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What was your first computer?
jon Vivaldi Team last edited by
I have always been fascinated by older computers. It is interesting how fast things move in our technical world. My first computer was a Sinclair ZX81. It came with a whopping 1kb of memory and my computer had an additional 16kb RAM pack. You can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX81 It had black and white video output (RF) with a fairly special keyboard. When programming or typing in programs from magazines, such as Sinclair Programs, it was easy to crash the computer as the connection between the computer and the RAM pack was a bit wobbly. Hours lost. Not fun, but it was a learning experience. What was your first computer? Tell your story! Jon.
debbie last edited by
When I was about 12, my dad brought home a RadioShack TRS-80 color computer. I typed in the programs, but it wouldn't remember anything when it was switched off, so I had to use the cassette tape backup. (I think it was the economy model, which had no built-in floppy drive.) I could remember the programs, so why couldn't the computer? After a while I was convinced that computers were stupid, and spent my time tinkering with bicycles instead.
olli last edited by
If I'm not mistaken my first pc was a Sinclair QL. Jon you would remember you owned it before me :-p
jon Vivaldi Team last edited by
Yes, the Sinclair QL was a beautiful computer. Running the 68008 processor with a preemptive multitasking operating system, which fit in 48 kb. In fact the 48 kb OS size was a problem, as it was supposed to fit in 32 kb, which created some issues at launch. But it was a beautiful system with a basic windowing system, great Super-Basic programming language and a powerful office suite, made by Psion. It came with a whopping 128 kb of memory. Great computer!
bv last edited by
The first computer I was allowed to run myself was an IBM 1620
If I remember right, it was located on the sixth floor of the administration building on Blindern, but it was mostly used by researchers in Numerical Mathematics.
This was in 1966, and the 1620 was still a marvelous machine. It was a BCD computer with operands a variable number of BCD digits - there was a flag bit indicating the start of a new operand, so we could use it for extremely large numbers. Integers and fixed-point numbers could be as long as the installed memory :woohoo:
It had a FORTRAN II compiler. You punched your program on one of the IBM 029 punches in the basement of the mathematics building. Then you went to the admin building when your booked time slot was due. In the case of us undergraduates that was after everybody else had left for the day. A control card was placed in front and another at the end of the source deck, which was put into the card reader. Then a deck of blank cards was placed behind the source deck.
You then hit LOAD, and the first pass of the compiler read your source deck. It then punched intermediate code into the blank cards. When that was finished, you had to place the intermediate deck back into the reader, followed by blank cards for the object code. The next pass read the intermediate and punched an object deck ready for the linker. You then read the source code again to get a printout of the source with either error messages or a symbol map.
Then you read your object deck with the linker, and got a punched binary deck with relocated code and linked libraries ready to run.
It was one of the computers I had most fun with - it even had a colour plotter which I could use for my physics lab work.
rajah last edited by
My first fomputer was like this БК-0010
But keys was like in picture http://hrenovina.net/wp-content/bk0010.jpg
Luxor last edited by
The Commodore VIC-20 was my first computer.
I dread to think how much I've spent on my computing hobby since then. :ohmy:
kenny last edited by
My first computer was the RCA Cosmac VIP. It featured the 8-bit 1802 processor and programming could be done in CHIP-8 using the 2 kilobytes of RAM. This CPU was CMOS and static so it could be single stepped or run at a very low clock speed which was totally cool. It also became one of the first space hardened microprocessors and is still used today on satellites as a boot strap or watchdog.
Naturally I forgot all about the Cosmac VIP when I got my Acorn Atom. It had an actual keyboard and I eventually got it up to 12 kilobytes of RAM. Ah the memories (2114's to be acurate
davews last edited by
First computer I used was a Ferranti Argus 100 - 24 bit machine code with 4k of core store… When it was loading paper tape the clutch in the reader activated between each character it read while it worked out what to do, quite a noise. First computer of my own (years later) was the Compukit UK101 (6502) followed soon by a BBC B.
It was also a ZX81, with a 32kb memopack addon and a gum keyboard
Saving and restoring programs to/from audio tape was really acrobatic !
I've also owned a Sharp PC1401 in the same old time (my first mobile computer).
Later (1990?), it was a big and heavy NEC APC (email@example.com+8087) without hard drive.
geir Vivaldi Team last edited by
Got a Sharp MZ731
from my parents when I was 15 - spent many fun hours programming in basic and then decided I wanted to be a Computer Scientist.
OakdaleFTL last edited by
Mine was the Timex version of the ZX81, with 2KB of RAM… What got me hooked wasn't Sinclair's BASIC, although it was quite good — for what it did in 8KB of ROM. It was the manual! Specifically, the Index portion that specified the character set: Giving the op-codes for the Z80 processor's instruction set.
I remained a fan of machine code and assembly-level programming for many years…
In fact, when I finally got a Macintosh, I was disappointed to be constrained to Pascal or C. But that's another story.
stein last edited by
My first home computer was a Commodore VIC-20. Bought it for the money I got on my first summer job, as that job was also the first time I touched a computer at all - an ABC-80. Instantly hooked I loved my VIC-20, especially when it got a RAM extension cartridge hooked in, expanding it from 4KB to massive 20 KB. Who needs more
Frenzie last edited by
Boy, I'm young. My first computer at home was a Pentium 100 in '95 or '96.
Medium last edited by
My first computer was Fujitsu-Siemens Scenic
Internet scared me. Fortunately, after a year of using Maxton met Opera, was 2005 year
I studied opera intuitively guide and on forum. In 2010, I developed the expanded menu for Opera and completed for the next versions of Opera.
I'm not a computer scientist, but love Opera!
christian Vivaldi Team last edited by
My first computer was an Amstrad PCW8512 in 1985. It has been named "the bargain of the decade". It was ready to use out of the box and came with a printer. It ran the elegant CP/M operating system which I thought was the best since sliced bread!
I adored that machine and took it much further than it's intended use as a word processor. I used it for invoicing in my business and I even for Soccer betting in Norway, "Tipping" running a system that I actually won quite a bit with. The Amstrad filled in the betting coupons and printed them for me. Something that would have taken days to do took me a couple of hours.
The video rental business was about to take off and I created a video renting software solution used in several businesses at the time all running on the Amstrad PCW.
I still have the Amstrad up in an attic. I bet it would just work if I brought it down and plugged it in. It always did!
OakdaleFTL last edited by
Boy, I'm young […]
Nah! Some of us are old!
xaxa last edited by
I started my first programming (and programm destroying) experiments with my father's Texas Instruments SR52 or TI-59, you know the calculator with a red LED display and the magnetic strip/card reader.
Soon after I used to examine and play with his Sharp PC-1500A, the one with the 4 colored plotter attached and an external compact cassette "mass storage" connectable (which can well be emulated by a nowadays computer's soundcard). Have it still in working condition, thouge the plotter does not work without the built-in batteries which themselves are broken.
The real "hacking" began on (again my father's) Commodore PC-10, an IBM PC compatible 8088 CPU machine with 4.77 MHz and (I think) 512kiB RAM, 2 5.25" Floppy drives. I explored DOS on this thing, edlin'ed config.sys and autoexec.bat, used GW-BASIC to programm (or rather design) an ASCII art adventure style computer game (which was lost on floppy failures later. :()
So those were the beginning – which of those qualifies as "first computer"?
I didn't change my machines like underware later, so then only came three (besides other of only historic value):
- An Amstrad PC3286 80286 CPU 16MHz, 1MiB RAM, SuperVGA with a 40MB hard disk. Ran under MS-DOS 3.3, then DR-DOS 6.
- Windows 95, later ME running a custom built Pentium 166MHz with several RAM upgrades up to 512MB probably; several hard drive upgrades from 2GB up to 8GB + 2GB.
- The thing I still use since a decade: A custom built AMD Athlon 64 X2 DualCore 3800+ with now 2GB of RAM and 250GB + 1 TB hard disk space. Win XP/32 as primary OS.
mumpsimus last edited by
My father had an IBM Datamaster. His company purchased the 5150 for him, and I inherited the Datamaster. It was so heavy that I could not move the machine, so it sat for a few years, unloved and untouched by me. I eventually got around to working with it in the mid-80's, by which time the Datamaster was a dinosaur.
other Vivaldi Team last edited by
My first box was a Commodore C64… great introduction!


