All About Technology

I am so happy that I finally found a better way to listen to AM/FM radio.  HD Digital radio is now my choice for listening to local radio stations at home.  This is Digital Radio, but it is NOT satellite radio (this is a ground antenna based radio–a digital version of FM & AM).  I can now get the a clean and clear digital signal for my local radio stations which sounds awesome.

And, with the Jensen JiMS 525i system I’m completely set for my musical needs in my home.

This unit has a feature which allows for song tagging.  This means I can tag the songs I hear on the radio to be played on my iPod.

The unit itself looks so cool.  It’s a long way from the component systems my parents had when I was growing up!!!  But the looks and styling are just the caveat….The sound is what makes this a must have.  I can not begin to tell you how amazed you will be at the clear AM/FM sound that you will be hearing.  The HD radio really turns your  radio listening to a HIFI  listening experience.  You can’t go wrong with this device.  I love it so much, Im going to get a second unit to keep in my office.

I just love the ipod song taging feature. I’ve been playing with it all day.

My cousin was just graduated from nursing school and received her nursing license.  Now, we have a graduation party to go to next week and I don’t know what to get her. My wife suggested i look into print scrub tops. I had no  idea there were so many scrub types and styles available.  There is an entire industry for medical scrubs.  I guess it makes sense, but I just never thought of it.  I never realized that there are so many types of print scrub jackets to choose from.

As a gift, I am leaning more toward the traditional  landau medical scrubs.  My wife however, wants us to buy a more modern and “fun” scrub. She actually likes the print scrub tops.  Says that they fit my cousins personality much better.  As always, when it comes to fashion, I leave the decisions and choices to the women.  They just seem to know and understand this topic much better than I.

We all laughed when our buddy decided to install an exercise pool in his home….but he is the one laughing at us now.  We were over his house last week and gave this pool a try…you know which ones I’m talking about….the one that I’m sure you have a seen a TV commercial on, where a guy is swimming in place in a pool that looks like a giant tub.  Well, let me tell you, it is FUN and great exercise.

I would have never believed in the use of this until I actually tried it myself. And, let me tell you, I am thinking about putting one in my home. This exercise pool has so many uses, it can be used as a Rehab Pool by my wife as she is recovering from back surgery.  I can use it as a Swim Spa to relax and exercise at the same time, and my parents can use it for Aquatic therapy so that they can get the low impact exercise they need.

The best thing about this pool is that it is compact and does not require the costly maintenance of a larger regular pool.  The trade off is that this pool is solely for exercise and is indoors so you can use it any time, as opposed to having a full size back yard pool where you can actually paly in the water.  15 minutes of stationary laps in this pool is such great exercise that your body shapes up in no time.  If you already workout, this pool will just add to your routine, and if you are thinking about working out, this is ideal because it is fun and low impact.

What a great idea!!!! I just heard about this life alert system that has a fall detection system, among other systems, for seniors who live alone.  I have heard so many stories about how some minor mishaps have turned into major life threatening accidents simply because no one was around to notice an elderly person had fallen.

In addition to the fall detection, this life alert system has a panic button system that can be used in any situation.  When it comes to medical attention, time is of the utmost importance.  The sooner help arrives, the lighter the consequences. How many times have you heard the horror stories about situations that could have been prevented only if someone was around to simply pick up a person.  I remember when I was a teenager, we had two elderly neighbors living accross the street.  One day, one of the women cam knocking at our door and asked for my help.  Her older sister (must have been over 90 years old) had fallen out of her bed and was unable to get back up, and her sister was too frail to pick her up….so she came asking for our help.  My brother and I ran accross the street and picked her up and put her back in bed and she was fine.  Now just imagine if this lady’s sister was not there.  This old woman was on the floor and couldnt even move, so she couldnt have called for help.  Had a life alert system with fall detection been available, help would have arrived without her having to do anything.  Its weird, the things you think of as you get older, or have loved ones around you get older……

I just remembered that when I was  working in New Jersey I attended a lot of trade shows as an exhibitor.  I was the person in charge of the company’s trade show exhibits.

Now that I think about it, setting up and tearing down the trade show exhibit was kind of fun as this was the time all of the exhibitors got to know each other. We saw each other at our worst (because setting up the exhibits was hard and often frustrating work).  Back in those days, the exhibits were very heavy and came packed in several boxes.  No matter how many times you had put the booth together, you still needed the instructions.  Nowadays, all that has changed.  Trade show exhibits are now so much easier to set up, tear down, pack & ship.  In addition to all this, the exhibits I used to put together were heavy…..very heavy….shipping charges were very high.

