Picture settings for a clear "Vivid" picture

These settings were used on a newer Panasonic 52" plasma. Sometimes the "Vivid" settings can look pixelated. I found that with the settings below, the picture was vivid while maintaining a clear picture. These settings might work for you too.

Umbra Picture Frame

I lost the hardware for what appears to be a discontinued double sided picture frame from Umbra. I've posted these pics in hope that Umbra can view the link I send them in an email and let me know if they still carry the hanging hardware for me to purchase.

Panasonic Plasma TH-50PX6U Settings

I wasn't real happy with the picture settings on my Panasonic TH-50PX6U right out of the box. I did some Googleing and found this Panasonic review that had menu options similar to mine. At this link there is a table with settings that are supposed to get very close to "D6500K—the optimum prescribed color temperature used by the film and broadcast industry".

After setting my TV to those settings, I thought the picture was a little on the dark side, but the picture was not as pixelated as before I made the settings and everything looked much smoother on the screen.

I changed my Panasonic to the settings in the link above, but I changed the Picture setting to 28 and the Tint setting to 0. The picture was brighter than the table settings and I'm personally very satisfied with the settings for both HD and DVD viewing.

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My PC Running Folding@Home

Click on image below for full size pic.
Pic shows what PC I have running the SMP (Single Core Multi Processor) version of Folding@Home. What is Folding@Home? Check it out here!

My Intel Core 2 processor is always running Folding@Home at 100%, but I don't notice the PC slow down because Folding@Home gives up the processor as other programs need it. I get more points per WU (work unit) with the Intel Core 2 because each WU is larger than average based on the PC's ability to process the larger WU in a reasonable amount of time.

I'm nofreerides at the Boeing Folding@Home Team. I don't know who started it, but I joined it.

 

What kind of tree is this?

Gabriel from Swansons Nursery near Seattle replied to my email. Thanks Gabriel! Here's what he said I have.

"The plant you have is a type of Ceanothus. There are many types of Ceanothus, but the variety pictured, to me, looks like ‘Italian Skies’. It is rather unusual for Ceanothus to be trained up on a single trunk like the one you have. Usually it is a dense shrub or multi-stemmed small tree.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Gabriel"

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My new Toto Toilet

I got tired of prepping people on how to use my toilets when they came over. My existing toilets just don't work that great. They came with the house. My search for a kick-ass toilet narrowed down to the Toto Ultra-Max

Here's the toilet http://www.performancetoilets.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=195
and here's a funny review http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000986.php

I bought mine online at http://www.toiletwarehouse.com/ and it was delivered just days later by DHL in perfect condition. It was packed very nicely.

Here's a video I threw together - PRESS PLAY -

Long Maltese Puppy Video

Here's a video of our puppies from the time we found them at the breeder's until they were about eight months old. There's a couple shots of our twelve year old dog that has been adjusting to the pups. Video is just over nine minutes long.

- PRESS PLAY

Siamese Eyes

Just look at the eyes on this Siamese!
-PRESS PLAY-

Our 15 Week Old Maltese Puppies Playing With The 12 Year Old Maltese

Our oldest dog doesn't really enjoy the company of the puppies. Maybe he'll learn to appreciate them one day....or not.
-PRESS PLAY-

Sad Maltese Puppy Cry

We have two Maltese puppies. This is a video I took when he didn't know I was watching. For such a well cared for dog, he sounds sooooo sad.
-PRESS PLAY-

How to pick a stock that has good potential for short term growth

I pay for a service from Investors Business Daily that has a section called "IBD® eTables". With eTables you can quickly filter and sort hundreds of stocks and then export the results to Excel and continue to use additional filters in whatever way you want. I won't get into my history with stocks or try to convince you that this how to pick em. There are countless ways to choose stocks, but you need to have a goal in mind and then try and find a method that works for you. While we're on the subject, here are 20 good rules to follow from IBD no matter who you are or what your goals are. I hope my method at least serves as a starting point for you, maybe more. Need some inspiration? Visit Mr. Market! He is huge, bring him your finest meats and cheeses!!!

Try these steps, write down the stocks and their current price, then follow them for 4-6 weeks and see what happens. Looking for a good free portfolio tracker that will track your portfolio with ease? Try Google Finance and then find the "Portfolio" link.

1. Go to "IBD® eTables" and select "Main Tables"
2. Filter for "New High or up 1 point (Bold)
3. Primary sort by EPS Rating and secondary sort SMR Rating
4. Export to Excel
5. Filter for stocks within 2% of their 52 week high
6. Filter for stocks with RS greater than or equal to 95
7. Filter for stocks with SMR Rating equal to A or equal to B
8. Filter for stocks with Ind Group Relative Strength equal to A* or B*
9. Focus on stocks with an EPS ranging from 80 to 86. Here's why.
10. Don't forget to look at the PE and research it. Wikipedia has some useful info about the P/E ratio here. Wikipedia states, "It is probably the single most consistent red flag to excessive optimism and over-investment. It also serves, regularly, as a marker of business problems and opportunities. By relating price and earnings per share for a company, one can analyze the market's valuation of a company's shares relative to the wealth the company is actually creating."
11. Go to http://finance.google.com/ and research the stocks that interest you. Read the news about it, look at the chart in different views, look at related companies and don't forget to look at the bottom left hand corner "More Resources".

What does Mr. Market's process try to do? Here's exactly what he says, "What this process is trying to do is to select a hot growth stock that has a little more juice left in it to get you that last 15% without being so hideously overvalued that it could drop like a rock. I don’t think I need to buy stocks with extended valuations to make a quick profit. There are stocks out there with good momentum that aren’t bad to hold if I make a wrong decision. I think my model finds them. My model has been successful in protecting me from real lemons. Preservation of capital is always important. Buying companies with real earnings protects me in the down markets. We all work hard for our money. It makes no sense to give it away. That’s why I believe it’s important to buy stock in companies with real earnings."

Have fun!