Kari’s ‘lil man’ Kaiden is in the running to be the next Gerber Baby! He has a chance at starring in a Gerber commercial and winning a $25,000 scholarship! Please click on this link, search for “Kaiden” from “Kenosha”, and cast your vote! You can vote daily, so please do, and help him win this contest!! Thank you!!!
All posts by Jim Trottier
Simmons Island
Kevin and Socks went with me for my daily walk this evening. I decided to walk on Simmons Island this time and I brought the camera. I posted a few of the shots I took. The two posted here are my favorites from the batch. Click here for the entire set.
Classic Photo Album #7 Completed
I am re-publishing this posting with an updated link. It was originally posted on 7/25/09 and I can’t believe it’s been that long since I scanned an old photo album! I have tons of them left to do. I need to get busy. The last “Classic Album” (#7) and every other old photo posting on my website was posted with links to my old “Jims Photo World” website, so none of the links work any more. So this posting is one the the few that I’m re-posting, but pointing it to the photo album’s new location on Flickr. It includes 54 photos. This one included many tiny, square (less than wallet-size) photos, as I’m sure you’ll see by the quality, but there’s a lot of good old memories here. Highlights include many family members when they were very young, including me (Jimmmy), Beth, Loretta, Clifford and Clayton, and Karen. There are also photos from my mom’s activities with the Mothers of Twins Club and Clifford and Clayton’s Cub Scout Troop. There were also many photos of our pets in the back of this album, but unfortunately they were removed. I think some of them might have been used for the big photoboards we created for my dad’s funeral though, I’ll have to check. So there ya go. As usual, click on the thumbnail to view the photos.
Slacker
My latest obsession on the iPod is Slacker Radio (often used when I’m playing Words With Friends). I’ve tried a lot of different radio apps on the iPod. Several of them I liked, but a big feature that I found with Slacker that kept me using it is it’s station caching. Since I use the Touch and not the iPhone, Im not always connected to a network. This alone eliminates the functionality of most radio apps, but with Slacker’s station caching, all I have to do is choose a cached station in Slacker and I can play everything just as if I were connected to a network. It can take several minutes to cache a station, but that’s expecte. From the details I’ve read, Slacker will cache 100 songs for a station initially, and gradually increase the cache as you listen to the station and refresh the cache. They do some nice shuffling in the background apparently, because I can listen to a station over and over and it seems I always hear songs I haven’t heard before, yet I still sometimes hear replays, but most of the time it’s only for songs I’ve “hearted”, which you do when you hear a favorite you like. When you refresh your cached stations (you have to do them all at once, you can’t pick and choose which ones to cache and any given time) it seems to take longest to re-cache stations you’ve listened to since you last cached, so I would guess it’s dumping the songs you’ve banned, adding more new songs, and syncing your listening preferences with the Slacker servers. Every time I visit the website on my PC it shows me everything I’ve listen to, so it certainly “remembers” everything. Other features include many curated stations from Slacker, including a couple of very good Comedy channels (one Explicit, one ‘clean’), search features to find exactly the artists or songs you want to hear, the ability to build your own custom stations, bios, lyrics, and reviews of the songs and artists as you play them, large thumbnail of the current song playing (WHOOHOO! Love it!) and much more. A few of these features only work in “Slacker Plus”, the subscription service, but that’s expected. Since the service is only $4.99 a month (or $3.99 a month if you pay yearly), it’s well worth the price for the features you get, in my opinion. There is also an web version of Slacker, which is actually much easier to use for building custom stations than the iPod is, and fortunately every station and favorite you save immediately appears on both your PC and your iPod, since it saves to your Slacker account itself. They also list many stand-alone digital radio devices that now support Slacker, which is a good indication of their stability as a company. Overall, I highly recommend Slacker as a music streaming service, it ROCKS. Here’s some screenshots of it from my iPod, and here’s the Slacker website
Happy Birthday George!
Today we wish George (Sandy’s dad) a very happy birthday as he turns 90 years young. We put an ad in today’s paper to honor the occasion, and we were delighted to see that he ended up on both the front page and on page A8! We’re taking him out to dinner tonight, we’ll be sure to take a few photos. Here’s an “enhanced” version of the newspaper ad, in case you missed it. 7/18/2010 Update: We just uploaded the rest of George’s Birthday photos from church today and from this afternoon’s party. Click here to take a look.
