January 1st, 2010
Doing my part for the environment, and for our pocket book, I’ve been using this holiday season’s time off to improve our home’s efficiency.
I started by adding both hot and cold air return ducts to the basement (it’s too cold down there). Next, I insulated our hot water lines, and the basement wall headers (lots of cold air leaks there!).
I also taped all the gaps in our furnace ducts. I was amazed how much air was leaking into the space above our basement ceiling tiles.
This morning I replaced our dryer’s flexible exhaust pipe with galvanized metal and insulated it. There was a TON of heat loss from there.
One last job to do (for now, anyway!) – I’ve got to crawl up into our attic and insulate the bathroom and stove exhaust pipes, and seal all the light fixtures with Great Stuff.
Tags: efficiency, energy, environment, great stuff, home, house, insulation
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April 27th, 2009
I’ve found the magic go-anywhere solution for my iPod Touch and its library of wonderful wi-fi based apps. Women now want me. Men want to be me. I am a wireless ICON.
Seriously though, I really wanted an iPhone, but the THREE FRICKIN’ YEAR ROGERS CONTRACT pisses me off to no end so, NO. GO.
But the iPhone apps beckoned me. They mocked me. I had to have them.
And I needed a new mp3 player so it was easy to rationalize purchasing the iPod Touch. Heck, I even convinced myself I’d be able to find enough Wi-Fi spots in just the right locations. HA! That was a good delusion – Wi-Fi coverage sucks in Edmonton and I was forced to resign myself to the fact that many of the really cool apps would be unusable to me.
But! Things suddenly changed when I traded my cell phone (I never use the damn thing) in for a mobile data plan The plan is with Telus Mobility and the hardware used to connect to their network is the Sierra Compass 597 USB Modem – a marvelous little piece of wizardry with fantastic reviews. It works great with my MacBook Pro.
But I was still not satisfied – I wanted mobility for my iPod Touch. Today, I found the solution courtesy of David Appleyard at AppStorm. Using David’s article, I was able to figure out how to connect to the Telus network, share that connection with my iPod Touch (or any Wi-Fi device), and use any wi-fi reliant app anywhere Telus has coverage.
Of course, it’s not perfect – I must have my laptop with me for all this to work (I carry it pretty much everywhere already). But, then again, I’m not tied to a $60/month three year iPhone plan either.
Want to go for coffee? Free wi-fi is on me! Some restrictions may apply. 
Edit: The Sierra Compass is also available in the U.S.
Tags: funky cold medina, gadgets, ipod touch, mobile, sierra compass, telus mobility, wifi
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April 27th, 2009
My son is having some real difficulty with his diabetes lately. Physically, he’s doing well. It’s the other part that has me worried.
Over the past month or so, he’s saying things like, “I hate my life” and “I’m depressed about my life” and “I am not normal – I just want to be normal” and “I’m the only one with a disease” and “I won’t be happy until they have a cure for diabetes”.
We know that some of this is normal and we’re seeking counseling help, but it’s heartbreaking to hear my little guy talk like this.
Son, some day, there will be a cure. I promise you. And I promise to do my best to help make that happen. I love you, Monkey boy.
Tags: depression, diabetes, diabetic, it hurts, monkeyboy, parenting, worry
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April 6th, 2009
Today marks the beginning of what I hope to make home base for the Iocchelli family. You can learn more about our family by visiting the pages in the menu at left.
Welcome everyone!
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