My blog - dmchenry's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Should you run ceiling fans when you aren't home?

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:53:02 PDT

Recently I was discussing the best ways to keep your home cool in these sweltering months with a friend.

The question came up: Should you leave your ceiling fans running when you aren’t home or even in the room?

That got me wondering, so I decided to call some local air conditioning experts to see what they had to say.

“Waste of energy,” was the verdict from La Verne and Son Air Conditioning.

Over at Mike’s Air Conditioning I got the same ruling — and an earful about the laws of thermodynamics.

Turns out the only time you really should have the ceiling fan running is when you are in the room. Fans don’t actually cool they air, they just move it around, which helps cool you down thanks to evaporation.

Bruce Meister, service manager at Hillcrest Air Condition, says you’re much better off cleaning out your filters, having your ductwork checked for leaks or upgrading an older unit with something more efficient.

“That’s where the real money is saved,” he said.

One other tip: Make sure your ceiling fan is blowing the air in the right direction. In the summer you want it blowing down on you. In the winter you want it blowing upwards.

Rosedale commute tips

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:23:20 PDT

I will be moving out to the northwest in a few weeks and I figured I would tap our online readers for tips on the daily commute.

I remember living in the southwest and finding all kinds of little secrets to get to work fast (H street north of Brundage is pretty empty most days, stay in the center lane when on California near the 99 bridge to avoid getting backed up, etc.)

So what do I need to know about commuting from Rosedale?

I will actually be in the Brimhall/Jewetta area, so I’m wondering if Brimhall is a decent alternate east/west route? Or is it packed?

I was eyeing a route that takes Brimhall to Coffee to Truxtun Extension. But the left turn off Coffee and onto Truxtun Ext looks like it could be a nightmare.

So folks, what do you suggest?

2010 Camaro on the streets of Bakersfield?

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:27:07 PDT

On the way to work today I spotted what I thought was one of the new 2010 Camaros. It was blue jobbie waiting at a stoplight in the northeast. I ogled it as much as I could without wrecking my car, but really only got a glance.

I’m kinda into cars and always wanted a ’69 Camaro when I was a teen. I also loved the Mustang redesign a few years back.

So I’ve been really keen to check out the new models.

I gave Three Way Chevrolet a call to see if they had actually sold the blue one — and more importantly if they had cars I could ogle in total safety.

Turns out I did not catch a glimpse of a Camaro. Three Way said they only have two of the Camaros (one yellow and one orange) and neither can be driven.

The orange model is just for display, although you can crawl around inside the car all you want, apparently.

The yellow model has already been sold, to local NFL quarterback David Carr. And apparently Dave doesn’t want random folks driving his car. Crazy.

Here’s the good news. If you have $23,000 to $34,000 to spend on a Camaro, Three Way expects to get some models to sell in three weeks or so.

So what did I spot Wednesday morning? Turns out it was a 2009 Challenger. Kind of an embarrassing blunder for a car guy to make. But even the guy at the dealership said its easy to mistake them. (check out the photos I have attached for yourself)

Sondheim vs. The Muppets

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:15:52 PST

Reporter James Geluso and I ended up in a polite debate today over what is "cooler," Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim or The Muppets.

I contend that Sondheim is cooler. James prefers the Muppets.

Let the voting begin.

The greatest race ever?

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:50:06 PDT

I just finished watching race three in the America's Cup on my DVR. For folks unfamiliar the America's Cup competition is an international yacht race that dates back to the 1800s. For the first 132 years the US won the cup (longest winning streak in history) but it has been recently held by the New Zealanders and Swiss (despite Switzerland being landlocked!)

The US got ousted a while back and its down to the Kiwis and the Swiss for our cup. Going into today's race it was knotted up at 1-1. And what a race.

Watching yacht racing has been described as being as much fun as 'watching paint dry.' But today's match was a nail biter. There were two or three lead changes and everytime it looked like one boat had it sewn up the other charged back. In the end it came down to a tight finish.

Some folks are calling it the greatest race in America's Cup history and I'm not sure I'd disagree.

