Love Canal - The Disaster

I was watching a segment on the History Channel, I think, about the Love Canal. Most of us probably have a vague recollection that the name "Love Canal" is associated with some kind of disaster. Well, it was easy to find out more thanks to Wikipedia and Google Earth (type "Love Canal, NY" in the Google Earth window).

Quick summary, William Love thought he could create hydroelectric power by building a canal that bridged the different levels of the Niagara River. He only made it about 1 mile before running out of money. Hooker Chemical took ownership some time later and drained the water, lined it with clay and got a permit to used it as a chemical waste dump. Between 1942 & 1952, Hooker Chemical dumped about 22,000 tons (44 million pounds) of drummed liquid & chemical waste, including dioxin, one of the most toxic substances known to man, in the abandoned canal. Then Hooker deeded the land to the city of Niagara Falls for $1, who then built a neighborhood and school on it. Throughout the 1960s & 1970s, residents complained of odors, explosions, burns, and increasing ailments including miscarriages and birth defects. The area is ghost town now, streets with driveways and no homes.

What a colossal disaster! I'm intrigued how I can get a general dose of information from a TV show and then learn more about the whole story and even "visit" the site with Google Earth. I've researched similar disaster topics such as Chernobyl, places I can will probably never visit, or want to, but I've gotten closer.

Cell Phone Chargers FREE

I've got a lot of gadgets and I hate that I have to keep track of power cords and connector cables, plus the devices themselves. But I found a place were you can get cell phone chargers free, your HOTEL.

I've occasionally forgotten my cell phone charger at home. One day I took a long shot and called the front desk at my hotel to see if they had one in lost & found. They had a box of them, all different brands, just a rat's nest of black cables. If you have a fairly current and popular phone, chances are excellent that they have one that works with yours. And if you thank them and ask nicely if they'd like it back, they'll tell you, no, just keep it, we're trying to get rid of them.

So now you have a spare. Need one for your brief case, office? Ask again next time you travel.

I've tried to extend my reach a little with this process. I've not been successful with laptop chargers. But iPod cables might be possible, besides, their white color will stand out in that rat's nest of black cable. I'll let you know how it works out.

Give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

One Button 30-second Skip on Comcast DVR

Both TiVo and Dish Network have a 30-second instant skip button which is just great for skipping over commercials while watching shows during DVR playback. 3 minutes of ads get skipped with 6 quick clicks. On my Comcast DVR, I used to have to FF through commercials at warp speed and then I'd always overshoot the program, then have to hit the 15-second jump back, an endless dance.

So there is a quick hack for your Comcast remote control that assigns a 30-second skip to an unused button. Here's how:

1. Choose an unused or unneeded button on the “silver” remote to be the 30-second skip command. I used my LOCK button. (It has a yellow triangle on it and it's conveniently located just below the 15-second jump-back button.)
   
2. Press the CABLE button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
3. Press and hold the SETUP button until the CABLE button blinks twice.
4. Type in the code 994. The CABLE button will blink twice.
5. Press (do not hold) the SETUP button.
6. Type in the code 00173.
7. Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command (just use the LOCK button, trust me).

That's it, you're done.

I've even tried watching a football game that was recorded on DVR. Since QBs tend to use almost all of the 30 second clock, if you hit the 30-second skip button as soon as the play ends at the whistle, the next play starts instantly. You can watch an entire game in about 15 minutes, no commentary or instant replays of course.

UPDATE (Oct. 27, 2009): I recently discovered that the Page Up and Page Down buttons will jump forward and back 5 minutes during DVR playback. This is great if you're watching a 2 hour movie and need to jump forward a lot of minutes. Found this just by hitting buttons one day.