Sunday, December 26, 2010
The best laid plans, yada - yada - yada
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
USCG Band in Concert...Popular Radio Songs in WWII
Click the title link to listen to the USCG Band in Concert doing popular radio songs from WWII. Recorded live in NL CT at the Garde Performing Arts Center in 2010.
Kincaid coming to Florida this year :)
Kincaid in the car at Wal-Mart on December 21st, 2010
Kincaid, who is Joanna's dog primarily although we're the caretakers while she's working, is coming with us this year to Florida. We pretty much take him everywhere we go, and have decided (Joanna concurred) that he'd be happier with us in the Southland than home spending a lot of time alone (with the three cats). He travels well, and his love of walking might get me off the computer a bit and into more walking down to the Indian River at our Campground.
We're in the "10 Day Weather" window for our departure....getting close!
When we visit the "10 Day Weather" we now have a pretty clear picture of what's on the radar for our departure for Florida on December 28th....and it's looking good:). There should be some snow showers between now and than but nothing serious. I find exiting the Northeast in late December a bit stressful....you never know just what the weather is going to be, and I don't want to be driving a 32' Motorhome towing a Jeep in snow conditions if I can avoid it. If we end up relocating to Florida, and than coming the the Northeast in the summer months, it will eliminate that worry....we'd probably be coming back to CT in June and staying through August.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Our Christmas Wishes to Family and Friends, Christmas 2010
Christmas, 2010 The Payette Family of Preston CT
Merry Christmas to our friends and relatives from Alice, Bob, David, and Joanna! Having family and good friends is the best blessing, and we are grateful for ours. If we didn’t see or talk to you during the past year, we’re sorry we didn’t connect. Please call, e-mail, or Skype when you can so we can stay in touch.
We’ve been going to Florida earlier and earlier every year, and this one is no exception. The plan is to leave for Titusville (Manatee Hammock) on December 28th, and be home in Preston by mid-April or Easter. If some time in Florida is on your calendar, we’d love to have you stop by and visit!
Bob and Alice Payette
Best phone or text contact: 860 373-0834
Skype: Robert.r.payette
Monday, December 06, 2010
Seaport Sams Christmas Party, December 5th, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Countdown mode......
Little things are now coming up…..invitations to events, local notices (concerts, plays, charitable requests) that fall in the “hole” of our absence…
I’m starting to panic on Library books. Even though I’m (we’re) dedicated E-book readers, I utilize our wonderful Library for inter-Library loans on newer items that appeal to me, but not Alice or Joanna with whom I share my Kindle account. Why would I buy the newest Stephen King book if both Alice and Jo would not want it on their Kindle’s? I have three books out and I’m running out of time to get them read. In the same breath I’m worried about our Florida Library status. We’re “Motorhomers” and have used our Manatee Hammock address there for our Titusville (Brevard County) library card…but one wag there has intimated that we’re really Floridian transients and are therefore not eligible for the Library card. We’re thinking of reversing our positions….selling our place here in Preston, and purchasing a home in the Titusville Fl area….and staying THERE 9 months and the rest of the time (3 months) here in CT and New England. This is the first year we’re going to be seriously looking at a lifestyle change, and It’s scary…but exciting!
Every morning at 6 a.m. when I’m walking Kincaid down to the road to get the paper (Joanna and Alice like a hard copy…I read several on-line) I’m reminded of how much I’ve grown to dislike the cold. I’m not good with it anymore, and when I’m walking down those long driveway memories of my youth leaving the house in bitter cold and snow delivering the Hartford Courant comes back. I dressed for it, but I don’t remember being uncomfortable regardless of how cold it got. Florida has its advantages, the main one (from my personal perspective) is we spend more time outside. We find ourselves walking more, going to outdoor events, walking on the beach, down to the river – even just around the campground. Every year we’ve been staying down longer, or leaving here earlier…and this year is no exception. By leaving in December we’re now down to one month (November) where there is NO motorhome activity. As soon as we get back from Titusville we begin our Seaport Sams monthly camp-outs, and they go right through the middle of October. We’re now past Thanksgiving, Christmas is around the corner, and then we’re on the road….