And as a web junkie you have got to love the America's Cup website, very cool.

Incredible story out of Fresno

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:20:34 PDT

The Fresno Bee had a pretty incredible story this weekend about a guard in the Fresno jail who was writing racist, threatening letters to violent inmates -- and signing them with the name and address of a guy who was suing him.

This poor innocent guy suddenly started getting letters and threats from inmates he had never heard of.

It's a long story, but worth a read.

666 views for Exorcism video?

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:17:38 PDT

Our multimedia reporter Dane Boedigheimer spotted this interesting numerical coincidence with our video from last year about local exorcisms.

Let's just hope it is a coincidence.

Post Easter bunny massacre

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:10:39 PDT

I won't say who, but someone in the newsroom ripped the head off this poor innocent chocolate bunny!

The horror.....the horror....

Governor visits Delano school

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:05:36 PDT

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Delano today and during the presentation at least two students fainted. Photographer Casey Christie got a photo of one of the students and the Gov helping her up.

Here's the info Casey sent with the photo:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger helps a Cesar Chavez High School AP student, advanced placement, up off of the stage after she fainted in the middle of the governor's speech Thursday in Delano. She was one of two students who fainted during the governor's speech after the students had stood on the stage for about an hour during lunchtime. Both students were fine after the incident.

Bonus: Now you can even read the transcript of the Governor's comments.

Why is a Border Patrol story the most read today?

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 11:01:53 PDT

During our morning news meeting each day we look at the stats for Bakersfield.com to see what you all are reading. It helps us figure out what you all are really interested in (of course it's not the only measuring stick we use.)

Well this morning, sitting at the top of the list -- with five times as many page views as the next story -- was an Associated Press story on a Border Patrol agent shooting and killing someone crossing the border illegally.

Normally our wire stories get much lower traffic than our local stories. So when one jumps to the top it's usually a big hint that some site is linking to our story. Some site with a big audience.

Sometimes it's Fark.com.

Today it is WorldNetDaily. If you haven't heard of WorldNetDaily, check out their wikipedia entry.

Twinkie + 7 story building = ???

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:12:33 PDT

The web team at the Bakersfield Californian newsroom took a few minutes off work yesterday to answer a burning question:

What does a Twinkie look like after falling seven stories?

Being web video geeks, we shot the whole thing. Enjoy.

I'm not a wrestling expert, but this is cool video

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 10:32:49 PST

This past weekend our multimedia reporter Dane Boedigheimer shot video at the CIF wrestling championships (state wrestling tourney to laymen like you and me.)

He got just about all the final matches and stayed up until 4 a.m. editing them. You can watch the video here.

We have gotten a ton of viewers on the video -- especially the final match in the 160 pound weight class. Apparently this was a pretty awesome match. Several wrestling message boards have been buzzing about the winner's prowess.

My favorite quotes:

"Welch is just a junior. After he gives up the first takedown, he just eats this dude's lunch. Watch the footsweep at about 2:15." from huskermat.com forums

"This kid is amazing, watch how he gets taken down at the begining, then like he is pissed he was scored on, just dismantles the poor kid he's wrestling against." from themat.com forums

What kind of bird is this?

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:06:56 PDT

I was walking this morning when I came upon a pair of birds making a huge racket in a tree. I stopped and peered up in the tree and saw a large, weird looking bird. It was brown with e fuzzy head. Like it was wearing one of those furry Russian hats.

As I circled the tree to get a better look at the birds, I noticed this chick on the ground. I snapped a pic with my phone. Can anyone tell what this is?

Note: the bird had really long legs, and they are sticking out in front of it.

Do charities still pick up stuff?

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:49:49 PDT

I am moving soon and need to get rid of some stuff, namely a couch and matching chair. I know back in the day you used to be able to get the Salvation Army to come out and pick it up (that is absolutely a must for me.)

Anyone know if they still do that? Any other charities around besides the Army?

What sites do you visit daily?

