Common Ground

What kind of radio do you listen too? Me, I listen to radio most of the time when I am driving to and from work and during my lunch break. Also when I make long business trips around the country in my van. When I listen, it is to Talk Radio. So you'll find the first button on my radios for 1130 WISN and the next for 620 WTMJ. In the evening when I'm driving around I'll listen to Shawn Hannity on WISN, but lately they drop it in favor of playing, yawn, Milwaukee Panther basketball. A punch of button #2 often brings a Badger's game rather than some discussion. Dennis Miller can be interesting when he doesn't over-do his extensive vocabulary.

I fail to see how it is a service to their listeners when radio stations that target News and Talk Radio listeners, suddenly become a sports outlet. Save the sports broadcasts for some of the radio stations that play music. Heck, there's plenty of alternatives that their listeners can switch to.

On an interesting note, I see that Bill O'Rielly will be leaving his talk radio show in March and Fred Thompson will be taking over. Fred's home spun wisdom and commentary will be welcomed, if only we could hear it in the Milwaukee area. The closest station that I've found to carry Bill O'Rielly is one in Racine and the last time I checked, it must be transmitting on a wet noodle for an antenna like WISN does in the evening. WISN's programming director, Jerry Bott, makes a good talk show host himself but he needs to cater to his customers rather than to the few people who can't wait to hear the next exciting Panther's game!

There will be an Amateur Radio swapfest Saturday January 3, 8AM to 2PM at the county expo center. Visit www.warac.org for more information.

Besides "Ham" radio stuff, there will also be computer and other electronic items for sale. Computers are heavily used in Amateur Radio. I used to have half a basement full of old Teletype machines, like the ones you see in old movies chugging out news reports. When Apple, Radio Shack, Commodore and others introduced the first home computers, we replaced the complicated old mechanical machines with computers and various RTTY (radio teletype) interfaces. Along with Packet Radio, we Hams pioneered what has become much of the Internet. Dad had an Apple while I had a state of the art Commodore VIC 20.

Cell phones are a spin-off of Ham radio "telepatches". Long before the cell phones existed, we had towers that we could make telephone calls from our mobile radios and handheld radios, often called "walkie talkies". We also have radios that can talk to fellow hams in other countries.

Many "Hams" come to swapfest just to have eyeball QSO's with other Hams. QSO meaning, loosely, talking with a fellow Ham. See link for more about "Q" codes used with the Morse Code. If you were ever interested in Amateur Radio but were scared off by the Morse Code, it is no longer a requirement to get a license. Come on down!

Why be interested in Amateur Radio?  That cell phone you have is a radio, but with very limited range. If not for the network of cell towers, it is just a useless piece of plastic. Weather disasters and occasional solar flare-ups can render commercial communication unusable. It is then that individual Amateur Radio stations form "traffic networks" passing along communications from station to station until it reaches it's destination.

There is something for everyone in modern Amateur Radio. There are the "appliance operators" who buy already made devices and enjoy everything from talking across the city and country to using television or other digital communication with fellow "Hams". There are the people who enjoy making their radios and antenna systems and those that enjoy a little of both. It is exciting to be able to know what all those things inside electronics do and how they work. You can keep it simple or go on to an engineering level.

WARAC is but one club in the area devoted to Amateur radio. Visiting a swapfest is the first step in a fascinating hobby in electronics.

 73 DE N9BGH SK

NNN

(more ham stuff)

Most dogs like to splash around in the water. With that interest in mind, the County Parks Department enlarged a seasonal pond at the Minooka County Park dog exercise area. What was a huge wading pool during the spring run-off and rain, was scooped out to make a pond that is around four feet deep. This last weekend's rain and thaw filled it up. The land surrounding it was tapered to drain towards the pond, seeded and plastic mesh snow-fence was placed around the larger area. The day after the fence was put up, dogs figured out how to get around it, under it and one dog was seen jumping over it twice. Since then the plastic has sagged and torn and is no longer doing the job of keeping people or dogs away from the pond.

After Saturday's thaw and rain, the temperature dove below freezing and a layer of ice formed over the pond. I could see where three dogs fell through the ice immediately and turned back to safety. One made it about ten feet into the deeper water and broke through. I have not heard one way or the other if the dog is well.

