > Still Life > Plums, Apricots, Plumcots, Pluots®, and Apriums®

Plumcot = Plum x Apricot

Pluot® = Plumcot x Plum (2/3 plum and 1/3 apricot)

Arium® = Plumcot x Apricot (1/3 plum and 2/3 apricot)

*Pluot® and Aprium® are federally registered trademarks of Zaiger’s Inc. Genetics, Modesto, CA, for interspecifics that are complex hybrids of plum and apricot.

Eggplant and Zucchini Clay Pot…

My friends Howard and Bill gave me a clay pot for Christmas and I used it this evening for my first clay pot dish.

Eggplant and Zucchini Clay Pot

I actually cooked the eggplant and zucchini in a wok, then finished it in the heated clay pot. Ingredients include eggplant, zucchinni, oil, onions, ginger, garlic (lots of it), oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy suace, sesame oil and an egg.

Clay Pot Instructions

The clay pot came with these instructions in Japanese… which I can’t read… so if you can read this, can you translate it for me? :) Thanks in advance…

☉ I got some tips from Violet Oon in this YouTube video: Cantonese Chicken in a Clay Pot