Brianna’s Graduation Party
We attended Brianna’s High School Graduation party today. Had a lot of fun and some great food! Take a look at all the pics!
Big thunderstorm does damage in Mike’s and Debbie’s Neighborhoods
We had a big thunderstorm pass through Kenosha today, and it did a lot of damage around town. Sandy’s brother Mike and her cousin Debbie both had some tree damage. Sandy went out and took some photos and Mike took a few himself. They’re all in the photo set I just uploaded. Click on the thumbnail to take a look.
Joe’s High School Graduation Party
We attended Pam’s son Joey’s High School Graduation Party this afternoon. It took place in their backyard, and everyone had a great time. The food was just amazing too. It did rain through a lot of the party, but they had a tarp for everyone to hide under, so it wasn’t so bad. Click on the thumbnail to view the photos we took, or click here for a nice slideshow
PTSD Seminar
Sandy and about 50 other participants attended a PTSD program that was held Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 at St. Mary’s Lutheran Church. Michael S. Orban was the keynote speaker for the event. Sandy took several photos and also recorded the audio from the event.
47 years and still a geek
I just posted a few pics from my 47th birthday. 47. Man, where did the time go? The milestones slowly go from “YAY!” to “ACK!” I’ve noticed. Anyway, I’m not going to dwell on it. Every day I wake up is another gift at this point. I’ll take it. Now let’s see what I can do with it…
Pool Opening
We helped Woody open her pool last weekend. Ty asked if he could help open it, after helping us close it last year. He helped alright, then he asked if he could be the first of the season to go in. Unfortunately I forgot the camera, but Woody’s neighbor used her cell phone and snapped a photo. Click on the thumbnail to view it. It’s not much bigger than the thumbnail, but it’s all we got. The water was 58 degrees, so he got out pretty quickly, but ended up jumping in a few more times just to show off (and chill out).
Brianna had her baby!
Brianna had her baby just minutes ago. Her name is Tessa Jade. She is 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and 19 inches long! Brianna was in labor since 11:30pm last night! Wow! I’ll add some pictures in a day or two, after we take some.
5/8/2010 – Update: Sandy took some photos today. Click on this one to view them: 
CLZ Movies
Due to my infrequent posting here, I think I’ll start posting a little about one of my favorite iPod apps each week. So, to kick it off, the first one is CLZ Movies from Collectorz.com. I have owned and used Movie Collector for the PC for several years. It allows me to easily catalog all of my DVDs and provides a vast amount of detail for each movie I add. All I have to do to add a movie is type in the title or a portion of it. Movie Collector then grabs everything about it off of the Internet and all I have to do is add my index # to it and any personal information I want, and that’s it. I can print lists of all my movies””with or without images. Kevin prefers them with the images, I prefer them without, simply because it saves ink and makes the complete list seem a lot shorter.
Anyway, the CLZ Movies app ($9.99) is a companion to Movie Collector. CLZ Movies allows you to instantly look up any of your movies and find out everything about them. For Kevin and I, the most important feature is the ability to instantly find out what index number a movie is. We use that number to sort our movies, so with it we can tell right away where a movie is located…IF a particular someone put it back in the proper order, if you know what I mean. It provides both a listing by title (with tiny thumbnail images) or a image-only list that’s kind of fun to fly through, if you like finding movies by their box art. This is Kevin’s favorite way. You can sort the list by title, index #, or year, list them by format (DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.), by genre, etc.
Exporting your list from Movie Collector is very simple and straightforward, and pretty quick, even with hundreds of movies. It’s a pretty simple app, actually, and it works very well. It gives us one more reason to grab the iPod instead of jumping on the computer and loading up Movie Collector just to find one of our movies to watch. I just wish they’d expand the built-in search in the app to include actors, directors, etc., instead of just words in the title of the movie. I’m sure there’ll be updates down the road though, there always are. Oh, and here’s some screenshots:
Brianna & Jeff’s Baby Shower
Brianna had her baby shower today and Sandy attended. The baby’s name is Tessa Jade, and she’s due May 14th. Click here for the photos
April is here
A co-worker got me today with a simple, yet potentially very effective practical joke. I came back from lunch and sat down at my workstation to use the computer and the mouse cursor wouldn’t move. I moved the mouse around faster, trying to get some sort of response from it, but got nothing. Being the geek that I am–and having helped users with this same issue many times in the past–I started checking things. I guess I got lucky and did the right thing first–I flipped the mouse over to check the mechanism. On the bottom, covering the laser sensor, was a sticker that said “April Fools! :)”. Nice.