Eventually there will be a permanent fence and gated entrance to the pond so people can choose whether to let their dog in the pond or not. Until that time, please be aware that there is about four feet of water in the pond and the ice is not safe. I have asked the county to erect better fencing and place some signs saying that a drowning hazard is present. 

The thaw and rain has also changed what was some well packed down snow to walk on, into a lumpy and icy hazard all over the dog park. Fortunately the area around the entrance is level and fairly safe, but the more popular areas are down hill from there and very hazardous for walking. Until snow melds into the ice and restores decent enough footing, I suggest a visit to a sporting goods store or department and shop for ice cleats for your boots. The dogs seems to handle the ice fine. After all, they have the equivalent of four wheel drive while we have two wheel drive.

On the back page of Sunday's Journal Sentinel's Waukesha section, page 4W, is the volunteers needed section.  I quote; "SNOW REMOVAL: The three homeless shelters in Waukesha are in need of volunteers to help keep their sidewalks clear."

Lets see, if I donate a shovel, don't they, by definition of homeless shelter, have the people power to use it?

Oh boy, am I going to step in it now. As having been associated with a pet store and being president of a dog park organization, it should go without saying that I love dogs.

You will see on the opening page of WaukeshaNow.com that there is a forum discussion about if Pit Bulls should be banned. Even if you aren't interested, I recommend that the answers be read. There are many of them. I'm with the group that believes and have witnessed that the personality of a dog is more dependent upon it's upbringing than genetics. As an example, turn on the NatGeo channel 69 on a Friday night and watch The Dog Whisperer. One of Caesar's dogs is a rescued Pit Bull, Daddy, who was once a fighter but is now a gently dog.  Kanook's (my Husky) favorite playmate is a Pit Bull. Their two personalities just compliment each other and they have a great time playing. Too bad they don't get together more often.  Another dog with a bad reputation is the Rottweiler. I've met many and to date each one has been a wonderful dog around strangers. The same with Doberman Pincers. They used to have a bad name but again the one's I've met have been good dogs.

Here is where I step in it, so to speak. I believe that some breeds should be left to fall into extinction. Already many dog related organization have made neutering and spaying their mantra. That is, unless you are a breeder or show dogs. Purity of breed is all important to them. Sounds like something from 1930's Germany. Don't get me wrong, I love purebreds and there should be breeders of them rather than letting everything turn into a something doodle. What I'm talking about are dogs that have been bred such that they are deformed and suffer at the expense of their owners adoring their cuteness. I'll leave it to you to do your own soul searching. If I mentioned some breeds that I have in mind, I'd go from stepping in it to falling in it!

When Kanook was a puppy, I began working with him at Mitchell Park. One day I decided to cut up some salami and put it in a baggie to use for training treats. Well, picky Kanook wasn't interested in the treats but every dog at the park could smell it through the plastic. I never made that mistake again!

One of the rules posted at Minooka Park's dog exercise area is no treats are allowed. A questionable rule for many people but you never know when you will become the most popular person in the dog park because of it. A feeding frenzy possibly. Perhaps a new rule needs to be posted. "No Burger King Cologne!"

You see, Burger King has come out with a cologne "with a hint of flame broiled meat" named of all things, Flame. Huh? Is this repackaged beef bouillon or what? Needless to say, anyone splashing some Flame on themselves may be very popular at the dog park. No cologne for Christmas. Please!

We've been told not to act on things while angry or go to bed angry.  I admit to being rather angry at the moment. A drunk driver, convicted eight times previously for drunken driving, weaved a path of destruction through Waukesha. By some good grace a student was spared death and severe injury after being hit and flung airborne by this drunken menace to society. Worse than sadly, this is just another episode of drunken driving events happening nearly every day.

Change! Things need to change.  One of those changes is this. I call upon the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and ALL news media to find out and report where the drunks are getting drunk.  It is time that purveyors of alcohol be held accountable for the drunken patrons that they profit from.

