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Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

• November 03, 2010
• 10:55

  Halloween

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Halloween was a lot of fun! Started off the morning carving not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 pumpkins in one morning! Saved all the seeds to roast and got two large tupperware containers worth. Fed the pumpkin guts to our chickens and they loved that!

  Later in the evening we had some family come by the house, ordered two pumpkin shaped pizzas from Papa Murphy's, had some family come over, had some good beer, and took Lucy down the street to trick or treat. It was also Lincoln's first Halloween, although he is only 2 months old now so he didn't really know what was going on. We got him a cute onesie that has pumpkins on it and it says "leader of the patch".

  Pictures from the day are on my Flickr account here.

  Comments (0)

• October 08, 2010
• 14:53

  Open Source vs. Proprietary

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Open source programming is so much better than proprietary (closed source) programming! Development time is much faster with anyone being able to add onto or modify the software. It is also nice having the openness and support of other developers when I get stuck and need help. I can't imagine programming any other way.

  Comments (0)

• October 04, 2010
• 4:01

  Energy Drinks

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I have a love/hate relationship with energy drinks. I know they are bad for you but they give me a performance boost for work that nothing else does, or at least of the alternatives that I have tried. It takes me drinking a lot of coffee to get to the same energy level and by then I have to use the restroom a bunch. Also since coffee is hot it takes a lot more time to drink enough to work. With Energy drinks they are chilled so I can drink one pretty fast and feel the effects right away. I have tried going without them to see the difference in my performance to see if it was just in my head or if they do help and there was a HUGE drop in performance. I guess there is worse things I could be putting into my body like smoking or other things.

  Comments (1)

• September 23, 2010
• 22:46

  DO NOT shop at Safeway!

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  DO NOT shop at Safeway! An employee & a store manager refused my return of recalled Similac baby formula (possible beetles & larvae in it). They told me it wasn't part of the recall after I ran the serial number on Similac's website. The employee told me "kids play outside & eat bugs all the time, I'm sure it's fine" & the employee laughed. REALLY? My baby is one month old! He can't even pick up a bug! Can I feed your kids beetles & larvae? Would that be "fine"???

  Comments (2)

• September 22, 2010
• 23:15

  Iowa Egg Farmer

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  From <a href=' [www.washingtonpost.com] Washing Post article about the Iowa/egg salmonella outbreak farmers going before congress...

  Congressional investigators flashed color photographs of conditions found inside DeCoster's facilities in August by inspectors for the Food and Drug Administration. The photos showed dead and live mice, dead chickens lying in a heap in one henhouse, mounds of manure eight feet high, and the wall of a henhouse that was bulging and pushed open from the weight of manure piled inside.

  DeCoster offered little by way of explanation. "This is a very big operation," he said in a thick Maine accent. "We have a certain way we go about running it."

  Comments (0)

• August 26, 2010
• 23:08

  Curve balls and the future

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Why is it that just when life seems to be going good it has to throw a curve ball at you? Seems like these days life is full of curve balls. Even just a few years ago it seems like life was a lot easier. I'm not just talking about my life here either. I'm talking about the lives of everyone. What happened in just a few short years to cause the world we live in to get this way? Seems like there is so much despair in the world these days. There are so many things to blame but there doesn't seems to be any one thing that happened to cause any of this.

  I still try hard every day to have hope that the world will get better soon. I know I am going to have to work hard and fight to get where I want to be with my life and with Dustin Cowell Enterprises. I really appreciate all of the support of family, friends and the open source software community. I have some exciting ideas planned that I'm hoping will get me closer to my goals!

  Comments (0)

• August 22, 2010
• 16:35

  Lincoln Edward Cowell

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  My second child, a son, Lincoln Edward Cowell was born at 3:21 AM on 8/20/2010! He weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz. and he is 19 inches long. I had a lot of enxiety going into the hospital expecting a long stressful labor like what we experienced when my daughter Lucy was born. It was the complete opposite though, very quick and easy (for both of us)! I guess having gone through it once helped a ton. We are now home resting and making small ventures away from home. I'm so glad to be a father to a little girl and a little boy now! Lots of photos can be found on Flickr... [www.flickr.com] .

  Comments (0)

• 16:35

  Lincoln Edward Cowell

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  My second child, a son, Lincoln Edward Cowell was born at 3:21 AM on 8/20/2010! He weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz. and he is 19 inches long. I had a lot of enxiety going into the hospital expecting a long stressful labor like what we experienced when my daughter Lucy was born. It was the complete opposite though, very quick and easy (for both of us)! I guess having gone through it once helped a ton. We are now home resting and making small ventures away from home. I'm so glad to be a father to a little girl and a little boy now! Lots of photos can be found on Flickr... [www.flickr.com] .

  Comments (0)

• August 18, 2010
• 0:56

  Help me reach my dream

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Calling all friends and fans of Dustin Cowell Enterprises and Free Simple Software! I need your help. I have implemented Google AdSense ads on all of my websites (the ads showing to the left and right). I am asking everyone to please click on 2 or 3 ads for me. It will only take a few seconds of your time but it will help me a TON, especially if I can get a lot of people to help.

  Between all six of my websites I am getting about 15,000 visitors per month. If each person clicks on 3 ads and the average pay was $0.10 per click then I would be making up to $4,500 per month. In order to do this though I really need a lot of participation. Maybe each person could even bookmark my website and come back and click on a few ads for me each month. Any help would be really appreciated!

  I would love to be able to write free software full time. People like you can help make my dream a reality. Thank you for your support!

  Comments (0)

• 0:56

  Help me reach my dream

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  Calling all friends and fans of Dustin Cowell Enterprises and Free Simple Software! I need your help. I have implemented Google AdSense ads on all of my websites (the ads showing to the left and right). I am asking everyone to please click on 2 or 3 ads for me. It will only take a few seconds of your time but it will help me a TON, especially if I can get a lot of people to help.

  Between all six of my websites I am getting about 15,000 visitors per month. If each person clicks on 3 ads and the average pay was $0.10 per click then I would be making up to $4,500 per month. In order to do this though I really need a lot of participation. Maybe each person could even bookmark my website and come back and click on a few ads for me each month. Any help would be really appreciated!