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When it comes to autonomous vehicles, Lidar is one of the (no pun intended) driving forces that help make it all possible. A laser-based surveying method, Lidar builds up a depth-based image of the world by shining out laser lights and then measuring how long it takes for the reflected pulse to be bounced back to the sensor.
Well, thanks to the work of pioneering company Velodyne, Lidar just got a whole lot better!
Unveiled this week, Velodyne's new VLS-128 sensor set a new record by doubling the number of laser beams on its previous top-of-the-line Lidar system to a massive 128, while shrinking the overall size of the sensor by 70 percent. By doing so, the system promises to bring a crazy new level of resolution to the myriad applications that call for Lidar technology — from helping cars drive autonomously to mapping sites from the air.
"A 360-degree Lidar sensor such as the VLS-128 is optimal for keeping drivers and passengers safe in all situations," Anand Gopalan, chief technology officer at Velodyne, told Digital Trends. "It provides the clearest view of both stationary and moving objects on or around the road, and in any direction around the vehicle. In addition, Velodyne's Lidar sensors are capable of producing up to 3 million data points per second, with a range of up to 300 meters and accuracy [of around] 3 [centimeters]."
As can be seen from the above image, the new VLS-128's resolution is considerably better than its (already highly competent) predecessor. When you factor in faster scanning and better algorithms, it's anywhere from three to 10 times better than existing technology. In terms of what this means for its use in the real world, Velodyne suggests that it will sideline other sensors, such as cameras and radars, that are used by current autonomous vehicles. While those other sensors will almost certainly stay a part of the next generation of self-driving cars, there's a good chance that they will be relegated simply to acting as backup devices.
"We are ramping production up now, and we expect to start providing engineering samples to key customers by the end of the year," Gopalan said. "Production will be fully ramped up in early 2018."

subset: commoncrawl


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OK girls, listen up. First, drink a really nasty sports drink (my favourite of yore was the enticingly-named Pocari Sweat). Then hang around for half an hour. Now, strap some electrodes on to your ankles. Hang around for another half hour. This, apparently, will take a woman to a pre orgasmic plateau. From here, all you need is the Magic Touch (and US$ 140 for the ankle strap orgasmatron).
My question would be, why not get the Magic Toucher to take you to the plateau? Enough of disempowering People with Penises, already.


text: The trends really tend to make no sense to me if you follow them for instance what does blake griffin black panther demarcus cousins jaromir jagr rey mysterio all doing in the same search. I guess we never really will understand yahoo or bing search. Maybe they are just alternatives to what people choose in the address bar of their web browser. Has basketball become that popular in Canada and I just haven't noticed? I guess having noticed a spike in search across Canadian computer systems I thought I would try and capitalize on this new trend. Perhaps I am failing and NCAA just isn't the best choice for me to blog about. The NBA has its reasons for moving players around the league but that perhaps wasn't a description of one of the best moves. I try to keep on top of Blake Griffin searches and similar things but like most search nothing really seems to make sense to me. I think search traffic is just unpredictable the only thing that really made sense to me in the past for consistent search statistics was digital cameras. Of course like all good things it had to come to a end. Its hard to be consistent with search traffic these days and finding a niche really is difficult. DeMarcus Cousins really is a force in basketball and seems to be the most popular at the moment but is sports in general that consistent? Maybe people searching for stats and there favorite players really is making a big move on the search trends these days and I just missed the bus. Well I wonder how popular New Orleans Pelicans are compared to the other teams. Perhaps this is worth keeping a eye on. Well I don't want to waste my time on here talking about the Los Angeles Clippers but what else is there to talk about. Keeping it real at the moment. I guess buying coins out of china will have to remain my hobby at the moment perhaps talking about sports will never really make much sense here.


text: A selection of Thai inspired modern paintings at In Gallery. We hope you enjoy them. Many will have already been sold but if there is one that you like, please contact us as we maybe able to reproduce a similar piece, no two paintings are the same but they can be similar.


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Sun protection for preventing basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers
Guillermo Sánchez, John Nova, Andrea Esperanza Rodriguez-Hernandez, Roger David Medina, Carolina Solorzano-Restrepo, Jenny Gonzalez, Miguel Olmos, Kathie Godfrey, Ingrid Arevalo-Rodriguez
'Keratinocyte cancer' is now the preferred term for the most commonly identified skin cancers basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), which were previously commonly categorised as non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). Keratinocyte cancer (KC) represents about 95% of malignant skin tumours. Lifestyle changes have led to increased exposure to the sun, which has, in turn, led to a significant increase of new cases of KC, with a worldwide annual incidence of between 3% and 8%. The successful use of preventive measures could mean a significant reduction in the resources used by health systems, compared with the high cost of the treatment of these conditions. At present, there is no information about the quality of the evidence for the use of these sun protection strategies with an assessment of their benefits and risks.
To assess the effects of sun protection strategies (i.e. sunscreen and barrier methods) for preventing keratinocyte cancer (that is, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) of the skin) in the general population.
Fuente: Cochrane Library


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|Ga. Jackets 16u
Dalton Martinez Teaching Philosophy
Through my years of baseball, my father always told me, "If you make one person remember who you are each day; in that day, you did what you needed to do."
Growing up in a strong baseball family, my passion for the game was never pressured, but basically inevitable. My greatest gratitude goes towards my father, Chito Martinez, who instilled a strong foundation and philosophy enabling me to share my love for the game with others.
I've always found my heart and soul always leaning towards the love for defense the most. The challenge of anticipating the pitch and the swing, in order to get the best possible first step translating into the correct angle just for the glory of stealing a hit away. Great defenses win championships, and with championships comes great responsibility. In this responsibility, I believe that our mental and physical performance stems directly from our intent to prepare harder than the competition for the moment.
Physical ability is never an excuse for working harder than the rest. The world was created different, and individual differences will be taken into account when I teach.
As long as the will to sweat and the passion for the game is burning, the game will take care of the rest.


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7 comments
hey! it's nicole (guido). just was on rachel jonas' blog and saw the link to jay's then saw the link to yours. thought i'd say hi. i'm going to say a little 'hi' to jay too. hope you're well. i'm going to read some recent posts. it's always such a great way to see what people are up to. hope you're well. NICOLE
what are you doing these days?
Love you Stephen… and I will be praying for you and whatever it is that you are going through. I wish I could be there for you… more! I wish I could reach out and hug you, but… I can't!
Lovin you from Canada… far far away… xoxo
Your sis in the Lord,
dude are you in Mobile now? Should be down that way soon, for work. Will have to grab some dinner with you & Jay.