So I brought the idea home and did it to both Kevin and my wife. It didn’t quite work right with Kevin though. I asked him to check a website for me. When he couldn’t get the mouse working on his laptop in his room, I heard some violent shaking and banging around in his room, then he came out complianing that his mouse isn’t working. He looked angray and almost ready to cry. I told him to calm down and work through it. I asked him “What would you do to try to fix it?” He said “I checked, it’s plugged in!” I asked “Anything else you can check?” After a few long moments of considering this, he flipped it over to check it. Then he yelled at me, saying “You MEANIE!”. He was all set to tattle to his mother about me and I waved him off, silently motioning that I did it to her mouse as well. She was in the living room watching TV, and starting to get curious of what was going on and while Kevin was angry at me.
Kevin kept quiet once he realized what I was saying, and Sandy dropped the questioning, so I figured I might still be able to pull it off on her too. I had to go out shortly after this though, and she only mentioned passively later on that she had found my April Fools joke. Kevin says he didn’t spoil it, but I’m not buying it. Kevin’s a mama’s boy and he can’t keep a secret. I’m sure he helped her as soon as she ran into trouble. I thought she might call me on my cell while I was out if she had a problem with the computer, as usual, but no such luck. Kevin probably bailed her out, but no one is fessing up, so I guess I’ll never know.
I thought it was a neat little prank though, much better than finding out your wife got picked for JURY DUTY! Which I convinced myself was an April Fools joke my wife was just taking to an extreme…until I got home and she showed me the official letter from the court. Can you believe that? What a day to get picked for Jury Duty! Now, time to go over the postal stamp and verbage of the letter for signs of an intricate hoax…
UFO Museum
I finally uploaded another batch of photos from our AZ to WI road trip. These are all from our stop in Roswell, New Mexico to check out the UFO Museum. Lots of fascinating evidence and artwork! I uploaded over 100 of the photos I took. Enjoy!
Living on the Edge
We got a new car this week. A Ford Edge. Sandy chose the color, I chose some of the innards. We have a lot of learning to do with these newfangled computerized car thingies everywhere. Even a geek like me can feel overwhelmed at times. I uploaded a few photos, take a look. Yes, a lot of it is powered by Microsoft, and I know the drill””My car could possibly give me the Blue Screen of Death or even require weekly updates and antivirus protection””but so far so good, no evidence of any of that stuff. I haven’t heard anything bad about Sync, but I think it’s fairly new. After reading Daemon and Freedom by Daniel Suarez, I know we’re taking a risk, but I don’t think the world is quite at the “Auto Mate” stage just yet. The goodies are a blast though, that’s for sure.
Ginger Wegmann
Ginger, Sandy’s brother Mike’s wife, passed away last Sunday, after a long struggle with cancer. She will be greatly missed. Here is her obituary from the Bruch Funeral Home site: Virginia A. “Ginger” Wegmann, 54, of Kenosha, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family Sunday, February 21, 2010 at Washington Manor. She was born on August 31, 1955 to James and Margie (Kegley) Hamilton in Zion, IL. She graduated high school from the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped in Janesville.
She then received her associate degree in Human Services from Gateway Technical School. Ginger married Michael Wegmann on August 2, 1986 in Kenosha. Ginger was an active member of CrossWay Community Church. Her dedication and love for the church touched many lives and was returned just as strong, particularly during her bouts with cancer. She also helped her dear friend Annie take care of her handicapped daughter through Society’s Assets. Ginger was an avid doll collector, with Princess Diana and Shirley Temple being her favorites. She enjoyed camping, PartyLite candles and collectibles, bowling on her Wii system. She also loved Tinkerbell, which she got to meet on a special trip to Disney World, where Ginger got to enjoy the experience through the eyes of her very dear neice Britney.
