TXU Energy

  I am in Fort Worth (Texas) and I use TXU Energy for electricity.  I have been very happy with their service.  My bill for last month was $44.11 now of course it is about three times that during the summer here because of the AC.

  I like that I can go online and see my daily, weekly, monthly use and know what my bill is going to be.  I am sure lots of companies do that now. 
  I use all compact fluorescent bulbs here. 
 

  I had a CFB go bad and I need to find out how to dispose of it now. 
Mother Nature Network has an aricle “5 Ways to Dispose of old CFLs.”

  I used the Earth911 link and it looks like Home Depot is the place I can take it. Home Depot takes compact fluorescent light bulbs.  They accept only unbroken CFL bulbs, no fluorescent tubes.  I have a doctor’s appointment on the 31st and there is a Home Depot across the street. 

  I guess when the price of LED bulbs come down we will all be using LED bulbs and it will be the end of CFL light bulbs. 
  I been using CFBs since they came out and they were high cost then.  I would buy one bulb each payday until I had everything replaced.  I think this time I will just wait for the price to come down on LED bulbs.  Well I will be 71 in March and I might not be around long enough to see the price drop this time. 

  I went to EarthTech Products and it looks like LED light bulbs cost about $40.00 for a 9 watt bulb and that puts out as much light as a 60 watt bulb.  I will wait for the prices to come down.

CowTown Hamfest 2012

“Hi Fellow Ham,

This is a reminder that the Cowtown Hamfest is this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas. You may already be aware of this event but many have not heard about it. We wanted to be sure no one was left out. The ARRL North Texas Region is holding their convention at the Cowtown this year. Many of the ARRL folks will be there. ARRL wants you to attend and remember, the West Gulf Division QSL contest coming soon. Please tell your friends about the event.

We hope you will come out and enjoy the fun. The weather is predicted to be wonderful. Have a great "Ham Radio" day!

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COWTOWN HAMFEST 2012 

Cowtown Hamfest, the original Hamfest in the Fort Worth Metroplex, will be held, January 20-21, 2012 at Lockheed Martin Recreation Area, 3400 Bryant Irvin Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76109.

A few sales tables are still available, but you need to order NOW! We will try to accommodate a select number of walk in requests if we have openings or tables are unclaimed. There is still a dollar discount for online admission tickets purchase, don’t be left out.

Doors will be open Friday evening the 20th from 3:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Saturday the 21st we open at 8:00 am and close at 3:00 pm. Food, including Bar-B-Q sandwiches, burgers and dogs will be available Friday and Saturday. Morning coffee and breakfast snacks will also be available.

Door prizes will be awarded through out the event. A Kenwood V71A Dual Band Mobile will be given away each day. A Bird Watt Meter Model 43 a gift for Phasecom and the grand prize, Kenwood D710 Dual Band APRS Mobile will be at the event’s end.

Volunteers are needed; free entrance will be given in return for a minimum of 2 hours volunteer time. Volunteer by contacting Ken Bush at kb5ybi@yahoo.com or David Forbes at KC5UYR@compuserve.com .

The event will feature large vendor areas, with over 100 tables, and an outdoor tailgate flea market. Several well known commercial vendors will be present. Vendors should go to the website for table availability and contact Kevin Vickers at vickersdc@aol.com.

A complete set of educational programs and meetings will be conducted through out Saturday, and license examinations will be held both Friday and Saturday.

Talk-in is 147.28, tone 110.9. Cowtown Hamfest is sponsored by the Lockheed Martin Amateur Radio Club, W5SJZ, and by LMRA. The website is located at www.cowtownhamfest.org, and personal contact can be made with the Hamfest Chairman, David Forbes, KC5UYR, KC5UYR@compuserve.com or info@cowtownhamfest.com .

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Please take this opportunity to go to www.cowtownhamfest.com for information and to order your discounted admission ticket today. If you have items to sell, there are a few sale spaces left. We thank you for your past support and attendance. Your help makes the event possible and allows us to bring you vendors you desire.”

What is wrong with these two photos?

  My Canon G12 camera is one of the best cameras for taking photos with very little light and I just love taking those sort of photos.

  I took these two photos last night.  Do you see anything wrong?

  United States Flag Code says that the flag should be illuminated if displayed at night.  Of course this is Texas ( ) and Rick Perry was thinking about taking the state out of the union. 
  The flag is flying at number 23 Fort Worth fire station. 
  A lot of people do not follow the flag code.  Plus with trying to hold down budgets and electrical costs is it a good idea to do it now days?

  I just feel if the building was not a fire station and say it was an ACLU office or a union office you would have a mob of red neck Texans with torches and pitchforks outside screaming that the flag of our nation was not being treated with respect because they were a bunch of Communist. 

  But back to the subject of my camera.  There was very little light out when I took these photos.  The camera works great with little light.  But you also get the true feel for everything. 

