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50 Fabulous Places to Retire in America

Published
by
Smoother
on May 1, 2009
in Travel
. 0 Comments

Retirement has its joys and pains, but if you’re ready and equipped for it, retirement should be your chance to do what you’ve always wanted to do and live in a town you’ve always wanted to be in. It you’re getting ready to retire, here is a list of the 50 most fabulous places to retire in America in no particular order:

1 to 8. Alabama has not one, not two but eight fabulous places to retire in America - Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Hoover, Dothan and Decatur offer the best of ‘Bama.

9 to 10. California is fabulous in many ways, thanks to lots of sun, beaches and plenty of things to do; all these things and more that you can do in San Diego and Paso Robles.

11 to 13. When people think of retirement, Florida is never far from their mind. So if you want to find a fabulous place for retirement, go Gainesville, Tallahassee or Sarasota.

14 to 17. Washington has Spokane, Lexington and Walla Walla, three fabulous places to retire in. Spokane is a large city for retirees but it sure offers plenty in terms of affordability. Lexington is gaining popularity and Walla Walla was voted one of the best places for retirees in 2006, so there’s your cue. Don’t forget Bellingham, a nature lover’s dream place.

18. Portsmouth in New Hampshire has the honor of being one of the 10 places in America that’s considered safest, so consider retiring here.

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Iowa RV Facilities

Published
by
Smoother
on April 1, 2009
in Travel and iowa
. 0 Comments

In many ways, Iowa is the state where you can step back and experience a more traditional America. You can soak in the atmosphere at any of these Iowa RV facilities.

Iowa RV Facilities

A trip to Iowa can bring many unexpected pleasures. The great outdoors are found in abundance here, with activities ranging from hiking and skiing to fishing and bike trails galore. If you enjoy spending time in the woods, or just seeing nature’s beauty, you will find it all here in Iowa. Easily reachable from much of the Midwest, Iowa is a perfect place to take your recreational vehicle for a family trip. Hop on one of the historic routes and byways designated by the state, and find the area you want to visit.

RV

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History of Iowa

Published
by
Smoother
on March 1, 2009
in iowa
. 0 Comments

Iowa was originally home to at least 17 Native American tries, although today only the Meskwaki remain.

The first Europeans to reach Iowa were the French explorers, Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673. They recorded in their journals that the land was lush, green and fertile.

The United States gained control of the area from France in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The first official American settlement began in 1833, and statehood was achieved in 1846.

During the American Civil War (1861 to 1865), Iowa contributed greatly to the Union war effort, including more 60% of its eligible males serving (the highest proportion of any state).

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Sync iPod Touch and iPhone with Google Apps Calendar

Published
by
Smoother
on February 21, 2009
in Solutions to Problems and This is cool!
. 1 Comment

Before I talked about how to sync your iPhone or iPod Touch with your Google Calendar. And today I’d like to show you how to sync with your calendar on Google Apps using your own domain name.

You use the same settings as you would if you were syncing to your regular Google account. But your username would be your email@yourdomain.com. The next step is to activate ActiveSync on your Google Apps domain. To enable this service on Google Apps…

  1. Log into your dashboard and click the Mobile link or just go to https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/YOURDOMAIN.COM/MobileSettings/ to get there.  and select the checkbox.
  2. Select the checkbox that’s next to Enable Google Sync
  3. Click Save Changes. And you’re done!

If you’re having problems, leave a comment or check out Google Apps Help.

Sync iPhone or iPod Touch with Google Calendar

Published
by
Smoother
on February 14, 2009
in Everyday Life, Solutions to Problems and This is cool!
. 7 Comments

If you have an iPod Touch or an iPhone, it’s now easier than ever to sync with your Google Calendar. Before I was using NuevaSync which is a great service that’s free and works with Google Calendar, Google Contacts, and Plaxo. But now you can sync directly through Google as long as your iPod has firmware 2.2 or higher. Here’s how…

First of all, back everything up that you need to. Upload any contacts or calendars from your phone to your computer because the iPod will delete them all during setup. It’s kind of annoying, but it’s great once you’re synced up. I went through this process myself and everything went smoothly.

Here’s the link to the official Google page from where I took these instructions and pictures:
Sync: Set Up Your iPhone or iPod Touch

1. Open the Settings application on your device’s home screen.
2. Open Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
3. Tap Add Account….
4. Select Microsoft Exchange.


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Is Matlock on Channel 59.2 or 29.5?

Published
by
Steel
on February 11, 2009
in Everyday Life
. 0 Comments

Just to show that they don’t care about old people, nearly 500 US TV stations will begin broadcasting in only digital early (since Congress passed the delay).

Nielsen recently reported that 6.5 million U.S. homes were unprepared for the upcoming transition.

Just who are the people who are left not able to do this switch?  For heaven’s sakes, they’ve been advertising this switch thing for over 2.5 years.  Anyone that doesn’t have cable/satellite/a digital converter box probably deserves to be without TV for a while.  I am willing to bet that even when the switch happens, there will still be several millions who didn’t see it coming…

Worst Tornados Resulting in Massive Damage

Published
by
Smoother
on February 1, 2009
in Observations
. 0 Comments

April 11, 1965 is still remembered by many: that day a brutal string of tornados hit the states of Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan with wind gusts as high as 318 miles per hour, killing 250 people and injuring some 1500 others. The first funnel cloud hit the ground at 1 p.m. with others following at varying intervals, up to 5:30 pm. The storms intensified as they day progressed. An F4 storm hit Koontz Lake, Indiana and 2 other twisters hit Wakarusa, and Goshen, doing massive damage to homes, and local infrastructure.

More storms continued to develop over the course of that same day. The worst of the tornados, an F5 storm with winds reaching speeds of up to 318 miles per hour landed at Elkhart Indiana and destroyed the Sunnyside subdivision killing over 30 people. One of the funnel clouds was a colossal eight hundred yards wide, leaving a trail of devastation in its path. Telephone and electrical lines where knocked out by the high winds. The phone system was down and, as a result, local city officials where unable to warn others in the path of the storm of the severe danger. The day progressed and tornados hit many other counties. The damage from all these rapidly occurring storms was devastating.

The impact that these storms had on the area was huge. The U.S. weather bureau conducted a full investigation after the storm and established the need for better methods to communicate warnings to residents and officials in other areas of approaching storms. It was just a little while after this that the Weather Service started to put out announcements indicating that tornados where likely to form and where they were traveling once they had hit the ground.

Iowa Tornados

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This Just In - Martians Like Mexican Food

Published
by
Steel
on January 15, 2009
in Not so Scientific..., Observations, This is cool! and This is crazy!
. 0 Comments

Methane plumes spotted on Mars may be a sign of life

Kinda says it all, doesn’t it?

He Might Be Like That Dude…

Published
by
Steel
on January 12, 2009
in Not so Scientific..., Observations and Stuff to do when bored
. 0 Comments

I wonder if Mr. President would be like that guy at your party that doesn’t leave, just hanging out on the couch, eating cheetos:

Bush Spends Day Feverishly Booby-Trapping Desk (from the Onion)

My favorite part is the last paragraph…

In what may turn out to be his greatest presidential prank, Bush also has spent the previous eight years damaging the American economy beyond repair and bogging the country down in an unwinnable war with a sovereign Middle Eastern nation.