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
"Victory At Sea" performance by the USCG Band, Sunday November 21, 2010
Click the title link to watch a clip (posted from YouTube) from "Victory At Sea", written by Richard Rodgers/Robert Russell Bennett and performed by the USCG Band on Sunday, November 21st, 2010 the Garde Arts Center in New London.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
New Acer up and running ....:)
The new Acer came in from Amazon yesterday via Fed X right on time and I've been busy setting her up. I'd forgotten how much of a pain it can be, especially getting programs transported over that were purchased (in some cases) years ago. An interesting note is that when you purchase software on-line, many times they use your e-mail address as the User ID....so if you've lost or misplaced the password for that account to re-download, they'll reset it but send the information to the Email on record. If you've changed email address's and NOT kept the old one active where you have access to it I can see where they'd be major problems. Another issue is programs that were OEM on the replaced PC. In my case, Microsoft Works had come OEM on the Toshiba. There's no way to transfer that program over to the new Acer :(. Luckily M.S. Office will open the spreadsheets and data base's I'd set up on Works...just a matter of getting used to it.I can feel the technology improvement from the new machine over the old....everything is faster, with better loading. Personally I didn't have too many issues with Vista but, that having been said, Windows 7 is much slicker for sure.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
DOA was the new laptop......:(
It's always an exciting time waiting for the new PC to arrive. I chose the ship to store method and it (the new Acer) finally arrive
d this morning and we picked her up. The software is laid out, the migration plan has been formulated....the unit is unboxed, the plastic protections removed....the battery is installed and she's plugged into a power outlet...the on button is pushed and............yup, she's DOA. So, the power connection is checked, the battery is removed and re-installed....when plugged in there is a Power On indicator lit, but otherwise the unit is...silent, and totally non-responsive. Find a phone number to tech support, call and get put on hold, finally talk to a live person who has us repeat everything we've already tried. She then pronounces it DOA. She can send me a returning shipping package with authorization and I can send it in for repair? I demur that suggestion and re-pack up the unit and return it to the store where a refund is applied to the account she was purchased on. Going back on-line to check I find this model is now "out of stock", so we do the bricks and mortar drive by - Wal-Mart's, Staple's, BJ's....all underwhelming selections. Back home, on line and finally re-order the Acer from Amazon with expedited delivery (should be here on Saturday). DOA....who would have thought? I'm thinking back to all the PC's we've purchased and it's never happened to me....guess I've been living a charmed life?
d this morning and we picked her up. The software is laid out, the migration plan has been formulated....the unit is unboxed, the plastic protections removed....the battery is installed and she's plugged into a power outlet...the on button is pushed and............yup, she's DOA. So, the power connection is checked, the battery is removed and re-installed....when plugged in there is a Power On indicator lit, but otherwise the unit is...silent, and totally non-responsive. Find a phone number to tech support, call and get put on hold, finally talk to a live person who has us repeat everything we've already tried. She then pronounces it DOA. She can send me a returning shipping package with authorization and I can send it in for repair? I demur that suggestion and re-pack up the unit and return it to the store where a refund is applied to the account she was purchased on. Going back on-line to check I find this model is now "out of stock", so we do the bricks and mortar drive by - Wal-Mart's, Staple's, BJ's....all underwhelming selections. Back home, on line and finally re-order the Acer from Amazon with expedited delivery (should be here on Saturday). DOA....who would have thought? I'm thinking back to all the PC's we've purchased and it's never happened to me....guess I've been living a charmed life?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Frustration in changing computers over.....the cat's the cause of the replacement, but not the problem itself....
Click Title Link to view a Computerworld article on Apple's upcoming Mac App Store....
