Happy 4th of July

The bird house in my backyard has been a busy place this spring. I built the house out of scrap wood about two years ago, so it's nice to see it getting used. Two sparrows laid six eggs in one nest. I don't know how they keep track of who's chicks are who's, but the two mothers have been feeding them non-stop, one after the other, since they hatched last week. The babies are growing fast and make lots of noise when one of the mothers comes by with food. They are very protective too, and I have seen them attack chipmunks and squirrels for getting too close.

This week I've been watching the stock market drop and reading news about what is causing the price of oil to rise. I'm on the side that believes that oil prices are being manipulated by speculators. If it was a demand problem, the price would have gone up more gradually. The analysts who came out this week and said that gas was going to be $7 per gallon soon, should be investigated. Saying something like that just causes fear, which is another form of market manipulation. I also heard someone say that it doesn't matter how much we cut back in this country, it isn't going to change anything, because the demand from other countries is the problem. That just makes those of us who are cutting back right now feel like our efforts are a waste of time. If gas ever does go to 7 bucks, only the rich will be driving, and the rest of us will be trying to get rid of our cars.

Access & VBA

Here's another picture of my 1976 Datsun 280Z. I still can't decide on how much it's worth. You can see that it still looks in pretty good shape, but looks can be deceiving. Datsun's are notorious for having rusty frames and this one is no exception. Although I have seen kits to repair this type of damage, the labor would be costly. But for someone with a big checkbook, who is looking for a classic sports car restoration project, this would be the ticket.

This week, I spent most of my time working with Microsoft Access to create a database to help me manage AV equipment. I do have some sql database experience, but have never created a database with Access. Fortunately, I found a good book (Access 2003 for Windows Visual QuickStart Guide) that got me started. They don't have a lot of Visual Basic code examples in the book, but by looking at examples on the Internet, I was able to build some automation into my forms. I was scratching my head at times as I tried to get seemingly simple things to work. Once I got one thing working, I would go onto the next. By the end of the week, I had loaded all of my AV data into tables and created a form that would pull in data from those tables and email the information to people assigned to specific projects. Access is a very capable solution for anyone who's data has outgrown Excel in a small office.

Midwest Machine Shop Network

The MMSN is finally open for business. Instead of creating an automated database system for the site, I decided instead to start out with a simple add shop email form. My plan is to add the database and other features as the list grows. If you own or work for a machine shop in the Midwest, you can have your shop listed for free. Be one of the first to get your site listed on this new web site! Visit the Midwest Machine Shop Network for more information.

This week I was also busy working on a web site for Firestopping Specialists, LLC. They are a firestopping contractor located in Menasha, WI. Despite what I said in one of my earlier posts, I did use some embedded CSS code on the template for this site. I found that placing CSS boxes within table cells gave me more control over cell size and border width. One strange thing I noticed after placing the CSS boxes in the three table cells that make up the content area, was that the IE browser would not display the background in the footer cell. Once I added a CSS box to that table cell, and set the background in CSS instead of the table properties, all was well.

Someone also asked me to look at a computer that was infected with spyware this week. When I logged into the computer, there was a blue background on the desktop with a message that said the computer was infected with spyware and little black bugs started crawling across the screen. A quick search on the web returned the instructions on how to remove the problem. It turns out that the computer had the firewall disabled, no spyware protection, and no antivirus software running. No wonder it got infected! That's like leaving your car, with the windows open, and the keys in the ignition!

Home sweet Home

From the back, my little house looks like a cottage. But, I'm glad that it has a backyard. I don't mind yard work, it gets me away from the computer for a while on weekends. This time of the year when the leaves come out and things start coming up in the garden is my favorite. The birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits are welcome visitors.

This week when Ed McMahon went on Larry King Live to talk about his multimillion dollar house being in foreclosure, I thought; wow, I can manage money better than Ed McMahon! For me, it's hard to have sympathy for someone that has a house like that. The way things are now, I probably couldn't afford to buy the house I'm in today, with my current job. They should be building smaller homes. But, when was the last time you saw a 900 sq. ft. home being built. All I know is that there needs to be a shift to smaller homes and smaller cars. Most of us just won't be able to afford to pay for anything beyond the basics unless we downsize the American dream.