So this pretty much sums up how I have cut the cable from my TV network providers and gone completely Internet-based with all of my media content:

There is plenty of free and commercial software available to convert your DVDs into digital format. I ripped digital copies of all of my DVDs that I own. This enables you the ability to watch your digital library on your TV with a PS3, Apple TV, other device, or by directly connecting your PC/Mac.

Throw the DVDs in storage or garage sale. You wont really need them anymore after this. Use an external harddrive to back up your digital copies so you can restore them if the file ever does become corrupt. If you bought a movie from iTunes and it becomes corrupt you can re-download it free of charge through the iCloud services.

Amazon video is now available on PS3 - All of your digital copy movies purchased through Amazon.com are kept in a digital library and you can stream them at any time.

Getting bored of your Movie library? Subscribe to Netflix and/or Hulu+ for  $8-$16 a month. This gives you access to tons of movies and TV shows streaming directly to your TV. This also has plenty of shows that kids will love.


The NFL sunday ticket will be offered for this year for PS3 owners and does not require DirecTV service. This means you can watch almost all of the NFL games every Sunday live over the Internet. So far the pricing for this service sounds pretty high and so I am not sure if I will try it or not yet. If you are desperate to watch a sport then there are some websites that stream them for free. Try Google and you might find front row sports.

Unless you live on the edge of the earth where Internet Speeds are atrocious, lag should not be a problem. I live pretty close to the edge of the Earth and I rarely have a problem myself. If you experience lag, there may be other ISP providers in your area that can offer you a better deal with faster speeds. If you are going on a trip and you want to take a movie mobile, download the video to your phone or tablet so that you avoid streaming it from a slow wifi connection or mobile data connection.

It has been roughly 6 months since we have cut the cable which means we have saved nearly $600. I am very satisfied and have no regrets.

Air Filters turned into children's seat/stool

My stepfather got creative with some industrial size air filters and painted them pink. The kids love to sit on them, stack them, and flip them over and use them to hold their toys and other belongings.

A trip to the rattlesnake roundup

My wife and I took a trip Friday to Sweetwater, TX for the annual Rattlesnake Roundup. This was our first year to go and we had a blast. I didn't know what to expect because I have never been to something like that but I found out it was a lot more safe then it sounds.

We opted out of bringing our kids because we didn't know how safe it would be for a 4 and 7 year old. I had first imagined the event as somewhat dangerous for a child to go to because of how easy it easy for a child of that age to dart towards something before you have the chance to grab them or stop them. I was also imagining people getting in bathtubs full of snakes and things like that that you see on tv( they told us some roundups do that sort of thing but this one does not - They want to make this roundup the safest and most educational for people of all ages and for over the last 50 years that is exactly what they have done). Once we got there I already wished I could have brought the kids because it was very easy to tell how kid friendly the place was. My wife and I both agreed that next time we go we will be bringing our kids.






This event is HUGE, there are tons of vendors, games, food, and rides. I was mainly focused on the main attraction. I wanted to see the rattlesnakes. I have never liked rattlesnakes that much because I have had a few bad experiences with them growing up so I wanted to get a first-hand look and reeducate myself about them. I mean I am used to seeing some rattlesnakes every year where I live but they blend in so well with their natural habitat that I don't even like going on nature hikes around here because I don't want me or a family member to accidentally step on one and get bitten.

Rattlesnakes are cold-blooded and need the heat from the sun to keep their bodies warm. Therefore they first emerge in March when temperatures start to reach the 60's and when the summer months come they tend to look for shady areas because it gets too hot for them. When it comes to colder days they tend to stay in their dens to keep warm. We witnessed this in Sweetwater this weekend as the weather was in the 30's and 40's. The rattlesnakes were very docile this year due to the cold weather. If the handlers werent directly picking them up or moving them they mostly just lay motionless and coiled up to keep themselves warm.

Every part of a caught rattlesnake can be used. The venom is milked to make antivenom. The skin is used to make materials. The meat is cooked to eat and that was my next stop. I took the rattlesnake meal which was "2 pieces of rattlesnake, Fries, and a drink". It was deep fried pieces of rattlesnake and I actually ended up getting three pieces instead of two. I have always heard that it "tastes like chicken" and that is how I can honestly describe the tast. My only con to the rattlesnake is that it is very boney but other than that I enjoyed it.

We took a guided bus tour out to some land where a rattlesnake Den was. The handlers pulled a couple of snakes out of their den and showed us how well the rattlesnakes could blend in with their natural habitat. They told us that the western Diamond back is the most common in Texas  and they are not at all aggressive. The eastern diamond back, however, is another story. They also allowed us to get some pictures and touch the rattlesnakes (while they held the head).




All in all I had a great time and I am definitely planning on doing this again. Next time my kids will come and enjoy it with me.  I leave you with some videos we took while at the event! or Watch the Playlist on Youtube

Here is a link to their website with tons of information about the annual event

src: http://rattlesnakeroundup.net/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweetwater-Jaycees-Rattlesnake-Round-Up/253049219648

How To add Pinterest's "Pin It" button to your iPad or iPhone for Free

Dont waste your money on those apps in the app store. All they do is give you a line of text to copy and paste into your bookmarks menu. The following tutorial will show you how to do just that! You may want to open my instructions on a separate tab from your iPad/iPhone.


