Forward Thinking

Now that I’m the general manager where I work, I am going to have to invest in a cell phone repeater of some kind so that people can just call me if they have a problem at work. Right now, I get no signal at my house. They can message me through Yahoo from their cell phones, but if they try to call me, it goes straight to voice mail. I can’t even bring up voice mail on my phone out here where I live, so I don’t get any messages until I get back into town. By then, a problem at work could get very bad.

Before, it really wasn’t terribly vital that my workplace be able to reach me. I was just a regular associate manager. That whole game has changed now, though, and they have to be able to reach me anytime.

Technorati Tags: general manager, cell phone, voice mail

Though our location is a brand new store in a brand new Walmart, there are a couple of problems that need to be addressed. For instance, the drain pipes for the large restaurant sinks in the back aren’t properly positioned over the floor drains. The water splashes around and goes all over the floor, which means we are constantly mopping it up back there. Also, the kitchen faucets are difficult to turn off and on. I’d like to see something different there than the hard-to-grip handle they installed. Something “T” shaped would be easier to grasp, especially when your hands are wet. The barrel shaped handles tend to slip through your hands when trying to turn them off and on, and they are extremely tight.

I’d also like to see a dish rack installed above the drainboard so that trays could be stacked on their edges to drip dry. For now, we have to towel dry them, which really isn’t the most sanitary method. Air drying is much better. But, they have to be dried before we can put paper liners on them and give them to customers for their food.

What I do like is the fact that we have a dishwasher. It’s huge and looks like a jacuzzi bathtub! It rolls the dishes around in the water, churning them in hot suds. (Nothing glass, of course, like coffee pots.) You leave them in for 10 minutes, take them out, rinse and put in sanitizer water, then let them dry. I don’t have to assign anyone the task of standing back there and hand washing hundreds of customer trays, food utensils, or equipment parts. One person can load the dishwasher, then walk away to do other tasks while it’s running.

Technorati Tags: Walmart, restaurant, dish rack, dishwasher

I do like my HDTV and great home theater sound system, but the look of this equipment atop my antique jelly cabinet is just wrong. This house has such a cabin feel to it with large windows and exposed beam ceilings. I’m thinking I’d be better off, aesthetically speaking, if I used an lcd mount and put the TV on the wall over the cabinet. Then, I could put the home theater unit inside the cabinet and hide the peripheral speakers and wires so that I don’t have too much of a tech feel in the living room.

As much as I like new technologies and what they add to life, I tend to find comfort in surrounding myself with low-tech things such as primitive crafts and sturdy furniture. I like the “welcome home” these things offer to me. My quilted bedspread and shams, my Hull pottery, and my handcrafts all warm up this house a lot, even though I really enjoy watching movies on that TV!

Technorati Tags: HDTV, home theater, technologies

I’ve got a lot of old hardback books. I’m not even sure I’ll read them again, I’ve had them so long. Some of them were my Father’s books and as such, are treasures to me, so I don’t want to get rid of them. So, I’ve thought about what to do with all these books without shelving them or storing them where they might be damaged. I think I’ve come up with a solution that you might want to think about using, too.

I’m going to stack them into four columns in my bedroom and use a piece of glass on the top of them so I have an interesting table. I’ve already got the glass, so I’m ahead there.This could be done with any old books you have around. You could even get old books from a flea market or yard sale just for this purpose. This could keep a lot of old books out of the landfills. Books like old Reader’s Digests, which often have beautiful colors and pretty printing on the spines, would work out wonderfully for a repurposing project like this. If you wanted to make it a permanent piece, you could glue the books together.

I’ve seen this used to make table lamps, and I see no reason why it couldn’t be taken a step further to make unusual, unique tables. Because I have a very active little dog, this table will go near a wall, though I’d like to use it as the coffee table in front of the sofa. I’m afraid she’ll knock it over if it’s there, though. You will want to consider children and pets before you place this item in your home, of course.

I was originally going to use this idea in my bedroom, but I like it so much that I think I’ll make this “table” in my living room for added visual interest.

Technorati Tags: hardback books, table, old books, flea market

One of my favorite printers is wireless. It’s portable. Ink cartridges are inexpensive. It requires no electricity or batteries. You get a wide choice of ink colors. The housing can be simple plastic or a sleek, shiny metal. You can have your name engraved on it. It fits into your pocket or purse for quick access. It’s quiet when in operation. It’s so inexpensive that even if someone takes it, buying another is not a budget breaker. It’s disposable, yet it’s environmentally friendly and green provided you dispose of it properly. It can be found at almost any kind of office supply or other variety store.

You can have one, or you can have a dozen, and you still won’t feel the pinch in your pocketbook. What kind of printer is this? Well, next time you’re shopping, just pick up a pack of bic pens, and you’ll have a number of my favorite printers readily available to you.