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 01:43:07 PDT

I am curious what sites folks out there visit daily, besides Bakersfield.com. Here is my list.

First Generation Monte Carlo Club forums

Yahoo news

Youtube

The Digital Bits

CNN

Fox News

Badcarma

My own photo blog (to see the page views)

Bad food hygiene?

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:49:36 PDT

So I'm reading a post on The Pulse, the blog of health writer Emily Hagedorn, about some Asian delicacies that are running afoul of food inspectors. Check out her blog for the details, but suffice it to say some of these items seem to be ASKING for food poisoning cases.

Now I don't want to steal the thunder from her blog, but my first thought was about some of the food practices at my own home that might be questionable.

For instance, I leave pizza out overnight with impunity and have never gotten sick. Also, my mom leaves butter out (covered, but at room temperature) all the time. For weeks. My family also has this thing about keeping eggs (refrigerated of course) for months past their expiration. They have always been fine.

How about the rest of you? Anyone out there got dangerous food habits?

Two milestones

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:50:27 PDT

Well I hit two milestones this week:

First, I finished ripping all my CDs to my iPod. I have about 5,000 songs and about 40-50 hours of video. And I still have nearly 20 GB left out of the original 40. Pretty incredible.

I also installed the grille on the 71 Cutlass. There is a pic attached. It looks pretty good and once I get the thing painted it should look really sweet.

I also did a lot of work on the Monte recently, but I left my camera in Fresno so you'll have to wait on the pics. By the time I move next month the thing should be looking SHARP!

On the move

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:23:11 PDT

When I came to Bakersfield in the summer of 2000 I had just two days to find an apartment. After trying all the big complexes in town (too expensive for my taste) I got desperate and tried the newspaper. Well, not really the paper, but the online classifieds.

I lucked out and found a place late the second day. Rent was a paltry $425 and the place was huge. Like a small house. The laundry room was free. I thought I had really lucked out.

When I moved in however, I discovered that I was in a very different type of rental. There were no blinds or curtains, just a few sheets left by the past tenants. There were no screens on any of the windows. There were no closet doors. No lenses on the ceiling fixtures. No functioning bathroom ventilation fans. No refrigerator. Only two of the burners on the stove worked. And the place had roaches.

But it was cheap. So I stayed. I got them to install blinds. I spent a few bucks to by lenses for the fixtures. I got a cheap fridge. I pressured them to put in a new stove. And I waged a brutal war against the roaches that reduced their numbers to near zero.

I stuck it out for the next six years. The size of the place and the rent were really the main incentives. In six years the rent has increased by less than $100. And each of the two bedrooms are larger than most people's living rooms.

So I dealt with the neighbor who was in a rock band that practiced from midnight to 5 a.m. I put up with the fact that I could not open my windows to enjoy a breeze without having tons of bugs fly in. I shrugged it off when my neighbors revealed to me that not only were they getting on Section 8, but that our building wasn't up to Section 8 standards.

I am about a month away from moving out of this place and into a much nicer place in the northwest. The impetus for the move was really to find a place with a garage (so I can bring down my Monte Carlo.) But I find myself really more excited -- day to day -- about the prospect of living in a well-maintained place.

I like the idea of being able to take showers and have the water in the tub actually drain quickly so I'm not standing in a foot of water by the end. Or having a vent in the bathroom that keeps mold from forming all over the place.

My heat tolerance is damaged

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 23:46:55 PDT

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like this week of 90 degree weather we've had has felt more like a week of 70 degrees? It's been a little TOO refreshing.

After that heat wave I don't know if I'm going to be able to complain about the heat until it goes at least a couple degrees past 100.

Have I been permanently damaged? Has my tolerance for heat been bumped up ten degrees?

How am I going to blame my laziness on the weather? I don't feel justified in procrastinating on working on my car when it is a balmy 93 degrees outside.

iTunes ripping problems?

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 11:20:47 PDT

Well, as I have been listening to my new iPod I am finding a disturbing number of songs that have glitches or cut off midway through the track.

Anyone else seen these kind of probs?