My work van is a leased vehicle and Firestone on Silvernail is one of the approved repair shops for it. I had dropped it off for an oil change and a set of tires. I decided to walk home but as I was walking across the street, my son happened to be driving by and gave me a ride home. As I was on a week of vacation, I wasn't in any rush to have it done. When it was done, my wife wasn't around at the time to drive me there so I decided to do something bold and new. I took the bus.

I've never been on a local bus, but when in Milwaukee, I regularly rode them until I got my first car. So, even though it's been forty years since I've been on one, it was pretty easy to figure out what to do. A Google search found the local bus's website and a few clicks more found the schedule for route 9 that I'd be taking. I found the times that the bus would leave the downtown station and could estimate about when it would be coming by the closest bus stop on Moreland. I figured that exact change would be necessary so I got some quarters from my stash on the bedroom dresser for the $2.00 fare. A check of the time and I decided to start walking the short distance to the bus stop. As expected, I soon saw a bus appear down the street and was aboard. The friendly driver confirmed that there was stop near Firestone.

The bus wasn't all that different from the ones that I rode in Milwaukee. The seats had a slash resistance upholstery that was nicer than the hard plastic seats that Milwaukee used the last time I rode. Before that they had cushioned, leather covered seats, but then vandalism forced a change. There were also accomodations for wheelchairs. Each had roll-out straps to keep the chair secure when braking. Otherwise there was the same advertising along the tops of the windows and the pull line for signaling to stop at the next bus stop.

This particular afternoon has several other passengers along with one person using the wheelchair section. Not bad for a Saturday morning.  After a ride up Irving and through Pebble Valley, we came to the shelter on Silvernail and most all of the bus emptied.  People going to work? People shopping? Or, to pick up a car? It was a small adventure. I must say it was nice to sit back and check the view more than I'm able to when I'm driving. Today the bus was useful and convenient for me. Could I use it each day as I did in Milwaukee? I doubt it. Time is money and life is short. Personally I think public transportation will evolve into something more convenient and automated. Something like the trains at Atlanta and Dallas airports. Smaller pods collecting people and then seamlessly merging into an express train looping though the metropolitan area. Passengers moving to the pod that will detach and take them closer to their destination.

As public transportation will evolve, so too will personal transportation. Cars will automatically move about using GPS and sensors. Cars merging and drafting like NASCAR racers and never slowing to gawk at construction. Accidents being nearly nonexistent but for the occasional mechanical malfunction that feeds the vehicle to the side of the road to wait for help, while the traffic streams by oblivious to distractions. It's passengers watching the passing scenery, listening to radio or video or reading the newspapers or doing some work before arriving at the office. They will be moved to an exit lane where they will then again drive the vehicle as we presently do.

It's amazing where the mind can travel while the body travels by bus.

Black Friday. We hear about that so much. Reports are that consumer spending was up a few percent over last year. That's good news, but for who? Do Mom and Pop downtown report their sales to the keeper of the statistics? I doubt it. The unfortunate fact is that the winners during most of Christmas shopping are the retailers of clothing, toys and electronics. Few if any, are made in America. Much goes to China who in turn lends it back to some government bureaucrat so we can have such a high standard of living and think that we are a wealthy country to boot.

How to spend like a patriot? Take most electronics off the list. I think the last American television was Zenith. If you want to buy something practical, buy that furnace and air conditioner that you need from your hometown heating contractor. Most of that equipment is still made in the USA but some air conditioning components are being made in Mexican factories. If your furnace is good yet, consider a humidifier, high efficiency air cleaner or HRV (heat recovery ventilator). Many of those are made in Madison. Ask your dealer where his brands are made.

Consider some remodeling in the plumbing and electrical department. Buy that water saving toilet, but beware that foreign brands are creeping into the market. I was quoted all Japanese fixtures for a remodel job. Good stuff but doesn't help the economy as much as something made in the USA or better yet in Wisconsin.

Put the shovel in the garage and buy a snowblower. There are some brands made in Wisconsin. Try to get a Wisconsin made engine on whatever brand you buy.

