RLROUSE Infoblog

Articles and information to power your life!

5 reasons to switch to a gas grill

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I admit it. I used to be a perfectionist when it came to grilling. In my mind, there was simply no substitute for hamburgers, hot dogs and steaks that had been grilled over a genuine charcoal flame.

Well, that all changed one day when I attended a picnic hosted by our church. The meats the cooks grilled on their gas grills were nothing short of amazing! I was surprised to discover how tasty and juicy everything was, and of course I just HAD to go back for “seconds” to confirm it.

That experience got me to thinking about replacing my aging charcoal grill with a new gas model. A little research opened my eyes to the advantages of gas grills:

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Review: Godaddy.com domain registation services

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I have been building and maintaining websites for almost 10 years now, and during that time I’ve learned that the two most important things that a webmaster has to deal with are choosing a good web hosting company and a good domain registrar. I thought this would be a good time to put in my 2 cents worth regarding my experiences with various domain registrars.

Like most people just starting out in the early 1990’s, I registered my very first domain name with Network Solutions. At that time their prices were sky high, but that’s who most everyone went with nonetheless for various reasons. I quickly found their customer service to be lacking, so when it came time to renew that domain name I decided to shop around and try another domain registrar. To be honest, I can’t even recall which one it was, but I do recall that their prices were lower but their customer service was even worse than what I had experienced with Network Solutions.

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How to customize the “Shutdown” button in Windows 7

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If you’re a Windows 7 user you surely know how to shut down your PC by clicking the “Start” button, then clicking “Shut Down”. You also probably know that if you wish to restart the computer or put it into sleep mode instead of shutting it down, you do that by clicking the arrow beside the “Shut Down” button and selecting the appropriate action.

If you’re like me you probably restart your computer a lot more often than shutting it down. If so, why not change the default action from “Shutdown” to “Restart”? Here’s how:

1 – Click the Start button.

2 – Right click on the Shutdown button.

3 – Click Properties.

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Preparing your lawnmower for spring

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Spring is quickly approaching, and that means it won’t be long before we’ll be mowing our lawns again. Is your lawnmower ready to “hit the ground running”? Here are a few tips for preparing your mower for the upcoming season:

1 – Drain any gasoline remaining from last season from the tank and dispose of it in accordance with local rules and regulations. You can do this either by using a siphon pump to suck the gas out of the tank or by tilting the mower until the gas drains into a pan.

2 – With the gas tank empty, drain the oil from the mower as well by tilting it over until it drains out.

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Understanding your Digital Multimeter

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A Digital Multimeter (DMM) is one of the handiest tools you can have in your home or garage. Most people think of a DMM as a “volt meter”, and of course it is. But it is also a whole lot more! Here is a run-down of all the electrical properties that a typical digital multimeter can measure:

1. AC Voltage – Measuring AC or DC voltage is far and away the most common application of DMM’s. To measure AC voltage (Alternating Current), simply set the meter to the highest AC range and apply the test leads to the conductors being tested. There is no need to worry about positive and negative because they are irrelevant when measuring AC. Keep lowering the voltage range on the meter until you get the most precise reading possible.

2. DC Voltage – To measure DC voltage (Direct Current), set the meter to the highest DC range then connect the red lead to the positive lug, post or wire and the black lead to the negative lug, post, wire or “ground”. It’s important to make sure the leads are connected with the proper positive and negative polarity or the polarity of the reading could be reversed (and incorrect!). Again, keep lowing the voltage range until you get the most precise reading possible.

3. Amperage – Amperage is the measure of the electric current that is flowing through a component or wire. In order to measure amperage you must connect the meter in series with the circuit being tested. In other words, you’ll need to open up the circuit by disconnecting a wire and connecting the meter’s test leads to the end of the wire and the place where it was previously connected. Then set the meter to the highest amperage setting. A reading of “0.00” means there is no current flowing through the circuit at all. As before, lower the amperage range on the meter until you get the most precise reading possible.

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