  I would love to be able to write free software full time. People like you can help make my dream a reality. Thank you for your support!

  Comments (0)

• July 14, 2010
• 2:14

  RIAA Accounting: How Labels Avoid Paying Musicians

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Just read a great article over at Slashdot! Check it out... <a href=' [news.slashdot.org] Accounting: How Labels Avoid Paying Musicians</a>.

  Comments (0)

• 2:14

  RIAA Accounting: How Labels Avoid Paying Musicians

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Just read a great article over at Slashdot! Check it out... <a href=' [news.slashdot.org] Accounting: How Labels Avoid Paying Musicians</a>.

  Comments (0)

• June 04, 2010
• 21:30

  Living in a Google world

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I use Google as much as possible. I love everything they come up with! I use Google Chrome for my web browser, Gmail for my email, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Shopping, Google Docs, Google Groups, Google Reader, Google Analytics, Google Voice, Picasa, You Tube and I also like checking out Google Labs to play with the creations that are still in the works. I even have a Google Android powered phone so I can get my Google fix when I am away from a computer.

  I have a serious Google addition and I'm not afraid to admit it. If they had an office around here somewhere I would probably apply to work there. I think a better name for their "offices" would be playgrounds. That's what they look like anyway. They are always in Forbes top 5 companies to work for in the nation too.

  Comments (1)

• 21:30

  Living in a Google world

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I use Google as much as possible. I love everything they come up with! I use Google Chrome for my web browser, Gmail for my email, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Shopping, Google Docs, Google Groups, Google Reader, Google Analytics, Google Voice, Picasa, You Tube and I also like checking out Google Labs to play with the creations that are still in the works. I even have a Google Android powered phone so I can get my Google fix when I am away from a computer.

  I have a serious Google addition and I'm not afraid to admit it. If they had an office around here somewhere I would probably apply to work there. I think a better name for their "offices" would be playgrounds. That's what they look like anyway. They are always in Forbes top 5 companies to work for in the nation too.

  Comments (1)

• 21:30

  Living in a Google world

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  I use Google as much as possible. I love everything they come up with! I use Google Chrome for my web browser, Gmail for my email, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Shopping, Google Docs, Google Groups, Google Reader, Google Analytics, Google Voice, Picasa, You Tube and I also like checking out Google Labs to play with the creations that are still in the works. I even have a Google Android powered phone so I can get my Google fix when I am away from a computer.

  I have a serious Google addition and I'm not afraid to admit it. If they had an office around here somewhere I would probably apply to work there. I think a better name for their "offices" would be playgrounds. That's what they look like anyway. They are always in Forbes top 5 companies to work for in the nation too.

  Comments (0)

• 21:30

  Living in a Google world

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  I use Google as much as possible. I love everything they come up with! I use Google Chrome for my web browser, Gmail for my email, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Shopping, Google Docs, Google Groups, Google Reader, Google Analytics, Google Voice, Picasa, You Tube and I also like checking out Google Labs to play with the creations that are still in the works. I even have a Google Android powered phone so I can get my Google fix when I am away from a computer.

  I have a serious Google addition and I'm not afraid to admit it. If they had an office around here somewhere I would probably apply to work there. I think a better name for their "offices" would be playgrounds. That's what they look like anyway. They are always in Forbes top 5 companies to work for in the nation too.

  Comments (0)

• May 26, 2010
• 9:05

  Conservation

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  An excerpt from Conservation is Good Work by Wendell Berry that I was reading this morning...

  Most of us get almost all the things we need by buying them; most of us know only vaguely, if at all, where those things come from; and most of us know not at all what damage is involved in their production. We are almost entirely dependent upon an economy of which we are almost entirely ignorant. The provenance, for example, not only the food we buy, but of the fertilizers, fuels, and other materials necessary to grow, harvest, transport, process, and package it, is almost necessarily a mystery to us.

  And we wonder why the U.S. economy is hurting.

  Comments (0)

• 9:05

  Conservation

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  An excerpt from Conservation is Good Work by Wendell Berry that I was reading this morning...

  Most of us get almost all the things we need by buying them; most of us know only vaguely, if at all, where those things come from; and most of us know not at all what damage is involved in their production. We are almost entirely dependent upon an economy of which we are almost entirely ignorant. The provenance, for example, not only the food we buy, but of the fertilizers, fuels, and other materials necessary to grow, harvest, transport, process, and package it, is almost necessarily a mystery to us.

  And we wonder why the U.S. economy is hurting.

  Comments (0)

• May 25, 2010
• 15:10

  My website has a new design!

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  DustinCowell.com, my home on the internet has a new design! My business websites are also getting new designs to match. If you would like to see what the website used to look like for comparison, click here.

  Comments (0)

• 15:10

  My website has a new design!

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  DustinCowell.com, my home on the internet has a new design! My business websites are also getting new designs to match. If you would like to see what the website used to look like for comparison, click here.

  Comments (0)

• April 21, 2010
• 14:45

  My idea of freedom

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  When I think of personal freedom, I think of a life where you don't owe anything to anyone and where you are not able to be held accountable by anyone but yourself or possibly your immediate family.

  Ultimately, I want to have some acreage, pay off my home, pay off my car(s), pay off all other loans, live off the grid, have a large garden, a large green house, and raise animals. Once I accomplish all of this my family and I could live off our land and there would not be the pressure of having to make a large salary to support ourselves.

  I know it sounds like a lofty goal to a lot of people, but in my mind it is not. I also firmly believe that when you set your mind to something you can accomplish anything. It's not going to be easy, but who ever said anything in life is easy?

  Comments (1)

• 14:45

  My idea of freedom

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  When I think of personal freedom, I think of a life where you don't owe anything to anyone and where you are not able to be held accountable by anyone but yourself or possibly your immediate family.

  Ultimately, I want to have some acreage, pay off my home, pay off my car(s), pay off all other loans, live off the grid, have a large garden, a large green house, and raise animals. Once I accomplish all of this my family and I could live off our land and there would not be the pressure of having to make a large salary to support ourselves.