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According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), Children then should have eye exams at age 3, and just before they enter the first grade — at about age 5 or 6.
Eye exams for children are extremely important, because 5 to 10 percent of preschoolers and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems.* Early identification of a child's vision problem can be crucial because children often are more responsive to treatment when problems are diagnosed early.
For school-aged children, we recommend an eye exam annually for both the vision and health of their eye.
The Equation is Simple:
Good Vision = Better Learning
How Important is Good Vision to Learning?
Good vision is an important part of education. Many experts believe 80 percent of learning is done through a child's eyes. Reading, computer usage and chalkboard work are all visual tasks students perform every day. A child's eyes are always in use in the classroom. Therefore, when a child's vision is not working properly learning and class participation will suffer.
What is Good Vision?
Good vision includes visual acuity, eye health, visual integration and visual skills such as eye teaming, eye focusing and eye motility.
- Visual acuity – the ability of the eyes to see and distinguish fine details, the clarity of vision
- Visual integration – the ability to process and integrate visual information so we can understand what we see
- Eye teaming – the ability of the eyes to work properly together
- Eye focusing – the ability of the eyes to easily focus and shift focus to near and distant points.
- Eye motility – the eyes ability to move together
What are the Consequences of Undetected/Untreated Vision Problems?
Children with undetected vision problems are sometimes inaccurately diagnosed with attention
deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). When vision is difficult, it requires greater effort than normal leading the child to avoid close work. It may appear the child is daydreaming.
Is Your Child Struggling in Class?
Many children with undetected vision problems struggle in the classroom. These symptoms include:
- Trouble finishing written assignments
- Losing their place when reading
- A short attention span when doing close work
- Skipping words when reading
- Having greater potential than grades may indicate
*Vision impairment occurs in 5 to 10 percent of all pre-school age children, according to the May 2004 issue of Annals of Family Medicine; The American Optometric Association (AOA) says 25 percent of all school-age children have vision problems.
Article and information provided by the AOA


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These are all the News & Announcements posted in September, 2007.
Thursday, 27
Book Sale - October 5, 2007
The Logan Library is holding our regular Book Sale on Friday, October 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the library conference room. In addition to used books, we are selling cassettes, CDs, videos and DVDs. Most items are priced between 50¢ and $2.00.
Posted By Logan Library at 1:33 PM / Category:Library Services
Monday, 24
What's Happening?
Are you looking for something to do this weekend? Are you wondering when the next city council meeting is? To find out what's going on in Logan and the surrounding area take a look at our Community Events Calendar. The Community Events Calendars lists all kinds of happenings of interest to Logan residents including:
Posted By Logan Library at 1:50 PM / Category:Website
Wednesday, 19
New Titles This Week
Every Wednesday the Logan Library posts a list of all the titles that we have added to our collection in the past week. This list includes books, DVDs, CDs and eAudiobooks for Adults, Young Adults, and Children. You can use the New Titles this Week list to watch for material that you have requested and to place holds on new books and movies.
To access this list, go to the Library Catalog and click "New Titles This Week" in the Library Info section.
Posted By Logan Library at 3:44 PM / Category:Website
The Latest News!
Oct 16, 2018
» Community Book Discussion Oct 10, 2018
» The Dead Awaken Oct 5, 2018
» Library Closed Columbus Day


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Photography Classes in Hamer SC
Interested in learning about photography in Hamer SC? Whether you are a professional, beginner, or hobbyist, the best way to improve your photography abilities is through hands-on training with skilled instructors.
South Carolina offers numerous accredited and recognized photography schools. Topics taught in photography classes include portrait capture, exposure and composition, lighting, posing and unposing, and other photography fundamentals. Growing into an experienced photographer can pave the road to a lifelong hobby or a prosperous professional career.
There are many Photography Classes in Hamer SC:
- Hamer Photography 101
- Hamer Digital Photography Classes
- Hamer Nature Photography Classes
- Hamer Editorial Photography Classes
- Hamer Studio Photography Classes
Hamer SC Photography Classes
Coker College
300 E College Ave
Hartsville, South Carolina 29550
Phone: (843) 383-8000
41.73 miles away


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iDMS is the industry-leading dealer management system designed specifically for used car and BHPH dealerships. Our fully-loaded and easy to use system provides better tools to streamline your daily operations. Better technology means a better user experience and healthier bottom line.
Intuitive mobile-optimized user interface requires minimal training to master.
Automation workflows with role-based task queues and custom dashboards.
Lender Portal, Valuation Guides, EPS, Credit Reporting, GPS, and more.
Evaluate, acquire, and track floor plans to manage your inventory.
Real-time QuickBooks syncing and flexible GL account mapping.
Figure a deal and present finance options with in-app decisioning.
Custom collection queues with automation and integrated EPS.
Evaluate, acquire, and track floor plans to manage your inventory.
"DealerSocket has unlocked the future of auto sales platforms with iDMS. It's simple to use and powerful!"


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Our eclectic team of specialists share the same vision and ambitions, and live for what they do.
Leo got his addiction for paddling at 9 years of age, when he joined Proteus Canoe Club in Peterborough.
With her Masters degree in Psychology from The University of Edinburgh, broad experience and ability to bring order to chaos Anna is a fantastic Director of Getafix, at the same time as bringing the next generation of Getafixers into the world and trying to keep Leo's life organised and sane. This is supported largely by her yoga teacher training with the Yoga Life Project.
With a degree in Wildlife Conservation and her love for all things wild, Honesty (or H as we know her) couldn't help but impress us at Getafix when we met her in 2015.
A true lifestyle guru, Chris combines excellent canoe skills with working his Gipsy Cobs Paddy and Eddie, being everyone's dream grandfather and renovating his Welsh barn singlehanded.
I first met Pete when I assessed him for his BCU Five Star Award in Syphon Canyon, Soča, Slovenia when he was 21. He impressed me then as being one of the hottest prospects for both his own paddling and on how solid he was as a leader.
Jason is our first aid coach and bushcraft expert. He is a WEMSI Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician and teaches on our Basic, Advanced, and Trainers' courses which, over the past couple of years he has developed with Leo.
Getafix is delighted to welcome Ollie to the team. We have had our eye on him for quite some time and are consistently impressed by his attitude and approach, as well as the quality of his paddling and adventuring.
Bob has spent the past 25 years working in and enjoying the outdoors, from Sea kayak guiding in Maine, to working as the Global Marketing manager at Pyranha.
Nicole is a Senior REC Trainer and is in charge of our first aid courses.
Roope is from Finland and lives in Helsinki. He has extensively ventured throughout Finland, Sweden and Norway paddling and mountaineering for 25yrs.


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Not literally, of course.
What happened today was... I was riding as a pillion on my friend's bike and I was carrying a few bulky items, one being my huge bag and another being a paper bag. As we were riding, one of my paperbag contents fell and my friend helped picked it up (it was then a red light). I was adjusting the paperbag on my arm when my friend ride off and in that moment, I accidentally dropped my paperbag. (Yes, I was damn clumsy. :/ It was the first time I have ever done so. I guess I was a bit flustered over the picking of items earlier.)
As the traffic light had already turned green, we couldn't pick up the paperbag and my friend had to drive off. We then made a u-turn to try to locate the items and pick them up. In my mind, I was thinking that the items were gone... either someone had drove over it. Surprisingly I couldn't find the bag and I was thinking probably someone had picked it up and took it. I was kind of resigned to losing the items and told my friend to drive off. Howeve, when we made a last u-turn to double check, I noticed a rider signalling to us. It turned out that the rider had picked up my paperbag and was trying to find us to return it back to me.
This was a perfect stranger. He need not had made the effort to even bother to pick the items up or return to us. He could have just ride off but yet he didn't.
I was simply touched by his kindness and I didn't manage to really thank him properly. (He did look a bit shy and was in a rush...) I had never expected anyone to do such a thing and till now, I still feel amazed by his actions and thankful for his help.
Thank you. 🙂