1. First you want to open Safari from your iPad and go to http://www.pinterest.com

2. Next you will want to add this webpage as a bookmark. Be careful to see that you are adding the bookmark into the root of the bookmarks folder and not nested into some folders or else it might be hard for you to find it.

3. Give the Bookmark a name and Save it. This is going to be our "Pinterest It" button so I gave when ahead and gave it the same name.  You can give it any name you prefer, it will still work the same.

4. Now tap your bookmarks and then tap the "Edit" button inside of the bookmarks menu and then top on the "Pinterest It" bookmark that we made in the previous step.

5. You will now be able to edit the Address field of the bookmark. Go ahead and delete the entire address. You are going to want to copy the following line of code and paste it in place of the Address

COPY:

javascript:void((function()%7Bvar%20e=document.createElement('script');e.setAttribute('type','text/javascript');e.setAttribute('charset','UTF-8');e.setAttribute('src','http://iostranslate.appspot.com/js/pinmarklet.js?r='+Math.random()*99999999);document.body.appendChild(e)%7D)());

6. Tap your "Bookmarks" button to go back to the Bookmarks menu and then tap "Done".

 7. Try it out! Find a picture of something.

8. Tap your Bookmarks button and then tap the Pinterest It button that we created in the previous steps.

9. If you followed all of the steps correctly, you should then be given the choice of images you want to pin. Tap the image you wanted and then tap "Pin"

10. Now you can pin to Pinterest from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch just the same as from your Desktop/laptop.

I have tested this on my Android and it does not work for me. So far I haven't found a solution for this but please let me know if you've found something for Droid!

Sync iTunes music with google music

Ever since I have switched to droid I have had problems keeping my files synchronized between my Droid and Apple devices that I also own. I used to plug my iPhone into my iMac and all of the music I wanted would transfer and synchronize automatically. There are different 3rd party applications that can synchronize your droid with iTunes but the process of setting those up can and maintaining them can be cumbersome and tedious. The best and easiest solution I have found to keep my music synchronized between google and iTunes uses no 3rd party software. In fact everything I have used to set this up is entirely 1st party.  That's right, google provides everything we need to get this working! If you would like to set this up on your computer follow the steps. (I am assuming you already have an account with google)

1. Go to http://music.google.com and log in with your google account. 

2. On the top right side of the page you will see a link that says "UPLOAD MUSIC" click on that link and it will take you to the page where you can download google's Music Manager.

3. After you have downloaded the Music Manager you will have to go through the installation. Installation can vary depending on your OS but for the most part it is the typical installation you should already be familiar with.

4. After you have signed in you can select the location to upload your music and set up other various options.

5. Upload times will vary depending on your Internet speed and the size/amount of music files you have in your music library.

6. You will see more and more of your music uploaded to google music and you can start using it while it is still uploading.

7. From your Droid device, open up the Market application.

8. Do a search for google music. It should be the first result in APPS

9. Install the Google Music App and Open it. The app will take you through some basic set up instructions to connect to your google account.

10. Listen to your music

You're all set up.  Enjoy!

My Tech Predictions for 2012

Almost a month into 2012 and I think it is going to be a great year for technology. There will be many new products and services this year and I'd like to highlight a few things that I think are going to take off.

1.  The Synchronized Cloud

The cloud is a service that allows users to store their files and data offsite so that they can quickly access them from their Internet-connected device. The cloud has been around for several years now with services like dropbox and google docs. Last year we saw the emergence of Apple's iCloud and the beginning of synchronized cloud computing. One of the things I really like about having a synchronized cloud is you no longer have to upload your files manually. Now you can take pictures with your phone and they will automatically be saved to your dropbox folder or to your photostream on the iCloud. I think synchronized cloud computing will really start to take off this year and we will start to see more and more files and data synchronized or automatically saved to the cloud.

2. HTML5 becomes the standard

Any tech savvy user will remember the bout between Steve Jobs and Adobe's Flash Player. Steve Jobs said the performance and reliability of Flash player was poor and said his devices would not adopt Flash. If you want to read his thoughts on flash you can see it here. With HTML 5 starting to become the standard I can see a whole new window of possibilities on the web.   HTML is the source code of webpages - the basic building blocks of any webpage. For several years websites have had to rely on other browser plugins like Flash, Java, and silverlight to make their website look more "flashy" or to embed sound and video. Flash has revolutionized the Internet but it has also been one of the biggest causes for browser crashes. HTML 5 enables you to embed these types of elements without the need of third party browser plugins. If you keep your web browser up to date then you are probably already ready for HTML 5. I would like to point out that HTML 5 is also another reason that the Cloud will become more successful. HTML 5 will end the need for Nativ applications on a device. You will no longer have a device that has to have the app in order to use the service. Check out some HTML 5 coded websites for yourself:

Tron: Legacy

Cut the Rope

The Wilderness Downtown - If you visit any you need to see this one. I think you'll be amazed at what it does.