Ginger is survived by many loving relatives, including her husband Mike of Kenosha; her children, Timm Sinnen of Cudahy and Tiana Honey of Elkhorn; her father James Hamilton of Rockford, IL; her sisters Deb (Bob) McDermott of Pleasant Prairie, Sue (Tom) Rasmussen of Rockford, IL and Mela Hamilton of Kenosha; her brother Kelly Hamilton of Germany; her stepson Scott M. Wegmann of Norfolk, VA; and her father-in-law George Wegmann, brother-in-law Rick Wegmann, and sister-in-law Sandra (Jimmy) Trottier, all of Kenosha. She is also survived by her niece Britney Gates, with whom she helped raise and felt a mother-like bond; Maryann Engelhart of Union Grove, and her mother Isabelle Johnson, whom Ginger considered a second mother; Linda Brocksom of Kenosha; Terrie Gilliland of Kenosha; and many nieces, nephews, and close friends. She was preceded in death by her mother Margie, her brother Frank, and her brother-in-law Dennis Wegmann.
A celebration of Ginger’s life will be held on Saturday, February 27th at 3:00 p.m. at CrossWay Community Church (13905 ““ 75th St.). Visitation will also be at CrossWay prior to the service, starting at 1:30p.m. Memorials would be appreciated to the American Cancer Society, CrossWay Community Church, or to the Wisconsin Council for the Blind. The family would like to thank the staff at Washington Manor, Hospice Alliance, Dr. Jeffrey Trimark, and CrossWay Community Church for the loving care given to Ginger. Bruch Funeral Home 3503 Roosevelt Road Kenosha, WI 53142 262-652-8298 Visit and sign Ginger’s Online Memorial Book at www.bruchfuneralhome.net
Snow Sculpting 2010
We went to the US Nationals Snow Sculpting Championships this weekend! The competition was all this week and the judging was yesterday. Today was viewing day, so we went today to check them out. There were several great ones this year, and it looked like only one of them collapsed this time. Click on the thumbnail image to view the photo set. As usual, there are several photos of each sculpture along with their original drawings and the team signs. I missed the actual names for a couple of the best sculptures though, so I did my best to name them appropriately. There’s also a few photos of Kevin and Ty who accompanied me. We listened to the audiobook “Daemon” by Daniel Suarez on the trip there and back. I got Ty hooked on it–now he wants to listen to the whole thing. It sure made the drive go by quick–as usual!
Confessions of an iPod Touch junkie
I’m hooked. Totally addicted. I confess. Since I purchased an iPod Touch, I have become one of the millions of “digital zombies” out there everywhere–head slumped forward, both hands clutching a small device, thumbs moving frantically over the device… you’ve seen ’em, they’re everywhere. Totally immersed in whataever they’re doing. I hear most of them are texting, but I’m not. At least not yet. I’m hooked on the games at the moment. And the music. And the police radio. And e-mail. And everything else, except texting. I have neglected my website, my photo albums (I still have plenty of Arizona Trip photos to go through and post), and I’m getting behind on my chores at home. The fish in the aquarium are starting to look at me funny, as if to say, “Hey, man, we’re swimmin’ in poop here, ya know! What’s the deal?”
The game I’ve become the most addicted to, righty now at least, is called “Flight Control“. Simple game, and I remember playing another one exactly like it on one of my old Atari computers way back when. It’s an air traffic controller game. You’re viewing a map from above and you’re the air traffic controller for the area. You need to guide each plane and helicopter to their appropriate destinations as they enter and exit your area, hopefully avoiding an air disaster along the way. This game also takes this a step further by adding an optional multiplayer mode. If you play multiplayer, each person is in charge of their own adjacent air space, and each will have to direct aircraft to their own runways as well as passing them off to the other player’s air space. The game ends instantly when two aircraft collide. Gee, I wonder why, it’s only a small mistake… Anyway, I don’t know if it’s because I played it years ago and I’m thrilled to be reliving a part of my childhood, or what, I just gotta keep playing to try to get a little bit further and get a higher rank. That aside though, I’m finding the overall usefulness of the Touch to be awesome. I can see how the iPhone would be even that much MORE useful, since you have a connection pretty much everywhere instead of just wifi, and there’s a bunch more you can do with it, but I just can’t afford the extra monthly cost yet. The Touch is a great compromise though, having many of the same features without the monthly commitment. Maybe down the road a bit…like when my current cellular contract expires. So there ya go. A blog entry. Took care of that problem, didn’t I? Now back to my airplanes…
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