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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Troubleshooting
This is an updated version of my original LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL and Perl/PHP) guide that was based on CentOS 4. Now updated and tweaked for CentOS 5, I will take you through the steps required to build a secure Linux web server (LAMP) on CentOS 5.
I have a background working for an ISP, so I've based this build on the same configuration many hosting providers use. It supports virtual hosts (multiple websites), secure FTP access, locked down SSH access, and a sensible directory structure.
If you follow this guide, you will get a web server up and running within a couple of hours depending on whether you follow it step by step, or prefer to experiment first. If you are new to Linux then give it a try and learn something new, you never know you may surprise yourself!
Good luck!
A word on web hosting
Before you get started with your server build, I'd like to talk about where you are going to host this server. There have been a number of developments in the past few years in regards to people hosting websites on their home ISP broadband connection.
Firstly, did you know that many of the major search engines will not crawl your website if it's hosted on a residential IP address? What I mean by residential is an IP address provided by the likes of an ADSL or broadband provider (e.g. Virgin Media, BT, PlusNet, here in the UK). It will depend on the ISP whether you get a 'fixed' IP address or not, and even if you do your site will simply be ignored by the major search engines as they will recognise the IP address in a residential (non ISP) range. Don't get me wrong, running web servers at home is great fun but I would recommend you avoid it unless it is purely for testing.
So, where is the best place to host your shiny new CentOS web server?
I would highly recommend getting a VPS (Virtual Private Server). There are plenty of hosting companies offering Virtual Private Servers, and VPS hosting is getting cheaper.
I would personally recommend Linode, I have been using them since 2006 and recently they have started hosting virtual servers in the London, UK as well as the USA. They provide a generous amount of bandwidth, starting at around 200GiB per month with 16GB+ of disk space depending on which option you go for. You can choose from a massive list of Linux distro's, including CentOS 5! They use Xen virtualisation and they have an excellent web interface for accessing your server stats, server controls, DNS, and console access.
Getting Started
CentOS 5 is completely free and developed by a team of core developers at a North American Enterprise Linux vendor. In turn the core developers are supported by an active user community including system administrators, network administrators, enterprise users, managers, core Linux contributors and Linux enthusiasts from around the world.
CentOS has numerous advantages over some of the other clone projects including: an active and growing user community, quickly rebuilt, tested, and QA'ed errata packages, an extensive mirror network, developers who are contactable and responsive, multiple free support avenues including IRC Chat, Mailing Lists, Forums, a dynamic FAQ. Commercial support is offered via a number of vendors.
CentOS 5 is distributed on six CD's, all of which are available for download from the CentOS website.
Download phpMyAdmin
This is optional, but I would highly recommend this excellent web interface for administering your MySQL databases. I have used this in the past to provide customers with their own phpMyAdmin login username, so they can manage their databases easily.
Installing CentOS
NOTE: If you are using a virtual private server (VPS) provided by a hosting company such as Linode, and CentOS is already installed then skip ahead to the next section.
- Insert CD of the CentOS 5 installation CD and boot your server.
- At the installation menu, just press ENTER for the graphical installation wizard.
- When prompted for an installation type select custom installation.
- Use automatic partitioning for the disks.
- Remove all partitions from system (make sure you are happy to wipe all existing data!!).
- Boot Loader: Leave default settings.
- Network Configuration: Configure this with an internal IP address and DNS name.
- Firewall: Select 'No firewall' as this will be installed and configured later.
- SELinux: Set to 'Disabled'. This is still very experimental so I would leave this switched off unless you really know what you are doing.
- Authentication: Set a secure root password using random characters and numbers (upper an lower case).
- Package Selection: Choose minimal configuration (Other packages can be installed at a later stage according to the server role).
WARNING!! – The server should not be connected to the internet until the configuration is completed and secure!
Updating the System
Now that you have CentOS 5 installed, we need to make sure it's up to date and then do some basic security configuration with SSH. Unlike CentOS 4, you no longer have to import the RPM key to update and install software. It does this for you.
To check for updates type the following:
# yum check-update
Now perform the update process. Note, the -y is to accept all updates which I recommend as it's a clean installation.
# yum –y update
Setting the clock
I strongly advise that you setup the timezone and clock correctly. First, you set /etc/localtime to link to the correct timezone, then either set the time manually or configure NTPD to syncronise with an internet time server such as pool.ntp.org.
Example of setting the timezone to GMT:
# ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/GMT /etc/localtime
Setting the hardware clock:
# vi /etc/sysconfig/clock
System Services Configuration
As this is going to be a finely tuned web server, we don't want uneccessary daemons running! Firstly, lets list all the daemons that have been configured to run at startup.
# chkconfig –list|grep on
You should now get an output similar to the following:
anacron 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:off 4:off 5:off 6:off
atd 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off
crond 0:off 1:on 2:off 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off
cups 0:off 1:on 2:off 3:on 4:on 5:on 6:off
haldaemon 0:off 1:on 2:off 3:off 4:on 5:on 6:off
messagebus0:off 1:on 2:off 3:off 4:on 5:on 6:off
network 0:off 1:on 2:off 3:off 4:on 5:on 6:off
syslog 0:off 1:on 2:off 3:off 4:on 5:on 6:off
Your list will probably be a lot longer as this is just an example, but what you can see here is the different run levels and their on/off status. Most daemons start at run level 3. Now lets switch off the daemons that aren't needed. I've listed a few more here that you are likely to find.
# chkconfig cups off
# chkconfig apmd off
# chkconfig netfs off
# chkconfig pcmcia off
# chkconfig smartd off
# chkconfig anacron off
# chkconfig mdmonitor off
# chkconfig isdn off
NOTE: If you are using Linode then you should also switch off Kudzu (hardware detection) as this serves no purpose on a virtual UML system.
Host Access (TCP_WRAPPERS)
There are two host access files (/etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny), that are part of the TCP_WRAPPER package. This makes it possible to allow or deny access to certain services based on the IP.
Edit the hosts.allow and hosts.deny files:
# vi /etc/hosts.allow
sshd:<IP ADDRESS>
# vi /etc/hosts.deny
<IP ADDRESS> above is the internet IP you are connecting from (don't include
< or
>). You can enter multiple IP address here (separated by spaces) or to allow SSH from any IP just replace with
The root account should never be able to login via SSH (without first logging in as a user). You must change this, so edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config and ensure the following is set:
# vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Change the following lines as follows:
PermitRootLogin no
Protocol 2
Note: Some of these lines may already exist but will be commented out using #. To enable these commands the # needs to be removed.
Add Default Accounts
Before proceeding with any of the steps below, first create a user account that you will use to log in to this server. This account will be used for SSH connections.
# adduser <username>
# passwd <username>
You should now have access to the server via SSH. Download PuTTY and make sure it works.
Part 2: Configuring the Server
Configuring CentOS
- Edit
/etc/sysconfig/networkwith hostnames
- Install Packages
Example of /etc/hosts:
# Do not remove the following line, or various programs
# that require network functionality will fail.
127.0.0.1 localhost
184.108.40.206 www.mydomain.com
Example of /etc/sysconfig/network
Installing Packages
# yum -y install httpd openssl-devel openssl mod_ssl vsftpd rpm-build rpm-devel autoconf automake lynx gcc
# yum -y install mysql mod_auth_mysql mysql-devel mysql-server
# yum -y install mod_python python python-devel
# yum -y install perl mod_perl mod_perl-devel openssl-perl perl-Convert-ASN1 perl-Date-Calc perl-DateManip perl-HTML-Parser perl-libwww-perl perl-CPAN perl-DBD-MySQL perl-XML-Parser
# yum -y install php-devel php php-domxml php-gd php-mbstring php-mysql php-ncurses php-pear
# yum -y install webalizer
# yum -y install sendmail sendmail-cf
Creating Directory Structure
All websites will be held in
/home/.sites/. The first site that needs to be created is the
_default site, which will be used as this servers default website.
# mkdir /home/.sites
# cd /home/.sites
# mkdir _default
# cd _default
# mkdir logs private cgi-bin web
# cd web
# mkdir stats
Now change the ownership of these directories to adminftp as follows:
# cd /home/.sites
# chown adminftp _default -R
Configure the required system services sto start at boot:
# chkconfig httpd on
# chkconfig mysqld on
# chkconfig vsftpd on
# chkconfig sshd on
Configuring Apache
Apache runs as the httpd service, and it's configuration file is contained in
/etc/httpd/conf. To run in a 'virtual' hosting environment, we will now configure the httpd.conf file. But first things first, lets backup the httpd.conf file!
# cd /etc/httpd/conf
# cp httpd.conf httpd.conf.backup
Now edit httpd.conf and make the following changes, substituting
mydomain.com for your own domain:
ServerAdmin firstname.lastname@example.com
ServerName www.mydomain.com:80
NameVirtualHost *:80
DirectoryIndex index.html index.htm index.html.var
ServerAdmin email@example.com
DocumentRoot /home/.sites/_default/web
ServerName www.mydomain.com
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /home/.sites/_default/cgi-bin/
ErrorLog /home/.sites/_default/logs/error_log
TransferLog /home/.sites/_default/logs/access_log
Options FollowSymLinks
Options +Includes
AllowOverride All
Save and exit the httpd.conf file and then restart the httpd service.
# /etc/init.d/httpd restart
Configuring VSFTP
VSFTP stands for Very Secure File Transfer Protocol. However using the installation defaults isn't actually that secure as it allows anonymous access and doesn't restrict which users can access the servers FTP service. In order to harden the security of VSFTP, several configuration changes must be made. Please note that some of these lines may be commented out by default, with a #, so remember to remove this if required.
# vi /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf
ftpd_banner= **** WARNING - Your actions are being logged ****
Next, we need to configure
vsftpd.userlist and specify which users can FTP to the server. This compliments the
userlist_deny setting in vsftpd.conf. When set to
NO, this makes the
vsftpd.userlist file a list of users that ARE allowed to log in.
# vi /etc/vsftpd/user_list
Remove all of the users that are listed in this file by default, and add ONLY the users that require access to the FTP server.
Configuring MySQL
MySQL is configured using /etc/my.cnf, but prior to any configuration this configuration file has only the bare minimum required to start the MySQL daemon. However there are 5 templates that we can base the configuration on;
my-medium.cnf, and
my-small.cnf. These are each configured depending on the RAM and the priority that MySQL has on this server.
We will use my-medium.cnf as this has been based on a web server where MySQL is not the primary role of the server but could have frequent use. If you are hosting a few sites with light use then use
# cd /usr/share/doc/mysql-server-
# cp my-medium.cnf /etc/my.cnf
Once this has overwritten my.cnf, the mysqld service must be restarted.
# /etc/init.d/mysqld restart
Now the root password for MySQL must be set using the following command. Do NOT use the same root password as the Linux root password.
# mysqladmin -u root password
Setting up phpMyAdmin
Administration of MySQL is carried out using phpMyAdmin which is a free open source software package licensed under the GNU. Nearly all hosting providers use this, and is pretty much the de-facto standard these days.
1) Download phpMyAdmin,
2) Extract the contents to a directory called phpMyAdmin (case sensitive)
3) Transfer the phpMyAdmin directory to /home/.sites/_default/web (Use FTP and login using the user you setup previously, as described in the Configuring FTP using VSFTPD section).
Now we need to configure the
confic.inc.php file as follows:
# vi /home/.sites/_default/web/phpMyAdmin/config.inc.php
Look for:
$cfg['Servers'][$i]['auth_type'] = 'config';
Change '
config' to '
http' then restart MySQL.
# /etc/init.d/mysqld restart
You should now be able to log into phpMyAdmin by going to http://www.mydomain.com/phpMyAdmin. Log on using 'root' and the password you specified for MySQL. You will now be presented with the phpMyAdmin web control panel. By default, MySQL contains a test database which is not required, so as a security measure, this needs to be deleted. To do this, click on 'Databases', then tick test. Click 'Drop' and then click 'Yes' to confirm.
Part 3: Adding websites
In the following steps, we will base our configuration on a fictitious company called Happy Burger who has already registered the domain name, happyburger.net. We will point www.happyburger.net to the IP address of this web server. When you are creating your own site, substitute the customer name and domain name for that of the actual customer. * If a Happy Burger really exists, then this is in no way associated with them and is purely coincidental.
Create a User Account
The first step is to create a user account that will be associated with this website and be used to authenticate via FTP. When creating the password, make sure that it is at least 8 characters, alphanumeric, mixed case and includes numbers. I usually generate random passwords for this.
# adduser –s /sbin/nologin happyburger
# passwd happyburger
Creating the directory structure
Each website must have the following directory structure in order to support access logs, web statistics, .htpasswd files, CGI scripts and the public web directory.
/home/.sites/happyburger/: This path will contain a directory for each website. Each directory should be named after the customer name, in lowercase.
/home/.sites/happyburger/web/: This path contains the website contents (public root).
/home/.sites/happyburger/web/stats/: This path will contain the Webalizer statistics, and is password protected using .htaccess.
/home/.sites/happyburger/private/: This path is not accessible from the internet, and contains the .htpasswd file.
/home/.sites/happyburger/cgi-bin/: Apache uses this path as the CGI script directory, by using a script alias.
/home/.sites/happyburger/logs/: This path stores the log files that Apache generates.
Create the structure as follows:
# cd /home/.sites
# mkdir happyburger
# cd happyburger
# mkdir web cgi-bin private logs
# cd web
# mkdir stats
Now change the ownership of these directories, substituting
<username> (in this case,
# cd /home/.sites
# chown
<username> happyburger -R
Configuring Apache
As Apache will be configured using multiple 'virtual hosts' we need to create a separate configuration file for each virtual host. To do this we will create a vhost directory, and configure the Apache configuration file to read each of these virtual host configurations.
# cd /etc/httpd/vhost (If this directory does not exist then you will need to create it)
Now we will create the virtual host configuration file for this particular website.
# vi happyburger.conf
Now enter the following into the newly created configuration file:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin firstname.lastname@example.com
DocumentRoot /home/.sites/happyburger/web
ServerName www.happyburger.net
ServerAlias happyburger.net
ServerAlias www.happyburger.com
ServerAlias happyburger.com
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /home/.sites/happyburger/cgi-bin/
<Directory /home/.sites/happyburger/web>
Options FollowSymLinks
Options +Includes +ExecCGI
AllowOverride All
Once this has been saved, we will then need to configure Apache to include this in the main configuration.
# vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
At the end of the configuration file add the following line:
Include /etc/httpd/vhost/happyburger.conf
Now restart httpd:
# /etc/init.d/httpd restart
Configuring FTP (VSFTP)
Before the new account can login with FTP, you must add the new user to
vsftp.user_list which contains a list of all accounts permitted to use the FTP service.
# vi /etc/vsftpd.user_list
Add the new user to the list.
Problems with Sendmail
When setting up my first Linux web server it was actually sendmail that caused me the most trouble. If you get the following errors:
<< 550-Verification failed for
<<< 550-Unrouteable address
<<< 550- does not appear to be valid. Sender verify
<<< 550 failed.
550 5.1.1 ... User unknown
1) This is likely to be a problem with the hostname of the server. Check to make sure the hostname of the server (e.g. linuxweb.mydomain.com) can actually be resolved over the internet. The hostname must be the same in
/etc/sysconfig/network, and
2) The
/etc/mail/local-host-names and
/etc/mail/relay-domains file should contain the hostname of the server, and also localhost. If the relay-domains file does not exist, then you can create it.
3) Check /etc/hosts.allow and make sure it has sendmail:ALL
4) This is unlikely but it may be a problem with the sendmail configuration (
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf). Do not edit
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf directly, instead edit
/etc/mail/sendmail.mc which is a meta-config file. When done, you can use
m4 sendmail.mc > sendmail.cf to write the meta-config to the
sendmail.cf file.
sendmail.mc file has various entries beginning with
dnl (do not load). For sendmail to work properly on a virtual hosting server then make sure you add dnl to the following:
dnl FEATURE(delay_checks)dnl
dnl FEATURE(`mailertable',`hash -o /etc/mail/mailertable.db')dnl
dnl FEATURE(always_add_domain)dnl
dnl FEATURE(`blacklist_recipients')dnl
dnl FEATURE(`relay_based_on_MX')dnl
dnl FEATURE(masquerade_envelope)dnl
dnl FEATURE(masquerade_entire_domain)dnl
Then, the following entries should be enabled (without
dnl at the beginning)
FEATURE(`virtusertable',`hash -o /etc/mail/virtusertable.db')dnl
FEATURE(local_procmail,`',`procmail -t -Y -a $h -d $u')dnl
FEATURE(`access_db',`hash -T -o /etc/mail/access.db')dnl
5) As a final resort, re-install sendmail then go back to step 1.
# yum remove sendmail sendmail-cf
# yum install sendmail sendmail-cf