Then there is the prestige of a new car in the driveway. This gets confusing, such as the Toyota Sienna minivan that I drive for work which is made in Indiana near one of our stores. But buying a GM, Ford or Chrysler brand car/truck that is also made in American will keep more of your money here. Yes, I know there is controversy about how much the factory workers make per hour including benefits, but so much of a car or truck is NOT made at the factory but by a vendor company where the workers might not have such generous pay and benefits. Johnson Controls in Milwaukee is an example of a local vendor to the automotive industy.

Can't buy a new car? Fix things up and more money helps local people. Now is a good time to get summertime items tuned up and repaired like the lawnmower or things on the boat. See if the motorcycle shop needs work. Maybe they will do free pick-up of your scoot to keep the shop busy. How about that garage door or opener? Time to get the springs adjusted or get a new opener before the old motor burns out?

Pretty presents under the Christmas tree are a great tradition, but things change. People voted for change. I hope I gave you a few ideas to facilitate some of that change and help the local economy too.

I'm a bit of a GPS collector. I have six presently. Some are handheld that I use for Geocaching, two are the navigation type that are popping up on windshields of cars and one is part of my so called "Smartphone".

Since learning navigation back in my piloting days, GPS has been a huge step ahead and now that it is becoming very affordable, paper maps are quickly becoming an artifact from the past.

If you are going shopping for an automotive navigation GPS, you will usually find a confusingly large assortment of brands and models. I'm going to make some suggestions that I hope will make shopping for one easier for you and the person receiving it happy.

There are several brands available. The most popular is Garmin. Next is TomTom and a distant third but gaining in popularity is Navigon. Each will have more than several models to choose from though the store you shop at may carry a limited number of them. That would be a blessing. There are other brands. Sony is getting into GPS. Audiophiles will recognize Blauplunkt. They are making a GPS with a camera that gives you a fighter jet heads up view of the navigational situation and even reads some signs, such as speed limits. Currently this is available in Europe only.

First of all, ANY of them will get you from where you are to where you want to go. Beyond that most basic feature, the first step up you should consider is the size of the screen. There are two sizes. Three by three and four and a half by three. I prefer the wider screen. Next is the ability to speak the name of the road rather than just saying "turn left in 500 feet". I think that is a worthwhile upgrade. From there are many options that will keep a gadget freak happy for many miles.

If the user drives the expressways during rush hours or takes trips through big cities from time to time, the traffic reception feature is worth considering. Traffic data is available through bluetooth wireless connections to some smartphones with data service or through an antenna cable that receives traffic information embedded in FM radio stations. This feature can route you around traffic jams and suggest alternative routes that are presently faster. It isn't perfected yet but worth getting.

Another feature is Bluetooth connectivity to a compatible cell phone.  When In my car, all my phone calls come through the GPS. It's hands free and good audio quality. Another feature is voice recognition. Some top of the line models have this where you don't have to punch in addresses. Just speak to the windshield and the GPS hears you.  Some allow you to store your music and pod-casts in them and will transmit the audio to your FM radio. Some have a remote control, yes, a remote control, in case your GPS is too far to easily reach. I find it much safer to use with a remote than trying to poke at the screen while I'm driving. Yes, I should pull over when doing anything but glancing at the screen. Usually features like traffic information are a subscription service but if your unit is capable of it, a free trial is usually included.

What do I recommend? A Garmin is my first choice and TomTom is a runner up. I have a top of the line TomTom 930 but had to spend another $100 to buy a traffic receiver antenna because my Motorola Q smartphone and Sprint service are not compatible with it. TomTom also advertises some "IQ" features and advance lane guidance. These features got me so interested that I had to buy one. I have found that many of these features are not in Wisconsin yet and even in Chicago they are on only a few places of the interstate. More marketing hype than usable substance. To be fair, they are adding to these navigation features often.

If you want more information, I recommend an excellent and unbiased website, www.gpsreview.net .

Today our children and their families will gather at the Bukosky home in Waukesha. Missing will be Jennifer, Cortney and baby Sophia. Alive but elsewhere will be Zack. You've heard it many, many times that no matter what the times brings to you, as long as you have family, you have something to be thankful for.

Don't let distance, political differences or long forgotten skirmishes keep you from embracing your family members. Telephone those that are distant or at least send a card. Remember that all can be lost in an instant.

