Canon Pixma MP830 printer oddity

A few years ago I bought a really nice Canon Pixma MP830 printer/fax/scanner/copier for use in the motorhome.  At that time the motorhome had a "doghouse" in between the driver and passenger seats and the printer fit there very well.  I was very pleased with the printer and used it all the time.  The only problem I had with taking it in the motorhome was that it weighed 33 lbs and it got tiring carrying it to the bedroom every day when we were getting ready to move down the road.  It sure got heavy in a hurry then.  It really got to be a chore for Gerry, but I didn't want to interfere with her "Pink" task.

In addition to operating as a printer, scanner, and standalone copier, the Pixma MP830 offers such office-oriented features as a 35-page automatic document feeder (ADF) to process multipage documents, a built-in fax modem that lets it run as a standalone fax machine, and two input trays to hold two different kinds of paper at once (a maximum of 300 sheets). Canon's bundled software also lets you fax directly from your PC.

The MP830 can print on and scan both sides of a page. It even gives you the choice of copying from a two-sided original to a two-sided copy, from a two-sided original to a one-sided copy, and from a one-sided original to a two-sided copy—a rare find, particularly in an ink jet. Interestingly, the MP830 will also let you scan a one- or two-sided document to e-mail, automatically opening a new message for you and including the scanned document as an attachment. Unfortunately, it won't scan both sides of an original for standalone faxing.  This isn't a problem for me since we don't have a dedicated phone line to use for the fax capability.  PDF files work better and are easier to send and use.

The MP830 has a PictBridge connector, for printing directly from PictBridge-enabled cameras, and card slots paired with a 2.5-inch LCD, enabling you to print from memory cards and use the LCD for previews.

It produces excellent color photos on a variety of paper sizes and is very fast printing them.  

No, I am not selling my printer or working for Canon but I am pleased with the printer.  A couple days ago the printer acted up and I couldn't turn it on.  I suspected a blown fuse so I downloaded a manual to see where the fuse was located.  No such luck.  Then I went to the Canon users forum to see if anyone else had this problem.  Yep, lot of people did over the years.  There were a number of suggestions for solutions to the problem including the power supply, mother board replacement and a few others.  

One suggestion didn't cost any money so I tried that one first.  It was simple.  Remove the power cord from the printer and let it sit for a couple hours like that.  Humm, no way that will work, but it was cheap to try it.  I forgot about the printer until later in the day and plugged it back in to a power outlet.  Much to my surprise the printer lights went on and I was back in business.  Now if I could just remember what I wanted to print.

It was cold and foggy all morning here at the cabin and it never got above 70 degrees all day.  The overnight rain contributed to the fog and dampness and it seemed colder than it was.  I took this opportunity to burn some papers and boxes in the fireplace and that helped warm up the cabin so it was comfortable.  Time to start packing and get out of here before it gets colder.  Actually, we have at least 7 more weeks before we plan on leaving but that could change.  

There, now if you read this far you may be able to fix your printer if it doesn't want to turn on.  If you do, just remember what you wanted to print.  

I saw where Tucson got 1.84 inches of rain yesterday and the Santa Cruz river actually had water flowing in it.  We've never seen water in the river in the past 8 years so that would have been a sight to see.  All the washes were full to the brim and I imagine the low lying roads were under water.  Maybe Ron K can chime in and let us know how it was out there.

I graduated from the University Of Maryland many years ago; however, I still follow their sports teams and root for them to do well.  They have had some really great teams over the years and some down years.  They joined up with NC, SC, VA Universities to found the Atlantic Coast Conference many years ago, but recently switched over to the Big Ten Conference.  Their uniforms in the past few years have been eye openers and it seems they outdid themselves with the uniform for the upcoming game this Saturday.  Check it out at the following address:  Terp Uniforms

Take care and I hope you all had a nice day.
 

Busy & long day & 1000th posting

We were up bright and early this morning getting ready for some driving.  First stop was to Cassie & Jack's and drop off their wedding anniversary card.  Neither one was home so we just dropped it off and continued along on our way.

Next stop was at a Honda car dealer to check out some of their stock and see what kind of deal we could come up with.  We used the Costco buyers program and think we can make a deal with them on a CR-V Honda SUV.  Few more details to work out and then we will go back and seriously try for a bargain with them.  Our old Saturn has 140K miles on it and is showing it's age very much.  Not sure we want to trust it for another year so it's time to part with it.

We have looked at GMC Terrains, Fords, Hondas and briefly at Jeep Cherokees.  Each has it good points, but there aren't many Terrains to choose from, the Cherokee is expensive and the Ford Escape isn't towable.  Process of elimination at work here.