I don’t know why all this came to me today, but it did.  I guess it was because I was at a hotel this morning and saw exhibitors setting up their booths and it reminded me of how I used to do the same thing.

My son came to me yesterday very excited because they learned how to build a two way radio in his science class. I have not seen him this excited about school in a very very long time. He could not stop talking about this project and went online to look up mobile radio systems on all the search engines and video sites.

Our entire dinner conversation revolved around this subject and the conversation went on well into his bedtime.  I guess science is the subject that got him excited and thinking about all the other “cool” things that he could build.  The only way I was able to convince him to go to sleep was to promise him that we would build a two way radio together this weekend.  So tomorrow after work I need to go to an electronics store so I can get the parts needed to build out our father and son project.  The best part of it is that he wants to do this because he likes it and not because it is a class assignment.

I cant believe the amount of information he was able to download on data radio communication systems.  The materials he found on the net were very interesting and thurough and he organized them in a very methodical manner so that it would be easy for us to review and follow when we start building our own.  This has got to be one of those proud father moments for me. My little boy is growing up and I love watching it and more importantly being a part of it.

Well, I took my own advice from my previous post and spoke with a friend who is an economist at reputable university and he told me that gold IRA accounts are the things to invest in right now. My initial reaction (as I’m sure your is too) was, how to put gold in an IRA account?  He proceeded to explain to me that with growing uncertainty of the global economy, investors are including actual gold in their IRA’s.  This is fast becoming the best alternative for pensions, 401K’s and other retirement accounts.

He proceeded to explain to me that a gold 401k account will be more stable in this type of a bad economy than any other traditional financial product.  ANd. I guess it makes sense because as everything else goes down or fluctuates, the price of precious metals and gems increases.  So a 401k gold account does actually make sense (and hopefully dollars).

Now that I think about this, gold has always been the way to wealth throughout history.  All the people that had invested in gold from the time of early civilization to the Great Depression of the 20′s ended up becoming wealthy.  Nations were born and destroyed because of gold. So, my investing in an IRA gold account will not hurt.  OK..I just convinced myself…..thanks for listening……I needed that…..

I think the economy has finally bottomed out.  With that in mind, it’s now time for me to start investing.  The window of opportunity is very short, so deciding on what to invest in is now extremely crucial.  I have however, decided that the best thing to invest in are CD’s.  But which ones…….that is the million dollar question.

There are varying CD rates and bank rates, so which one do I choose? How do I find the best CD rates to maximize on my investment opportunities?

The best way to go about it is thru a lot of analysis and comparisons of bank profiles on a daily and weekly basis via the financial papers and media. In addition to this, advice from professionals in the industry is always helpful because they offer insight into the economy and can point out facts that you and I could easily overlook or not even consider.  Also, regional and national comparisons are very very important because as we all know, different localities perform differently because of the industries associated with the areas. For instance, the performance of the steel industry would not effect the the economy of California as much as it would the economy of Pensylvania.

About 15 years ago, I got into collecting luxury watches.  There is one timepiece that I want to get very badly!!!  Its the Breitling Bentley:

I just love this watch. Its big, has classic lines and is very accurate.  It looks like the Navitimer on steroids.  Although this is my favorite watch at this time, I am also looking to get a Tag Heuer, a Cartier and a Movado to add to my collection by the end of this year.

The Tag Huer, is a watch that I think will become a great collectible item in the next few years.  It has a distinct look and is very well made and priced affordably.  I have yet to meet someone who has one and is unhappy with it.

I want a Cartier watch simply because I do not have one in my collection yet.  No watch collection would be complete without a Cartier.  There are so many classic styles to choose from like the Tank, Pasha, Santos and Roadster, just to name a few.  One of these will land in my collection soon!!!

Like the Cartier, the Movado is also a watch that mustbe included in any formidable collection.  I have a couple already, but now is the time to add even more to the collection.  The prices for these luxury watches are low enough that investing in them now is a definate no loose situation.  I really dont think their value will decrease.

After smoking for many years, its time to get my teeth white again.  I’ve looked at a lot of options and veneers seem to be the best way to get white teeth again.

I think cosmetic dentistry will be the fastest and easiest way to get back the pearly whites and a great smile.  I see a lot of celebrities have gone this route and it makes them all look much younger and gives confidence.  The best part about it is that getting dental veneers is a very quick procedure with immediate results.  I have a friend of mine who did this and he is very happy with it.  The difference in his demeanor changed for the better as soon as he got off the dentist’s chair.  Getting the veneers has also made him look younger.  In fact, it seems to have taken at least ten years of him.

The technology behind dental veneers has advanced so much that this procedure has become so natural and painless.  Its almost like getting a haircut.  It’s a simple in and out procedure with immediate positive results.