I wish you all a happy thanksgiving and a prosperous life.

It has been said that all things are affected by even the slightest action. The flutter of a butterfly in the right place at the right time could be the cause of air currents ending up into a tornado. It is also so, that government meddling with business can have unexpected consequences.

The US automaker leaders were chastised in Washington for flying in on corporate jets. Will the flutter of the lips of politicians cause a sell off of corporate jets so that the correct image, the politically correct image, is portrayed by businesses? Will Washington slap some kind of "excess tax" on corporate jets?

Remember when Wisconsin jobs were lost when Washington slapped a luxury tax on things like luxury yachts and jobs were lost until the tax was dropped which revived the industry? I once made my money by fueling both private and corporate aircraft at Timmerman Field in Milwaukee. I made minimum wage, two dollars an hour at the time. There are people like me doing the same at Crites Field. Trickle down economics is reality. Less corporate aircraft, less need for the guy that puts the fuel in the aircraft. Less need for mechanics, avionics technicians, spare parts vendors, pilots and the list goes on. The more government intrudes on business, the more jobs will be lost.

So will Air Force One be mothballed? After all, the government doesn't earn any money. GM, Ford and Chrysler are still trying to.

In the year old Minooka Dog Exercise Area there is a depression called a seasonal pond. This last winter with record amounts of snowfall and spring rains, it filled that area and more. It was in the original dog park drawings to improve the pond and the County Parks workers have been doing just that for the last few weeks as time and weather permitted. Today, Friday, the area was finished in sloping the area towards the pond, seed was laid and a fence put around the area to keep foot traffic out.  The upper portion of the old campgrounds, below and alongside of the restrooms have also been seeded but are not fenced off. Eventually the pond will be permanently fenced off and gated so only people wanting their dogs to splash around will have entry.

Dog owners will have to make a effort to avoid the area as it seems that the dog's curiosity has them finding ways to get into the fenced off area. The first found that they could slide under the plastic mesh fence. Some found a way around the ends of the fence and a large hound just jumped over it a couple times! One Husky owner walked away saying that he was afraid his might learn how to jump a fence. Indeed, my first Husky, Kanuck could jump over a standard height chain link yard fence pretty easy. One small dog wandered around the fence and couldn't find it's way out and became scared. A helping hand raising the fence bottom solved that.

So I believe that the pond is still a work in progress. More will will be done as Parks workers have the time and material.  Keep a close eye on your dog and try to avoid the fenced and seeded area. There's many acres of land still open for us to enjoy!

Tonight the salters came out and I felt the all wheel drive kick in on my Subaru while heading to the Minooka Dog Park. Earlier Kanook and I were at Brookfield's Mitchell Park where the northwestern sky turned dark grey and soon a blizzard of snow pellets lashed down at us. People that I met muttered something about global warming.

Back home, there are still some leaves hanging on to the branches of my maple tree. Saturday I hauled a few trash cans of chopped leaves to the dump where I was chastised for not putting them against the wall. Sorry, I'm not a mind reader and all the leaves in the pile seemed like they would welcome some more.

I still have some leaves to contend with. I can probably mulch them with the lawn mower, but as I'm on vacation this week, I spent much of the afternoon looking for clear plastic bags and a mechanical partner to hold the bag open. Two hardware stores, a Home Depot and a Walmart later, none had anything that I wanted. There are plenty of large paper bags but sitting by the curb for the few weeks until pick-up will likely have them fall apart and looking worse than the neighbors who have raked leaves by the road thinking that they will still be picked up.

Driving around town I see a lot of leaves piled by the curb and often flowing into the street. Perhaps some are still scheduled to be picked up, but I know my ward is finished so that makes me wonder whats going to happen to all these leaves waiting for the pick-up that will not come. It seems to me that our communication of the pick-up schedule could have been better conveyed. Or perhaps some people just have not made the effort to search out the information. What I am pretty sure of is that come the first snowfall big enough to bring the plows out, an ugly, leafy mess will be overturned spoiling the small comfort of clean white snow.

