Itty Bitty Hooves

Stretching Fuel Dollars

A very hot topic on the Homesteading Today site is whether there is any fuel alternatives. Some have debated the efficiency and even safety of using water to cut gasoline. By no means is it something you can just pour in from your tap, but the folks at Water 4 Gas have a very interesting solution to the problem that they say can double your mileage. Who doesn’t want that in today’s world of insane gas prices? Click Here to find out more about this really interesting way to make your fuel dollars stretch.

Building Plans

Anyone who has animals, especially farm animals knows that the planning for new buildings is never done. Whether it’s a simple run in shed, a big barn, or even modifying an old building to suit your needs you’re always planning your next project. I’ve found a really really cool new program that’s free (yes, a very complicated big time program that’s FREE) from Google, called Google sketch up. Just go to google and find their downloads and look for ‘Sketch Up’. Here’s a short video that gives an idea of how cool this program is and how it works.

You can plan anything from the simplest to the most complex project, AND you can even create a layout that shows your whole property and where everything is to help you plan out where to put a new building, field, or whatever. That is a really cool aspect that goes even way beyond just planning the buildings themselves.

You can also use it for home projects–which are also never done. LOL

I love it. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s really pretty straightforward. If you’ve never used a CAD type program, be sure to watch the free videos they have posted on the download page. The one above is the first of three that really help to explain what you’re doing.

Take my word for it, you’ll get the hang of it a lot easier if you take the few minutes to watch them (LOL voice of expierience here, I didn’t the first time). Once you get it, you’ll be unstoppable.

Promotion Time

Babies on the ground, show season gearing up, all mean one thing… time to promote.

Having switched from miniature horses to goats I am finding myself having to create and/or buy all new promotional products. Things like pens, business cards, and such to hand out that were all previously customized to the horse side of the business. Luckily we can still use the pocket calandars we got for this year since they were just the ‘Country Haven Ranch’ insignia and contact info, nothing that specified what we sold here.

At least these things are fun to shop for, and I end up using them as much as giving them away.

Rolling With The Punches

Life can really smack you down sometimes. My favorite saying has always been ‘it’s not the punches life throws you that determines who you are, but how you roll with the blows’. I still feel like that. I try my best to maintain a smile even through the worst of times. Last week was a prime example of everything going wrong all at once, and I only broke a tear once. First we found out our circuit breaker box needed to be replaced-ouch, then my brand new one month old truck got swiped in the WalMart parking lot, then my office chair broke, then… my computer crashed completely. The only tear was over the computer, lol.

However, some punches are so long-term and powerful that they leave you reeling for a long time. Late last year Google punched all of us that do paid blogging so hard that many of us, me included have been staggering ever since. Until just recently. Now Izea, the parent company of PayPerPost has opened a new marketplace called Social Spark that is hoping to offset the impact of Google’s ‘low blow’. Yay Izea, thanks guys.

Eatting Crow

Okay, I have a little crow to eat. I hope it’s good with salt and butter.

Yesterday I complained about all the devices that would not work on the Vista Op system–well that will teach me to do all my homework before I complain.

After I spouted off about how things wouldn’t work, I went to the manufacturer’s websites for my camera and printer and what to my suprise was there in their support sections? Yep, download program updates for my devices.

Both Kodak and Hewlett Packard get big props for not only having updated programs for their devices for the Vista system they also had very clear and understandable instructions and guides to installing the program downloads.

So BIG YAY, my camera works beautifully again, and so does my scanner/copier/printer!

I’m a happy camper, and I LOVE VISTA. Overall it really is a cool operating system.

Okay, So Now I Have Vista

I was afraid of Vista. Just like when any new operational software comes out, you hear all the grumbling, and begin to fear it. Of course, if you buy a new computer, like I did, you really have no choice, unless you purchase the older version, but why would you do that after spending a small fortune on a computer?

