Justin Germino Ramblings

Was interesting when I read the other day that the 563-foot Destroyer Vessel USS Arthur W. Radford was planning on being sunk 28 miles to the northeast the Ocean City Inlet.  This is not the first vessel to be converted into a man made reef but it is the largest in U.S. history that will be deliberately made into an artificial reef.

JENNIFER CORBETT/GANNETT

The ship was stripped of most of its infrastructure and had extra holes cut into the vessel to better attract the sea creatures that make up the ecosystem around a reef.  It is expected years after being sunk it will cause the sea life to thrive and eventually become a popular scuba diving attraction as well as serve to help foster the ocean ecology.

According to the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife’s website they have done studies that have shown placement of durable, stable reef materials can result in as much as a 400-fold increase in the amount of small sea life and fish inhabiting an area.

I think it’s pretty cool that they are turning old vessels no longer needed in service or fit for a museum into artificial reef’s, it is kind of like giving a home to the ocean community.

Original article was read from http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110421/WCT01/104210302

Holiday’s are fun when you have kids and my wife and I spent the night helping the Easter bunny prepare a surprise for my two young boys ages 7 and 4.  The Easter bunny hid over 200 eggs between the inside, front yard and backyard but instead of having too much candy we decided to break up the contents of the plastic eggs.

Easter Egg Contents

• 40 eggs had 1 quarter in them

• 40 eggs had pennies/nickels in them.

• The remainder of the eggs had assorted jelly beans (3-4 per egg) and other candies.  No chocolate was put in any of the eggs as we do live in the Arizona desert and it would melt fairly fast even in the mornings over here.

The finding of the eggs is the most fun and my intention was for the kids not to find all the eggs on Easter and maybe find some days or weeks later as little surprises they forgot about.  This is one reason why we didn’t hide real boiled eggs even though my wife did the coloring egg tradition thing with the boys on Good Friday.

Overall we decided to have the in-laws over and do an Easter barbeque of Hamburgers with setting up and eating on our outdoor patio since it would be in the 80’s and not too hot.

Have a Happy Easter everyone and enjoy the holiday.

-Justin Germino

In an article over on Yahoo News about a six year old bringing a gun to an elementary school and hurting 3 other kids when the gun accidentally goes off I just had to rant on this topic.

There should be zero instances where a child should gain access to a family gun period.  All guns should be kept in a locked safe that only the parents have access to if you choose to be a family that keeps a gun in the home.

I am not against having a gun in the home, I believe it is a right to protect your home form invasion and especially if you live in more dangerous area’s it may be a good decision to keep a firearm in the home.

Hunters of course are still perfectly acceptable to have weapons, but all should have the responsibility to keep them locked up.  This wasn’t a teenager stealing the key or breaking into the gun safe, this was a six year old so most likely the gun was stored under the bed, closet or within easy reach for the child to get it.

At the very least there should never be bullets anywhere near where the gun is kept, and the gun should never be loaded.  For stupidity’s sake man the parents should be sentenced to prison as this is just as neglectful as leaving a toddler or infant in a bathtub full of water and then wondering how they slipped and drowned.

Accidents happen, but if you aren’t responsible enough to secure a gun then one shouldn’t be in a home where children reside or even visit.

Shotgun is Scary

Unrelated but I thought it relevant is that the best type of gun to protect your home with is a shotgun.  The reason a shotgun is best is that it has relatively short range, the buckshot cannot penetrate walls easily and there is little risk of a stray bullet entering a nearby home and killing or injuring another person by accident.  The intimidation factor of a shotgun can also deter any thief without even using it.  A shotgun is also far too small to conceal, so if I were to own a gun for home defense purposes only it would probably be a shotgun.

-Justin Germino

I really am pushing to win the Blog Engage Guest Blogging contest and not because I really need the prize money, but because I want to help promote all the sponsors and blogging community which are part of the ways to build points in the contest.

My guest article Blogging to Forge a Connection with Readers is one I am proud of and I want all my readers to visit and comment on the article to help me gain in the contest, but I also am giving back to the community by writing reviews of all the contest sponsor sites (most are bloggers) as well.  I haven’t been as active with networking with me blogging only part time and thought this would be a good way to get active and showcase other bloggers while trying to win the contest.

As mentioned on DragonBlogger.com if I win the $250 first prize I am going to give 50% of it away in a contest to my readers.  It is good to put blogging money back into promotions, giveaways and contests to help keep your audience and peers engaged.

So help me out with the Blog Engage Guest contest and comment on my article which provides some very good blogging tips that I recommend all bloggers should follow.