Universeries

3. Apple TV (A TV Set)

An excerpt from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson:

"I'd like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synched with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it."

I predict that we will see an Apple Keynote this year for the new Apple TV set.

4.  Cheap Tablet Explosion

We will start to see an explosion of tablets available in the $100 range. Personally I think you get what you pay for but there will be a market out there for this. This will be a hug leap for education systems and communication in developing countries.

5. Pinterest

A really neat new social network designed by a very simple concept. Basically when you come across something on the Internet that you would like to remember and share you can pin it to one of your virtual pin boards. Your homepage is filled with pins from all other users that you follow and you can find plenty of cool ideas they have also pinned.  You can also navigate different categories and view other pins by users you don't follow.  I think Pinterest has got off to a great start and that we have yet to see all of Pinterest's capabilities. Here is a short video about Pinterest:

A Soft Spot for Linux

The Cube Desktop Switcher

It has been several years since I used Linux as the Operating System for my PC. There was a time when that was all I used at home. I had a maxed out Sony Vaio and Windows kept giving me fits so I finally opted for Linux. I knew it wouldn't be an easy transition since 95% of the market share was Windows. It was, however, a challenge. Something new for me to learn.  Something to keep me occupied in my spare time. Getting Windows-specific applications to run on it using "Wine" and other techniques.  I was able to get the first Call of Duty videogame to run on it after several weeks of tinkering with it. I believe it was about 3 years all together that my household solely used Linux.



I know there are many people that would be scared to even give it a try but its really not all that difficult. These days a user can run Linux flavors that look and feel almost identical to Windows. I'll admit its a nightmare to install incompatible software or hardware but if you are just looking for a basic computer with word processor and maybe some games and music don't overlook this OS. They always say it's the Hacker's choice of OS and yeah that is true but I'm going to say it should be taken into consideration for anyone looking for a safe, secure, and more reliable OS.  If you can stay within the boundaries of Linux ( Use software designed for Linux) then there is no way Linux is any harder to use for the end-user than Windows.

Free TV Channels

It was after many years playing with Linux that I started to get a little burned out on messing with it. I was always trying to figure out some new way to tweak it or how to make something designed for Windows work on it. I installed Linux on my first iPod and installed Duke Nukem on it (fun accomplishment but not fun to play). I installed it on my PS3 and used it to watch Hulu (before the Hulu+ app came out for the PS3). It got to be where I was out of ideas and electronics to install it on. I was ready for something new.  That's when I made the move to Apple.

I am now a big fan of Apple and I probably will be for a long time. I dont have the time that I used to to play with and tinker with my computer like I used to when I had Linux. Fortunately I rarely have to do that with my Apple hardware because everything works perfect 99% of the time. I can plug my devices in and never have to click a button to get exactly what I want transferred between the two. Synchronization at its finest. Everything is user-friendly on a Mac and all the programs work together flawlessly.

I didn't choose to get rid of Linux for a Mac. My idea was that I was tired of using Linux and I wanted to try something new for a change. I never had played with a Mac before and so I decided that my next computer would be an Apple. It turned out great because here I am using it almost 5 years later it it is still running just as smoothly as when I bought it.

Fire minimize and maximize effects

Today I got to play with Linux for the first time in a long time. It hasn't changed too much but it did bring back some old memories. I think I'm going to make a virtual linux machine on my Mac just to play around with it again. Who knows? Maybe someday I will make the switch back again. Maybe someday my iMac will be too outdated for the latest OSX software and I will have no option but to install Linux instead. Sounds like a fun project for the future.

BTW - the Sony Vaio I mentioned earlier is still running well with Win7 and its about 10 years old now.

Camping/Offroading ideas?

Here lately I have been thinking about going camping somewhere. It has almost been two years since the last time. My kids were both too young to remember the last time they went camping and I have heard both of them talk about it lately. I would like to go somewhere I haven't been before. Probably out of state and with plenty of offroading because I haven't had that thrill in years either.  Something like this:

I've wanted to go there and try that trail since I first discovered it.


Will be going to the Grand Canyon this summer so maybe we can find a place to camp out up that way. I have heard great things about Moab. I know its just a little bit further out of the way but it looks like a lot of fun.

Looks pretty fun to me! If anyone knows of a good place let me know because it's not as easy to find in West Texas as one might think. I've done Big Bend and Fort Davis and Some other places in Hill Country but I have yet to find anything as challenging as some of the places out of state.


Can't wait

I quit smoking for New Year

Going to start a blog for the new year. We'll see how well I keep it up but I just thought I would try it out since I haven't blogged in years..

To kick things off my new years resolution was to quit smoking and today is my 7th day. Been trying to keep myself busy and my mind occupied on other things. The cravings are strong but they don't seem to last that long. I know that a lot of articles I have read say it is best to tell friends and family for support but that just makes me feel like there will be more disappointment if I fail. I'm going to try my best...