"Interesting and Different" for supper

On the idea of "interesting and different", I fixed something a little "different" for supper. A 36oz can of white hominy, 15oz can of garbanzo beans, a pound of smoked sausage (1/4"-thick half-slices), and cajun seasonings (1/2 tsp each black pepper and paprika, 1 tbsp each dry chopped onion and jarred minced garlic, and 1/4tsp cayenne power). Simmered all but the sausage for probably 10min while cutting the sausage, then another 20min.

Never used hominy before, but got some for free - nobody else wanted it, and I didn't want to see it wasted. The out-of-the-can texture could be best compared to popcorn packed in water. It tastes like lumpy grits, so it actually works quite well with lots of stuff, just very different than regular corn. Made a really good down-home soup. I'll gladly get more hominy next time it comes up - for free anyway.

Chrome Laptop: Good battery life.

After allowing the laptop to stay on the charger overnight, I've been using it cordless for the past several hours (looking up directions and fixing baked unbreaded chicken wings). I've been at it for probably 1 1/2hr, and the battery status shows I've only used 12%.

10hrs battery life without sleeping? And with wireless enabled the whole time? Not bad, as an early rough estimate. If it handles sleeping like Windows CE/Mobile, it probably uses very little power while sleeping (remember, it has almost instant to/from sleep), and could probably go a week (or more) between charges with light use.

1 1/2hrs to fix some wings? Yea, I'm slow in the kitchen, but this included cleaning the wings/removing tips and the loose folds of skin, preheating the oven, cleaning out the dishwasher, etc. But not the actual baking - they're cooking now. I've got a timer app going in another tab, and a second instance of the app ready for after turning them.

And now that this post is done, the battery meter is down by another 1%. I'm also slow with typing and editing my thoughts. :)

Chrome OS

I just received a Google Chrome OS laptop, a small laptop that runs a beta (pre-release) version of the new Chrome OS operating system (which is redundant, I acknowledge - "OS" stands for "Operating System"...).

Initial notes: The outer box had nothing about what it was or what was inside, other than a warning that a lithium-ion battery was inside. The inner box box is covered with a diagram of what I must conclude is supposed to be a "better mousetrap." Inside were the unit, the battery, the charger, and two sheets of paper. The larger one only had a very brief overview on the buttons and info about the service (wifi and 3G, all info is automatically synced, apps are available frm the Chrome store). The smaller one had diagrams of how to install the battery, and how to plug in the charger, and a safety guide that was written to be fun to read. It actually said not to blend it, then commented that we'll never know if it will blend. Later it mentioned the operating temperature range, and said that it was redundant because they had already said not to bake it. Oh, and the larger page said that 3G service is included for two years with 100MB/mo, and additional plans are available. The only thing I'd question is that the smaller one said not to use it until the battery was charged - yea, right - I plugged it in to charge, then turned it on, letting it finish charging while I play with it. I'm typing this on it now.

The OS is Google Chrome with a few additions on the Tools menu to handle stuff like touchpad click speeds and touch-to-click. If you are familiar with the Chrome browser, you know most of Chrome OS.

The display is about 12.2" (based on a measuring tape) and doesn't seem very high-res, but it's perfectly suitable for the purpose. I didn't see any settings other than hardware brightness buttons, so I'm not sure what the resolution actually is. There is a built-in camera, but I don't see any info on the resolution or any controls for image quality. Since the only OS is the web browser, there is no picture-taking or video-recording software, so I couldn't use that to determine the camera resolution.

There is one USB port, primarily (if not exclusively) for a mouse, and there is a VGA port - but again, I didn't see any settings for it.

An interesting point is the touchpad. There are no separate buttons, and touch-to-click doesn't work until the initial OS setup was complete. Then I found that the touchpad itself is a mechanical button. That's right, you can mechanically click anywhere, not just via tap. That's more precise, since you don't have to lift your finger from the pad - you just push a little harder. But once the OS is going, you can use the more common tap-to-click too. And the pad is multi-touch, at least some. You can tap with two fingers to right-click and you use two fingers to scroll, scroll-wheel style.

The keyboard has large chiclet-style (short throw) keys. The large keys make touch typing easy, despite the small unit size. There are no F keys (and no Windows or Context menu keys) or numeric keypad, though the keypad is rarely on a unit this size anyway -- and I'll have to get used to Ctrl-W instead of Ctrl-F4 to close a tab. And there is not Caps Lock, for what it's worth. Where the Caps Lock normally goes has been replaced by a dedicated Search button, which opens a new tab with the Omnibox (address/search box) selected. (Though this can be changed in the Settings to work as Caps Lock instead...)