  I know it sounds like a lofty goal to a lot of people, but in my mind it is not. I also firmly believe that when you set your mind to something you can accomplish anything. It's not going to be easy, but who ever said anything in life is easy?

  Comments (1)

• April 06, 2010
• 10:46

  Another step closer to private space flight

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  On March 22, 2010 Virgin Galactic's White Knight Two carrier airplane made the first captive carry of Virgin Galactic's "Enterprise" (Space Ship Two) spacecraft. White Knight Two was able to reach launch altitude and speed while carrying Enterprise. I'm sure this was a very happy day for Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan! I know I sure am very excited to see private space flight finally become affordable ($200,000 vs. $20,000,000). Sir Richard Branson has also said the cost is expected to drop after the first five years of operations.

  Someday I hope to be able to see the stars and admire the curvature of the Earth from the edge of space.

  Comments (0)

• 10:46

  Another step closer to private space flight

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  On March 22, 2010 Virgin Galactic's White Knight Two carrier airplane made the first captive carry of Virgin Galactic's "Enterprise" (Space Ship Two) spacecraft. White Knight Two was able to reach launch altitude and speed while carrying Enterprise. I'm sure this was a very happy day for Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan! I know I sure am very excited to see private space flight finally become affordable ($200,000 vs. $20,000,000). Sir Richard Branson has also said the cost is expected to drop after the first five years of operations.

  Someday I hope to be able to see the stars and admire the curvature of the Earth from the edge of space.

  Comments (0)

• March 30, 2010
• 23:58

  College/tech school commercials

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  I hate it when commercials on TV for schools talk about going back to school and earning a degree after loosing a job!

  I heard this one on TV the other day and the guy said "I was so scared when I lost my job. My wife doesn't work, we own a house, and we have two kids. I though we were in serious trouble. Thanks to *CENSORING SCHOOL NAME*, I was able to go back to school and get my degree in computer science. Now I'm an IT manager making more money than I was making before I lost my job."

  There are a few MAJOR things wrong with this commercial. First, how did he come up with the money to pay his tuition costs? Second, how did he pay his bills during the 2-4 years that he was going to school, especially since his wife doesn't work? Third, IT doesn't pay crap these days so quit making up lies!

  Commercials like this really get me fired up!

  Comments (0)

• 23:58

  College/tech school commercials

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I hate it when commercials on TV for schools talk about going back to school and earning a degree after loosing a job!

  I heard this one on TV the other day and the guy said "I was so scared when I lost my job. My wife doesn't work, we own a house, and we have two kids. I though we were in serious trouble. Thanks to *CENSORING SCHOOL NAME*, I was able to go back to school and get my degree in computer science. Now I'm an IT manager making more money than I was making before I lost my job."

  There are a few MAJOR things wrong with this commercial. First, how did he come up with the money to pay his tuition costs? Second, how did he pay his bills during the 2-4 years that he was going to school, especially since his wife doesn't work? Third, IT doesn't pay crap these days so quit making up lies!

  Commercials like this really get me fired up!

  Comments (0)

• March 28, 2010
• 16:59

  Trying to figure out how to be real/opinionated

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I have received a fair amount of feedback through comments on my blog and other sources that I tend to be too factual in my blog/facebook/twitter entries and do not state my personal opinions enough. This has made me question how I can be more "real" or opinionated without totally offending people. On the other hand I am a person who likes to do a lot of research on the things I talk about. I enjoy presenting facts to let people make up their own mind about things without giving my two cents to tell them what to think.

  I tend to be VERY opinionated... okay understatement... EXTREMELY opinionated about things that I take interest in. Ask anyone I know and they will tell you that I like to go off about things I either really like or really dislike. There is not a lot of middle ground with my opinions either, nor do I believe there should be any middle ground when it's something I am passionate about.

  So how do I write entries combining research facts and my personal opinions while also not offending people or saying "this is what I believe and you should believe this too"?

  Comments (0)

• 16:59

  Trying to figure out how to be real/opinionated

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  I have received a fair amount of feedback through comments on my blog and other sources that I tend to be too factual in my blog/facebook/twitter entries and do not state my personal opinions enough. This has made me question how I can be more "real" or opinionated without totally offending people. On the other hand I am a person who likes to do a lot of research on the things I talk about. I enjoy presenting facts to let people make up their own mind about things without giving my two cents to tell them what to think.

  I tend to be VERY opinionated... okay understatement... EXTREMELY opinionated about things that I take interest in. Ask anyone I know and they will tell you that I like to go off about things I either really like or really dislike. There is not a lot of middle ground with my opinions either, nor do I believe there should be any middle ground when it's something I am passionate about.

  So how do I write entries combining research facts and my personal opinions while also not offending people or saying "this is what I believe and you should believe this too"?

  Comments (0)

• March 16, 2010
• 10:34

  Capitalism: A Love Story / My foreclosed neighborhood

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I recently watched Michael Moore's latest film Capitalism: A Love Story. First off, great movie! I have watched most of Michael Moore's movies and this is one was pretty well done. Bowling for Columbine is still my favorite movie of his, but this takes a close second. The movie has some very powerful spots and also has spots of Michael Moore running around Wall Street being obnoxious as usual, but it would not be a Michael Moore film without that right?

  I think the most powerful part of this movie was when Michael Moore showed families getting their homes taken away and being kicked onto the streets. These were hard working families who got suckered into bad ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) home loans by banks looking to make a huge profit when interest rates went up. Good families with children. This hits close to home for me since there are five homes on the same block that I live on that are foreclosed. Many of the homes have been sitting empty FOR OVER A YEAR! It makes me sick to my stomach to take a walk in my neighborhood and see the destruction that has been done. To see all of the white papers on the doors and to see no lights on inside the homes at night is upsetting. The home right next door to me is foreclosed and the home just on the other side is foreclosed as well. My street feels lonely, cold, and gloomy even on a sunny day.

  Now what gets met in an absolute rage is that out of the five homes foreclosed on my block, there is only one sale sign in one of the yards of these homes!!! The others are just sitting there! Someone could and should be living in those houses! Why kick a family out of their home onto the street and let a home sit empty? At least let the family live there until the house is ready to go on the market. I understand the banks not wanting someone living there when they are trying to sell the homes, but they are not trying to sell them right now.