text:
KCSD#7 is governed by a board of three commissioners, who are elected by the voters in the district. The Board of Commissioners meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7pm at the Fort Ward Community Hall/KCSD#7 Office at 9307 Evergreen NE. These are public meetings, and everyone is welcome to attend. Email Board of Commissioners at email@example.com.
Commissioner Roger Tielman Position 1
Appointed January 2011
6 Year Term – ends December 2018
Commissioner Chris Dew Position 2
Elected November 2017
6 Year Term – ends December 2023
Commissioner Sarah Lee Position 3
Elected November 1991
6 Year Term – ends December 2021


text:
NEW HAVEN, Conn., May 26 (UPI) -- Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that capital punishment is unconstitutional, upholding the state's ban imposed four years ago.
In a 5-2 ruling in State v. Peeler, the state's high court determined that two death sentences imposed on convicted killer Russell Peeler are unconstitutional.
Peeler killed a young mother and her child in 1999. On appeal of his death sentence, the high court ruled in his favor citing State v. Santiago, a similar appeal that was granted last summer.
"A majority of this court concluded that executing offenders who committed capital crimes ... would offend the Connecticut constitution," the justices wrote Thursday. "Our conclusion [is] that the defendant's death sentences must be vacated as unconstitutional in light of Santiago."
In Santiago, the high court agreed with the death row inmate that capital punishment "would violate the state constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment" and that it "no longer comports with contemporary standards of decency in Connecticut."
In making the ruling, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the legislature's banning of capital punishment in the state four years ago.
The difference between the votes in Peeler and Santiago is Chief Justice Chase Rogers, who ruled against barring executions last year but changed her mind Thursday.
"My personal beliefs cannot drive my decision-making," she wrote. "I feel bound by the doctrine of stare decisis in this case for one simple reason -- my respect for the rule of law."
"To reverse an important constitutional issue within a period of less than one year solely because of a change in justices on the panel that is charged with deciding the issue, in my opinion, would raise legitimate concerns by the people we serve about the court's integrity and the rule of law in the state of Connecticut," she continued.
The state Supreme Court's ruling means no future criminals can be put to death for any reason, except if the law is changed, but all death row inmates sentenced before capital punishment was barred in 2012 will still be executed.
"Those currently serving on death row will serve the rest of their life in prison with no possibility of ever obtaining freedom," Connecticut Gov. Daniel Malloy responded Thursday. "Our focus today should not be on those currently sitting on death row, but with their victims and those surviving family members."
"The Division of Criminal Justice and I extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of these crimes and to their families," Chief State's Attorney Kevin T. Kane said in a statement. "I also wish to express my appreciation to the dedicated professionals in the Division of Criminal Justice who have devoted so much of themselves throughout this process."
The United States issued a total moratorium on capital punishment between 1967 and 1977. After its revival, though, several states have passed laws banning the practice. Capital punishment is illegal in 19 states and Washington, D.C., but legal in 31 other states.


text:
It is well known that Indian street food Samosas have broken all geographical and culture barriers to become world famous but well made kachori can beat samosa any time !
These kachoris are deep fried pies stuffed with delicious and flavourful filling made with mashed potato, green peas, aromatic herbs and spices.
It's been a long time since I fried some kachoris, and definitely it was worth the effort as they came out so well, so flaky, crispy and crumbly and surely packed with so much flavour. In Gujarat, these delicious kachoris are served as a snack any time of the day and sometimes it takes place as Farsan in Gujarati Thali.
In the past I have prepared Garlic Kachori, Poha kachori and Dry fruit Kachori , they were phenomenal !!!
Let's make Gujarati Khasta Aloo Matar kachori, straight from the streets of Gujarat, this kachori will knock your socks off !!
Notes :-
These kachoris will stay fresh only for one day, do not store.
Khasta Aloo Matar Kachori Gujarati Style
Khasta Aloo Matar Kachori, deep fried pastry with spicy and delicious mashed potato and Green Peas filling. Prepare them for parties, potluck or teatime ..I can have any time :)
- 1/2 cup Plain flour
- 1/4 cup Melted ghee or oil
- Salt to taste
- 2 cup Boiled and mashed potato ( use floury potato)
- 1/2 cup Boiled green peas
- to deep fry Oil
- 2 tbsp. Green chillies and Ginger crushed
- 2 tbsp. Fresh Corinader
- 1 tbsp. Oil
- 1 tsp. Cumin seeds
- Pinch Hing
- 1 tbsp. Dry mango powder or lemon juice
- Pinch Sugar
- 2 tbsp. Cinnamon, Cloves, Black Pepper, Cardamom seeds, Fennel seeds, Dry red chillies and whole corinder seeds
- 1 tbsp. Sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp. Khus Khus ( Poppy Seeds )
- 1 tsp. Dessicated coconut
Grind roasted whole spices in a grinder, keep it coarse .
Mix with sesame and Poppy seeds.
Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds, once they crackle add hing.
Add crushed chilli and ginger and cook for few seconds, add coconut and fry less than 2 seconds or it will burn.
Now add mashed potato and boiled green peas, 2 tbsp, freshly ground garam masala, salt and sugar.
Keep low heat and mix well.
Add dry mango powder ( amchoor ) or lemon juice and mix well.
Sprinkle fresh coriander leaves and leave it aside to cool.
Meanwhile prepare the dough by mixing plain flour, salt and melted ghee, mix well and knead the semi stiff dough.
Cover with the clean kitchen towel and rest it for half hour.
Divide the dough into equal portions.
Roll out each dough portion into a small circle.
Put one big spoonful of the filling portions into the centre, then fold the dough over the filling to form a ball and seal the edges with a peak at the top.
You can grease your palms a little and roll the ball between them to form an even ball if that's easier. Repeat for all the kachoris.
Now heat oil in a wok or kadai and deep fry 3-4 kachoris at a time over medium heat till they are light golden brown in colour.
Enjoy hot Khasta Aloo Matar kachori with green coriander and tamarind chutney.
Thank you for stopping by and reading this post ! We hope to see you again soon :)


