Curse Power Adapters and the X-Files Movie!

Cables, cables everywhere, and none the right one, I think. (That's a poor play off "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." I'll try harder next time!)

Despite having an entire bin full of cables and adapters, I can't find the power adapter for my battery charger.

One of the main reasons I bought my label machine was to keep track of adapters and what piece of electronics they go with. (I used to use a permanent marker for this, but it was always hard to read.) But I haven't taken the time to label all my existing cables and adapters, and now I seem to have lost another one.

This is pet peeve of mine. How hard would it be to have a product reference on any given adapter? Of if companies insist on being so damn cheap, couldn't they list the adapter's product number on their specification page for any given piece of electronics? But that is asking for a lot when many manufacture's don't even put the power requirements on their devices. At least with this batter charger I'm know that I'm looking for an adapter that outputs 800mA.

Rather than buy an adapter with variable output settings, I decided to "brick" this charger and replace it with the Mercedes of battery charges: the Powerex MH-9000. (The BC-900 is cheaper, and was a close second, but I can't risk the thing catching on fire with as many hours as I'll be using it; and apparently several people have had a problem with this.)

Together with my rechargeable 2900 mAh batteries, I'm going to try to save some money on AA battery purchases. I was too afraid to use rechargeables during a wedding, but what I'm hearing on various forums is that the NiMH rechargeables actually perform better -- so I'm going to give it a whirl. And these particular batteries seem to be among the best.

Tom, I'm glad that you're bringing back TC! I definitely would like to help on it. And I saw the "Mirrors" preview when Dawn and I saw X-files. I definitely got a giggle out of it. Too bad we're not still playing Warcraft. I have to say I miss my character quite a bit!

Speaking of X-files, it was terrible. Neither Dawn or I had high expectations. And Dawn was even hoping for a cheesy, silly movie. But it failed on every level. It wasn't even an "X File" so to speak. Not aliens. Not a creature feature. More like a horror movie. Except, we never really find out why they were doing what they were doing. The side story was random and seemed like it was stuck on with Elmer's glue. I could write a whole review about how bad the movie was, but suffice it to say it's a disappointment.

The fence is looking GREAT. For the first time since I bought the house, I like looking out my back window. This is really going to open the door for Dawn and I to do a bit of landscaping in the backyard -- and even spend some time back there grilling or what not.

The photography biz is SLOW right now. I'm pretty discouraged at the moment. I need to do a better job pounding the pavement and digging up some work.