Also, it has almost instant wake/sleep. The system opened a tutorial on first start that says the wakeup takes 1.12 seconds. You can do a real power-off if you want, but it's not needed.

All info is tied to a Google account, like bookmarks; they're automatically synced with desktop Chrome if you have sync set up there. And apps are synced -- they don't have to be installed per-device. Oh, and there is no wired network option.

About my only test so far on performance is a simple Flash test. It has both Flash 10 and Adobe Reader embedded. I played the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and it stuttered some at 480p, much less at 720p. Fine; use it for browsing; use something expensive for video. My only fear on that side is that it probably won't handle more involved Flash-based games very well.

Anyway, this will be my primary browser for a while, as I said I would do in my trial submission. I'll try to post regularly, but any lack of posts just means it acts as Chrome should.

WootOff!

Looks like Woot will be having a WootOff tomorrow!

Why do I think so? They sent me a coupon, together with the suggestion to "check Woot every day for more to choose from—on some days (like, say, tomorrow) a LOT more!"

YAY! Lots of good deals, and lots to waste money on - just less than one would normally waste on the same stuff!

Music brings emotion

This isn't my normal type of post here, but that's OK - It's my blog, and I can write what I want to - :)

You know how something, a song, a place, a type of weather, will sometimes bring a feeling with it? At church, in our choir, we are preparing an arrangement, "Press On", by Dan Burgess. In this arrangement, there's a phrase, "when we're deaf to the song".

I get a little teary at that spot, and I attributed it to a generic idea of not being able to hear the beauty of music. But this time, I realized - and remembered - that there's more to my feeling than that.

Some time back, probably around 2000, a friend of mine got an ear infection. She lost both eardrums, and became completely deaf in both ears. (Fortunately, they grew back, over time.) And she played violin. She had to keep up her practicing. But she could not hear, and there was a chance she would never hear again. And she cried. And those who knew her cried with her.

And here I am a decade later, crying myself when the memory is brought up, even just vaguely, by the lyrics of a song.

AVG: False Virus Reports on Many Websites

AVG is reporting lots of sites, including Yahoo webmail (includes AT&T) as having a Framer virus. It's a false positive... An update is needed, as soon as possible...

AVG's comment: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=57851763662&story_fbid=132114656826512

UWantSavings.com: Good Customer Service

I have not ordered much in the past from UWantSavings.com, but on my recent order, I was so impressed by their customer service that I had to add them to my Good Deals list.

They offered 100 Sharpie-brand markers for $29.99 with free shipping. Not just regular Sharpie markers, but a wide variety - regular, fine, broad, highlighters, Professional-series markers, and so forth; these usually sell for about 50¢-$5 each, depending on the variety, and this has no shipping or sales tax. Further, since they offered a free Restaurant.com $50 gift certificate with a purchase of $50 or more, I got two sets. Yes, 200 markers might last me a while, but I know that Sharpie-brand markers will hold up until I need them.

The day of delivery, I got an email with a bold banner instructing me to "check the porch - your order has been delivered!"

I found the box by the door, and I, being a conscientious shopper, counted them. There were 194. I emailed, hoping somebody might send an email apology and drop a half-dozen pens in an envelope in the mail.

That's not what they did. I got an email THE SAME DAY confirming a return and credit for the entire cost. Not just one set, but both. And not a RMA, but an updated receipt specifying that they had already been returned. (Granted, I have not seen a credit clear my account yet.)

And today, three days later, I received a box by UPS with 100 more markers. No receipt, statement, bill, anything - just 100 markers. That's customer service in action.

Computer upgrade, just not as I planned...

At work, there was talk of our personal computer hardware. I said I was planning on upgrading mine. I just did so, but not in the way I intended - though I still plan on doing that later.

There has also been talk of using a second computer for side tasks, like email or minor web browsing, to take those tasks off the main computer. Not just a seperate monitor, but a separate PC. I decided to follow up on that idea, and started at PacificGeek.com, where they sell cheap refurb systems, like an HP P4 3.2GHz for $99. That would work fine for web browsing. But after upgrading the memory from 256MB to 2GB and the HD from 20GB to 200GB, it would cost closer to $250.

So I decided to look at the Dell Outlet. Sorting by price quickly showed a computer at $289 for an Athlon Dual Core processor with 4GB RAM and a 250GB hard drive. I did some comparisons between models, decided I liked the cost/performance Inspiron Desktop 570, and filtered to them to try to find the one I looked at earlier.