So, the old Tom-cat Timothy finally did it we suspect….I came into the office the other day and two of the chick-let key covers on the Toshiba notebook were on the floor in front of the computer. Timothy has recently taken the odd nap on the keyboard despite our words not to, and I suspect he got startled and dug in, ripping them out. The hardware computer man said it’s not repairable, but the keyboard is replaceable. Since this notebook was purchased almost four years ago, and was designed for Windows XP (upgraded to Vista two months after purchase) I decided to bite the bullet and get a new PC set up now. I don’t use the FN key much but the Ctrl key is a different matter when trying to select or deselect items.The Acer notebook is on the truck (according to the tracking report) and will be in a few days or so….which brings me to the reason for this particular post. Being a user of the i-phone and the i-pad I find myself very spoiled with the ease of use and practicality of the App Store. 1 click keeps everything updated with no muss or fuss or key registration numbers etc, etc….I’ve been gathering up data to populate the new notebook…finding original install CD’s, or even worse digital proofs of purchase on things purchased on-line. I’m a pretty organized person but, when you have a lot of programs, it’s a pain in the ass. When I re-install Office I’m going to be years behind on updates and that also applies to other programs such as Ipswich’s WS-FTP Pro, Quicken and several others. It’s going to be a long haul to get things where they should be. It was gratifying to hear yesterday that Apple is bringing an App store to the Mac…That fact alone might push me into the Mac camp next time out, as this stuff is pretty ridiculous with today’s technology. IMHO.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Country Aire Campground, with Seaport Sams, Columbus Day weekend, 2010
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Oak Embers Camp-out with Seaport Sams Camping Club, October 2010
Click the title link to view our Oak Embers camp-out clip.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Picasa Web Album, video and stills, from the Deer Haven September 2010 Lobster camp-out.
Click the image for an enlargement of this panoramic group shot.
DeerHavenLobsterCookoutSeptember2010 0001
Our Seaport Sams Camping Club just completed its annual Lobster Cookout at Deer Haven CG in Lisbon CT. We had 28 rigs, 68 people and cooked up 81 lobsters. What a weekend!! :)
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Changing e-mail addresses
We recently started the process of changing our email address and have discovered that it can be difficult at best. I can't believe that with Blogger you can't associate a Google G-mail account with it as either the primary or the secondary e-mail. What's interesting is the way some folks handle subscriptions also. Some literally make you "unsubscribe" with the original e-mail address, then re-subscribe with the new one. Others allow a much more civilized "profile change" in which you can change your e-mail, your log-in etc with much less hassle and confusion. One thing I've learned is that I'll never be able to cancel the original e-mail as there is so much out there with that address over the last many years. I didn't realize, or hadn't thought about, the accounts the e-mails are associated with - everything from tech subscriptions to on-line banking and investments to Blogs and websites to commentary posting permissions....it does go on and on and every day new items are flying into the old SNET email that need attention and re-direction to the G-mail account. It does keep you out of trouble!
Monday, September 06, 2010
USCG Labor Day Concert September 5th, 2010 Ft Trumbull_0001.wmv
Alice and I attended a United States Coast Guard Labor Day concert on September 5th, 2010 at Fort Trumbull in New London. They were terrific, and it was a perfect day on the Thames River for an outdoor concert.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Preston Community Picnic and Navy Band Concert, August 21st, 2010
Click image for an enlargement of the collage.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sometimes things get so damn hard!!
So, I wake up at 06:30A and lo and behold the three lights on my old 2Wire DSL modem are ....out. It's possible the actual modem shite the bed, but more probably that the power supply/converter went South. Anyway, it's off to Wal-mart and you KNOW they don't sell modems as they are provided by the ISP's..so it's off to Staples. In Staples they had a Netgear router with a built in modem, and it was up to the N (the old router was a G) so that was the purchase. From there it went downhill...the supplied Wizard CD did NOT get me up and running, and it took two hours of quality time with a very NICE man in India to get my configurations right so everything talked to each other. Not a GREAT way to start the day, but hey....everything is now working, the wife and daughter and I-phone's are wirelessly connected at a higher speed....things could be worst!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Clip 2, Preston Community Picnic and Navy Band Northeast Concert, August 21st, 2010
Click the title link to view Clip 2 from the Preston Community Picnic and Navy Band Northeast Concert held in Preston on August 21st, 2010.
