January 31, 2008: Snowing back home…FINALLLLLLLY
It is finally snowing back home! YAY!!!! Kids are out of school today.
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January 29, 2008: Wicked…Wicked Weather
An incredible storm system moved across the Ohio Valley today. Widespread wind damage was reported across the KPAH Forecast Region. Signficant damage was reported in numerous counties. Massac County had roofs ripped off trailers and trailers overturned. Reports of structural damage to schools in Pulaski and Graves County. Widespread tree damage. The list of wind damage reports in KY will exceed 100.
The Storm Prediction Center is showing over 200 reports of damage so far. That number continues to increase. A deep low pressure moved from Illinois into Michigan this evening. EXTREMELY fast pressure falls and rises were reported with the system. Some of the most impressive I have seen in over 20 years. An incredible event.
St Louis, Missouri had a record high temperature of over 70 degrees. Within two hours they were reported snow and sleet. This came after large hail fell in their county.
Blizzard conditions were reported across portions of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Truly an incredible event.
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January 28, 2008: OMG :) Check out this snowfall forecast map…
This is from the GFS Model. It is showing a BIG BIG BIG snowstorm later this week. Accumulations of 15-18" here in Waterloo! Still a LONG way off though. Looks like potential for snow back home as well. AGAIN a bit early to call for snow - we know what usually happens! Stay tuned!
This map will change but it is fun to look at tonight!!!!
BRING IT ON!!!!!!
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January 28, 2008: Hell just UNFROZE…
You knew it was too good to be true…
Free music downloads site in chaos as record giants pull out
Music fans around the world faced confusion today as it was announced they would be able to download unlimited, free songs without breaking the law.
A revamped online file-sharing service had vowed to offer a catalogue of 30million free songs that are compatible with iPods, but record labels have denied they had granted permission to share the songs.
Qtrax, which makes its debut today, is the latest online music venture counting on the lure of free songs to draw in music fans.
The key to their revolutionary venture was thought to be advertising, which they hope will pay the bills, namely record company licensing fees.
The New York-based service was among several peer-to-peer file-sharing applications that emerged following the shutdown of Napster, the pioneer service that enabled millions to illegally copy songs stored in other computers.
But Warner Music said it had not authorised the use of its tracks by Qtrax - and later Universal Music Group and EMI followed suit, saying they did not have licensing deals with Qtrax and discussions were continuing.
Justin Kazmark, a spokesman for New York-based Qtrax, has declined to comment.
To take advantage of the free but legal service, the user will need to download the Qtrax software which displays adverts while the user is searching and downloading songs.
The site was expected to feature special sections including one called "Last Night" where users can search for newly added tracks from live concerts that were recorded the night before.
It will also feature music videos, artist documentaries, interviews, album reviews and biographies among other features.
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January 28, 2008: HELL FROZE OVER???? Say it isn’t so!!!!
From today, feel free to download another 25 million songs - legally
After a decade fighting to stop illegal file-sharing, the music industry will give fans today what they have always wanted: an unlimited supply of free and legal songs.
With CD sales in free fall and legal downloads yet to fill the gap, the music industry has reluctantly embraced the file-sharing technology that threatened to destroy it. Qtrax, a digital service announced today, promises a catalogue of more than 25 million songs that users can download to keep, free and with no limit on the number of tracks.
The service has been endorsed by the very same record companies - including EMI, Universal Music and Warner Music – that have chased file-sharers through the courts in a doomed attempt to prevent piracy. The gamble is that fans will put up with a limited amount of advertising around the Qtrax website’s jukebox in return for authorised use of almost every song available.
The service will use the “peer-to-peer” network, which contains not just hit songs but rarities and live tracks from the world’s leading artists.
Nor is a lack of compatibility with the iPod player expected to put fans off. Apple is unlikely to allow tracks downloaded from its rival to be compatible with iPods, but, while the iPod is the most popular music player, it has not succeeded in dominating the market: sales of the iPod account for 50 million out of 130 million total digital player sales. Qtrax has also spoken of an “iPod solution”, to be announced in April.
Qtrax files contain Digital Rights Management software, allowing the company to see how many times a song has been downloaded and played. Artists, record companies and publishers will be paid in proportion to the popularity of their music, while also taking a cut of advertising revenues.
The Qtrax team, which spent five years working on the system, promised a “game-changing” intervention in the declining recorded music market when the service was presented at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes.
The singer James Blunt gave Qtrax a cautious welcome. “I’m amazed that we now accept that people steal music,” he said. “I was taught not to steal sweets from a sweet shop. But I want to learn how this service works, given the condition the music industry is in.”
Qtrax, a subsidiary of Brilliant Technologies Corporation, has raised $30 million (£15 million) to set up the service, which is available in the US and Europe from today. Allan Klepfisz, president of Qtrax, said: “Customers now expect music to be free but they do not want to use illegal sites. We believe this . . . has the support of the music industry and allows artists to get paid.”
