1. Open Object Repository file in OR Manager
2. Export to XML
3. Create new OR file
4. Import from XML
5. Replace original file

My wishlist was pretty short this year and few electronics made the list.  So Heidi decided to get me something way better than anything on my list…..a 16 GB iPod Touch.  I love it already.

My old iPod is a 6 GB Mini, 2nd generation.  I got it FREE from an online bank by opening up a checking account for a year.  Pretty sweet deal.  And this old iPod has served me well.  4 half marathons, countless hours at work.  But it’s a joke compared to these new iPods like the Touch.

Now I’ve got 10 GB more space not only for music but for apps, videos, and photos.  There are so many cool applications available online, many for free.  Here are just a few that I already installed:

• Facebook
• Twitterrific
• Google Earth
• GPS Tracker
• iSports
• Lose It!
• SpeedTest
• UrbanSpoon
• WiFinder
• WordPress

The only bad thing about iPods is having to use iTunes.  I still hate iTunes.  It’s slow, hogs memory, and stupid about importing music.

Wait a second! Now I’ll have to start monitoring who is trying to poke her! Not cool.

• Fold down couch with pull out drawers below.
• All of the original curtains
• Bed frame and mattress
• Bedroom drawers and tables
• Overhead cabinet in bedroom

Life without Brett Favre isn’t that scary, really….

Heidi and I were out at the Clear Lake Airstream Park hanging out with the Wolleat gang last weekend.  There happened to be an open house for the park….how convenient!  After seeing this lot and the Airstream we couldn’t pass this deal up.  So we bought it.  That’s simple, right?

Our 1973 Airstream International is going to be a project this fall and winter.  We’re going to rip out the carpet and some of the cabinets this fall.  We’ll paint the interior, re-do much of the cabinets, and then get it ready for winter storage.  This winter we’ll reupholster some of the furniture and get new draps made.  We’ll be ready to rock out next spring.

More pictures of our Airstream.  Stay tuned for updates!

Disclaimer aside, I fell off the broadband wagon, again.  It’s been a couple of years since I cheerfully called Charter to inform them I would not stand paying them money every month for their underachieving bandwidth and horrible customer service.  Since then I’ve used Clearwire and presently Qwest for all my surfing, torrenting, and every blue moon–a blog post.

I ended up terminating my Clearwire contract because the signal was really bad at our house in Sauk Rapids.  I felt bad about leaving them at first, but after 3 months of arguing about a sneaky clause buried in the Term & Conditions (which I digitally signed; which means there was probably a 5 row tall textarea with monster scrollbar action needed to read everything; which means I probably didn’t want to read through it with a creepy install tech at my place watching me over my shoulder).  Where was I going with this?  Oh, buried in the T/Cs it states you have to give 90 days notice before your 1 year contract expires to terminate the contract.  I specifically asked their sales guy termination of contract when he was pitching it to me.   He lied and I didn’t bust him on it. 

On to Qwest.  I figured I’d give Qwest a try for a few simple reasons.  1) Qwest was the only major telecom to NOT sell out customers to government spying.  2) DSL has always been a favorite acronym of mine…no idea why.  3) They were basically my last option.

To give you a perspective of how bad I hated Charter bad then, here is the deal I signed up for with Qwest: 30$/month for 1.5 Mbs  Say WHAT?  Yes, it was about half the bandwidth Charter offered in lowest package but the same price.

Last month I found out my Qwest price was a 9 month promotional price.  So the rate is now 50$/month for 1.5Mbs.  Bullocks!

So I put my tail between my legs while I called Charter to try out their service again.  Tonight I have Qwest and Charter both hooked up to the internets and the bandwidth tests have been nice to see.

Here is Qwest:

Here is Charter:

I ran this test 3 times on each connection with fairly consistent results.  Charter’s 5MB broadband is about 4.75 mb/s down, 500 kb/s up.  Qwest’s 1.5MB is barely 1 mb/s down but 500-600 kb/s up.  But the kicker is Charter is cheaper (even after promotion ends).

Why does Qwest not even attempt to be competitive with Charter?  Qwest has slower internet, phone, and offers satellite packages from DIRECTV.  Charter has way faster internet, phone and mega cable.  It’s no wonder why everyone has bundle packages with them.  There is no suitable alternative in our area.

I first stopped here during a school field trip in 8th grade. During the first 2 years of college at Winona State I made frequent trips down Broadway to Bloedow’s. They definitely helped out with the “freshman 15″. Nowadays I only make it back to Winona maybe once a year and one of my first stops is always for donuts.

No website. No wi-fi. No expensive coffee. Just great bakery products…especially my fav, the raised glazed donuts.

Congratulations Amy and Travis!