text:
How to Snow Blow Your Driveway
Explore this Article Assessing the Situation Snow Blowing the Driveway Taking Safety Precautions Questions & Answers Related Articles References
There are 5 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
Snow blowing your driveway and sidewalks can be a quick and easy way to remove snow from your driveway. Before you snow blow, assess the situation. The shape of your driveway and the direction of the wind all affect how you should snow blow. Then, start the snow blower and run it through your driveway to remove snow. Make sure to practice basic safety, such as avoiding loose fitting clothing, to stay safe while snow blowing.
Part 1
Assessing the Situation
1Determine which direction the wind is blowing. Before you begin snow blowing, stand outside and feel the wind against your face. When you snow blow, you should move in the direction of the wind. Snow blowing against the wind will result in snow blowing against your face while you work.[1]
- If you can't tell the direction of the wind, try licking your finger and then holding in front of your face. The wetness will help you feel the wind better. You can also throw a handful of loose snow up in the air. The direction it lands is the direction that the wind is blowing.
- Look at moving or waving objects, such as trees, flags, or wind chimes. If they're bending or turning a certain way, it means that the wind is pushing them in that direction.
2Choose a place for the snow to build up. You need to blow the snow away from your driveway. Ideally, you should blow the snow as far into the yard as possible. Check your snow blower's capability to see how far you can blow snow using the highest setting. Plan to twist the nozzle as necessary to get the snow into the appropriate spot in your yard.
- Aim to blow the snow towards an unused area of your yard. Avoid blowing the snow into places like walkways or near the mailbox.
- Remember that the pile of snow will melt in spring, so try to blow the snow towards an area that has good drainage.
- Make sure your snow blower does not blow the snow too far out. You don't want to use a setting that would blow your snow into a neighbor's yard.
3Prepare the snow blower. Be sure to check the condition of the snow blower before using it. You may have to make some adjustments depending on the snow blower's condition and your driveway. Check the following:
- Check the machine's oil before every use (applies to 4 cycle engines). Snow blowers can often burn oil without smoking, and the lack of the proper amount and/or correct type of oil can kill your machine quickly.
- Fill the machine with fuel before starting, to avoid breaking your routine and walking back to your garage just to re-fuel. This should be done outdoors to prevent vapor build-up. Do not add fuel to a hot engine; a snow blower's engine must be cooled down first.
- Add a fuel stabilizer if it is extremely cold outside. This will help prevent the fuel from freezing and gelling inside of the snow blower.
- Check the skid shoes, which are the metal pieces on the bottom of the snow blower. If you have a paved driveway, make sure the skid shoes are set to the lowest setting. For a gravel driveway, skid shoes should be set higher up to avoid displacing the gravel.
Part 2
Snow Blowing the Driveway
1Clear off your car and walkways first. Before you begin snow blowing, clear off your car if it's out in the driveway or parked in the street. This will prevent you from having to clear the snow around your car after snow blowing. Then clear any walkways leading from the driveway to your front door.[2]
2Make circular motions if there is no wind. If there is no wind, start in the center of the driveway. Keep the snow nozzle pointed outward towards the yard surrounding the driveway. Work in circles, moving outward as you go.
3Work side to side if there is wind. If there is a wind, point the snow nozzle in the direction the wind blows. Start in the upward direction of the wind, moving your snow blower side to side. Move your snow chute as necessary to keep it pointed in the direction of the wind.
4Shovel any remaining snow. While you can remove most of the snow with a snow blower, there may be small bits of snow accumulated when you finish. There may be snow stuck in tight or narrow spots in the driveway that are difficult to reach with a snow blower. Use a shovel to clear out these spots.
- Alternatively, if you know there are difficult areas, clear those areas first so that you do not have to shovel them later.
Part 3
Taking Safety Precautions
1Make sure all objects, pets, and children are out of the area. Make sure the area is clear before you begin snow blowing. Keep your children out of the driveway and the surrounding area. Make sure pets are not near the driveway when snow blowing. Remove any obstacles or items that might get in your way.[3]
- If you have pets that you allow outside, keep them indoors while using the snow blower.
2Do not wear loose-fitting clothes. Loose-fitting clothes, like loose jackets and scarves, can get caught in a snow blower and cause injury. Make sure to wear form-fitted jackets and, if you wear a scarf, make sure it's tucked into your jacket while you run your snow blower. Sturdy, insulated boots are also a must.[4]
- Dress in layers in the winter to keep yourself warm. Tuck your layers into one another to prevent any loose clothing from getting caught.
3Turn off the machine when you step away from it. If you need to step away from the snow blower for any reason, turn it off first. Always power down the snow blower when stepping away, even if its just for a few seconds.[5]
Community Q&A
QuestionDo I snow blow after 6 inches or wait? In the morning it may be 15 inches deep.Community AnswerIt all depends on what your blower can handle. If you're unsure of your blower's performance specifics, you can usually find them in the user's manual. If you have a powerful snow blower that's able to handle snow around 15 inches deep, go ahead and wait until the snow stops before blowing. This can help to save energy and gasoline. If you have a less powerful snow blower, start blowing around six inches or so.
QuestionCan you put or move in reverse to reposition while the auger is engaged without causing damageCommunity AnswerCheck your manufacturer's instructions. It depends on the model of snowblower.
QuestionShould I try to snow blow before a blizzard is over? Or just wait until the snow stops?Community AnswerIt really depends on how much snow there is and if you're willing to go out in the snow. If there is a medium amount of snow, such as 10cm/4inches and the snow is still going, you could certainly go out and get rid of a bit of snow. In general, just get rid of a bit here and there to make sure you can get out of your house relatively easily. This is better than having a very large amount of snow blocking your exit.
QuestionDoes the scraper blade or the auger cause fine snow to stay on the surface or does it hit the surface?Community AnswerThis depends on how packed the powder is. If it has been shoveled repeatedly, or has been packed down by the snow on top of it, then it will leave snow on the ground. If not, then the blade will scrape the surface.
QuestionI have a hard time pushing the snowblower when the swidewalk is icy. Any tips?Community AnswerWear shoes or boots with a good grip. You can also try laying driveway salts down before you snow blow to melt some of the ice.
QuestionShould I engage blade or drive first?Community AnswerUse the blade first, just to give it a chance to get going before the machine starts moving.
QuestionWhat can cause my snow blower to 'keep cutting out on me? The gas/oil level is okay?Community AnswerSeek out professional help. There may be something wrong with your snow blower. See a repairman to have the snowblower fixed.
QuestionIs there a way to adjust the snow blower so it doesn't blow some snow up onto my feet?Community AnswerIt depends on the type of snow blower. Some have a rubber guard at the back and some don't. If it does not, try pointing the chute downwards and back diagonally.
|Tim Carter demonstrates how to use a snowblower and what features you should look for when looking to buy a snowblower.
- It's helpful to mark potential obstructions such as small bushes, statues, etc. with flags, so that you know to avoid them.
- When buying a snow blower be sure to pick one that can handle above average snow fall for you area. That way you don't buy a machine that is too big or too small.
- Get a fuel stabilizer to help keep your fuel fresh, as you may never know how much time will pass between snowfalls. Never fuel your snow blower until you know snow is coming, as gas should not sit in your tank for long periods.
- ↑ http://yardcare.toro.com/maintain/snow-info/snowblower-safety-tips/
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-faulkner/snowblowing-for-virgins_b_6307878.html
- ↑ http://yardcare.toro.com/maintain/snow-info/snowblower-safety-tips/
- ↑ http://yardcare.toro.com/maintain/snow-info/snowblower-safety-tips/
- ↑ http://yardcare.toro.com/maintain/snow-info/snowblower-safety-tips/
Article Info
Categories: Featured Articles | Seasonal Housekeeping | Driveways
In other languages:
Español: despejar la nieve de la entrada para el auto con una sopladora, Italiano: Spazzare Neve dal tuo Vialetto con la Fresa da Neve


text:
An electrician who spent £10,000 on a security fence after he was burgled 10 times in two months is furious after the council ordered him to take it down.
Self-employed Graham Jaggar, 51, nearly went out of business and moved out of his home in Syke Lane after repeated burglaries, which he says cost him £30,000. So he put up a 6ft fence – and it seemed to work, as he has not been burgled since.
But now, 12 months later, a neighbour has complained the fence causes a blind spot. Kirklees Council agree, and say Mr Jaggar must move the fence 3ft back or take it down.
Grandfather Mr Jaggar said: "I can't take it down – I've been burgled so many times the insurance won't even pay out anymore.
"It's ridiculous and a scandal, why can't anyone use some common sense?"
Moving the fence back will cost Mr Jaggar £3,000.
The 51-year-old said: "It's an absolute scandal. I've only just finished paying off the debt from putting it up.
"Kirklees should be footing the bill for this."
Mr Jaggar said he got verbal permission for the fence from a council officer who has since left, but Kirklees said they had no record of it.
A spokeswoman added: "Anyone contacting this department would have been advised that a fence or wall next to an adopted highway requires planning permission if it is going to be taller than one metre.
"A site visit was carried out following complaints about the fence blocking visibility for drivers exiting the adjacent junction. The fence was found to prevent the visibility of oncoming vehicles from the right of the junction.
"Mr Jaggar has been advised that he could apply for planning permission in retrospect but, given the road safety concerns, the council was unlikely to support its installation."