Ford, McDonald’s and Microsoft are among the advertisers signed up to support what is thought to be the world’s largest legal music store. The service says that adverts will be nonintrusive and will not appear each time a song is played. As with iTunes, customers will have to download Qtrax software. They will own the songs permanently but will be encouraged to “dock” their player with the store every 30 days so it can gather information on which songs have been played.
Jean-Bernard Levy, chief executive of Vivendi Universal, said the crisis in the music industry had been overstated despite EMI’s radical cost-cutting. He said: “Look at Universal – we have double-digit profit margins. But we would like strong competition from the other major record companies to help the industry grow.” Universal has poached the Rolling Stones from EMI and Mr Levy said that others could follow as thousands of staff and artists are made redundant.
On the appearance of Qtrax, Mr Levy gave warning that the lack of compatibility between competing digital music players was as big a problem as file-sharing. And Paul McGuinness, the manager of U2, said that the sound quality of MP3 downloads was becoming an issue for bands and fans. “There is a growing consumer revolt against online audio quality,” he said.
To download music http://www.qtrax.com/
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January 27, 2008: Lucy…ahhhhhh so cute!
Kristy sent me these photographs of Lucy! I love the blanket one. 
Yeah, I figured as much
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW TOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!
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January 27, 2008: Tech Minute…WildCharge
WildCharge, the first wire-free charging and power solutions for consumer electronics and other mobile devices was selected as one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions Of The Year 2007!!
Available now, WildCharge presents its groundbreaking WildCharger™ charging pad. Also available are WildCharge™ adapters that allow most Motorola RAZR V3 phones to draw power wirelessly from the WildCharger pad.
In the next few months, WildCharge will introduce adapters for other leading mobile phones, smart phones and music players. These include adapters for RIM’s BlackBerry and Apple’s iPhone and iPod family of products and more.
The WildCharger™ pad can simultaneously charge and power up to five such devices once these are enabled with our adapters (or have our technology built-in during manufacture.) WildCharge products eliminate messy, tangled wires and multiple wall bricks. Convenient to use. Good for the environment!
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January 27, 2008: Adding comments to blog postings (for those wondering)
I know everyone isn’t internet savy soooo….if you click on the NO COMMENTS button it will bring up the post you are currently reading. You can then scroll down to the bottom of the page and add a comment. :) That is how that works. You can also click on the title bar of each post and it will pull up just that day’s happenings - you can then add comments to the bottom of the page. I can then read those comments.
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January 27, 2008: Back to Waterloo…
Well it is time to head back to Waterloo. It has been a fun trip up north (aren’t we already up north). Huntsville, Ontario is a great place to visit. You can learn more about it on this web-site (just click). More about Canadian Pond Hockey here. :) It will be a four hour trip home. Looks like rain - YES RAIN - in the forecast for Tuesday. :( SNOW on Wednesday with high winds (another snow squall???). Then more rain/snow/ice after that. VERY active storm pattern setting up across the United States. Everything from severe weather to snowstorms.
My last picture from Deerhurst :)
OK - sooooo ONE MORE PHOTO!!!! I love the trees with the snow hanging off of them!
If you ever get a chance to eat at Moose Winooski’s then don’t pass up the opportunity. Go for the ribs and
chicke wings. :) Slurp! Messy but good.
GIANT Moose out front. I FINALLY GOT MY MOOSE. I have been waiting for EIGHT years to see a moose up here in Canada.
Joey checking out the menu
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January 26, 2008: Deerhurst and Huntsville, Ontario
We went into Hunstville to take a look around. They have a lot of cool shops. There is a bookstore (visited it once before a few summers ago). I call this the cottage bookstore. Everyone goes here to find a book to read at the cottage. I am sure they are busy in the summertime with all the Toronto folk coming up to visit the lakes. In the winter I bet they stay busy with local people who don’t like to get out in the snow. Cozy up to a warm fireplace and read a book.
The Bookcase - great place to visit
This Christian Church sits up on a hill in Huntsville
Church
We had to stop by the Chocolate shop!!!!
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MORE CANDY than anyone could possibly EVER eat.
Huntsville, Ontario
SOME VERY LONG ICICLES!!!!!
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DAVID trying to stab me with a GIANT icicle. The evidence would actually melt…the perfect crime????
SNOWSHOES ANYONE?????
So we kept seeing this restaurant on the way to Huntsville. We finally decided that curiosity was getting
the best of us. Sooooo we stopped by to eat. They actually had GREAT FOOD. 3 Men and a Stove is the name
of the place. Great steaks!
3 Men and a Stove
I guess that is the stove????
Joey trying to figure out what he wants to eat. Probably tired of me taking his picture with the menu.
Joey and David walking in the snow…heading towards the cottage
One of the local "snow" kids. Can you imagine living up here???? :) :)
Huntsville, Ontario - Canada
And more Pond Hockey at the end of the day.
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About Me
Welcome to my journal. I call it a journal because I started this before "blogs" existed. Within this site you will find pages and pages and pages of my journey over the last 10 years. An incredible story of triumph, sadness, happiness, and intense battles. I run several web-sites. Most of them dealing with weather and photography - my passion. You can visit the sites through the links below. If you would like to know more about me then please visit my biography page by clicking Here.
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