Clip 1, Preston Community Picnic & Navy Band Concert, August 21, 2010
Click the title link to view Clip 1 of the Preston Community Picnic and Navy Band Concert that was held on August 21st, 2010. This clip includes the opening remarks by our Board of Selectmen, the band introductions by Preston Historical Society President Linda Christensen, and some still shots of the event.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Seaport Sams Brooklyn Fairgrounds August 12-15, 2010
Our Seaport Sams Camping Club brought 28 rigs to the Brooklyn Fairgrounds for our August 2010 club campout. This included four "guest rigs-families" from the Quinabaug Travelers Camping Club. Our potluck on Saturday featured BBQ chicken expertly prepared by Club members who belong to the Mortlake FD. Club member John Zurowski, who died in February 0f 2010, had planning on being the Chairperson for this new BBQ event, and his friends in the Club (which include Butch Brodeur, Mike Breen and Lennie Albie plus others) and Mortlake FD members "made it happen" in his memory. God Bless! Click the title link for a Picasa public web-album from this event.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 09, 2010
Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival weekend with the Quinebaug Travelers
Click the title link to view a YouTube video from our weekend in Campton,New Hampshire where we attended the Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival with our neighbor Good Sam Club the Quinebaug Travelers. Great company and great music!!
Friday, August 06, 2010
We're in New Hampshire at the Pemi Bluegrass Festival
We arrived at the Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival yesterday and we'll be here through Monday. Great country music!!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Nixonland, an "enhanced" E-book experience.
The title link above (links to a New York Times article) mentions one of the new books in the “enhanced” version…a tome called “Nixonland” that’s just been published. The basic e-book (available from places like Amazon) is $13.95. The “enhanced” version, available through the I-book store at Apple, is a few dollars more. I downloaded a free sample to try it out…the sample was over 367 pages out of a total book length of 850+. Anyway, embedded in the book there are 27 very high quality video clips…..so if you’re reading for an example about the time of the King assination you can clip on the corresponding video….plays in it’s own window on the page, or you can elect full screen…..at the end of the video or at any time you can resume reading. The idea is to merge the experience into the reading to bring it to life….and from what I’ve seen it’s wonderful. History books, with their charts, maps and photo’s, have long been the bane of e-books. Now, it’s exactly the opposite with the new enhanced model in that these things can be integrated into the book. Quite wonderful!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Linda Christensen's journey into history.....
Our friend Linda Christensen, President of the Preston Historical Society, just completed a journey of a lifetime: Linda C's Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Summer Seminar
A 22-day seminar, founded in 1984 by Vladka Meed, will include educational activities in 4 countries. Some of the Holocaust-related places to be visited are Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel; Berlin and the Bergen Belsen Memorial in Germany; Warsaw, Majdanek, Lublin, Samosc, Belzec, Krakow, Auschwitz, Lodz and Treblinka in Poland; the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC
Click the Title Link to view her blog from this trip.
A 22-day seminar, founded in 1984 by Vladka Meed, will include educational activities in 4 countries. Some of the Holocaust-related places to be visited are Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel; Berlin and the Bergen Belsen Memorial in Germany; Warsaw, Majdanek, Lublin, Samosc, Belzec, Krakow, Auschwitz, Lodz and Treblinka in Poland; the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC
Click the Title Link to view her blog from this trip.