Because of the place I had been in the list, I was at the end after applying the new filter. And I saw the one at the end, for $399. I wanted to see what made it worth $100 more than the one next to it. And I found it had an Athlon II X4 630, 2.8GHz quad-core, with 6GB RAM and 1TB drive. Either the processor or the extra RAM is worth the $100, but this has both. Additional bonuses over the cheap one at PacificGeek include DVD-RW, 7.1 audio, and both VGA and HDMI. And I added the 3yr support for $99, since I prefer 3yr warranties to 1yr on stuff like hard drives. I figured the $50/year for years 2 and 3 is worthwhile since some drives will die in that time and, and the warranty will pay for itself. (In comparison, any component warranty would require I mail the old part off, at a cost of another $10; this includes next-day in-home repair.)

And I added a nice Dell 21.5" full-HD monitor for $139, which is less than the generic 21.5" I got last month from TigerDirect (my job practically requires multiple monitors; it becomes much easier with 3). And all of it was with free shipping - the stuff's supposed to be here Tuesday. And 5% cashback by using a link from DiscoverCard.com was a nice bonus.

It is all $668, with sales tax. Just for comparison, ordering new would cost $990, for the same stuff. $399 for the PC, $139 for the monitor, $99 for the warranty, and $31.85 in sales tax. OK, so it's $668.85...

I normally build stuff myself. Simple breakdown, based on cheap prices: $90 for Windows 7 Home Premium, $80 for the hard drive, $25 for the DVD-RW, $150 for the RAM ($50/2GB), $35 for the case, $20 for the power supply... and I'm out of money already. Still have to get the motherboard, processor, keyboard, and mouse. And some of those parts might have 90-day warranties, certainly not three-year on-site. So, I might could beat the normal price, but not the outlet price - not even close.

Ooma: No Google Voice Extensions for the Hub

Ooma has just clarified that they will not offer Google Voice Extensions to users of their traditional Hub product line, but only to those who purchase the new Telo product.

This is despite the fact that the Telo was not even available for months after the original planned release of GVE. GVE was originally slated for spring/summer 2009 with Telo scheduled for a holiday 2009 release.

The Google Voice Extensions was a key feature in my decision to go with Ooma, and was the main reason why I later expanded my system with two Scout units. I find it hard to justify $350 in new equipment just to get features that were announced for my current equipment.

Supper - cajun roast chicken

I'm fixing a chicken for supper. It's a 6lb whole chicken in-a-bag I got cheap near its end date. Took it home and stuck it in the freezer - the thick plastic it was encased in did really well.

I was planning to fix it Friday (frozen does fine in a Crock Pot, as long as you allow plenty of time), but I read the directions - turned out it has the giblets inside it. Some like them for gravy, but I don't, and they're not supposed to be cooked together anyway.

One main way to defrost big things is to soak it in water, the other is to put it in the fridge. I chose to combine ways, partly since I then wanted to wait several days, and partly because I thought my fridge might be too cold to thaw it. I put the chicken, still in plastic, in a stock pot (which I thought I might need, since the chicken wouldn't fit entirely in my Crock Pot), covered the chicken with water, covered it and put it in the fridge. The next evening, I checked on it - the chicken was encased in almost 1/4" of ice. I dumped the water and loose ice, removed the coating ice (which was mostly loose), and refilled the water. Checked it again Monday, and the water was still water and the chicken seemed soft. Drained the water and put the chicken back in the fridge, still in the pot, for later.

Last night, I took the chicken out, opened it, removed the paper-wrapped giblets, and, per the directions, rinsed the whole thing inside and out. Not difficult, since it's hollow all the way through from top to bottom with holes on each end.

Then I decided to pull the skin off. I normally do that before cooking pieces. And this was much easier than with pieces - it was basically like taking its clothes off. Slid a knife under the skin and "unzipped" it down the front. Then pulled the skin off one-piece-pajamas style, over the legs and such. The wings wouldn't cooperate; the skin tore around one wingtip, but I had to cut the skin around the other. Then I pulled off the larger fat globs; not all, since it will add flavor. Then I re-rinsed it.

Washed my hands, put the skin and fat in the bag the chicken came in, put that in a small shopping bag and tied that shut, then put that in another bag and tied that shut. Then put it in the trash.

Sprinkled cajun seasoning inside the chicken, and put it in the Crock Pot, where it's now squishy enough to fit. Then sprinkled a tsp of seasoning on top, and put 1/8c of water on that, to have the seasoning run down the sides. Sprinkled another 3tsp across the top, to cover all visible areas well, and sprayed water over it to wetten it all.

Then put the crock in the fridge until this morning. Put it back in the holder about 9:30 on high (to warm up), then on low about 9:50. The pot's now got liquid about half-way up, a perfect gravy base. It's likely already almost done, but I don't get off for another 6 1/2 hours. That's another good thing about Crock Pots - they don't overcook, other than maybe veggies getting too mushy.

I think I'll start looking for these more often.