Perhaps all of this can be corrected next fall. May I suggest that we take a step back to the colonial days and get the word out by via a Town Crier. Let the Aldermen wear a three cornered hat while walking the streets shouting out the ordinance and rules of leaf handling. Maybe they can include where to buy bags and holders too.

I'm what you could call a GM baby. Dad was an engineer for GM at the old AC Spark Plug turned Delco Electronics plants once in Milwaukee by North and Farwell and then in Oak Creek. As a child I remember Dad bringing home pamphlets. Some I would read, some were of no interest to a child. A child never thinks about it but now that I am a grandfather and my parents have passed on, I realize how well GM took care of their employees. Even after Dad passed away, GM continued to take care of Mom. And this is why GM and Ford are in the trouble that they are in now.  Toyota, Subaru and others never had the long term relationship with employees or benefits negotiated by labor unions. Not strapped with pensions and US automaker level benefits, it was not a level playing field and we as a country have suffered for it while we drive these cars build by foreign owned companies.

GM and Ford did for their employees what the country has voted for the government to do for all. The same can be said of Chrysler though they have been sold twice. Bailing out the automakers is not without precedence! Republican President Nixon in effect bailed out Harley Davidson when he put a tarriff on foreign motorcycles that competed with Harley-Davidson. If not for that, The Motor Company would not be in existance and would be but another ghost of American industry.

The US automakers have some great electric powered cars near being ready for production. The government must see that they are helped along and see that the playing field for them is level.

Being a dog lover, I don’t encourage or tolerate biting. That being said, Barney, President Bush’s Black Scottie Terrier nipped at a reporter when the reporter reached down to pet the dog. I’ve heard all sorts of things about the behavior of the dog and the approach of the reporter. Having seen a video of the incident, anybody that knows dogs can see that Barney didn’t want any part of the reporter. Obviously a refection of above average canine intelligence! However, the whole incident is a wonderful ending metaphor for the press relations that the eight years of the Bush administration has had to endure.

There is talk of President-elect Obama getting a puppy for his daughters. May I suggest something that reflects how his administration will be. Perhaps something along the breed of, say, a Neapolitan Mastiff?

I like to read news from England via the BBC news feed. One article is about massive unemployment in China due to the credit crunch.

The time is past for pointing fingers on who is responsible for the recent financial disaster. The question is how fast can it be fixed and fixed fairly. We know about the mortgage mess. I've not seen anything about unsecured credit card problems. Just like too loose of mortgage requirements, people have been bombarded with credit card offers for years. One very unfair tactic that these credit card companies are allowed to do is to change the rules when they desire and it is usually right when it can hurt consumers the most!

In the past several months credit card companies have increase the minimum payments, frequently breaking the budget of struggling consumers yielding to the glitter and glamor of marketing products that we don't need and replacing items still good but no longer fashionable. These changes in the rules frequently cause late payments which in turn can change reasonable interest rates to loan shark levels approaching 30% interest or more! Now a difficult payment becomes impossible to make and it results in phone calls to the many bankruptcy lawyers that hawk themselves on television.

Not too long ago people never heard about a credit score. Now many worry about it. Why? Because of unfair credit practices!

Consumer protection is one area where I do have a spark of hope that the now dominated Democratic government will review and make right. After all, it is affecting more of their supporters than the rich Republicans who allegedly created this unfairness. Or those that appear to be rich.

By this time Tuesday I'll know whether to worry or not. Monday's Journal has several things that I must comment on.

Page One, the undecideds. I consider myself very informed on the presidential politics and it really baffles me how anyone can continue to be undecided. Now, I don't know this fine young family and I do remember when Pat and I were that age with a couple small children, we were too busy trying to survive to worry about politics. However, thirty years later there is a wealth of information out there. The only difficulty is sifting through all the snippets, incomplete stories and outright lies. Forget what they say. Look at their records. Oh, some don't have a record? Well, then look at their character and acquaintances. Perhaps look at the money raised by the candidates. Which party has the money? Where does the money come from?

Politics of personal destruction. Have a presidential candidate wander by your house and you ask a question. It isn't the softball that is generally allowed to be asked. So the media proceeds to tear you apart. Make a statement at a rally that many people agree with and Daniel Bice of the Journal gives you a colonoscopy that has nothing to do with the statement. We are permitted to only ask "the right questions". Please preapprove them with "The Media".