Time Capsule Blessing, Ceremony & Reception Saint Catherine of Siena Preston CT July 24th, 2010
Click the title link for a YouTube video of our Time Capsule event July 24th, 2010.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Just came back from Ginny-B Campground in Foster, RI
We hitched up the old Jeep and headed out this past weekend to Ginny B Campground, in Foster RI, with our Camping Club the Seaport Sams. Click the title link above for a slideshow of images from this event.
Saturday, July 03, 2010
A false alarm...very disappointing....
Last night Joanna came rushing into the office all excited....said she had possibly located our Clifford. Clifford is our Maine Coon cat who went missing Memorial Day last year (2009). We spent countless hours looking for him, putting out posters,contacting shelters etc...and he was possibly caught in a have-a-heart trap about seven miles from here, but escaped when the door was open. Anyway, to make a long story short what looked just like Clifford was at the Waterford Humane Society shelter...Click here for a link to Julius's photo
If you click the Title link on this post you'll see our Lost posting and a photo of our Clifford....they could be brothers!! But Clifford has unusual features that distinguish him...and Julius is not long lost Clifford. Hopes dashed for now :(.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
iPhone 4 has arrived......
They (AT&T) had promised it would be delivered by 4:30p on the 24th of June....and don't you know it arrived at 4:15p. Activation through AT&T was smooth and flawless.
I had some issues getting things synchronized...my issues really as at this point we have three I-phones (the original, a 3 GS and now the 4) that we're syncing through I-Tunes and Mobile-Me. I think we finally got all the apps ported over and in their proper folders, and now we're playing with it and figuring things out:).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Saint Catherine of Siena's (Preston CT) 50th Anniversary Booklet
Robert A. Pucel of Griswold designed and produced a wonderful Commerative Golden Jubilee Booklet for our Saint Catherine's Parish. Click the title link to download a PDF of this booklet.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I-phone 4 - and so it continues!
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Shipment Dates
Anticipated ship date Jun 23, 2010
Estimated delivery Jun 24, 2010 by 4:30 PM
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
CT Good Sam Samboree, June 10-13, 2010
Click the title link to view a YouTube video from the CT Good Sams 2010 Samboree that was just held in Brooklyn CT. You all enjoy the show! :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
SaintCatherineOfSienaPrestonCelebrationActivitiesJune11-12_0001.wmv
The weekend of June 11th-12th, the people of Saint Catherine of Siena Parish, Preston CT celebrated their 50th Anniversary (1960-2010) as a Parish family. The stills and video in this clip show images from the wine tasting fund raiser on Friday evening, and the celebratory re-dedication Mass and Reception the following Saturday at Saint Catherine's.
Monday, May 17, 2010
We just came back from Mineral Springs in Stafford Springs CT
The Seaport Sams Camping Club had it's 2nd campout of the 2010 season at the Mineral Springs Campground in Stafford Springs CT. We had nine rigs participating, and as usual there was a great pot luck supper on Saturday. Click the montage below for an enlargement of the photo.
Click the TITLE to view the photo album from this camp-out.
Click the TITLE to view the photo album from this camp-out.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Newsy multi-source video news aggrigator.....
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Just returned from the State "All Chapter" campout at Mohegan Sun Casino
Click on collage above for an expanded image.
Click headline to view a Picasa album from this event.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Written from my iPad.....
We rec'd our iPad last week and have been busy setting it up, trying new apps, seeing what iPhone apps are useable with it etc. A few quick observations: it is an. Excellent e-reader, a great web browser and an outstanding video (you-tube) viewer. Will it serve as a replacement for anything. NO. (with the exception of one kindle that got crunched in the workings of a recliner) :(.
The case should arrive by the weekend. The hard keyboard is OK but I don't think I need it. When left on and unattended she sometimes drops the wi-fi but it takes 2 seconds to re-acquire....a non issue IMHO.
Bottom line : best thing since sliced bread :). Note: can't load a graphic to this post using iPad:(.
The case should arrive by the weekend. The hard keyboard is OK but I don't think I need it. When left on and unattended she sometimes drops the wi-fi but it takes 2 seconds to re-acquire....a non issue IMHO.
