Jul 30, 2011

Fun at the Rock County 4-H Fair



It was hot and humid, but I'm glad I made it to the Fair this year. In this video, you will see someone hosing down a goat and then herself. I almost asked her to sprinkle me!

10 Reasons Not to Buy an iPad for Students

dealnews

The retirement-savings crisis is overblown

MarketWatch

3 Ways to Keep Your Data With You At All Times

NYTimes.com

ZoneAlarm SocialGuard Review

Walt Mossberg

Walmart.com offers streaming online videos from Vudu

consumerreports

Nintendo 3DS price drops from $250 to $170; 20 free games for U.S. owners

consumerreports

Man arrested in store call scams

jsonline

Beware of Online Help Wanted Scams

BBB

FTC Stops Fake 'Yellow Pages' Scam

FTC

FTC Accepts Final Settlement with Twitter for Failure to Safeguard Personal Information

FTC

FTC Halts Timeshare Property Resale Scam; Telemarketers Falsely Claimed They Had Buyers Lined Up, Agency Alleges

FTC

FTC Sues Two Funeral Homes for Failing to Provide Price Lists

FTC

Jul 16, 2011

Southern Wisconsin Sights



I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of Wisconsin photographers, but none has traveled more than Galen R. Frysinger of Sheboygan.

I’ll bet you Galen has been around the world as many times as Mark Twain or more.. His photos are found in publications such as National Geographic. 

Galen has supplied photos for a number of my videos including “Mark Twain’s Egyptian Journey.” 

I have invited Galen to do a photo shoot of Janesville. He said it was a possibility. Meanwhile here are some of Galen’s photos of  Southern Wisconsin.

Jul 8, 2011

Watching newspapers


“Who would have thought 25 years ago that we would be part of a video project for a newspaper?" asked a retired videographer I worked with at a Green Bay TV station. My old TV friend was letting me use some of his beautiful video in the Janesville Gazette.

I wanted to say something eloquent this week about how the Internet is changing newspapers, books and magazines... But a TV commercial says it better than I ever could.

Although it’s an iPad commercial, it sums up the amazing things that a lot of  us are doing now with computers in general…Like when grandma and I see a telephone call from our Janesville fourth-grader calling on Skype.

Simple maintenance can prevent costly repairs

wausaudailyherald

Water less often and the savings will have you jumping for joy

ConsumerReports

How to prevent expensive pest attacks

CNNMoney

Scientists find extremophile organisms lurking in dishwashers

ConsumerReports

Why More Americans May Start Putting Money Under Their Mattresses

DailyFinance

Vacationers: ID thieves welcome you

 MSN Money

Why Text Messages Cost Cellular Companies Virtually Nothing

The Consumerist

Ubiquitous ‘tiny belly’ online ad part of scheme, government says

The Washington Post

Jul 1, 2011

Sandhill cranes in Walworth County, WI



I stopped by a farmer's field a few years ago to watch Sandhill cranes doing their wonderful jumping-wingflapping-floating mating dance.  If I only had my camera.
This time I did when I saw parent Sandhills escorting their offspring in Walworth County.
Sandhills are like some of us in that they can live to be 80, stick with the same mate for up to 30 years, and fly to Florida for the winter.
The WI Dept. of Natural resources says females lay one or two eggs. Chicks are born in 30 days and have fuzzy yellow-brown feathers. Born in May, they fly by July. Families feed together on seeds, tubers, grasshoppers, snails, frogs, snakes, birds and mice. Cranes can be a problem for farmers when they pull up sprouting corn in spring and eat large amounts of field grain in the fall.
Birders love Sandhills and count them as they come back from Florida.  They look for a wingspan of up to 8 feet!

Don't Let A Salesperson Tell You What The Contract Says: Read It

The Consumerist

Diet sodas: Do they, or don’t they, help you lose weight?

Consumer Reports

Why we left our factories in China

Fortune

Consumer Reports: Best barbecue sauce

Is the tax man a tax cheat?

Bankrate.com

5 ways you may get nicked by new bank fees

Bankrate.com

Fly or Drive Calculator

Calculator

FTC Crackdown Does Little To Curb Ads For Fake News Sites

The Consumerist

AMA Attacks Photoshopping For Promoting Anorexia

 The Consumerist

Basics of Photography: Your Camera’s Manual Settings

Basics of Photography

Diet sodas: Do they, or don’t they, help you lose weight?

Diet sodas: Do they, or don’t they, help you lose weight?