  Why do these homes sit empty and off the market? I know why. It's because congress decided to give the banks a 700 billion dollar bailout. Although since congress is largely controlled by Wall Street I guess you could say the banks gave themselves a 700 billion dollar bailout. The banks don't care that the homes are sitting empty because they already got the money they lost from the bad loans they gave out back in their pocket from the bailout! Why was it ever approved to give the banks this huge bailout? Why didn't the banks have to actually work to clean up the mess they created? If they didn't get the bailout I bet the foreclosed homes on my street wouldn't still be sitting empty for over a year.

  The other powerful message in the movie was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's <a href=" [en.wikipedia.org] bill of rights</a> that he proposed in 1944. The rights include:

  - The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
  - The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
  - The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
  - The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
  - The right of every family to a decent home;
  - The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
  - The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
  - The right to a good education.

  Why didn't this bill ever get passed? Imagine what our country would be like today if it had been.

  Comments (0)

• 10:34

  Capitalism: A Love Story / My foreclosed neighborhood

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  I recently watched Michael Moore's latest film Capitalism: A Love Story. First off, great movie! I have watched most of Michael Moore's movies and this is one was pretty well done. Bowling for Columbine is still my favorite movie of his, but this takes a close second. The movie has some very powerful spots and also has spots of Michael Moore running around Wall Street being obnoxious as usual, but it would not be a Michael Moore film without that right?

  I think the most powerful part of this movie was when Michael Moore showed families getting their homes taken away and being kicked onto the streets. These were hard working families who got suckered into bad ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) home loans by banks looking to make a huge profit when interest rates went up. Good families with children. This hits close to home for me since there are five homes on the same block that I live on that are foreclosed. Many of the homes have been sitting empty FOR OVER A YEAR! It makes me sick to my stomach to take a walk in my neighborhood and see the destruction that has been done. To see all of the white papers on the doors and to see no lights on inside the homes at night is upsetting. The home right next door to me is foreclosed and the home just on the other side is foreclosed as well. My street feels lonely, cold, and gloomy even on a sunny day.

  Now what gets met in an absolute rage is that out of the five homes foreclosed on my block, there is only one sale sign in one of the yards of these homes!!! The others are just sitting there! Someone could and should be living in those houses! Why kick a family out of their home onto the street and let a home sit empty? At least let the family live there until the house is ready to go on the market. I understand the banks not wanting someone living there when they are trying to sell the homes, but they are not trying to sell them right now.

  Why do these homes sit empty and off the market? I know why. It's because congress decided to give the banks a 700 billion dollar bailout. Although since congress is largely controlled by Wall Street I guess you could say the banks gave themselves a 700 billion dollar bailout. The banks don't care that the homes are sitting empty because they already got the money they lost from the bad loans they gave out back in their pocket from the bailout! Why was it ever approved to give the banks this huge bailout? Why didn't the banks have to actually work to clean up the mess they created? If they didn't get the bailout I bet the foreclosed homes on my street wouldn't still be sitting empty for over a year.

  The other powerful message in the movie was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's <a href=" [en.wikipedia.org] bill of rights</a> that he proposed in 1944. The rights include:

  - The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
  - The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
  - The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
  - The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
  - The right of every family to a decent home;
  - The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
  - The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
  - The right to a good education.

  Why didn't this bill ever get passed? Imagine what our country would be like today if it had been.

  Comments (0)

• March 09, 2010
• 17:50

  Funny craigslist spam email

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Today I was performing a daily routine involving clearing spam on my email and found a funny email! Sometimes Gmail will put legit mail in my spam folder so I skim through my spam folder to make sure there isn't any legit email in there before I do a massive delete all. Today the following email caught my eye...

  ====================

  Subject: bend

  Message: I stumbled across your craigslist posting for the bend. A little over a month ago I had a run of bad luck and had to get rid of some of my stuff on craig's list to make ends meet. One guy dropped in to buy my mitre saw and router and gave me twice what I was asking for. When I asked him why, he explained that he wanted to help me out as long as when things worked out I helped someone else out too.

  I can't give you cash the way he did me, but yesterday I did come across these Walmart gift cards. I'm sharing the link, but if it works for you, I'm asking that you do the same and pass it on to someone else.

  ====================

  Why can't you give me cash the way he did?!?!?!? I want CASH!!! I don't want crappy Walmart gift cards, I want cash! If you are not going to give me cash I am definitely not telling anyone else about this email!!!

  Of course the link didn't work. The link went to a website that said "IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT THE KEYWORD WAS USED FOR SPAM, PHISHING, AND/OR ABUSE. AND IT WAS THEREFORE DEACTIVATED. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE." Nice web host for doing their part to stop them!

  Comments (0)

• 17:50

  Funny craigslist spam email

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  Today I was performing a daily routine involving clearing spam on my email and found a funny email! Sometimes Gmail will put legit mail in my spam folder so I skim through my spam folder to make sure there isn't any legit email in there before I do a massive delete all. Today the following email caught my eye...

  ====================

  Subject: bend

  Message: I stumbled across your craigslist posting for the bend. A little over a month ago I had a run of bad luck and had to get rid of some of my stuff on craig's list to make ends meet. One guy dropped in to buy my mitre saw and router and gave me twice what I was asking for. When I asked him why, he explained that he wanted to help me out as long as when things worked out I helped someone else out too.

  I can't give you cash the way he did me, but yesterday I did come across these Walmart gift cards. I'm sharing the link, but if it works for you, I'm asking that you do the same and pass it on to someone else.

  ====================

  Why can't you give me cash the way he did?!?!?!? I want CASH!!! I don't want crappy Walmart gift cards, I want cash! If you are not going to give me cash I am definitely not telling anyone else about this email!!!

  Of course the link didn't work. The link went to a website that said "IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT THE KEYWORD WAS USED FOR SPAM, PHISHING, AND/OR ABUSE. AND IT WAS THEREFORE DEACTIVATED. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE." Nice web host for doing their part to stop them!

