Mr. Stewart's Tech View

Illinois By GPS

2008-08-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

After a 28 hour round trip to Illinois and back, I am exhausted. There was a break between going and coming but a 14 hour drive on any day of the week is a bit much. We were thrilled to go and see Stewart son number one, Josh.

I am often impressed by the usefulness of my GPS. That little device took me flawlessly from York, Pa. to Great Lakes, Illinois. Once there it took me here and there, helping me get to Dunkin Donuts, Denny's, a local mall and a public beach on Lake Michigan.

One feature I really like of the GPS is how you can lookup a phone number for a particular place of business listed in the GPS. That can be really handy. Sometimes I get a little burned because I have been too cheap to upgrade my software, despite the GPS's reminders that the maps are a tad old but for the most part it works great! I have the Navi 360 from Garmin. I got a good deal from Amazon if I also bought a year membership to Audible.com; you can play the books on the GPS, although I tend to use my iPod. The GPS also has bluetooth, can display pictures and has some travel info options you can buy, which I haven't.

I personally recommend the Garmin 360 and thank Mrs. Stewart for giving it to me for Christmas, of course I picked it out and ordered it for her :)

Animal Control Technology

2008-08-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Stewart and I and the youngest Stewart are in Illinois to visit the oldest Stewart child, who just completed Navy boot camp. On the way here I saw an interesting item while passing through Indiana. There are lights that flash if an animal, such as a deer I suspect, is potentially in the road ahead. Its interesting to see. There are large solar panels that power these systems. Along the road, there are white posts, which I assume have some kind of motion detector. When an animal breaks the signal, potentially moving on to the highway, the light starts to blink.

Its not that I am that well traveled, but this is the first time I have seen anything like this. I can only guess at what kind of animal problem warranted the implementation of this kind of technology. But whatever the reason, its a simple and clever use. Do you have a use that you have seen that addresses a local problem? Share it with us here!

Back To School

2008-08-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, I always found it annoying how the stores couldn't wait to get the back to
school supplies in the shelves and in the ads. Now a days back to school has a whole new dimension, hardware, more specifically computers and laptops.

Ads now not only exclaim the joys of new stationary and 3 ring binders but laptops, desktops, digital displays and all manner of electronic devices. Parents, students and other unsuspecting consumers will find a myriad of choices, in their local papers, email and various web pages.

Be careful out there. Its a jungle of rebates and sales, with manufacturer after manufacturer clawing for your disposable dollar. Know what you want, what you need and how much you can spend and go from there.