Our plan was to have lunch with old friend John, but we ran out of time before my doctor appointment and we met him at a restaurant within walking distance of the doctor office.  I thought it would be a quick appointment so Gerry and John had lunch together and I went to my appointment.

I was right as the appointment lasted less than an hour and I was out of there by 2pm.  All went well with the visit and my PSA remains at .0, so that is a good thing.  This is my 10th anniversary of my operation for prostate cancer and it looks very good.  I remember the doctor told me I could avoid the operation but in 10 years I would wish I hadn't.  My how fast those years went by and things look good for me.

Then it was back to the restaurant and grab a sandwich and chat with John some more.  It was sort of a hurried lunch since we had to drive to Frederick MD and do some shopping at Costco before meeting son in law Henry later for dinner.  It was good to see John and hopefully we can get together later this month for a more leisurely lunch and chat some more.

A stop at the Montgomery County Liquor store resulted in us purchasing some 1.75L Canadian Club Whiskey for $14.49 a bottle, plus 9% tax.  It's a bargain for Henry since the same bottle in North Carolina costs over $24.00 at the ABC store there.  

It was a whirlwind shopping trip at Costco and we found everything we were looking for except for one item.  Costco has a bad habit of introducing you to a product and then dropping it from their inventory.  Frustrating to say the least.  We did have the lug nuts torqued while we were there as they recommended it when we had tires put on the car.  That took 5 minutes and the young man performing the service was very businesslike and polite.  It is nice to see that when you go in for service.  Gas was $3.17/gallon at the Costco service station so we filled the gas tank on the Saturn.

Another 25 mile drive segment took us to Emmittsburg, MD and the Ott House restaurant to meet Henry for dinner.  He was driving up from Charlotte, NC and will be in the area a day or so on business.  We lucked out and got the last table in the place since there was a number of large groups from the National Fire Academy celebrating something there.  The place was packed.

We had a nice visit with Henry and downed a few brews with him and bid him farewell a couple hours later.  He headed for his hotel in Gettysburg, PA and we went home via the post office in Smithsburg.

That is how we drove over 200 miles today and totally wore ourselves out.  Now we are going to hit the hay early and get a fresh start on Tuesday.  It is good sleeping weather with this mornings temp in the mid 50s as we got ready to hit the road.  I think it will be cooler tonight and we may have to put on another blanket.

This is my 1000th posting on the blog and I was hoping for an exciting event to happen or something really memorable, but you will have to settle for our routine day's outing.  Sorry!

I hope you all had a nice day like we did.  Goodnight.   

Wedding Anniversary & Auction

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

CASSIE & JACK

It's hard to believe that you are celebrating the 12th anniversary of your wedding.  Time really does fly by quickly and it seems like just yesterday that we were at the wedding.  Hope you guys enjoyed your visit to Dominic's and it was as good as you remembered.

The green type above was for Cassie since green is her favorite color.  You should have seen her lime green bedroom color.

The previous blog was about online auctions and our participation in a local one.  It was an eye opener in many ways including the 13% fee the auctioneer tacks onto the winning bid.  Plus the local sales taxes and a requirement that the sale is applied to your credit card.  No checks or cash, just plastic. 

Cassie & Jack were interested in a 2000 van that had high mileage on it, but had been taken care of very good by the owner who was a mechanic.  It was in pretty good shape, needed tires and a few other things but was road worthy.  They drove it around the area for a few miles and liked the way it handled.  Cassie stayed in the bidding until it got near $2,000 and then dropped out with the van eventually selling for $2,100 plus the 13% tacked on. 

The other items in the auction went fairly cheaply except for a few items that a few people really wanted badly and they ran up the price.  If someone had newly purchased their first home and needed yard tools and some small household appliances, the auction would have been a good route to take.  I still have shovels I bought new 50 years ago and they are in great shape even though they have been used hard over the years.  

I set the Bushnell Game camera in the meadow last night and captured a few shots of some deer.  They bed down in the area and we've seen up to 7 at a time out there, but only two were captured on the camera.  Since it was pitch dark outside the photos aren't the greatest but it's fun trying to catch them unaware of the camera.  Don't pay any attention to the date and time since I haven't figured out how to set it on the camera.  It's in the job jar though.

I also captured this shot of bigfoot or a wild bear in it's natural habitat.  The cabin is in the background and I am walking out to check what pictures I got on the camera.  Don't laugh, it gives me something to do.
 

  

That was our exciting day here on the mountain, how was yours?

Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

A few weeks ago our daughter Cassie asked me if I would go with her to look at a car that was going to be auctioned off in an estate sale.  My first thought was I would be standing around in the sun and humidity waiting for the car to be auctioned off.  Boy was I ever wrong on that score.