Technorati Tags: printer, printers

The deck I’m sitting on now would be a great place to put a hot tub, I think. Of course, I wouldn’t get much use from it in the summer. It’s just plain too hot to be getting in a hot tub here in the South during the summer months. But during the winter, it would be a lot of fun to be able to come out here and relax in the heated, churning waters.

I wonder, though, if I can get a smaller one? Maybe just for one or two people? Maybe there are even walk in tubs that would work as a hot tub on a small scale? I don’t know. I’ll have to look into that.

This back deck is very private. The only thing back here is the trees.

Technorati Tags: deck, hot tub

I’m finally moving. It will be into a house owned by my older daughter. It’s in the country, which everyone knows I love, but will add miles to my commute. This should be for only a few months, though, and then I’ll be buying for sure.

One thing about this house is that it’s roomy and airy, well insulated, and Older Daughter says I can decorate however I want as long as I don’t paint the wood. The living room area is done in knotty pine beaded board panels which are beautiful. I’d never want to paint that, it’s such a lovely look. It has exposed pine beams and give the feel of a lodge when you’re in it. I love it.

The house is energy efficient, too. It has a heat pump which saves electricity. The downstairs area stays fairly cool anyway due to plenty of shade trees, though I remember that the upstairs has some heat gain in the summer.

I’ll be using my compact fluorescent bulbs all through the house. I’ve got great coupons for more of them if I need more for the lighting, but these will save electricity and have low carbon emissions, too.

Because the rooms have floor to ceiling windows that don’t open, I’ll plan on having some curtains that will block the sunlight in order to save on the cooling bill. My sofa is fudge brown and I have cranberry throw pillows for it, so I’ll get cranberry twin sheets to use for the curtains. They’re inexpensive and fit the windows perfectly. I know this because it’s what my daughter used!

I can dedicate a space for the computer and have a small home office in the living room. Or, if we don’t rent a room to someone, I’ll just dedicate the smaller bedroom upstairs to office space.

We’ll probably be moving this week, so maybe in a few days, I’ll be posting here from my new digs! Then, whether I’m mulling over Chevy grills or shopping for a new bed, you’ll hear all about it from my new location!

Technorati Tags: house, commute, heat pump, compact fluorescent bulbs

Something that’s here at our friend’s house are motion sensor lights that point out toward the driveway and part of the front yard. I have to admit, I really like these and am thinking seriously of installing them at our house when we move in. I think if I use compact fluorescent bulbs in them to save electricity, these would be a very practical solution to lighting when I come home after dark.

Having them means I wouldn’t have to leave any lights on outside the house other than my solar driveway lights and solar spotlights. I’m not keen on walking up to the door and being in the dark. It’s unsettling. Having motion sensor lights at strategic locations around the outside of the house would let me have light just when and where I need it.

Technorati Tags: compact fluorescent bulbs, electricity, solar driveway lights, solar spotlights, motion sensor lights

Springtime brings out the photographer in us all. Daffodils, forsythia, and other blooming plants and shrubs explode into color, seemingly overnight, which makes us want to get out on cool spring days and take photographs of the magnificent spring showcase of blooms. The problem comes when we find out the camera we have isn’t capturing the splendor in quite the way we expected.

Then, our thoughts turn to purchasing a new digital camera. One that will get close up and personal with individual blooms and butterflies. Finding just the right camera for that doesn’t have to be hit or miss if you take the time to research some digital camera reviews first. Especially if the reviews are videos and are made by actual consumers who have blazed the digital camera trail ahead of you.

Every camera has it’s good points. Viewing a review for Sony Digital Cameras will let you know if that camera has what you need for taking those close-ups and long shots.

Because you want to be sure which camera will do which job the best, you will probably want to move on to the reviews for Nikon Digital Cameras. You may or may not need those close-ups, but you certainly do want crystal clear results from any shot you take, especially if you are taking pictures of your child’s first Easter Egg Hunt or them in their new Easter duds.

Knowing what you’re getting in a camera is as easy as watching the Canon Digital Camera reviews. You may want a digital camera that will zoom on the fly and refocus quickly enough to capture your children playing in the sunshine or your grandmother rocking one of your babies. When it comes to family, you don’t want to miss any opportunity to save memories digitally and include them as printed pictures in your scrapbooks.

The cameras I mentioned above are just a few of the top digital cameras on the market today. You might also want to look at reviews for a Olympus digital camera or a Panasonic digital camera so you can get the complete “picture” concerning their selling points and qualities.

Brought to you by ExpoTV

Technorati Tags: photographer, photographs, digital camera

The more I think about it, the more I really want a HDTV. I don’t even care that Blu-Ray is the technology that seems to be rapidly overtaking HD. Along with it are coming technologies that will help me keep some of my current equipment and use them all together. I know I can utilize HDMI peripherals to connect the home entertainment system to the television, convert signals, and bring it all together under one “roof”, so to speak. So, what am I waiting for? Nothing really, other than a really good sale on HDTVs!

Technorati Tags: HDTV, Blu-Ray, home entertainment system