-Justin Germino

So when my seven year old decided he wanted to setup a lemonade stand and try to sell lemonade to make money I knew I was going to be in for some work.  My wife and I decided to support this entrepreneurial idea and my four year old got involved and was dead set on making some money for new toys.

The idea was to setup a lemonade stand on Friday night after work right near the mailboxes in the community figuring that we would get a lot of traffic as people went to check mail.  It worked out fairly well in that my kids were able to sell about 22 cups of lemonade at 50 cents a cup and netted $4.50 profit each after paying back the expenses of purchasing the cups, lemonade powder, and making the signs.

It was however hot and 94 degrees, so for those 3 hours we were roasting and almost willing to drink all of our profits to keep cool.  The ice kept melting faster than customers came in to purchase cups and in the end, it was a lot of work for us as the parents.

So my kids learned a lesson about setting up a small operation, and I learned that next time my kids want to setup a lemonade stand I will tell them I would rather pay them double just to do some extra house chores.

-Justin Germino

I don’t’ like having days where no posts are published on my blogs and I keep a pretty hectic writing schedule.  As I will be on vacation in late June and early July I am going to have to pre-write and queue an extra 20 posts and 10 poems to cover my three blogs so I don’t have any days empty.  This is going to be difficult as I have to write twice as much content over the next few weeks with one article for current posting and one for queued in the future.

My articles I am writing for the summer can’t be based on a trending topic now or they will probably be worthless by the time it publishes so I have to write an article that is capable of being time insensitive, like a how to guide or information about an older item that is still popular so it doesn’t wane in a few months.

This is far easier to write things for my personal blog or poetry blog but harder for me on my technology blog.  I am also probably going to have to temporarily promote one of my site writers to an administrator so they can manage my blog while I am away and approve/respond to comments, review and publish guest articles…etc

This will be the longest leave of absence from my blogs I have ever taken since starting them back in August 2008 so I want to make sure everything continues to flow while I will be away.

It made me wonder how other bloggers plan and prepare for leaving their blogs unattended for say a month or longer.  Do you just disappear from the community?  Ask a friend to run your site while you are gone?  I have seen some bloggers do both.

-Justin Germino

So SocialSpark my favorite blog earning platform had send me a Flip Ultra HD along with Microsoft Office 2010 for an opp I was working on about OneNote from Microsoft.  My old JVC Everio was getting cumbersome and battery wouldn’t last more than 10 minutes anymore so I thought it would be nice to have a Flip Ultra HD.

While I was able to do some video with the Flip Ultra HD I did notice some unique challenges that make it a bit more unwieldy than I would have liked.  The primary being the following:

No Wireless Connectivity

You have to manually use a cable to transfer the video’s from your Flip Ultra HD to your computer and the camcorder doesn’t use an external SD card or I could have used an Eye-Fi card for this purpose.

Video Editing Difficult

The Flip Ultra HD is great for raw video that you just want to record and then immediately publish online. The MP4 file will upload to YouTube fine, but if you want to say edit out a few minutes or add blurs to block out some sensitive information you don’t want to share you will have a very hard time.  The MP4 video won’t load in Camtasia Studio or any other Editing Software (Pinnacle Sudio…etc) that I can find and you have to convert the MP4 to AVI or WMV so that Windows Movie Maker can edit the file.  Even when converted to another format I still could only edit the Flip Ultra video in Windows Movie Maker.

It’s great for point and shoot if you want to publish raw recordings, but not so much if you want to do any sort of real video editing.  The Flip software has some features like adding transitions, music…etc but it is horribly slow on my Athlon X2 PC and takes an hour to apply just about any effect.

Cisco Killing the Line

Just read last week that Cisco is dumping the Flip line and won’t be making new ones in the future.  They apparently couldn’t compete with iPhone, iPad and other devices with equivalent camcorders built into the phones which made the need for a separate mini camcorder redundant.

This is a shame as I just got mine and was going to use it a bit to do some video blogging if I got around to it.

Final Thoughts

Though I listed some negatives about the Flip Ultra HD you can’t deny some of its great benefits in that it is really inexpensive, super easy to use and the USB is the device itself (no separate cable).  The thing simply records video which comes out slightly better than my $600 JVC Everio did which is amazing considering this little camera was about 1/5th the price.

Overall I don’t dislike the Flip Ultra HD though I really wish it were easier to edit the video files without having to convert them first.  Most of all I was happy that SocialSpark provided me one as part of the opp. So really how can I complain when they gave me one.