text:
Paranoid Kim Jong-Un claims foreign spies are to blame for failed nukes after his atomic tests repeatedly flop
Chubby tyrant is accusing his foreign foes of sabotaging crucial missile microchips
PARANOID tyrant Kim Jong-un is convinced his foreign foes are deliberately sabotaging his long-range missile programme and plans on launching a spy probe to prove it.
The North Korean dictator is determined to find a link between his recent missile failures and espionage, according to the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity (NKIS).
The tubby tyrant, who is renowned for his war mongering antics, believes foreign powers are meddling in the tests of his Musudan-type rockets, which can strike targets 2,500 miles away.
Out of eight missile tests this year all but one has been a flop and now crazed Kim has had enough.
The desperate despot is reported to be focusing on imported missile components, such as microchip systems that form the rocket's flight control system.
North Korean defector and leader of NKIS, Kim Heung-kwang, said: "The North imports the integrated circuit chips due to the failure of 100 percent local manufacturing.
"It's a big problem if the US and South Korea are found to be involved in the power supply line of integrated circuit chips and devised a plot to cause trouble."
Foreign powers though are far more concerned with exactly what weapons the hermit nation is testing with fears it could be fitting missiles with war heads.
related articles
IT's AIR FORCE-UN!Chubby North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un shown 'piloting' a plane and handling a gun in latest propaganda attempt
KIM'S DEADLY ARSENALNorth Korea will be 'mega nuclear power by 2020 with 80 nukes capable of destroying US'
WAR OF WORDSHillary Clinton vowed to 'ring' China with missiles over North Korea threat, Wikileaks emails reveal
Jeffrey Lewis, of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told the Washington Post: "We think it is important that people consider the possibility that this was a KN-08 [ICBM] test."
This deadly conclusion was reached after images of huge scorch marks were spotted on pavement and grass that are much bigger than those from a smaller missile.
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Frankenstein (feat. Joe Ruppel, History Nerd) : Episode 29
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What: The original 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Directed by: James Whale
Starring: Boris Karloff
Featuring guest co-host
Joe Ruppel, history nerd
Recommended and Related Media
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
The book that spawned a thousand adaptations. Featuring a bunch of crazy stuff that didn't make it into the film. Like a visit to the north pole!
Read it with your eyes for free Project Gutenberg
Read it with your ears for free Project Gutenberg
Young Frankenstein
Possibly the best Mel Brooks movie. Probably our favorite Frankenstein adaptation. Brooks and Gene Wilder are just magical together.
Get the thing Amazon
The Slip n Slide Scene from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Show Notes
Mary Shelley and The Book
Volcanoes and the year with no summer. Women writing books. Philosophers and children of philosophers.
The movie vs the book. The beginning of scifi. The ways that each broke boundaries in their own ways.
Was it scary at the time? The movie intro. Everything that's cliché now was new once.
Playing God
Science, evil science, and playing god. The ethics of mad science.
Science Horror
How to take the cutting edge and make it a horror story. Electricity. X-rays. Quantum stuff. Nano bio tech now? Deepak Chopra is full of crap.
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Good day, Herr Vogel.
Good day, Herr Baron.
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I'm having problems using Back To My Mac from work to my home network. Initially, I thought it was something to do with the way the work network had been set up, but recently I realised that I have no problems connecting to my Time Capsule… It's just that I can't connect to my MacBook Pro. It is showing up in the devices on the left panel, but when I try to connect to it, I get this message:
So why is it I can connect to the Time Capsule HD okay, but not the Mac?
UPDATE 1: I'm not sure if it's relevant, but I do get a warning message on my work connection: However, this states that the connection might be slow, not non-existant. I have no control over how the work network is setup, but considering I can access the Time Capsule at home, I don't imagine this is the problem.
My home machine is running OS X 10.8.2 and my work machine is running 10.7.4.
There are certain troubleshooting tips that deal with Keychain Access if coming from MobileMe to iCloud. I will look into this next.


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"Battlescars" [Battlescars Series, Book 1] by Sophie Monroe
My Book Summary : When Jake's band, Battlescars, first started out he was the quintessential bad boy rocker, but, within the past year, he has cleaned himself and his lifestyle up, even if the media doesn't seem to believe it. Therefore, when he meets Aubrey--a snarky, eclectic woman who has had to deal with a lot of bad things in recently and happens to be a stewardess for her father's private airline--Jake can't happen but be enthralled. So much so that not long after they meet Jake makes plans on pursuing her until she agrees. After Aubrey does, finally, agree to be his girlfriend Jake makes sure that he spoils her and makes her feel special as much as possible.
However, someone from Aubrey's past is determined to have her the way he's always wanted, no matter the cost...
My Book Review : 5 out of 5 stars!! Charming, thrilling, and sarcastic the whole way through, this is one rock & roll fairy tale that is hard not to love! Aubrey and Jake are a perfect pair, from their humorous antics to Jake's self-deprecating ways to how they come to fight for each other as best they can. I loved their whirlwind romance; especially how Jake goes about trying to win Aubrey over it was all very gentlemanly.
In addition, Jake's band mates were an entertaining bunch all on their own. It'll be interesting and fun to see where this series will go next!
I recommend this novel and series to anyone who enjoys contemporary romances! Also, I recommend this to those who like reading about hot rock star heroes finding their better halves.
Purchase This Book and/or The Other Books From It's Series Here :
Author's Novel Extras : Jake's Interview | Battlescars Update | Official Battlescars Playlist | Here's the synopsis for Battlescars | So for Sunday Sneak-Peek I'm putting up Jake's mini story | Hey guys. Most of you are probably unaware, but I would like to address any possible concerns that may arise.
Author's Series Extras : Afflicted First Chapter | Since I always have a playlist at the end of each book, here's Afflicted's | Afflicted (Battlescars II) e-book Giveaway! 4 Copies up for grabs | Are you Team Blake or Team Jake??? | Blog Tour: AFFLICTED (Battlescars #2) by Sophie Monroe | Since it's Monday and they suck here's a teensy teaser... | ***TEASER TIME*** | A little Conflicted teaser for my Monroe Minions... | When you think about your life are there things you would reverse? | Morning Minions... it's teaser time!!!! | Want a glimpse into Conflicted?
Author's Fan Created Book Trailer :
Book Teaser(s) :
"I like you Aubrey. I can tell by your sarcastic undertones, rude comments and sheer lack of common decency that we're going to friends in no time. I can just tell."
"Whatever you say, Boss." I grumbled.
I turned my attention back to my book until the timer went off letting me know that the food was ready. I expertly prepared the dishes. They looked as if they came out of a five-star restaurant. I placed them down on the trays in front of the boys. Jake devoured it and moaned the whole time earning a secret laugh from me. Maybe he wouldn't be so awful after all.
He called to me over his shoulder. "If you cook like this all the time we're skipping the friend stage and getting married."
I take that back, we're going to kill each other. I sat down and curled into a ball. I lost the battle of the heavy lids. ~ within Chapter 1 - titled 'Everywhere I Go' - Aubrey
I kept my promise last night to make up for Veronica and ordered Aubrey the biggest brownie sundae that the hotel had to offer. She moaned the entire time, which led to me having to excuse myself to the bathroom for the "shits." This morning we were meeting everyone in the lobby for breakfast. Surprisingly , we got there first. Aubrey and I ordered waffles and bacon. Brett ordered eggs and sausage. Kevin came down next. He was always so laid back and easy going. Aubrey called him the Valium for the group. He said good morning to everyone and ordered his tofu scramble. Blake was next. He stumbled into the booth half awake. He ordered a coffee and put his head on the table. Derek was last. He showed up with a huge grin on his face. He was most likely up all night doing horrible things to corrupt the girl that he brought back to his room.For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Sophie, then please check out her website.
"Good night?" Blake mumbled to Derek.
"She told me she wanted a magical night with a rock star. So I fucked her and disappeared." Derek said.
Blake laughed, and Kevin scoffed.
"You found it offensive, I found it funny. That's why I'm happier than you." Derek said to Kevin.
"Acting like a dick won't make yours any bigger." Kevin said. "I'm sorry my sense of humor offended you." Derek laughed.
"Alright, it's too early for all these insults." I reprimanded. ~ within Chapter 7 - titled 'Claws & Daggers' - Jake