http://www.sam-k.net/blog The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And bears. Oh, and clowns. Fri, 12 Apr 2013 02:01:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/637 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/637#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:16:00 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=637
I’ve been visiting Kickstarter for a couple of years now, and it’s always interesting to peruse the various projects. Kickstarter is a website that helps people get funding for an idea, project or product.  Anyone can choose to donate to the project, and each project establishes funding levels that can offer rewards that are fulfilled [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/637/feed 0 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/627 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/627#comments Fri, 03 Aug 2012 03:28:25 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=627 One of the most common computer questions I get is probably “what can I do to make my PC faster?” There are a number of things that can cause a computer to slow down over time: Hard Drive Fragmentation – the more a hard drive is used, the more likely it is for files to [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/627/feed 2 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/623 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/623#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 02:39:06 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=623 We installed our Nest Learning Thermostat in December of 2011, so it has been running for 8 months, almost three full seasons.   I can’t yet say whether or not the Nest has saved us money, but I can say that the device has made managing the temperature of our house easier. Earlier this year, the [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/623/feed 0 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/619 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/619#comments Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:37:29 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=619 Don’t ask.]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/619/feed 0 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/609 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/609#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:48:56 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=609 Cary and I were at the Carolina Theater in Durham last night to watch Cinematic Titanic Live. For fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), the cast of Cinematic Titanic is instantly recognizable.  The show stars comedians Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Frank Conniff, who were all cast members/creators [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/609/feed 0 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/604 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/604#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:44:20 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=604 Installing the Nest Thermostat is fairly simple. The first step is, of course, turning off the main breaker for the HVAC system. The included tape flags can be used to identify the wires.  Once the wires are labeled, the old base can be removed.   Since there were some blemishes on the wall left by [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/604/feed 0 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/590 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/590#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 04:15:27 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=590
In October, a new company called Nest announced the release of a new type of learning thermostat that learns your patterns, knows when you’re away from home, and can update itself and be controlled from a remote computer or smartphone. I ordered my Nest on October 26th, a few days after pre-ordering started.  Demand was [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/590/feed 0 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/586 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/586#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:58:44 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=586
After talking about it for quite a while, we finally bit the proverbial bullet and had our first floor carpet ripped out and replaced with hardwood. Before:   And after a visit from Carolina In Home Flooring: Overall, we’re very happy with the result.  The color of the floor doesn’t quite match the color of [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/586/feed 1 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/581 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/581#comments Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:36:04 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/?p=581 I strapped a video camera to the handlebars of my bike as an experiment to capture video of the bike ride this past weekend.  I think it worked pretty well, though there are lots of shaky parts I still need to edit out.  The music doesn’t really fit, either, but since YouTube strips out copyrighted [...]]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/581/feed 0 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/575 http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/575#comments Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:11:10 +0000 samuelk http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/575
We just returned from our first cruise, a 7-day trip on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. You can see the first batch of pictures by clicking the link below. More to come later. Also included are photos from our visit to Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Cruise Photos on Flickr]]> http://www.sam-k.net/blog/index.php/archives/575/feed 0