Charter Internet 100 Mbps

  I posted here the other day about the offer for “Preferred Charter Customers” to lock in a lower price for 2 years.  I said I wanted to do that because my bill will increase by $38.40 soon when a couple of my offers expire.
  We got 30 Mbps down now.  I do not need that high of a speed.  Russell loves the speed. 

  Well I went to Charter site and they now offer 100 Mbps and the price is $59.99 a month for 12 months when you bundle.  So I am thinking they will also give me that price for the special offer they sent me in the mail and I hope they will do it for 24 months.
 
  The speeds they offer are Lite 3 Mbps $19.99 a month,  Express 15 Mbps $19.99 a month, Plus 30 Mbps $29.99 and Ultra 100 Mbps $59.99 a month. We have the Plus service right now.  I want the “ULTRA” the idea give me an erection. 

  By the way I pay now $39.99 for Internet service and after 12 months it will increase by $15.00 so I need to take this Charter Bundle offer ( promo code 515671) so in the new bundle deal it seems to me like I should get the 100 Mbps for about $30.00 extra a month.  That is only $1.00 a day to have 100 Mbps.  I wish I had a faster computer.
 
  One thing you need to check on if you are thinking about getting faster cable is will your cable modem support those faster speeds.   We got our own cable modem and it does support 100 Mbps and even faster speeds.

  Just think at one time I was using the phone line at 300 baud.  I can remember when I got a 1200 baud modem and could log into Howard’s Notebook at 1200 baud.  Now I have 30 Mbps and I am wanting 100 Mbps.

Best Places to Retire 2012

  I saw that the AARP site had a list of “10 Great Sunny Places to Retire.”  That sounded good to me.  You know I love the sun and warm weather.  I decided to check it out.

“…To help you with that decision, AARP canvassed the country and found 10 great places where the sun shines in abundance, clear skies accentuate the scenery and the sublime weather gets people outdoors to play — and to meet other like-minded retirees…”

 

  Well here is there list;  Asheville NC, Grand Junction CO, Sarasota FL, Las Cruces NM, San Luis Obispo CA, St. George UT, Santa Fe NM, Bend OR AND Fort Worth Texas! 
  Fort Worth?  My God, why not say the surface of the sun is a good place to live!
  People do not get out side in the summer time to play in Fort Worth.  Not in the summer time.  You stay inside with the air conditioning running day and night. 
  In Fort Worth all summer it is hot.  If you have a day that it gets down to 100 degrees you are happy and think it is a cold spell.  It is hot  HOT   H  O  T and no rain for months. 

  Is the AARP trying to kill off their membership? 

  They do talk about Fort Worth and the other cities.  They do say that it is a rough place to live if you have asthma or allergies (Thanks Gov. Perry). 
  “The metro has rates of heart disease, violent crime and property crime well above the national averages.”

  I could be wrong.  I live here but I do not have a car and I have not been all over Fort Worth.  I do know that the summers are super hot here. 
  I live on the west side of Fort Worth.  I live in a nice apartment complex.  This is a two bedroom and two bathroom apartment.  It cost me $615.00 a month. We do not pay for water or trash.  The electric bill runs $50.00 a month in the winter and $150.00 in the summer. 
  Just a few blocks away are some pretty scary apartments.  If I was living in one of those I would be sleeping with a gun next to my bed. This is a gated apartment unit and the management is very good about keeping things safe for everyone. 

  I hate to talk bad about the place that I live but I do not think that Fort Worth should be on a list of great places to retire. 

Good deal from Charter Cable right?

  I have Charter Cable service.  I got Internet (30 Mbps down), the Digital Home Package, Digital View Plus, Wire Maintenance and DVR equipment package.  Now that comes to $124.69 a month.
  So I have high speed Internet and HD digital TV with DVR service. 
  OK now I get a $13.40 a month discount for the Digital home package for six months.  That will be soon.  I also get a $15.00 a month discount for the Internet service and that will be over very soon.

  Now Charter is offering a special deal to me and others until 02/10/2012.  I can lock in a lower price for 2 years.
  They have a package for $154.97 a month;   Charter Internet (15 Mbps down), Charter TV in HD with the DVR service plus HBO/Cinemas, Starz/Encore and Showtime/TMC.  Also the Digital View Plus service.
  Also they offer Charter Phone Unlimited nationwide calling service.

  Now the first thing is that I have 30 Mbps down now and love it.  Russ would not be happy if I went to 15 Mbps down.
  The other thing is now I do not have any channels like HBO, Showtime and the others.  I been thinking of adding HBO and it is $20.00 a month to add.
  Right now I use Skype for my phone service.  I been using it for years.  I could do away with it and save what I pay them. 