  Comments (0)

• March 06, 2010
• 16:22

  Don't park in your front yard!

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Why do people park in the grass in the front yard of their house? This drives me nuts! It especially makes me crazy when there is space for them to park in their driveway or on the street. I understand when someone rips out all their landscape and paves over their front yard for more parking when there is no room anywhere else on their property (even though I think it looks horrible), but why park on grass and ruin a perfectly good landscape? Is it so they can jump from the front door of their house directly into their car? Is it because they are too lazy to walk from the driveway or street to the front door? Why is this? I want to know what drives the decision to park on your grass!

  Comments (0)

• 16:22

  Don't park in your front yard!

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Why do people park in the grass in the front yard of their house? This drives me nuts! It especially makes me crazy when there is space for them to park in their driveway or on the street. I understand when someone rips out all their landscape and paves over their front yard for more parking when there is no room anywhere else on their property (even though I think it looks horrible), but why park on grass and ruin a perfectly good landscape? Is it so they can jump from the front door of their house directly into their car? Is it because they are too lazy to walk from the driveway or street to the front door? Why is this? I want to know what drives the decision to park on your grass!

  Comments (0)

• March 04, 2010
• 16:45

  Where to see a good movie

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I wanted to see what movies were out and what reviews some of the latest movies are getting so I turned to my trusted website, Rotten Tomatoes. I love Rotten Tomatoes and could easily spend a whole day on their website looking at movies. I have discovered a ton of movies on there I would have never found before. I also really like that their rating system uses a poll of all critics along with all movie viewers to give unbiased movie ratings.

  Anyways, when I went on there today I found that all of bad movies are being sent to Redmond and all of the good movies can be found at the Pilot Butte theater in Bend, which is not even the nicest/newest theater in Bend. The nicest theater had a mix, but actually had mostly bad rated movies. Looks like Pilot Butte theater is the way to go.

  Check it out...

  

  Comments (0)

• 16:45

  Where to see a good movie

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  I wanted to see what movies were out and what reviews some of the latest movies are getting so I turned to my trusted website, Rotten Tomatoes. I love Rotten Tomatoes and could easily spend a whole day on their website looking at movies. I have discovered a ton of movies on there I would have never found before. I also really like that their rating system uses a poll of all critics along with all movie viewers to give unbiased movie ratings.

  Anyways, when I went on there today I found that all of bad movies are being sent to Redmond and all of the good movies can be found at the Pilot Butte theater in Bend, which is not even the nicest/newest theater in Bend. The nicest theater had a mix, but actually had mostly bad rated movies. Looks like Pilot Butte theater is the way to go.

  Check it out...

  

  Comments (0)

• March 02, 2010
• 13:32

  Earthquakes

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I was reading the newspaper on my lunch break yesterday and I read something very interesting. Out of all the earthquakes recorded in human history, half of the top ten most deadly earthquakes have occurred within the last 100 years. Here is a link to <a href=' [en.wikipedia.org] entry</a> showing earthquakes by death toll. It makes me wonder how many more really deadly earthquakes will occur within the next 100 years. Kind of a scary thought!

  Comments (0)

• 13:32

  Earthquakes

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I was reading the newspaper on my lunch break yesterday and I read something very interesting. Out of all the earthquakes recorded in human history, half of the top ten most deadly earthquakes have occurred within the last 100 years. Here is a link to <a href=' [en.wikipedia.org] entry</a> showing earthquakes by death toll. It makes me wonder how many more really deadly earthquakes will occur within the next 100 years. Kind of a scary thought!

  Comments (0)

• February 21, 2010
• 16:18

  Gmail Spam

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I just figured out why I haven't been getting a lot of email for the past week ago or so. Apparently Google must have intensified the Gmail spam filters because a lot of my legit email has been going into my spam for the last week-ish. Their spam filters used to be really good at telling the junk from the legit email, but not anymore apparently! I hope Google/Gmail fixes this soon!

  My appologies to anyone who has been trying to get in touch with me and has not heard back from me yet. I am starting to sift through the spam now to weed out the legit messages and respond ASAP. I have also created some email filters that should help a lot of my legit email to not end up in the spam folder. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

  UPDATE 02/23/2010: All spam has been sorted through and any legit messages that ended up in there have been replied to. If you sent me a legit message and did not receive a reply, please send it again. I now have filters in place to stop my legit mail from ending up in my spam. Thanks again for your understanding!

  Comments (2)

• 16:18

  Gmail Spam

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  I just figured out why I haven't been getting a lot of email for the past week ago or so. Apparently Google must have intensified the Gmail spam filters because a lot of my legit email has been going into my spam for the last week-ish. Their spam filters used to be really good at telling the junk from the legit email, but not anymore apparently! I hope Google/Gmail fixes this soon!

  My appologies to anyone who has been trying to get in touch with me and has not heard back from me yet. I am starting to sift through the spam now to weed out the legit messages and respond ASAP. I have also created some email filters that should help a lot of my legit email to not end up in the spam folder. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

  UPDATE 02/23/2010: All spam has been sorted through and any legit messages that ended up in there have been replied to. If you sent me a legit message and did not receive a reply, please send it again. I now have filters in place to stop my legit mail from ending up in my spam. Thanks again for your understanding!

  Comments (2)

• February 17, 2010
• 0:22

  My new businesses launch!

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I am very proud to officially announce the launch of my new business ventures! I am actually launching 4 websites! This includes Free PHP Website Software (my development home), Free PHP Shopping Cart Software (the name says it all), Free PHP Blog Software (again, the name says it all), and Affordable PHP Web Hosting (web hosting and complete website solutions).

  This marks the completion of 3 years of software development. It was a long road that had many ups and downs. I remained determined and confident through it all though and never gave up. Owning my own web based software business has actually been a dream of mine for about 10 years or so.

  This is not the end of my development efforts though! Very far from it! This is just the completion of version 1.0 of both programs. Version 1.0 of both programs includes everything I wanted the programs to have initially to feel like complete, fully featured programs. I still have years worth of development ideas in my head that have yet to be written. These ideas will only enhance and add onto what is already in place. Much more fun to come!