Campaigning and lies. Politicians can say anything they want and get away with it. I never liked it. I wish it wasn't that way. However, the Journal's vendetta against Michael Gableman and the Democrats unprecedented court action against The Coalition For American Families smacks of political heavy handedness and judicial bias. Normally I would applaud any action to shine the light on lies but when it is only used against one political philosophy while anything goes for the other, I cannot help but to be appalled by it.

Wednesday we shall see if the process of checks and balances goes unchecked and out of balance.

My Dad was a collector of pocket knives. I have an eye for flashlights. Being a daily dog park visitor with Kanook, it is the time of the year when the visits are after dark on the weekdays. While there are more visitors to Minooka's dog park, it seems to be empty after the sun sets. Mitchell Park still has some people that enjoy the stillness of the night. We often adorn our dogs with flashing LED lights that clip on the collar. One visitor is using a dog "headlight" that she bought at Cabela's. It straps under the chin and makes the dog very visible and if it's night vision isn't too good, will help it from running into trees, fences and potholes. I bought another blinky light for Kanook. They come with batteries and sell for about $9. When the batteries die out, new batteries will cost about $11. So, I have lots of good blinkies laying around in need of batteries.

 For my use, I long gave up the big "D" cell flashlight. For the last few years I've had various LED flashlights. The batteries last forever, it seems. However, the light that they give off isn't much, until recently. The last few years have seen high output LED flashlights that pack a pretty good light. While at Batteries Plus on Grandview and Silvernail buying a new Blinky for Kanook, I was looking over the wide selection of flashlights that they have. I noticed on the counter one that looked like a cylinder of stainless steel that fit in the hand nicely. It measures about one inch in diameter and about four inches long. I pressed the button and the light it gave off was amazing. Three small AAA batteries power it for over 100 hours and produces 72 lumens. What that means is it floods the area in front of you as you walk around the dog park. I thought that it'd make a great bicycle headlight.

It isn't cheap. It cost $29.95 but I gave up smoking years ago so I treat myself with good stuff once in a while. The associate at Batteries Plus said they have a hard time keeping them in stock. I can see why. If I still fixed furnaces it would be my flashlight of choice because of the bright flood of light it gives. It's name is LED LENSER. The numbers 0089596 are on it but looking at LED LENSER's catalog, I believe it is model 7732.

 See you at the dog parks, even at night!

 While my old Windows 98 computer whirs happily along in Pat's room, my fairly new dual one gig processor multimedia computer had the hard drive crash. This after recently running my frequent system protections and checks, including the "Smart Drive" check with supposedly can warn of immenent failure of the hard drive. I couldn't see how that could work all the time and I was right!  So in the mind of the computer savy, did I have back-ups? Yes, but not as recent as I should. What troubles me is that this computer, a Sony, did not come with program disks. It was all on a partition of the HD.

I had bought the machine from Computer City on Bluemound. They have closed so I took it to Milwaukee PC on Moreland.They're a good sized business started in Milwaukee and also have a computer talk show on WISN Saturday morning. Right now I'm using an old laptop that I bought at a ham radio swapfest. I bought two of them for $10 each to make a point to some of my dealers moaning that computers are needed for many of the heating and cooling building controls. These old door stops still work and run the necessary software to adjust modern digital controlled building management systems.

I am using my super duper LCD superfast game quality computer monitor. the screen on the laptop is adequate but very grainy.

What I'd like to share with you from my experience is the necessity of backing up your hard drive. Windows has a back-up program that comes with it but it is junk in my opinion. Also, backing up your computer usually means only saving data that is in the "My Documents" folders. It does not save your programs! For that you will need an "Image" saving program. You should also have an external hard drive capable of holding everything on your computer. If you can, set it up to automatically save stuff as you use it.  I have disaster recovery disks but in my case they did not work.

So if you are looking for a Christmas gift for yourself or someone, look for a good external hard drive and Back-up/Image software. Milwaukee PC, Inet or most Computer retailers can help you out with what you need.