Indiana Quake

April 18, 2008

An earthquake?

In Indiana?

Why not, we've had just about every kind of weather this month alone. It happened at 4:37 this morning. Or 5:37 depending on who your state representative is. A 5.2 magnitude earthquake is a pretty big deal around here.

Lights went out & panic ensued statewide. Martial law was enacted followed by looting and rioting. In all 48 people were killed or maimed.

Okay maybe that part didn't happen. Actually most of us slept right through it only to find out
much later in the day that it happened.

Can't spend too much time talkin about it time to plant the corn!

Where to find the value of antiques for free

Antiques and 'antiquing' have become quite popular in recent years. It seems especially so during the warmer months of the year. Alas, spring is finally in sight for those who enjoy the garage sale and flea market treasure hunts. For those with a sharp eye, there are definitely some gems out there to be found. But, what do you do when you get home with your treasure? Run out to the local dealer and ask for an appraisal? After long hours of searching, I finally found a FREE database. Believe it or not, it's through the local library's website.

Once you're on the library's website, you go to library resources, online databases, and look for the antiques database. There is a hyperlink that says "click here" to enter your library card number. This database can be used to evaluate almost every kind of antique in your collection. Search through thousands of antiques including furniture, glass, pottery and porcelain, paintings, prints, clocks, toys, dolls, advertising collectibles, books, autographs, lamps, silver, firearms and historical documents. Each record includes information on when and where the item was sold and a color picture of the item.

Digital to analog TV converter box

Just picked up my new Digital Stream DTX9900 digital to analog TV converter box. We sent away for our $40 coupon about 10 weeks ago. Along with the coupon we also got a list of retailers in our area where we could use it. It seems that Wal-mart and Radioshack were the only stores in our area that could take the coupon. So we went to Radioshack (not a big fan of Wal-mart). Radioshack only had one model in stock so our decision was pretty easy. Our cost was right around $25 after the rebate.

After putting the groceries away I got right on connecting the box. The hardest part of the installation was getting the cardboard box open! I plugged the converter into the wall, unhooked the antenna cable from the VCR, plugged the antenna wire into the new box, and plugged the cable from the new box into the VCR.

Now comes the setup. The converter came with a short setup manual which was really easy to follow. Just set the TV to channel 3. Turn on the converter and follow the instructions on the short setup manual. It took right around 15 minutes for the whole procedure, not including putting away the groceries.

The picture quality is so much better. I'm posting pics both are shots of tv's in my house- one with only an antenna and one with the antenna and converter. We are pleased with the difference. Our opinion is that it's worth the $25.

Good luck with yours!