  Of course I could not have ever gotten to this point without the tremendous support of my awesome family! My wife Amanda and my daughter Lucy both really deserve a HUGE THANK YOU!!! They have both put up with a lot from me in the last 3 years and I appreciate their patience with me beyond what words can even say.

  I am very excited to see where things go now! The rest of 2010 is going to be focused on getting my businesses out there and working on feature improvements for future software versions in between. If you or anyone you know is in need of free shopping cart software, free blog software, web hosting, or a complete website package, please send them my way! My web hosting starts at 1.50/month and my complete website packages start at 6.00/month. I would really appreciate any referrals!!!

  Comments (0)

• 0:22

  My new businesses launch!

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  I am very proud to officially announce the launch of my new business ventures! I am actually launching 4 websites! This includes Free PHP Website Software (my development home), Free PHP Shopping Cart Software (the name says it all), Free PHP Blog Software (again, the name says it all), and Affordable PHP Web Hosting (web hosting and complete website solutions).

  This marks the completion of 3 years of software development. It was a long road that had many ups and downs. I remained determined and confident through it all though and never gave up. Owning my own web based software business has actually been a dream of mine for about 10 years or so.

  This is not the end of my development efforts though! Very far from it! This is just the completion of version 1.0 of both programs. Version 1.0 of both programs includes everything I wanted the programs to have initially to feel like complete, fully featured programs. I still have years worth of development ideas in my head that have yet to be written. These ideas will only enhance and add onto what is already in place. Much more fun to come!

  Of course I could not have ever gotten to this point without the tremendous support of my awesome family! My wife Amanda and my daughter Lucy both really deserve a HUGE THANK YOU!!! They have both put up with a lot from me in the last 3 years and I appreciate their patience with me beyond what words can even say.

  I am very excited to see where things go now! The rest of 2010 is going to be focused on getting my businesses out there and working on feature improvements for future software versions in between. If you or anyone you know is in need of free shopping cart software, free blog software, web hosting, or a complete website package, please send them my way! My web hosting starts at 1.50/month and my complete website packages start at 6.00/month. I would really appreciate any referrals!!!

  Comments (0)

• February 10, 2010
• 15:19

  RIP Captain Phil

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Captain Phil Harris from Deadliest Catch passed away yesterday, February 9, 2010. Captain Phil passed away from complications from a stroke he suffered on January 29, 2010. He was only 53 when he passed away, way too young! He was my favorite guy to watch on the show. He was a real inspiration and will be missed! I feel bad for his two sons, Jake and Josh Harris. I hope one of them will take their father's place as captain of the Cornelia Marie and continue his legacy. Both served as deck hands for the last several years on their father's ship and know it well. Either would do an awesome job running it!

  Meeting Captain Phil and his sons in Redmond last October at a signing for his coffee line Captain's Reserve Coffee was really awesome! I just can't believe he is gone only 5 months after I shook his hand. I'm really glad to have been able to meet him before he passed away though and will never forget my experience.

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• 15:19

  RIP Captain Phil

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Captain Phil Harris from Deadliest Catch passed away yesterday, February 9, 2010. Captain Phil passed away from complications from a stroke he suffered on January 29, 2010. He was only 53 when he passed away, way too young! He was my favorite guy to watch on the show. He was a real inspiration and will be missed! I feel bad for his two sons, Jake and Josh Harris. I hope one of them will take their father's place as captain of the Cornelia Marie and continue his legacy. Both served as deck hands for the last several years on their father's ship and know it well. Either would do an awesome job running it!

  Meeting Captain Phil and his sons in Redmond last October at a signing for his coffee line Captain's Reserve Coffee was really awesome! I just can't believe he is gone only 5 months after I shook his hand. I'm really glad to have been able to meet him before he passed away though and will never forget my experience.

  Comments (0)

• February 01, 2010
• 13:41

  NASA to be grounded

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Obama's new annual budget proposal involves cutting funding that was to be used to develop the shuttle replacement. His budget also cuts the program that was going to get humans back on the moon and establish a permanent base there.

  Obama's proposal is to let the private sector handle getting humans into space. I both agree and disagree with this idea. While the private sector has made huge leaps and bounds in just the last few years, it still has a long ways to go before it could put people on the moon or beyond. Heck, it has a long ways to go before it could even get people onto the International Space Station (ISS)! Next year, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is scheduled to begin launching SpaceShipTwo into suborbit at 68 miles altitude with paying space tourists. The ISS orbits between 173 miles and 286 miles altitude. Based on these facts, the private sector is going to need to triple it's efforts in very short order just to replace NASA's current orbital missions.

  While all of this may be possible, that still leaves the issue of the moon and beyond. Many in the private sector have had plans to conduct missions for NASA close to home and let NASA focus on distant missions. Who is going to focus on distant missions now? We need to get off this planet sooner or later.

  Comments (0)

• 13:41

  NASA to be grounded

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  Obama's new annual budget proposal involves cutting funding that was to be used to develop the shuttle replacement. His budget also cuts the program that was going to get humans back on the moon and establish a permanent base there.

  Obama's proposal is to let the private sector handle getting humans into space. I both agree and disagree with this idea. While the private sector has made huge leaps and bounds in just the last few years, it still has a long ways to go before it could put people on the moon or beyond. Heck, it has a long ways to go before it could even get people onto the International Space Station (ISS)! Next year, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is scheduled to begin launching SpaceShipTwo into suborbit at 68 miles altitude with paying space tourists. The ISS orbits between 173 miles and 286 miles altitude. Based on these facts, the private sector is going to need to triple it's efforts in very short order just to replace NASA's current orbital missions.

  While all of this may be possible, that still leaves the issue of the moon and beyond. Many in the private sector have had plans to conduct missions for NASA close to home and let NASA focus on distant missions. Who is going to focus on distant missions now? We need to get off this planet sooner or later.

  Comments (0)

• January 30, 2010
• 23:14

  Capt. Phil Stroke

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie from Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel suffered a stroke yesterday. Of all the guys on that show, he is my favorite by far. Him and his sons are very entertaining to watch and also very inspiring. Having the awesome opportunity to meet him and his sons last fall was just way over the top! It was only by chance that I even got to meet them. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for the captain!