We've been to estate sales before where 100 people show up and it is a mob scene and difficult to check anything out in detail before the sale.  While I enjoyed these sales, they were time consuming especially if the item you were interested in was the last one on the auction block.  Then someone outbids you and the day was a bust.

I also went to auction houses with my father when I was young and was fascinated by the auctioneer and how fast they talked.  I've always been accused of talking really slowly and quietly so the auctioneer was my hero with his ability to speak so fast and get an item sold in a flash.  It was/is a true art to be a good auctioneer.

Cassie called me today and reminded me the viewing of the car and items was from 5-6pm today in Waynesboro.  The "viewing"!  What in the world was she talking about?  I soon found out.  All the items were laid out and you had an hour to see and check them out.  Or, you could go online and see each item, how much had been bid for it so far.  The auction was taking place online and you had to sign up for an id card, view the items and place your bid.  Credit card sales only.  No cash, check or money order.   

Well, we all jumped into our cars and went to look at the car and Gerry managed to sneak off and check out the jewelry included in the auction.  I thought I was getting of easy but now I am not so sure this isn't going to cost me money. 

I talked to one of the auction house workers and she said all auctions were online now.  No more standing in the sun, rain, snow, etc. to bid on the item of your interest.  I wonder how many people who don't have the internet and like to go to auctions even get a chance to bid now.  I guess if they don't have an internet connection, then they don't have enough money go buy the items.  Interesting concept.

It was an eye opener for me to see what some of the items were going for so far.  Of course, as the bidding time comes to a close, then the real bids will pour in at the last minute.  Anyone interested in a 27" Console tv that weighs 200 lbs?  They are out there for the picking.  VCR tapes, we've got them!  Guns, no problem they are out there, also.

Among Craigslist, Ebay, Amazon and Online auctions a person could spend all their money and never leave the house except to pick up the prize.  How did all this come about and I didn't even know about it?   Well, this old dog knows now.

Now that you know about the online auctions, please don't overbid me on must have items.  I've got my eye on a pickling crock and want to get it cheap.  The last one I bought cost $5 and now they are going for $30 and up.  I should have cornered the market when I had a chance.

I also found out where lost knives disappeared to and know where to look for them in the future.  Do you see your lost knife in this bunch below?

 
Other than a sub par dinner at a local buffet restaurant, that was our excitement for the day.  I hope you had a more exciting and interesting day. 
    

TGIF

Well, it's Friday again and another week has gone by.  We haven't been doing a lot lately that is interesting enough to put in a blog, so that is why it's taken a week to prepare one.

The highlight of the week was buying a new set of tires for the Saturn and having the oil changed in the car.  I let it go way too long this time and it was almost a quart low.  Now it is running fine and purring right along.  

Lately, I have been playing with my Bushnell Game camera to see how it works.  It can take still shots or movies, depending on the settings.   I've taken a few movies but mostly still shots at night and during the daylight hours.  It is a color camera and does a fair job in sunlight and is a little grainy at night.  So far I have captured pictures of a cat that is setting off the outdoor floodlights that are on sensors.   Also a couple shots of neighbors going by in their trucks and cars, but no pictures of bears or deer so far.  I could do without the bear picture, but would like some of the deer or turkeys.

Turkeys in the Meadow

 It rained very hard a couple afternoons this past week and one night we had high winds go by just north of us.  We went out for a late night coffee run and the roads were closed due to downed trees and power lines.  A short 20 minute drive turned into an 1 hour + drive with all the detours.  It was worth it to get out and drive without all the day time traffic in the area. 

We've been working on thinning out some "stuff" from the cabin and taking it to the Salvation Army and throwing out some old things we don't need and nobody else would want.  I don't know how we accumulate so much stuff given we aren't here that long.  Gremlins must be coming in when we are gone and dropping off these old presents.

The roofer is scheduled to work on replacing the cabin roof next week once he finishes framing a house.  He can't get here soon enough for us since we have a leak in the roof over the bedroom.  So far it doesn't look too bad, but I haven't pulled off the wall yet.  I hope it hasn't rotted any of the framing in the walls.  

That has been our not so exciting week here around the cabin.  Quiet.  Too quiet for my taste.  We did manage to stop by the Ott House for dinner on Wednesday and got there ahead of the Trivia players.  I cashed in my winning prize from last time and that helped keep the bill reasonable.  We bought a Power Ball ticket at the restaurant and I checked it tonight.  We didn't have one single number on our ticket that matched the winning number.  Not even close.

We hope you all are having a great time wherever you are.