-Justin Germino

So I had no idea what Culver’s was when I first drove past the sign a few months ago but after stopping and eating there several times in the past month I can say that I am both glad and unhappy they finally opened a Culver’s in Casa Grande, Arizona.

First, I am unhappy because the food is really good and is not healthy.  The delicious butter burgers, fries and frozen custard are sure to hurt any weight loss plans anybody would have around here.

However, I am happy for the additional choice in dinner fare.  The closest food I can compare Culver’s to is In and Out Burger except they offer a much wider variety of food on the menu.  They are famous for their butter burgers which the patties are fairly flat and delicious on a bun that isn’t as greasy as the In and Out buns.  Their value basket comes with fries and a drink and they have Diet Mountain Dew on fountain which is always a plus for me.

The kids enjoy their chicken tenders and fries, but the free frozen custard for desert that comes in the kids meals is what they really enjoy.  Each kids meal comes with a coupon for a frozen custard and a token for a collectible which they can get for free if they save up 10 tokens.

For the price the food is better than most of the fast food restaurants one would normally eat burgers at, and I would probably put them at being just under Chili’s as far as the taste and flavor of the burgers.  I did an article a long time ago about my favorite hamburgers which isn’t updated for Culver’s yet but still holds true for most of them.

Has anyone eaten at Culver’s?  What do you think of the food?

-Justin Germino

Today we are taking our kids and their friends to see Rio in theaters at some point, as well as my wife and I are going out tonight to see Razer play at Club Red in Tempe.  We don’t get out more than once or twice a month without the kids but it is good to have Grandma (babysitter) be able to watch the kids while we go out alone and just enjoy being two adults without having to constantly watch the kids.

Meanwhile watching four to five kids at the same time all ages four to eight is like trying to run a mad house. And I will likely be exhausted by the time I do have to get ready to go out tonight.  Rio looked pretty good so I am hoping to enjoy it as much as the kids.

-Justin Germino

Trucks are incredibly popular among thousands of drivers in the U.S., and the market for trucks in America has continued to expand. The market for trucks has long been a competitive one, with only a few trucks truly standing out from the rest in terms of performance and durability. There are five trucks that truly capture the attention of truck drivers everywhere, and these five trucks are the perfect choice for anyone looking for a truck that will last longer than they will. Whether new or used, these five trucks will just keep on running:

1.       Nissan Titan SE

This powerhouse was named the best full-size pickup truck a few years ago, and is still worthy of its title years later. The Titan is incredibly lightweight, and the engine that powers it is truly a marvel of engineering. This beast can go from 0-60 mph in just 7.68 seconds, and is the perfect truck for anyone who wants to experience the thrill of off-roading. The interior of the Titan is truly a luxurious affair, with comfortable seats and ample leg room.

2.       Toyota Tundra

The Toyota Tundra houses one of the most powerful truck engines on the market, and is able to pick up speed at incredible rates. The Tundra can go from 0-60 mph in 7.52 seconds, triumphing over the lighter Titan SE. This is one of the heaviest trucks available, and comes with brakes that are some of the world’s best. The Tundra Crewmax Limited has rear seats that are named the most comfortable of any truck, and looking at the plush luxury of the seats leave no doubt that the claim is true. The Tundra is able to tow 10,000 pounds, making it a monster capable of pulling any load.

3.       Chevrolet Silverado

GMC has failed in its car making before, but they certainly did something right with the Silverado. The interior of the cabin is well made and very sturdy, as compared to the flimsier plastic interiors of the Titan SE and Tundra. This is the perfect freeway or long distance truck, providing a luxurious ride for long periods of time. While it may not be the best performing truck, it is the truck of choice for anyone who has to drive a long way, thanks to the ergonomic seats.

4.       Ford F150

The Ford F Series trucks have long been the best selling trucks in the U.S., and the Ford F150 does not disappoint. The F Series trucks are well known for being incredibly easy to handle, smooth-riding, trucks that are great for any task. The F150 has some of the best stopping power of all trucks, able to go from 60-0 mph loaded with 1000 pounds in just over 123 feet.

5.       Dodge Ram

Dodge has just redesigned its monster truck, placing it high in the overall truck competition. While this truck may not handle as well as the Tundra or Titan SE, it is no slob when it comes to engine power and overall maneuverability. The Ram is known for its high-tech rear coil suspension, making it one of the smoothest rides of any trucks

Ronnie is an avid fan of the automotive industry. He loves anything and everything to do with trucks and SUVs. His main passion is lift kits. Check out his Lift Kits and his Tuff Country Lift Kits.