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• 23:14

  Capt. Phil Stroke

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie from Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel suffered a stroke yesterday. Of all the guys on that show, he is my favorite by far. Him and his sons are very entertaining to watch and also very inspiring. Having the awesome opportunity to meet him and his sons last fall was just way over the top! It was only by chance that I even got to meet them. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for the captain!

  Comments (0)

• January 28, 2010
• 9:36

  Slideoo

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Today I discovered a really awesome website called Slideoo at http://www.slideoo.com!

  Slideoo is a free tool that takes your Flickr photostream and turns it into a horizontal slide show. You can then copy and paste code onto your website to have it show there. On my website you can see the one I made. If you move your mouse over the left or right sides you will get a "+" or "-" sign that allows you to scroll through the pictures. You can also drag the grey scroll bar at the bottom of the pictures too.

  TECH WARNING! The slide show uses Flash so I wrote some javascript that detects if Flash is enabled or not. If it's not enabled then a standard HTML Flickr badge shows in place of the slide show. If anyone would like the code, feel free to contact me.

  Awesome free tool for anyone who has a website!

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• 9:36

  Slideoo

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Today I discovered a really awesome website called Slideoo at http://www.slideoo.com!

  Slideoo is a free tool that takes your Flickr photostream and turns it into a horizontal slide show. You can then copy and paste code onto your website to have it show there. On my website you can see the one I made. If you move your mouse over the left or right sides you will get a "+" or "-" sign that allows you to scroll through the pictures. You can also drag the grey scroll bar at the bottom of the pictures too.

  TECH WARNING! The slide show uses Flash so I wrote some javascript that detects if Flash is enabled or not. If it's not enabled then a standard HTML Flickr badge shows in place of the slide show. If anyone would like the code, feel free to contact me.

  Awesome free tool for anyone who has a website!

  Comments (0)

• January 26, 2010
• 0:27

  Wiiddiction

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Amanda and I decided to use some money we got for Christmas and get a Nintendo Wii. I have been wanting one pretty much ever since they came out 3 years ago. Amanda more recently decided she really wanted one too.

  <b>WOW</b>, the Wii is SUPER addicting!!! So addicting in fact that I am calling it a "wiiddiction". Nintendo did a really awesome job coming up with a innovative new way to play video games! For years people have complained that video games make you fat and lazy sitting on the couch all the time. Not any more! The Wii will have you swinging the controller playing baseball, tilting it playing driving games, yanking back on it to set the hook in fishing games, and much more. If that's not enough of a reason to play the Wii, Nintendo even came out with a "game" called Wii Fit where you work out on a balance board to get in shape. What's really interesting is that Wii Fit is currently the second best selling videogame in history, selling 22.5 million coppies!

  Multiplayer on the Wii is probably my favorite part about it. Most of the games for the Wii are designed to be played with 2 people or more. Amanda and I have both been playing Wii Super Mario Brothers and I think she is having as much fun with it as I have. I actually went to start a single player game tonight and turned it off after about 20 minutes because it's just so much more fun playing it with her. There are other games I want to get that are better suited for single player. I think the games that are designed for multiplayer just are not as fun with only one person. It's really awesome to find something new we both enjoy doing together, even if it is nerdy!

  Comments (0)

• January 22, 2010
• 1:54

  New Website Design & Colors

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  About three days ago I decided my websites needed some design work in preparation for my businesses going live later this month. I was unhappy with the old colors (here's how it looked before). I got to thinking the old colors just did not represent me or my business well. To me it looked like bank colors or investment website colors, not software website colors.

  When you have five websites that all share the same design (see the tabs on the top of this page) and require unique colors that don't make the websites look like the rainbow, it is a REAL challenge. Luckily for me, I have a wife who has AWESOME design sense! I just told her what kind of look I was going for and she found the colors to match what was in my head to a T! Best wife ever!

  So now you are reading this entry on my new design. Check out my other websites at the top of this page. Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the colors and page designs!

  Comments (2)

• January 21, 2010
• 17:39

  Facebook coming to Prineville

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Facebook broke ground on the first data center they have ever owned and it is going to be located in Prineville. Up until now Facebook has rented space in other data centers. The data center is going to be a 147,000 square foot building, cost $200 million to build, and will employ 35 full time employees, dozens of part time employees, and other contact workers. Prineville (and Central Oregon) really needed a boost to the economy, so this is really awesome to see! I find it very interesting that the first data center they are going to own in the country or world is going to be located about 20 miles from my house!

  I listened to an interview with the director of the Prineville Facebook facility on the evening news. He said the reason they picked Prineville is due to it being an ideal climate for a data centers since it doesn't really get too hot or too cold there. Prineville is definitely a lot more mild than the rest of Central Oregon. Makes sense considering maintaining consistent data center temperatures costs a TON and creates tremendous amounts of air pollution.

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• January 19, 2010
• 11:41

  Automated Chicken Door

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  I was just doing a little searching online and ran across something really cool! It's an idea for building an automated chicken door that will automatically open at sunrise and automatically close at sunset!

  It's a really good idea because chickens can get eaten at night if their door is left open and a predator manages to make it's way into their run. Another reason it's good is so that you don't have to get up early to let your chickens out when the sun comes up or have to worry about being home to close the door at sunset. It's also a good idea for when you go on vacations.

  Link: http://www.dinosaursandrobots.com/2009/04/automatic-chicken-door.html

  Plans link: http://www.buildeazy.com/photo-chicken-coop-beatarticle.html

  Guess what my next or even possibly my current chicken coop is going to have! Ha ha!

  Comments (0)

• January 18, 2010
• 7:36

  MLK, Jr. Favorite Quote

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated. - MLK, Jr.

  Comments (0)

• January 17, 2010
• 0:31

  GPL is Freedom

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  (The GPL software license logo).

  In my opinion, the GPL software license is the greatest software license in existence. It is in the best interest of software end users and software developers alike. For those who have no idea what I'm even talking about, the GPL software license allows computer software to be freely available, freely modified, and freely distributed. You can not take a piece of GPL software and turn it into proprietary software either, it has to remain free. This way you are not suddenly roped into paying for something you have come to enjoy having free access to.