I remember back about 5 years ago when I got my last computer and it was XP. I hated it at first. It was different (and not really by all that much) than what I was used to with 98SE. Well, let me tell you Vista is DIFFERENT with a capital D… but, I LIKE IT.

I’m still learning the ropes, and my way around, but I am in love with Vista.

One thing I do NOT love is that 99% of my old programs don’t work with Vista–THAT is just wrong. When the developers do something really fantastic like make a totally revolutionary and different system they really should take into consideration the need to make it program compatable for us poor everyday folks that can’t afford to run out and buy all new programs, and devices to accomodate a system that doesn’t recognize the old. My expensive Sony Vegas Movie studio and DVD architect doesn’t work … okay this computer comes with a beautiful movie maker version and a dvd maker… but still, it’s annyoing. MORE annoying, my camera’s operational program doesn’t work–at all, my scanner/copier/printer does not work, and that’s not all that old, I got it about 2 years ago.

All in all though, as an operating system and the gadgets and programs it comes with, I do adore the new Vista. I suppose over time I’ll get back up to speed with programs and devices, but by then, the’ll probably have upgraded to a different op system again, I’ll end up having to buy a new computer for whatever reason,and the vicious cycle will begin again.

On a real downer note… it’s official, I absolutely can not access my old computer’s files at all to get any of my work, pictures, music, etc… and… BEFORE you say you should have backed it all up, I DID. I had it all backed up on my really cool 250 Gig external hard drive… that… DOESN’T WORK ON VISTA.

UPDATE: I have to appologize, the external hard drive DOES work. After all the other programs and devices failed, I thought for sure since it didn’t say Vista on the paperwork that came with it, but stopped at XP, then it wouldn’t either, but finally I just got exasperated and said what the heck, all it can do is say no it won’t do it, so Itried hooking it up, and well, yes it does. So I have my old files and music, and pictures… yay.

Hubby suggested calling the manufactures of the camera and printer and see if they had some sort of upgrade to allow them to work. I’ll try that in the morning.

The Big Crash

The other day I typed that something weird was going on with my keyboard. Yep, something weird all right. Found out too late that I had been infected with a virus… BIG CRASH. Old computer gone. Luckily I have a very loving, very understanding hubby that understands I just can’t be without a computer, haha, and sent me out to the store this morning. So I’m sitting here on my brand new, beautiful SPYWARE protected much more powerful higher speed, really cool new computer–and trying to learn vista.

Turns out though, so far anyway, Vista is pretty cool. Now I just have to get all my programs loaded on and man, I lost a ton of music. I have to go back to ripping hundreds of CDs again. UGH. LOL

Country Fast Lane

I got high-speed, I got high-speed, I got HIGH-SPEED! I didn’t think that would EVER be possible out here in the sticks, but it happened. I now have broadband. WOW is that great.

When you live in the country, you get used to living in the ’slow lane’ and sometimes, as in Internet connections, not even by choice, but by lack of choice. FINALLY we have a high-speed option out here in the boonies.

Now the problem is it seems to be doing funky things to my computer. It is about 4 years old, but it seemed powerful enough considering I’ve always used multiple huge programs and did lots of multiple page browsing while online, but the high-speed thing seems to have it befuddeled. It’s a pain to because I can’t afford a new computer right now. MAYBE next tax incentive time.

Showring Preparation

Here is a really great short video detailing the grooming necessary for a showing Boer goats.

Constant Connection

My husband has a laptop and while I don’t feel comfortable on a laptop’s keyboard, I do admit I’m jealous of how he can sit in any room of the house and work away on the Internet while I am stuck in my office. He can even go outside and still pick up the wireless signal to be online. Even if he coudn’t he can do other work on his laptop anywhere. He takes it to work with him, and does his bills while on a down time in the ambulance. When he gets back to the garage at night at the company he can sit down in the break room there and pick up their wireless signal. Yeah, that makes me jealous. However, on the upside, when we travel I can use his computer and be connected! And overall I do love my desktop.