Bottom line : best thing since sliced bread :). Note: can't load a graphic to this post using iPad:(.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Why I've opted out of Facebook....
This could be a long-winded post but I'm going to try to get to the nub of why I've deactivated my Facebook account. Control issues. There you go, I felt that I'd lost control of what I wanted to do with my disappearing time. There are only so many hours in the day, and being on Facebook was like waking up everyday to a gigantic "to do" list that someone else thought you should do....very tiring! People you haven't even thought about for 20 years all of a sudden are former best buddies and want to re-kindle the past. There are all those games, and gifts, and wonderful good causes....all of which are requiring time and attention. I tried it, honest....didn't work for me. I do like talking and emailing with real friends and associates on a one to one basis, but not through this artificial social medium. Of course that is strictly my humble opinion.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Our 2010 Seaport Sams camping season has begun.....
Click on the collage for an enlargement
We just came back from Deer Haven Campground in Lisbon CT, our first 2010 Seaport Sams Camping Club campout. Our next jaunt we'll be heading out to Mohegan Sun for some dry camping with our state Good Sam group, and then we'll be off to Mineral Springs in Stafford Springs for our May outing with Seaport Sams.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Another bite of the Apple......
I've been an early adopter of the Kindle E-reader, having purchased my first Kindle in November of 2007. Shortly thereafter we purchased another one for Alice, as we're both avid readers. We currently have a LOT of books in our Kindle library. Generally, when I purchase or download a book, we have it sent to both Kindles, two i-phones, and two computers. The syncing works wonderful between platforms, so (as an example) I can pick up with my i-phone where I left off with the Kindle when I'm reading in bed...the i-phone is back lit so I don't need a reading light. Anyway, to make a long story shorter, I just killed my Kindle accidentally. A few nights ago I fell asleep in the chair and when I got up I pushed the foot rest in...somehow the Kindle had fallen in the mechanism and it got executed:(. No life at all in her, and a permanent crease across the screen. Bummer.
So, the choices are three: Get a new Kindle, get the larger tablet size Kindle DX, or get an i-pad. We decided on the i-pad for several reasons. The i-pad is usable for a lot more then e-reading, and since we've had i-phones forever I'm used to (and love) the touch interface. Another big reason for me is that I like to read history books (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Civil War etc) and these books do not cut it on the Kindle. The Kindle is only a single page, pure black and white, and it doesn't do justice to charts and maps. The i-pad should handle that nicely, especially since it has a two page open mode in landscape. I'll also now have the option of not only downloading Kindle books, but also e-books in pub format...my choices of content should increase dramatically. That having been said (and not having tried Apple's book store yet) Amazon does a remarkable job with its Kindle store, and I fully expect to continue utilizing them for my i-pad, as well as Alice's Kindle and the PC and i-phone readers.
Friday, April 09, 2010
Saint Catherine of Siena 50th Anniversary Celebration
Saint Catherine of Siena,Preston CT is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. We had a large group of 35mm slides converted to digital and we're setting up a slide show for the upcoming reception. Click the title link to view many of these old photos of the Parish of Saint Catherine of Siena, Preston.
Note:This album was updated on Sunday, April 11th 2010, with an additional 44 snapshots and video clips from Saturday's Saint Catherine of Siena First Communion Mass and ceremony.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
All good things must end...
Click on collage for an enlargement
We'll be heading on home to Preston tomorrow morning, March 31st. Today will be spent getting our gear packed, the motor home and Jeep ready for travel, and enjoying the day here at Manatee Hammock. Yesterday we went to the Pier at Cocoa Beach for lunch. It's finally warmed up here (now that we're going, of course!) and there were lots of people in the water. The plan is to be home for Easter....since we're supposed to be hosting Easter dinner we're hoping there's no wrenches thrown at it and we have an uneventful trip North.
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