  I don't know about you, but I like free. Free as in the freedom to do whatever you want! I don't like downloading software that is *cough* free and having to worry about getting caught and going to jail. I just want it to be free period. You might think "well if all software was free then how would companies be able to exist and pay their developers, distributors, and support people". The answer is simple. If companies cared more about writing innovative/high quality software versus writing a heaping pile of crap full of bugs, then end users would be more willing to pay for the software and less likely to try to get it for *cough* free, hence saving companies from loosing TONS of money to software piracy. I need to get that cough checked! Ha ha!

  A good example of what I am talking about is companies that operate on donations. These companies have to work really hard to produce quality products and/or services that people will really enjoy, otherwise they won't get paid a dime. Think of all the crappy software you have ever downloaded on your computer that has made it unstable, crashed, or even worse... gave you a virus! Now imagine those same software developers giving away their software for free and asking for donations if you liked their work. Guess who would be out of a job! You see, if all companies gave away their software the world would only have really high quality software programs to deal with and not all the crap. Sure, even a successful donation based company might not make billions and billions of dollars, but they would probably make millions and that's enough right? When you start making billions that's when you get lazy and start producing crap again.

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• January 15, 2010
• 0:27

  Cable TV, friend or foe?

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Amanda and I made a decision about 6 months ago to cut our cable television. This decision was made for many reasons. Cost savings, all the crap on these days, and just to see if our family could go without it in this modern cable addicted world. We saw ourselves and our 2 year old daughter Lucy sitting in front of the TV for way too many hours per day, often not even watching anything we really cared about. So the decision was made.

  Overall, I would say it was not missed. We still had our cable internet and still had the ability to watch the shows we really cared about. The difference was that to watch something required more effort to find it online, so we tended to only watch what we really cared about. While watching shows online, we also discovered that we were no longer being subjected to commercials due to them being cut out of most shows. We also had our trusty DVD and VHS players so we discovered an even greater love for movies than we ever had before.

  Not being subjected to about half the advertising in our lives on it's own was very interesting. My family's desire to shop and buy things went way down! When someone I knew would ask me if I had seen the latest funny commercial I wouldn't know what they were talking about and it felt great! Saving money was at an all time high for my family and I relate this directly to not having cable. You see people on TV with all these things and it makes you want them. Jealousy is human nature.

  One week ago from today we had our cable television connected once again. There were several reasons for this decision. Mostly for Amanda's mom who is living with us and recovering from surgery, but also because we thought it might be nice to have every now and then. For the first few days I didn't even turn it on to watch myself. I have since watched a few shows, but only ones I really like, no crap. I have also found myself being really careful to not be sucked in by commercials when they come on.

  I don't know if we will ever turn the cable off again or not, but I will say not having it has taught me a lot and I will not be soon to forget what I have learned!

  Comments (5)

• January 13, 2010
• 2:12

  Country life is the life for me

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  Amanda and I have been talking for a long time about where we might like to live someday. We know that were we are living now is not that place. It's not that we don't like our house or our neighborhood, they are both just fine. It's just not us anymore, or at least not who want to be. We both thought we wanted to live in a nice little neighborhood in a medium size town. Turns out we are not really "neighborhood people". We don't really know our neighbors, we don't like living so close to other people, and we want some land that we can have more fun on. If we move though, we want it to be before Lucy goes into school, if possible. She is turning 3 this year so we want to make up our minds in the next couple of years.

  For the last year or so I would say Amanda and I have been really seriously talking about wanting to live in the country on some acreage. We have been casually looking at different places all over Central Oregon just to get an idea of where we might like to live, figure out how much land we are actually going to want, and what we might be looking to pay for what we want. We still don't really have much of an idea except I think we have at least decided we want to live somewhere north or northeast of Bend (Powell Butte, Prineville, etc.) where the climate is a little more mild and better suited for growing and/or animals.

  We have been talking about what we would want to use the acreage for. I don't really see us being into growing crops. Maybe a nice size vegetable garden and a greenhouse. What I think we really want to use the land for is to raise some animals. I have really enjoyed our small chicken operation that I setup in our backyard and could see myself raising chickens on a much larger scale. Many have called me a successful egg farmer just with my small flock of 13 chickens. I have done a ton of research on them and know just what it takes to get the most out of them while keeping them happy. We can legally have up to 16 chickens where we live now, so I can't do much more than I am currently. Amanda on the other hand would really like some alpacas, sheep, and/or goats. Can't have any of them living in the city. Even if we could I think we would get some pretty funny looks from our neighbors. Amanda makes all kinds of knitted things and has an interest in learning to spin and dye yarn. I could see our interests turning into a nice little secondary income.

  It's funny because when we were younger we used to talk about how fun it would be to live in or near a big city. We moved to Oregon City (close to Portland) when we got out of high school and lived there for a few years. Then we moved back to Bend to get away from the city. Now we live in Redmond to be even further from the city. Next we want to live even further away. Funny how that has changed!

  Comments (2)

• January 11, 2010
• 23:33

  Coming Soon

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

  Tags:    [edit]

  Work continues on getting my new websites going for Free PHP Shopping Cart Software and Free PHP Blog Software. I am expecting a launch of both websites later this month!

  It is going to be really exciting to see some pay back from 3 years of hard work! You might ask yourself how in the world is he going to make money when the product's names have "free" in their names. Well, I guess you will just have to wait and see. I have a pretty awesome plan in mind.

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• January 08, 2010
• 4:27

  First Entry

   » ‎ Dustin Cowell Enterprises Blog

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  Welcome to my new personal blog!

  I am writing this using my new blogging software that I wrote (Free PHP Blog Software). It took me about 3 years to complete my new blog software and my shopping cart software (Free PHP Shopping Cart Software), but they are both finally done! Well, they are not totally done, but they are both ready for their initial version 1.0 releases.

  This blog will mostly be about my personal life to share with friends and family. I will have a separate blog over on each of my business websites to keep personal and business separate.

  Well, it's very late at night and I should turn in right about now. Just couldn't wait to setup my new blog though. Ha ha!

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