  It looks to me like I need to call Charter and take the deal.  My cost is going to go up up soon $38.40 if I do not do anything.  I would be getting all the premium channels which I do not have now.  Plus I would have phone service with them.
  I would have to buy a normal phone.  We don’t have one.
  Plus what I hate is I know they will have to come out to install the phone service and there will be a service call fee for that.

  What do you think?   Anyone good at math?  Anyone see anything I am missing.
  Not sure what to about the 15 M vs 30 M speed.  My guess is they might keep me at the 30 M speed or they might say I could have the extra speed for $10.00 more a month.
  They offer the 30 M down speed now I think for $30.00 a month and I pay now $39.99 a month for Internet service.  I think they might just leave me at 30 M down speed.

  Leave a comment if  you see something I am missing.  I am not the brightest bulb. 
  showmeblog@gmail.com

Gun shots start 2012

  I live on the west side of Fort Worth (TX).  I went to bed at 11:30 PM and I woke up at 3 minutes after midnight on January 1st to the sounds of gun shots.  For the next 10 or 15 minutes I heard gun shots from different types of guns and in different directions.
  I did hear what sounded like fireworks one or two times.
 
  I hope and pray that no one was hurt.  I did not tune into the police department to see what they were doing at the time.
  Last year I went out side with my digital camera to make a video and get the sound for the video but a police officer pulled into the apartment complex and I decided I better go back inside without making a video.  Did not want some sort of error to take place.  Did not want the police officer to see me pointing a digital camera and thinking it was a gun.
 
  This year I did not get out of bed. 
  What a shame that Americans have to fear being hit by a stray bullet at the start of a new year.

It was not Santa at my door

  Yesterday I went to take the trash out and there was a note on my door.  I was thinking that Santa had left me a note telling me that I had been a good boy.
  That was not the case.  The note was from the apartment management people telling me that my lease would be up in March and that my rent would be going up from $599.00 a month to $615.00 a month.  Merry Christmas.  

  I will renew the lease for 12 months again.  Since the world is going to end in 2012 this will be my last lease. 

  I do wish now that I had stayed in FL.  I looked at places to rent there and I could have got a one room studio right on the beach for what I am paying here.  But I needed something bigger than a studio because of my grandson. 

  The only way I will end up living on the beach someplace is if I win a lottery and we know that is not going to happen.  I looked online last night and for around $10 million dollars I could buy a hotel on the beach in FL.  In fact there were a couple on South Beach for that price and each one had around 40 rooms to rent out.  If I won the lottery I could buy one and make the entire top floor my living space. 

  I wonder how much the two hotels next to Haulover Beach cost?  I am sure they are not for sale.  But on each side of Haulover Beach is a new high rise hotel. 
  In case you do not know Haulover Beach is a nude beach. 

  I have been at the beach.  It is a great beach.  It is totally legal and people come from all over the world to visit the beach. 
  It was sort of funny.  You would see people coming out of the hotels next to the beach and they would walk (fully dressed) through Haulover Beach.
  I would love to live in the hotel.  I would love to own the hotel.  I would set up a webcam on the roof and aim it at the beach.  I would not zoom in close enough that you could see any faces but just sort of as a tease.  I bet I could keep the rooms rented out.  Truth is I do not think you have to do that to rent out those room  or other rooms in the Miami area.

The Cowtown Hamfest–January 20-21 2012

Hello Fellow Ham,

North Texas Hams are preparing to gather here in Fort Worth in January. The Cowtown Hamfest has been approved as the 2012 ARRL North Texas Section Convention.

To The Cowtown Website

COWTOWN HAMFEST 2012 and the ARRL NORTH TEXAS SECTION CONVENTION 2012

Cowtown Hamfest, the original Hamfest in the Fort Worth Metroplex, and the ARRL North Texas Section Convention will be held, January 20-21, 2012 at Lockheed Martin Recreation Area, 3400 Bryant Irvin Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76109.

Doors will be open Friday evening the 20th from 3:00 pm until 8:00pm. Saturday the 21st we open at 8:00am and close at 3:00pm. Food, including Bar-B-Q sandwiches, burgers and dogs will be available Friday and Saturday. Morning coffee and breakfast will also be available. Door prizes will be awarded through out the event. A Kenwood V71A Dual Band Mobile will be given away each day. The grand prize, Kenwood D710 Dual Band APRS Mobile will be at the event’s end.

Dashing through the snow in the T sleigh

Feel the magic of the season with the whole family on The T's Holiday Lights Tour December 10th and 11th! Enjoy a night of hot chocolate and cookies, plus a visit from Santa starting at 5:30pm at Stockyards Station (130 E. Exchange Ave.). Then board The T from 6:30pm to 7pm and ride through all the twinkling lights. Tickets are $5. Children five and under ride free. Free parking is available north of Stockyards Station. Come early and check out all that the Fort Worth Stockyards has to offer, such as dinner, shopping and a touch of nostalgia.